4-H Hunting and Wildlife Project Coach Training

This training has been expanded to three different dates and three different locations this year.  To see the full details on this expansion, click HERE.

4-H Shooting Sports Project Coach Training and Certification

The 4-H Shooting Sports Project encompasses a large percentage of the 4-H membership in Texas and is the only project that requires each volunteer coach to be trained and certified in specific shooting disciplines before working with local 4-H youth.  The shooting disciplines covered in 4-H are archery, pistol, rifle, shotgun, muzzleloading, and hunting.  Several hundred volunteers are trained each year.  September and the new 4-H year open the coach training season.  Many questions arise each year concerning 4-H Shooting Sports Coach Certification and the trainings themselves.  The following are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.

•  All 4-H Shooting Sports local projects must have at least one 4-H trained and certified coach in each of the disciplines offered in that project.
• Adults must first be enrolled on 4-H Connect as 'Volunteers' which requires a background check that takes at least two weeks to process so do this well in advance of a desired training registration.
• Only one discipline certification is available per training attended.  However, coaches may attend multiple trainings and be certified in multiple disciplines.
• A certified coach must be present on the range during all firearm handling and live fire.
• A certified coach must be 21 years of age or older.
• No other certifications or professional training will substitute for 4-H training and certification.
• Any 4-H member or volunteer 14-20 years of age may attend the training and receive an Assistant Coach certification.
•  All scheduled trainings are open to enrolled 4-H volunteers and eligible members regardless of where in the state they live.

For more details on this certification, click HERE.

4-H Outdoor Education Coach Training - November 21-22

Registration is open for the 4-H Outdoor Education Coach Training set for November 21-22 at the Texas 4-H Center in Brownwood.  This training and certification is available to any enrolled adult leader (21 years of age or older) desiring to coach 4-H youth in projects where live firing is conducted. This training and certification is designed specifically for projects including Hunting & Wildlife and Outdoor Challenge. This certification does not allow the adult to coach local Shooting Sports projects. The training is also available for enrolled adults 18-20 to become Assistant Coaches. All training participants will also receive the Texas Hunter Education Instructor Certification. In addition, the training will cover wildlife management basics, wildlife identification basics, wildlife biologist skills basics, game laws and ethics, various hunting and outdoor living skills, camping safety, boating safety, and other outdoor safety basics.  Registration is available on 4-H Connect; https://texas.4honline.com.  More details can be found on the training flyer.

New Resources Posted on 4-H Natural Resources Program Webpages

Fourteen new printed resources have been added to the various webpages representing the 4-H Natural Resources Program.  These webpages include the following projects and links:
Shooting Sports - http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/shootingsports/
Sportfishing - http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/project_sportfishing/sportfishing/
Wildlife - http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/project_wildlife/wildlife/
Outdoor Challenge - http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/outdoor/ 

The resources titles include:

• Gear Judging Practice Scenario
• Know Your Dominant Eye Activity
• Life Skills Color Wheel
• Cartridge Board Activity
• Skill of Observation Activity
• Skill of Observation Activity Form
• Sportfishing Dryland Tournament
• Fish Halves Activity
• Texas State Parks Youth Group Annual Pass Application
• Fish Study Guide
• Wildlife ID Guide
• Wildlife Tracks Fact Sheet
• Tying the Thief Knot
• Hunter Skills Trail Manual

Visit the various webpages to view and download the resources.   Look for additional resources to be added to each page in the upcoming months.

Youth Hunter Education Challenge

The Northeast Region Youth Hunter Education Challenge will be held October 10th at the Arlington Sportsman's Club in Mansfield.  This event is open to youth 9-18 years of age.  The Challenge will cover six events (.22 caliber rifle, muzzleloading rifle, shotgun, archery, wildlife identification/hunter skills trail, and a hunter responsibility exam).  Registration is $25 per competitor and covers lunch and an event t-shirt.  Registration deadline is September 30th.  This is a fun event that tests shooting skills, wildlife knowledge skills, hunting skills, and hunting safety knowledge.

Contact the following for more details and registration information:
Debbie Laughman - LDL3Laughman@gmail.com, 817/991-5525
David Hammonds - mrdavidhammonds@att.net, 817/236-3158

Texas Dove Hunters Association Scholarship

The Texas Dove Hunters Association will be awarding six (6) $500 scholarships to high school seniors across Texas.  Interested applicants should go to their website at www.texasdovehunters.com for more details and the application.

Applications must be postmarked by March 21, 2014 EXTENDED TO APRIL 11, 2014.  Additional questions can be directed to 210/764-1189 or susan@texasdovehunters.com.

Youth Hunter Education Challenge

The 2013 Northeast Region Youth Hunter Education Challenge will take place on October 5^th at the Arlington Sportsman's Club in Mansfield area.  Registration deadline is September 15^th using the registration form on this link. 

The Youth Hunter Education Challenge (YHEC) is a one day competition testing the participants’ skills of marksmanship, hunter safety and responsibility knowledge, and wildlife identification.  The Challenge takes each participant through six events throughout the day; .22 caliber rifle, muzzle loading rifle, shotgun, archery, wildlife identification and hunter skills trail, and hunter responsibility exam.  Medals will be awarded in each event.  

Rules can be found at http://yhec.nra.org/documents/pdf/hunterservices/yhec/rules.pdf. 

Additional information on this event can be found by clicking these links: Information and Releases.

TPWD Proposals Aim to Streamline Hunter Education Process

AUSTIN – Proposed changes to the state’s hunter education certification program would streamline the process for the tens of thousands of Texans who take the course annually, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials.
Anyone born after Sept. 1, 1971, must successfully complete a Hunter Education Training Course to hunt in Texas.

Under current rules, hunters can take the traditional two-day course that must be spread over a minimum of 10 hours, or they can opt to take the self-paced knowledge-based portion online home study. Students must then complete a four-hour field training class for certification.

TPWD is proposing a suite of options that could reduce the time commitment for completion of the course by half. By streamlining the curriculum, officials suggest the classroom portion of the process could be reduced to five hours. The field training class length would remain unchanged. Nothing in the proposed changes prohibits students from taking advanced workshops on hunter education topics of special interest or more extensive curriculum offered in high school and college courses. This doesn’t prohibit any one from receiving an extended hunter education course in a school, camp, or club setting.

For students 16 years of age and older, TPWD is proposing the option of an online instruction only certification that would eliminate the required field training component. Active duty military and certain veterans are already exempted by law from the field training component of the course.

“Our hunter education courses serve a wide variety of students,” said Nancy Herron, TPWD Outreach and Education Director. “One may be a nine-year-old with a parent in tow, another a teenager taking a class in school, and then an experienced 60-year-old preparing for big game hunting in another state. Providing additional course options will make getting hunter certification more convenient and better fit our students’ needs.”

To pass the current course options, students must take a 50-question written exam and get 70 percent correct if they take the traditional two-day course or 80 percent if they take the course online. TPWD is proposing to standardize the passing grade for all options to a minimum score of 75.
The certification is valid for life and is honored in all other states.

Public comment on the proposed changes can be made online at http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/business/feedback/public_comment/ or to Nancy Herron, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, Texas, 78744; (512) 389-4362 (e-mail: nancy.herron@tpwd.state.tx.us). If adopted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission at its August 22 public meeting, students could begin taking advantage of the new process this fall.