Evening star., 1961-10-01
ADOPTS NRA PROGRAM d: ~.
Virginia to Teach Gun Sofety
By CHARLES COVELL
Outdoor Editor

NseSSA SNAeOA
When you go out to bag some
game this fall, what are your
. chances Of being bagged in
stead by another hunter?
Without going into the sad
statistics, the chances will be
less If other nearby States fol-
low the example of Virginia in
establishing a l-unter safety
education program.
Virginia's program, in Coop
Grafton with the National Rifle
Association, takes effect Octo-
Der Is under James Kerrick,
new safety training officer. AS
OF that date, questions should
be addressed to MIN at the Divi-
sion of Education, Commission
of Game and Inland Fisheries,
Box 1912, Richmond 10.
First step was to train in
structors. To that end a course
was conducted recently at Fair
fax Rod and Gun Club near
Manassas. Letters are being
sent to all fish and game or
NRA-affiliated clubs through
out the State inviting them to
participate.
Applicants Screened
b. The NRA furnishes the ma
~terials and instruction, the
State grades and screens the
applicants and issues their Gre
dentials. When enough instruc-
tors have been obtained, they
recruit their own pupils, usual
ly youngsters but occasionally
adults who are going hunting
Tor the first time.
While the safe handling of
firearms is basic, other subjects
include game Identification,
orientation, game laws and
hunter landowner relations.
Graduates get bright yellow
shoulder insignia.
Virginia thus joins 81 other
States and the Province of On
tario in which the NRA's hunt
er safety program is now either
mandatory or voluntary.
Some Require Course
Where it is mandatory, in
California, Connecticut, Massa-
chusetts, Minnesota, Montana,
New Jersey. New York, Rhode
Island, South Dakota, Utah,
Washington and Ontario, salts
factory completion of the
course is necessary before a..
hunter can get his first license. |
Two other States have passed |
legislation making the training
mandatory. They are New
Hampshire, where the law takes
effect January /. 1868, and Or
egon, January /. 1862.
Those in addition to Virginia
in which the training is volun-
tary are Colorado, Florida, Ida
no, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky,
Maine, Michigan, Missouri,
Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Ver-
mont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Besides that, three States
have the so-called permissive
program either alone or sup
plementing mandatory or vol
untary plans. This means that
legislation has been passed per-
lnitting school systems to spend
: money on hunter safety educa-
ton.
Program IL Years Old
The NRA's program is now II
years old. New York State was
the first to begin adopting a
law in 1949 requiring young
sters under the age of 16 to
pass q course in safe gun han
ding before receiving their
first licenses.
The number of applicants
was so great the States game
wardens could not handle the
job, so in 1850 the NRA was
designated to take over the job.
This was done through nearly
$500 individual members who
volunteered as instructors. /,
From this start, the rifle asso-
cations safety program has
mushroomed.
In 1852 New York State raised
the age limit to 81 years and
now requires training for every
new hunter, regardless Of age.
Through August 327,495 pupils
had received instruction.
Next high in the number of
new hunters trained is Califor-
MIA, where the total is 199, 9,267.
New Hampshire, where the
program is to become manda-
tory, in 1858 became the first
State with permissive-type
law. The Physical Education
Division of the Department OF
Education, working in close CO.
operation with the Fish and
Game Department, held two
clinics the first year. One was
to train police and conservation
officers as consultants, the
other to instruct schoolteacners. |
Within five years more than
80 per cent of the school sys-
TENS in the State had firearms
safety training in the curricu-
lum.