IHEA-USA Hunter Education Standards
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IHEA-USA Hunter Education Standards Recommendations Submitted by the Standards and Evaluations Committee Committee Members: John McKay (Nevada), Jason Kool (South Dakota), Kent Barrett (Kansas), Mike Streeter (Nebraska), John Sturgis (Louisiana), David Dodson (Virginia), Susan Langlois (Massachusetts), Charles Bruckerhoff (Connecticut), Thomas Baumeister-Chair (Montana) 5/2/2014 INTERNATIONAL HUNTER EDUCATION ASSOCIATION lrir v6.1 CPI Responsible Hunting Hunter Education Core Curriculum Non-Core Curriculum Course content designed for students to be instructed and assessed according to Course content designed for performance-based learning objectives related to safe, legal. and responsible hunting students to receive information (core curriculum captured in blue boxes) about next steps. Reasons for Hunter Education and Justification for Hunting To foster graduate Personal Safe Firearms Wildlife Identification 1 participation in hunting, Mechanical Handling Responsibility and ' emphasize importance Behavior of continuing education, and illustrate value of Safe Firearm Field Hunting Regulations Hunter Best Practices Practices mentorship and social support. Responsibility to Wildlife Hunter's Role in Conservation Key Wildlife and , Management Principles „ Participate, Learn, Legal Responsible Connect REASONS FOR HUNTER EDUCATION AND JUSTIFICATION FOR HUNTING Learning Objective(s) Outcome Curricula Subtopic(s) Students will be able Specific Content Intended to Category to: Impact The goal of hunter education is to train safe, responsible and law abiding hunters. Hunter education is important because it: Identify the purpose Justification for Why hunter education • decreases hunting-related shooting incidents and other Legal. Safe, and importance of Hunter Education is important hunting injuries Responsible hunter education. • promotes responsible hunter behavior, including compliance with hunting laws and regulations • Hunters are primary source of financial support that Identify hunters and benefits all wildlife species Hunter's Role in Role of hunting in recreational hunting • Hunters advocate and support legislation that protects Wildlife Responsible conservation as key to wildlife wildlife resources Conservation conservation. • Hunters assist wildlife agencies with management of some wildlife populations Describe the central • Fish and wildlife are public resources and every citizen has Hunter's Role in principles of the the opportunity to pursue them within legal limits North American Model Wildlife North American Responsible of Wildlife Conservation • Wildlife populations are sustained and scientifically Conservation Model of Wildlife managed by professionals in government agencies Conservation. Wildlife management is funded largely by users who directly Conservation funding benefit from the resource. Two primary funding sources for wildlife Describe how license Hunter's Role in for wildlife management are: fees and excise taxes Wildlife management, habitat • excise taxes on hunting equipment and ammunition from Responsible support wildlife Conservation management and 1937 Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act conservation. hunter education. • revenue from state natural resource agencies, including hunting license fees Factors that affect wildlife production and survival are: • quality and amount of habitat Key Wildlife • climate Ecology & Basic factors of wildlife Describe how wildlife • reproductive potential of species Responsible Management conservation and habitat interact. Habitat: Principles • is most important factor affecting wildlife survival • changes over time through natural succession providing benefits to distinct species at different stages of growth Learning Objective(s) Outcome Curricula Subtopic The Student will be Specific Content Intended to Category able to: Impact Habitat consists of: Key Wildlife • food Identify key Ecology & Basic factors of wildlife • water components of Responsible Management conservation • cover wildlife habitat. Principles • space • arrangement Carrying capacity is: • number of animals of a given species that an area can Describe how support without damage to the habitat Key Wildlife carrying capacity, Biological surplus is: number of animals in a population beyond the carrying Ecology & Biological basis of biological surplus and • Responsible Management hunting limiting factors affect capacity Principles the size of a Limiting factors: population. • factors that limit population growth • Examples include: disease, predation, weather, and a lack of food, water, cover, or space 4 2. SAFE FIREARM HANDLING Learning Objective(s) Outcome Curricula Subtopic The Student will be Specific Content Intended to Category able