SALEM, Ore. – The classroom portion of Oregon’s hunter education course is now available online at http://www.hunter-ed.com/or/

Hunter education is mandatory for all hunters under the age of 18 and recommended for any new hunter. The course covers topics like firearms safety, hunter ethics, wildlife identification, hunt preparation and techniques and outdoor survival.

“We are very excited to be offering online hunter education,” said Chris Willard, ODFW hunter education coordinator. “This will make hunter education much more accessible for those whose schedules make attending a conventional classroom course difficult.”

The online course is offered through Kalkomey Enterprises and costs $15. ODFW charges an additional $10 application fee to all hunter education students, payable at the required field day.

The online course takes approximately 10 hours to complete and includes a Field Day Qualifier Exam. Use of the online course and all practice tests is free until a student signs up to take the exam. Students who pass the online exam with an 80 percent grade or better receive a certificate which qualifies them to attend the required field day.

Field day tests are conducted by certified hunter education instructors and typically last six to eight hours. During the field day, students receive hands-on instruction on safe firearms handling techniques, including crossing obstacles and hunting with others, situational ethics, and live fire exercises. At the conclusion of the field day, students take a final certification exam to receive their official hunter safety card.

Students who choose to take the online course option should visit ODFW's independent study page and register for a scheduled field day prior to completing the online course.

With the addition of online hunter education, students now have three options to complete hunter education: the new online course, an independent study workbook course, or in-person attendance at a class taught through ODFW’s statewide network of 600 volunteer instructors.

ODFW certifies about 6,000 new hunters each year through the hunter education program. Completion of the class is mandatory for any person under the age of 18 to hunt in Oregon, unless they are hunting on land owned by their parents or legal guardian or participating in the Mentored Youth Hunter Program.  

To find out more visit "https://www.dfw.state.or.us/education/hunter/index.asp