What do you think.....

[Leaseman]

What do you think of the CORE program???....I had my license before the program was started but with my dads prodding to the course (with him) in the early 70s...at that time the course ran for either 8 or 10 weeks on tuesday nights for 2 hours plus and covered just about everything up to and including the basics on butchering once you had your animal at home....

Not long ago I had my son who is turning 12 soon take the course along with the firearms course....I was shocked at the cost of these courses but what really got me was that each ran for an evening (3 hours) and that also included the test!!!...

I am not worried about the amount my son did or didn't learn as he has been hunting with me since he was 6, and also been out with my Dad and 2 good buddies on several of our trips....on these trips someone is always teaching him something new which he can't get enough of!!!...

What my question is that I have run accross enough people with very little or no knowledge of everything that goes with hunting, that are out in the wilds hunting!!!...I have show quite a few people over the years how to gut and care for their game once they have shot it as they have no idea what to do with it....

How do you as a hunter think this can be changed??


Mike

[Steeleco]

I felt it to be like getting your drivers licence, stay awake enough to pass the test , then you really start learning, from all the mistakes you made!!!. As a new hunter I had no previous family involvment with the hobby so I was as green as it gets. My 10 year old son already knows more than I did when I got my core.

Maybe it should be another test that can be challanged?? If you think you have the stuff, write the test, if your like I was, take the course and learn all you can!!

[mark]

i agree with you moosefinder, but they made the course easier to sell more hunting licences. youd never know it when yer in the bush in season, but they say the number of hunters is less than it used to be. i agree that people are way under educated to go hunting after the lil core test, but the 10 week course of years ago scared away to many new hunters. Its up to us (experienced guys) to take the newbies under our wing and teach em all we can! (without disclosing our honey holes of course)

[BANG!]

I agree with Mark - I've been fortunate to receive a whole sh*t load of coaching and in-the-field training from a few friends who have years of experience.

The CORE training taught me enough to make sure I didn't hurt myself, or any of my hunting buddies - but to be honest, if I didn't have the coaching and support of my hunting buds, I'd be completely clueless about where to go - what to look for - understanding all the sign(s) - how to best hit the beast we're hunting, and then of course, what to do with it once it's down (and some might say, that's where the sweaty work just begins!).

I'll always be grateful for the support and encouragement from my Camouflaged Mentors - and I would strongly recommend this form of learning to all new CORE graduates, regardless of what ever else they may have in terms of prior outdoor experience.

It's my opinion, that you learn hunting best from an experienced hunter - whilst hunting. Books'll get you started but you've got to get out there ....

[huntwriter]

I have to agree with mark here. There is no substitute for learning from experienced hunters in the field.
Mandatory CORE is still the number one reason that scares new hunters away from our sport.
Today with all the computers and internet it has become real easy to learn just about everything. This forum here is a very good place but there are many other such forums that can be very educational for new and young hunters.
On my "Butcher" website I have a step by step meat cutting tutorial that is visited by many hunters every day. There are also videos available on the market about how to butcher a deer.
Like I said there is a wealth of information available for the hunter who wants to learn and the one who does not want to learn never will learn regardless of the fact that he has to make a course and test.
Senior hunters should take the time to offer new and young hunters the chance to tag along with them to learn. I have been doing that for many years and found it to be very rewarding on a personal level.

[twoSevenO]

speaking of CORE ... moosefinder mentioned he was shocked at the cost of these courses. My dad's friend said the same thing. As a newb who's planning to get his CORE and PAL this summer, i'm left a little bit confused.
Wherever i read on the internet the cost of CORE comes up as 10 bucks per test, plus 30 if you pass.

where are these big numbers coming from? Is it that the 10 and 30 are only for those challenging the exam and the higher prices for those actually taking the courses ?

Anywho, i've started reading the book and it does not seem hard at all to challenge that exam, and maybe spend the extra bucks on new gear :)

[MichelD]

Ask Symon.

He came out with us as a hunting partner last year, and had been out with us the year before too. I hope he learned a little from us older guys, but he is a serious student too and just wrote the CORE exam.

I'd be interested in hearing his perspective on the "practical" versus the "academic" components of learning the hunting game.

[Foxer]

where are these big numbers coming from? Is it that the 10 and 30 are only for those challenging the exam and the higher prices for those actually taking the courses ?

Yup - i think it's a hundred something most places to take the core training. And it's easy for experienced people to challenge, but a lot of newbies don't know there ARE more one type of deer, never mind being able to tell the difference :)

It's a little daunting for them.

[4blade]

my son just passed thankfully ,now maybe we will have some meat in the freezer.i heard from the core instructor he has to send 30.00 for every student to BCWF i guess for there paper work.you,re right though the course still does leave a lot of unanswered questions for newbies.i dont understand why they dont mix it with PAL because the practical is the same except for the handgun part.

[hoochie]

My family just did CORE last year, and I truthfully am not confident in my skills and abilities at gutting a deer. I have absolutely no clue as to cutting it up either. They showed us a " slide show" of a guy prepairing his deer, but that was a year ago ( cut the anus and tie it off, and dont touch the scent glands? Keep the sexual organs attached to the hide, and rinse the inside with a vinigar water solution to keep bugs off?) I have never seen it done for real. When I take people fishing, I show them all the stuff they need to know about preserving their meat etc. I do the first few, then let them hack up the next ones. It would be nice to have someone show me how to do up a deer.
The course was 7-10 friday, all day saturday, and the test was on Sunday. I rememebr there was one kid in there who slept through the better part of Saturday ( we had to nudge him when he started snoaring) and he still passed.
They never told us " productive" harvest grounds ( a good place to go), simply just reiterated what was in the book. And a lot of what they talked about was just BS ing about there past hunting adventures.
I was not fortunate enough to have family members teach me when I was young. They tought me to shoot ( military personel), but they never hunted, and if they did it was only for birds.
I do remember one story they told us though:
A friend of theirs uses a long stick to smack grouse upside the head with. He gets the stick beside the bird, then "flicks" it knocking the bird out. Said that it saves on shells, and makes no noise. I think he also told us that there is a variation to the stick with incorporates a glue of some sort.
So, in the end... am I more knowledgable than I was before taking the course? Yes. Did the course teach me how to hunt? NO. Did the course improve my outdoorsmanship? No.
Would I have been better off taking the course or just reading the book? the book alone would have been cheaper, and I didnt get much more out of the course than what is in the book anyway, so.. I dont know.

[Foxer]

Did the course teach me how to hunt? NO.

Not really the goal - more intended to teach you enough not to blast the wrong animal.

But it's the 'cleaning game' party i hear complaints about the most from guys who took it without a lot of previous hunting experience. But unless someone's going to mock up a deer - how do you show someone without an animal?

[GoatGuy]

Needs work and is getting it.

Personally think it should only be about firearms safety and hunting/firearms ethics.

Should also be available online so that it can be challenged by those who are "familiar" with hunting and firearms.

Should also be cheap - not affordable. Current cost averages $120-$130 and can be more/less depending on the instructor.