BOZEMAN – Hunter Education classes will be offered in several locations throughout southwestern Montana this year. Many of these classes are or will soon be open for registration.

All in-person classes are free. Students must be at least 10 years old to take a Hunter Education class. Students must be at least 11 years old to take a Bowhunter Education class.

The following Hunter Education classroom classes are scheduled in the region:

• Belgrade: starting Feb. 23
• Helena: starting March 15
• Butte: starting April 8 (tentative)
• Bozeman: starting April 15 (tentative)
• Logan: starting May 6
• Helena: starting May 17
• Clyde Park: June (tentative)
• Logan: starting July 15
• Livingston: August (tentative)

Students ages 12 through 17 who take Hunter or Bowhunter Education online will also be required to pass an in-person field day. There will be a field day for online Hunter Education students in Bozeman on March 2.

Hunter and Bowhunter Education courses are being planned in other areas. FWP’s website will be updated periodically as classes are arranged. To see what classes are available or to sign up, visit fwp.mt.gov/hunt/education.

Hunter, Bowhunter and Trapper Education classes are taught by skilled volunteer instructors, offering hands-on learning experiences and opportunities for students to ask questions of experienced instructors. Students learn how to handle firearms and archery equipment safely, basic survival skills, hunting ethics, wildlife management, game identification, landowner-hunter relations, and Montana hunting laws and regulations.

Montana law requires that anyone born after Jan. 1, 1985, complete a Hunter Education class or qualify as a youth apprentice hunter before purchasing a Montana hunting license. All first-time bowhunters must complete a Bowhunter Education course or show proof of a prior year’s archery license from another state or province.