If I plan to hunt units 20E or 20D will I need an Alsakan hunter education course?

I have been reading some of the Regs today and i'm a little confused.

I have a hunter education card from back home in Texas. But if we all need to have one from Alaska that is something we will need to figure out how to get before August.. Thanks for any input!

In my opinion its always best to just call and ask ADF&G rather then trusting people on the interweb when it comes to game laws,, my wife uses a florida hunters ed card so your probably ok, wouldn't hurt to call fwiw

I agree, I plan to call Monday Morning! Reading all the Regs can make your head spin, just want to make sure I do everything by the law.

I just read over it again. It seems I am already old enough to not need the course this season. But If I want to go back I have to have the course for 2016 FWD.. I agree with the course but having to go to a field day in Alsaka is sorta hard for us in the lower 48..

I don't think you need a field day in Alaska. They accept courses taken in other states.

I guess I am missing it but where are you seeing that you must take a special course in Alaska or whatever? I have hunted up there several times and I just have my Kansas Hunter Ed card from 1982 or whatever (yeah, that dates me a little). In 2012 I got my bowhunter's cert. in Missouri so I could chase bou along the Haul Rd with my bow. As far as I understand it, all states (or most states that I'm aware of) have reciprocity with other states as far as their hunter's ed stuff.

colonel00 said:

I guess I am missing it but where are you seeing that you must take a special course in Alaska or whatever? I have hunted up there several times and I just have my Kansas Hunter Ed card from 1982 or whatever (yeah, that dates me a little). In 2012 I got my bowhunter's cert. in Missouri so I could chase bou along the Haul Rd with my bow. As far as I understand it, all states (or most states that I'm aware of) have reciprocity with other states as far as their hunter's ed stuff.

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That's the way I thought it was. I'm taking my bow hunter education in Pa. to hunt up there in 2017.

After reading more info I belive.. Any corse they consider certifide from your home state will work.. But yes, in 2016 and beyond you have to have a bowhunter specific education course.

aggieland said:

I just read over it again. It seems I am already old enough to not need the course this season. But If I want to go back I have to have the course for 2016 FWD.. I agree with the course but having to go to a field day in Alsaka is sorta hard for us in the lower 48..

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Ok, so looking at your picture again, I'm assuming that you are only talking about the bowhunter's ed stuff. As I mentioned above, I got my cert in Missouri (it's about impossible to find a class in Kansas as it isn't a requirement here yet) and it was fine in AK. Always good to call and check but my guess is they will be fine with a Texas state sanctioned certification. It's a good thing to just go ahead and do anyways as many states are already moving towards this requirement. You might also search this site for "bowhunter education or certification" as I believe it has come up before.

aggieland said:

After reading more info I belive.. Any corse they consider certifide from your home state will work.. But yes, in 2016 and beyond you have to have a bowhunter specific education course.

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Yeah, just search the internet and see if you can find one close. Around here the local state F&G offices put them on. The one I did was only one Saturday for 8 hours and for whatever reason, they didn't even have us shoot or show proficiency. I thought that was pretty silly but whatever. It was one long boring day so do it with a buddy if possible to pass the time.

I did one back in 92' but it was not an Archery only course. So who knows.

I believe the current regulation only requires a bow hunter Ed course for certain weapons restricted hunts/tags/areas (like the Haul rd).

As of 2016, they will require a bow hunter Ed certificate for anyone bow hunting period, regardless of whether it is a tag/area/hunt that is weapons restricted or not. I believe ADFG is usually fine accepting Hunter ed from other states but best to verify. I did my AK how hunter Ed online in 2012, and just went through a 4 hour in person shooting test to confirm proficiency. It was fairly painless and also pretty informative.

It's something they changed two years ago I think? But yes if you were born after Jan 1 1986 you do have to have a hunters Ed certification for those units. If you were born before that date you are grandfathered in and don't need one. As always it's best to check with fish and game, but my card is from Pennsylvania and is accepted fine.

matty_ren said:

It's something they changed two years ago I think? But yes if you were born after Jan 1 1986 you do have to have a hunters Ed certification for those units. If you were born before that date you are grandfathered in and don't need one. As always it's best to check with fish and game, but my card is from Pennsylvania and is accepted fine.

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I believe you are referring to regular Hunter's Ed. From the ADFG hunter's ed page:

"Hunter Education is required for hunters born AFTER January 1, 1986 who intend to hunt in Units 7, 13-15, and 20. The following apply:

If you were born after January 1, 1986 and are 16 years old or older, you must have successfully completed a certified Basic Hunter Education course.
If you were born after January 1, 1986 and are under 16 years old, you must have:
successfully completed a certified Basic Hunter Education course –OR-
hunt under the direct immediate supervision of a licensed hunter who is either:
16 years old or older and has successfully completed a certified Hunter Education course OR
born on or before January 1, 1986.
In addition, Hunter Education certification is required before anyone may legally hunt in the following areas in Alaska: a) the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge, b) The Eagle River Management Area (14C for black bear and small game), c) the Palmer/Wasilla Management Area (shotgun for big game), d) The Mendenhall Wetlands near Juneau, except hunters under 10 who are not certified can hunt as long as they are under the direct supervision of an adult who is certified."

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=huntered.basichunter

The bow hunter Ed certificate is a separate requirement, and requires a bow specific course:

"An NBEF/IBEP bowhunter certificate is required in Alaska to hunt in "Bowhunting Only" areas of the state. Many drawing permit hunts near urban areas are for bowhunting only and hunters may not apply for the permit unless they have successfully completed a bowhunting certification course approved by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Beginning July 1, 2016, all big game hunters using archery will be required to have successfully completed a department approved certification course. Currently, this is required if the hunt is restricted to archery only."
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=huntered.bowhunter

Becca's last post has it correct. F&G changed the regs this BOG cycle to require IBEP certification for all bow hunts starting 2016 and proof of training is require to be carried on you during your hunt.

You can attend IBEP training in your home state but make sure the course is certified.

This was brought about by several cases of moose being bow shot near cities and moose walking around town with arrows sticking out of them. There was 2 cases that were well photographed and published in the paper. They really wanted to shut these hunts down and the hunts were saved only by the compromise to require IBEP training.

Because, I know someone will ask "WHY"

http://www.newsminer.com/features/o...cle_d2d0b0a4-4285-11e3-808a-0019bb30f31a.html

http://www.newsminer.com/news/local...cle_223ee4b6-840e-11e3-9903-001a4bcf6878.html

Yes I was only talking about the hunters Ed not the archery education they are going to start.