to: Impact Four main types of hunting-related shooting incidents: • Hunter Judgment Mistakes—such as mistaking another person for game or not checking the foreground or background before firing • Safety Rule Violations—including pointing the muzzle in an unsafe direction and ignoring proper procedures for crossing a fence, obstacle, or difficult terrain Identify common • Lack of Control and Practice--which can lead to Safe Firearm Major causes of causes of hunting and accidental discharges and stray shots Handling Safe. Legal incidents shooting-related • Mechanical Failure—such as an obstructed barrel or (mechanics) incidents, improper ammunition Most common causes of hunting incidents. • failure to identify the target (15.5%) • shooter swinging on game (12.8%) • careless handling of firearm (11.4%) • victim out of sight of shooter (8.3%) (NSSF, Industry Intelligence Reports, 2007) The three main parts of a firearm are the: • action • stock • barrel Action: • loads and fires ammunition Safe Firearm Parts of a firearm Identify the basic • ejects the spent case Handling including safety parts of a firearm and Stock: Safe (mechanics) mechanisms state their purposes. • serves as a platform for supporting the action and barrel and is held by the shooter Barrel: • That part of a firearm through which a projectile or shot charge travels under pressure from burning gunpowder, compressed air or other like means. A barrel may be either smooth or rifled 5 • guides the projectile in the intended direction Rifling: • is a pattern of spiral grooves cut into the bore of the barrel • puts spin on a bullet when fired • allows for more accurate shooting Other parts of the firearm include: • trigger • trigger guard • safety • barrel stamp • muzzle • sights Trigger: • allows shooter to initiate the shot Trigger guard: • protects trigger from unintended movement Safety: • a device that is designed to block the trigger and therefore to prevent the firearm from firing. A safety does not necessarily block the gun's firing mechanism. Never depend solely on a safety to prevent a gun from firing. Barrel stamp: • specific information stamped on the side of the barrel about the correct ammunition (caliber or gauge) to use • allows shooter to correctly match ammunition to the firearm Muzzle: • part of the barrel from which the projectile emerges • must always be pointed in a safe direction Sights: • allow precise alignment of the firearm with the target Rifles and handguns: • are distinguished by spiral grooves in the bore known as rifling Describe the • fire cartridges typically with a single projectile called a Safe Firearm Differences between characteristics of bullet Handling rifles, shotguns and Safe rifles, shotguns and • are aimed by aligning the sights and are fired by (mechanics) handguns handguns. carefully squeezing the trigger to avoid disturbing sight picture • are used for stationary targets • extra care must be taken to control the muzzle of a 6 handgun, because of the short barrel length Shotguns: • usually have a smooth bore • fire shotshells with multiple projectiles or a single projectile known as a slug • if designed to fire slugs. may have a rifled barrel • are pointed, rather than aimed and are fired by quickly "slapping" the trigger when the shooter is ready to fire • are typically used for moving targets in the air Four basic rules of firearm safety: • Always treat the firearm as if it is loaded Safe Firearm Basic rules of firearm Apply the basic rules • Control the muzzle by keeping the firearm pointed in a Handling Safe safety of firearm safety. safe direction (mechanics) • Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot • Be sure of the target and what lies beyond Common firearm actions: • bolt Safe Firearm Identify common Common firearm • break or hinge Handling types of modern Safe actions • lever (mechanics) firearm actions. • pump or slide • semi-auto 1— Rifle and pistol cartridges consist of: • case • primer • powder • bullet Shotgun shells consist of: • hull • primer Safe Firearm Describe how • powder Safe, Legal. Handling Parts of ammunition ammunition functions • wad Responsible (mechanics) in a firearm. • shot Cartridge or shotshell firing sequence: • trigger is pulled • firing pin strikes the primer, which ignites the powder in the case • burning powder increases pressure from hot gases • heat and pressure propel the bullet or shot and wad out of the barrel Steps to handle a misfire: • maintain safe muzzle control Describe how to safely Safe Firearm handle a firearm • keep the action closed and firearm pointed at a safe Handling Failure to fire Safe during and after a backstop (mechanics) misfire. • wait 15 seconds (60 seconds for a muzzleloader) • if gun still has not fired, remove shell or cartridge from chamber Steps to correctly match ammunition