New hunter, question about CORE online course. (did i do the right one?)

[Islandfern]

Hey everyone, so im hoping to get my CORE in the next week or 2, i will be hunting with an experienced hunter, and i already am very experienced outdoors, ive never hunted though.

i decided to do the online course as most core courses are on weekends, and i work weekends, so the online course was a great alternative for myself, i thought.

its my weekend and thought i could use the next 2 days to do the course, the course with an instructor takes approx 16 hours from what i heard, so what i was thinking was it was going to be about the same for the online course, so i went onto the SILVERCORE website and purchased the online coure course for $59.99,

it took me under 2 hours to do the course.

this cant be right can it? did i take the right online course? i mastered the tests for each section getting no more than 1 or 2 out of 20 questions each test wrong. im now worried i purchased and completed the wrong course as something that takes up to 16 hours with an instructor shouldnt take a mere ~2 hours by yourself.

any advice on this subject is appreciated. also i already have my PAL, but should i be expecting any written or hands on testing for the core course?

http://i63.tinypic.com/2qk49vl.jpg

[monasheemountainman]

I'm pretty sure you have to do the core with an instructor, at least you didn't when I was a kid and did it

[adriaticum]

No, this is not the actual course.
This is a training course in preparation for the real test.


Designed by experienced CORE instructors, this online course covers the theoretical portion of the hunter education program. It combines informative slides and relevant quizzes to help prepare you to take the CORE hunter education course or challenge the test.
This online course has proven to improve retention of information and improve firearm safety. After taking Silvercore’s Online CORE Course, students can pass the CORE exam with confidence in their education and proficiency.
Students who write the exam after taking the Online CORE Course receive significantly higher grades than those who do not.
This course will also provide you with a valuable resource to reference after completing the hunter education course.
Free Retest!
* If this course is PURCHASED in conjunction with your in person Silvercore CORE Course, you will receive complimentary retest insurance. We are so confident in our Online Theory training that we will provide you a FREE retest if you are unsuccessful. Without this option, you will be required to pay $30 for a complete retest in the event of failure.

[Islandfern]

I have to do the final exam with an instructor, but the online course is a newer thing from what i know. im just unsure if i did the right one, as it was much too easy for what i was expecting.

[Islandfern]

No, this is not the actual course.
This is a training course in preparation for the real test.


Designed by experienced CORE instructors, this online course covers the theoretical portion of the hunter education program. It combines informative slides and relevant quizzes to help prepare you to take the CORE hunter education course or challenge the test.
This online course has proven to improve retention of information and improve firearm safety. After taking Silvercore’s Online CORE Course, students can pass the CORE exam with confidence in their education and proficiency.
Students who write the exam after taking the Online CORE Course receive significantly higher grades than those who do not.
This course will also provide you with a valuable resource to reference after completing the hunter education course.
Free Retest!
* If this course is PURCHASED in conjunction with your in person Silvercore CORE Course, you will receive complimentary retest insurance. We are so confident in our Online Theory training that we will provide you a FREE retest if you are unsuccessful. Without this option, you will be required to pay $30 for a complete retest in the event of failure.

brutal. looks like i screwed up.

[adriaticum]

I have to do the final exam with an instructor, but the online course is a newer thing from what i know. im just unsure if i did the right one, as it was much too easy for what i was expecting.


It looks about right and so you should be well prepared to pass the test.

[adriaticum]

brutal. looks like i screwed up.



It's just a training course, I don't think you screwed up.
But you are not finished yet.

[monasheemountainman]

never hurts to do MORE training.

[LupieHunter]

http://www.bcwf.net/index.php/overview

[Islandfern]

Thanks for the Link Lupie

so what i purchased is just a study guide basically? even though i easily passed this guides tests with flying colors, it most likely hasnt prepared 100% to ace the real test? i should have done the course at this website? http://www.huntercourse.com/canada/britishcolumbia/

only thing that frustrates me about this mistake is the timing, i was hoping to use my days off wednesday and thursday to do the online course and then do the exam on friday after work with an instructor. so now that ive wasted all of today, its put me a day behind, that is if my thoughts on this is correct.

