Vineyard hunter education class meets state requirements

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Mass Wildlife will sponsor a basic hunter education class in April. The three-day class is a requirement for first-time hunters in Massachusetts to purchase a hunting license.

The class instructor is Jeff Day, a Tisbury special police officer and state master-instructor. Students must attend all three sessions to successfully complete the course and receive a letter of completion.

The class, held once a year, is extremely popular. Officer Day said he expects the class to fill quickly. “There has been a lot of interest and to accommodate people I increased the class size to 45 students,” he told The Times.

Course instruction includes: safe handling and storage of hunting arms and ammunition, hunting laws and ethics, wildlife identification, wildlife management, care and handling of game, basic survival skills and first aid.

Hunter safety education courses are widely credited with helping to reduce hunting accidents and create responsible hunters. Successful completion of the state-certified course meets certain state firearms licensing application requirements, as well as out-of-state hunting license requirements.

The class will be held 6 pm, Tuesday, April 16, and Saturday and Sunday, April 20 and 21, from 8 am to 4 pm at the Martha’s Vineyard Rod and Gun Club off Third Street in Edgartown.

The course is free. Funding for hunter education classes is derived from the sale of hunting and sporting licenses, and from federal excise taxes on firearms and archery equipment.

Pre-registration through the Massachusetts Hunter Education program is required. Call 978-772-0693.

Correction: An earlier version of this story omitted the dates and times of the class.