Click to Enlarge Hunter education consists of a minimum of 10 hours of classroom learning that stresses firearms safety and hunting ethics. To complete the course you have to pass a test. It's no gimme, either; you have to pay attention during class to pass.   A Degree In Hunting photography by Cliff White I always wanted to go deer, turkey, squirrel and rabbit hunting with my dad, but he told me I had to attend hunter education class first. My older brother, Jon, who is 16, and my sister, Katie, who is 15, have already attended the class. They like to go rabbit and deer hunting. I found the class a wonderful way to learn about handling guns safely. Hunter Education Class was taught at the Elks Lodge in Festus. Rex Vaughn was the lead instructor, and there were three assistant teachers. My dad was one of them. Each person had a unique way of teaching and that helped us stay interested. There were about 50 people in the class, with a lot of grownups taking the class with their kids. My dad sat by me during the class except, of course, while he was teaching and during the test. I was excited to be there. I was also nervous about the test. Would this class be hard, I wondered? I found out that the class wasn't too difficult and that it would help me. The most important thing I learned is always point a gun's muzzle in a safe direction. I learned the three keys to safety are knowledge, skill and attitude. Attitude is the most important. It connects ethics and sportsmanship. Having the right attitude, skill and knowledge will make sure that you identify your target, check the backstop and make a quick, clean kill. Always remember the brain of the gun is the person holding it. Another thing that was interesting was the history of guns. I liked learning about how each firearm progressed through the years. It was also interesting to learn about match-locks, flintlocks and caplocks. It has taken hundreds of years to progress to today's firearms. I hope that some day they will teach hunter education in schools. That could eliminate many accidents caused by ignorance. I strongly recommend this class for all students, and I can't wait to go turkey hunting with my dad! —Sarah Bequette Hunter education is a great idea. The instructors from the Festus Elks Lodge were friendly, and my dad, 16-year-old brother and I had a lot of fun. We learned the Ten Commandments of firearm safety. I also learned the most important rule, which is always point the muzzle in a safe direction. I thought they would only teach us about hunting, but they taught us almost everything about firearms, too. We live in a rural area, and after we got home, we painted a big yellow circle on an old black trash can. We put it in our backyard, down by the woods, in front of a safe backstop. My dad got out his .22 bolt-action, his .22 single-action pistol and his .30-30 deer rifle. Once, my brother shot through the top of the can and the bullet went through one side and out the center of the circle on the other side. When we turned it over and used the .30-30, I hit almost exactly in the middle. I learned that .30-30s make a lot of noise. My 5-year-old cousin screamed every time we shot it. Anyway, my advice is to take hunter education, pay attention and pass the test. Some parts of the test were hard but some parts were easy. I learned a lot and think that others will too, if they give it a try. —Michelle Gale I thought hunter education was going to be informative, but probably hard. After I attended our first day, which lasted from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., I thought it had been a very long day. I learned a lot but still had to spend time studying for the test the next day. Once we were given the test, it seemed pretty easy. There were 25 questions and you colored in the circle next to the best answer. I am proud to say I passed. My family has over 200 acres on which to hunt. I went hunting with my dad last year. I only carried my BB gun. I went in the woods wearing hunter orange. I saw trees and leaves on the ground, and the temperature was cool. It felt good to be outdoors, and I wished we could be outdoors everyday. My dad and I will hunt side-by-side until I am 16 or 18. My dad has been hunting for 25 years. His dad taught him how to hunt and took him out, too, until he was older. Grandpa still goes hunting with us. The most important lesson I learned in class and from my dad and grandpa is always point the muzzle in a safe direction. I would recommend that all children—boys and girls—and their parents take the course whether they hunt or not. By educating everyone on gun safety and hunting rules, we are less likely to have hunting accidents. My little sister, Caitlin, who is 9 years old, and my mom are going to take hunter education class when Caitlin turns 11. I really enjoyed the class. I plan to use everything I learned to hunt safely. It doesn't matter if I get a deer my first few years—just the excitement and pleasure I will get out of being able to go hunting with my dad will be enough. —Nick Batts A week after I graduated from the hunter education class, I went turkey hunting with my dad. We woke up before dawn so we would be able to have more time to hunt. We put on camouflage pants, masks, sweatshirts, blaze orange vests and hats. I felt like a giant human tree as Dad and I started off through the woods. It was a cool, cloudy day and it looked like it was about to rain. We were off to a great start. Dad and I spotted two does chomping on some grass as we headed to our hunting spot. They bounded away gracefully as we watched them. I remember thinking that maybe we just might get a turkey today! We tried to be very quiet as we made our way to where we would be hunting, but that seemed fairly impossible. To me, we sounded like a herd of buffalo. Finally, we made it to our spot. We set up our hen and gobbler decoys, and then we hid behind a tree so if there was another person in the woods who shot at the decoys, we would be unharmed. Dad and I used two calls, a slate call and a mouth call. The calls that we made were kee-kee run, cluck and purr, and the yelp. I'm not very good with the mouth call yet. It felt like I had two tongues in my mouth, and it tickled when I tried to make the calls. My calls got better as the day wore on. A while after we started our calls, we heard a squirrel barking at us. It sounded like he was scolding us for trying to call an innocent turkey. After a while I started to get fidgety. Parts of my body were falling asleep. My feet felt numb and my legs were getting colder by the minute. I started wiggling to bring my body back to life. Dad kept whispering, "Quit wiggling!" I knew why he wanted me to stop wiggling, but I couldn't help it. Rain began to fall. It sounded like a soft drum as it hit the leaves on the ground. It was so quiet in the woods, except for me wiggling, of course. We had been in the woods for many hours without seeing any turkeys, so Dad said we needed to head for home. We walked around a little so Dad could show me the habitat plots he had made for all the animals on our 80 acres. As we headed back for the house, Dad thought it would be a good idea for me to feel what a real gun was like when shot. I picked up the gun and placed it onto my shoulder. Before I squeezed the trigger and fired, I made sure that there was nothing that would be harmed except the target we were shooting—an empty soda can. Unfortunately I wasn't wearing a shoulder pad or ear plugs. The gun bucked really hard and smacked my face. My ears were ringing like high-pitched bells, and I missed the target. The gun sure was different from my BB gun. I felt like I had just shot a giant cannon compared to my small BB gun. I am looking forward to the next time I go hunting with my Dad. I love going out into the woods, even if I don't get a turkey at all. I need to remember to bring a cushion with me to sit on so I can be more comfortable. And maybe I should bring some earplugs to wear when I fire my gun. —Sarah Bequette