[Ryo]

You're probably fine. I read the core manual once, and passed the exam. Most is common sense, but practice your animal ID (dabbling vs. diving duck, sheep types, etc), and practice reading the regs.

wtite Friday, and get hunting!

[BigD_83]

The CORE exam doesn't ask many, if any questions about species identifications in the bird categories. From what I recall, anything along those lines would ask questions you could answer using the regs. The most important thing is to be familiar enough with the regs that you can navigate them, and find the information quickly.

The instructor-led course is always going to be slower than self-study, as there is a good amount of open-ended discussion. I covered way more information in my prep (both the online prep (good) AND an old CORE manual (better)) than the actual course, and in retrospect, I was easily prepared to challenge the exam. However, it was nice to glean some information from the instructor. As a new hunter, some of the real-world knowledge he was able to pass on was very helpful when getting started.

[Bonz]

curious how quick guys are able to do the in person part of the exam after they do the online portion?. heard of some waiting a while till a class was worthy of running.
most ive talked to refuse to do it for one or 2 guys with the poor pay they get now. so they wait till a class is full like before to make their time worth it

[Bonz]

if its anything like the boater course the page is timed to not let you advance till a set time has gone by. not sure if this is ran same way or not

[cmarrie]

You can challenge the CORE exam anytime, no need to do a course first. If you have proof of your Canadian Firearm Safety Course, then there's no hands-on firearms testing during the CORE exam.

Although a classroom CORE course for new hunters is strongly recommended, they have an accredited online course, huntercourse.com I think it is. If you passed the Silvercore quizzes, then you're likely fine for the CORE exam and not sure what the online would add as I've seen the online course and wasn't too impressed. But if you wanted to do the full online course, which is basically just an audio recording of someone reading the CORE manual chapter by chapter (like an e-book) with some cartoon pictures to go along with it (and a timer running so you can't skip ahead), then the huntercourse.com is what you wanted not the Silvercore.

[Bonz]

thought they did away with challenges, or was that only firearms that did

[TPK]

Just the PAL/RPAL are mandated courses now, you can still challenge the CORE test(s).

Having a PAL is no longer enough to get you out of the practical handling test for CORE due to the conversion of all POL's to PAL's. It's possible to have been "grandfathered" into a POL back in the day and you would never have had taken a CFSC class, now that POL is a PAL and the person still hasn't taken the course.

So, CORE Instructors are supposed to see your PAL course report as proof you took the course in order for you to be exempt from practical handling test. This may be difficult for some if it has been a while since they took their PAL and locating that paper work could be damn near impossible. The good news is that PAL Instructors have to retain that paper work for 7 years, so they can certainly provide it for you if you lost yours.

It's now a little worse ... PAL/RPAL instructors have a four page carbon copy type form for the course report, used to be we kept one copy, sent one to Miramichi, and gave TWO to the student. Now in BC we have to send one copy to Miramichi, one copy to the CFO in Surrrey, we keep one copy and the student only gets one copy which they need to submit with their application .. leaving them with no copy unless they photocopied the course report before sending in their application (which I STRONGLY encourage my students to do).

[BStrachan]

U took the online CORE course it took me just over a week to complete it but that's because 3 young kids and having to go to work. Once I completed the course I contacted a fellow who does the exams and I wrote my exam which too approximately 45 minutes and that was it done. Must say tho wasn't what I expected. Thought there would be more questions about safety. Good luck!

[Bag1]

My 11YO daughter completed her online core via BCWF website during her spring break then did the challenge with Kent at the firearms training center in cloverdale.
the challenge took her maybe an hour, the longest study section was the animal and bird ID sections. I was by her side for all of it and only offered some guidance in finding the correct answers, the practical was all her and she passed with flying colors.
funniest part was her buying a muley tag and the counterperson arguing she would share mine as a youth untill she showed pulled out her BC hunters card,