BOZEMAN – Additional Hunter Education classes have been scheduled in several locations throughout southwestern Montana. 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 classroom course. Students must be at least 11 years old to take a Bowhunter Education course.

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

• Twin Bridges: starting March 25
• Whitehall: starting April 3
• Butte: starting April 8
• Bozeman: starting April 8
• West Yellowstone: starting April 13
• Dillon: starting April 22
• Logan: starting May 6
• Helena: starting May 17
• West Yellowstone: starting June 10
• Logan: starting July 15
• Livingston: starting Aug. 1

A Bowhunter Education classroom courses is scheduled in Twin Bridges starting April 8. Bowhunter Education classes in Butte and Ennis are also being planned but have not yet been finalized.

Students ages 12 through 17 who take Hunter or Bowhunter Education online are required to pass an in-person field day. There will be a field day for online Hunter Education students in Logan on April 20.

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.