Wisconsin DNR Hunter Education

For over 40 years the Sheboygan Rifle and Pistol Club has offered the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Hunter Education classes.  Once voluntary, the state now requires all persons born after January 1, 1973 to take and pass the course in order to purchase licenses and in time hunt alone.

The class is taught at the club located at W765 Rowe Road in Sheboygan (just south of Whistling Straights Golf Course on County Highway LS).  The course consists of 6 evening sessions of 2 hours each spread over 3 weeks culminating in a field day and graduation held on the Saturday of the last week.

Previous knowledge and experience are unnecessary, and the class is taught at a pace and intent of helping students understand, succeed and graduate the course.  The first evening starts with basic firearm safety knowledge followed by learning the nomenclature of firearms and ammunition.  By the end of the first evening students have handled firearms safely and can identify key features of them with a focus on safety.

The following classes break the larger class into 3 separate smaller groups and are send to 3 40-minute sessions an evening for specific education.  Knowing that students will not be hunting in a classroom, the focus is on actual education and demonstration of skills that may be needed at some point in their lives.  For example, rather than just read to students about fire building, an educational session is taught that culminates in students demonstrating the skills required to do so without matches or other conventional resources.

Likewise, compass skills, basic survival skills, firearm and knife cleaning and maintenance and basic hunting skills are taught, demonstrated and executed by the student’s hands on.  In doing so theory becomes practice and there is a greater retention for each student should they ever need to use these skills. Furthermore, certain skills such as first aid are taught by DNR instructors and an EMT with actual real-life scenarios that the students must physically respond to and provide simulated first aid.

Classes are taught by a team of 10 instructors with over 100 years of collective education experience between them.  As the class sessions end a DNR Warden visits the class, followed by a written test.  Students passing the written test can advance to the final Saturday Field Day/Graduation. 

The Field Day begins with students exercising physical skills of gun handling, fence crossing and firearms safety.  Once all students complete this section a fun wrap up occurs with students having the opportunity to shoot .22 rifles, shotguns, hunting rifles, muzzleloaders, archery and handguns all under the one on one supervision of a trained instructor.

All firearms and ammunition are chosen to be appropriate to the size and age of the shooters and to avoid any discomfort that could inhibit their education or experience.

The class culminates with a brief graduation ceremony at the end of the Field Day.
Cost is $10.00, and the club provides all materials including firearms and ammunition.

Information contact Russ Margenau 920-917-7523 email russelmargenau@yahoo.com

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