50 Years of Success Continues...

Hunter Education is more than Hunter Safety! Though SAFE HUNTING is paramount to "50 Years of Success" (See March Target Talk), courses teach many other topics that develop the CHARACTER of the person beyond prevention of mishaps with sporting arms. We strive for students and instructors to become "Honorable Hunters" as Michael Sabbeth, espouses in his many writings. (See Honorable Hunter.) My personal mission, since taking the student course in 1972 (My own 50 years!) and becoming a Volunteer Hunter Education Instructor in 1980 in Colorado, is to teach RESPONSIBILITY, RESPECT, RESOURCES and RESTRAINT -- the four R's that I picked up in my 1980 training. After I moved to Texas in 1985, I learned about the four C's - CAREFUL, COURTEOUS, CAPABLE and CONSIDERATE -- from Darrell Holt, Texas Hunter Education Coordinator. No matter which acronym you use, hunter education teaches ETHICS -- though "Ethics are Caught -- Not Taught!". Over the years, we have trained instructors how to "Teach Ethics" which, as indicated, is my favorite topic!  Ultimately, if hunting is to be respected, people must respect the individual -- the person -- the HONORABLE HUNTER!

Photo: I invited my friend and colleague -- who I consider a very 'honorable hunter' -- Mr. Jake Hindman (R), Missouri Dept. of Conservation, National Student Air Rifle Program Founder/Director, and champion turkey caller, to join us for a Turkey Hunting 101 & Mentor Hunt in South Texas. We mentored Warren, (L - dad) and Macy Wolf (daughter) in their quest to bag a first turkey. Congrats to Macy for doing just that, with 'Jake' calling & guiding -- Win - Win!

Steve Hall, Hunter Education Coordinator

ANNUAL INSTRUCTOR CONFERENCE - April 22-24th

YMCA Camp Cullen, 460 Cullen Loop, Trinity, TX 75862

Celebrating 50 years of Hunter Education!

Email Heidi.Rao@tpwd.texas.gov for INFORMATION.

YHEC Turkey Hunt a Success!

As a result of posting the highest scores from the 2021 North Texas State Youth Hunter Education Challenge (YHEC), youth were invited to attend a spring turkey hunt by Area Chief Hunter Education Instructor, Bob Boswell, Georgetown, in mid-March 2022. Photo: Dustin Polone, Boyd, shows off the beautiful gobbler he took. Three participants harvested toms, and several feral hogs also were taken during the fabulous weekend hunt! 

"We appreciate this competition and all the people involved in it.  I cannot tell you how much we appreciate everyone that puts it together, including the Dave & Jeanette Hammonds, Debbie Laughman, Duke Walton, and Bob Boswell.  We know how fortunate we are that Bob opens up his ranch to these kids and truly want them to enjoy hunting.  You all truly do not get the credit you deserve. It saddens me that this June will be my son's last year to compete, but yet he has been so fortunate to have had this opportunity." Thank you, Kristi Polone

Junior Munoz, Area Chief HE Instructor & Hunt Mentor/Guide

Junior Munoz, Austwell and Jake Hindman, Missouri, went afield the day prior to the workshop to bag a bird for the field portion of the Turkey Hunting 101 workshop. Though Junior is an accomplished hunter, angler, guide and mentor to lots of partner groups and different types of hunts, he said, "Wow -- I learned a lot from Jake when we went out!" Jake chuckled, " Yeah -- at the key moments of the hunt, I obviously 'over-coached' him...but, Junior did kill a nice bird (for the demonstration)!" Steve Hall, Hunter Education Coordinator, and guide added, "I like it when a plan comes together!"

The field portion of the workshop included a field dressing demonstration, proper identification, finding the 'beard', confirming tagging, and identifying the internal organs, including what the bird may have been eating (crop analysis). Students  learned how to process meat from "Field to Fork", identify and leave proper 'evidence of sex (spurs), and discuss taxidermy options as well as cooking recipes.

Mauricio Gonzalez - Hunt Participant

"Steve, I just wanted to send you a quick letter of appreciation. Both Alex and I had a great time. We went into the experience not quite sure what to expect and left feeling like it was too short and wanting more. We will be scouring the Hunting 101 page for new classes. I would like to let you know, we liked the format and I think everyone on the team did a great job. Brock did a great job of organizing and facilitating. I found the presentation by Onalise very informative.  I loved Junior Munoz's enthusiasm and his stories, and I was fascinated by Jake's animal calling powers and his knowledge of turkey hunting.

I also wanted to thank you especially for being my hunt mentor, turkey caller extraordinaire and for putting me on my 1^st turkey ever. It was an awesome experience and a memory that I will cherish for a long time to come, I am sure!"

Ryan Bass (L) Vice President and Director NASP/IBO 3D, Covington, GA, presents Burnie Kessner, TX- National Archery in Schools Program Coordinator and 15-Year TPWD Veteran, with an Appreciation Plaque for the SUPPORT & PARTNERSHIP created between the International Bowhunting Organization's IBO/3D Challenge and NASP at the state tournament each year since 2016. Participants and schools from the NASP tournament also competed in the IBO 3D Challenge (see below) held in the Bell Expo Center next to the two adjacent buildings hosting NASP.

Join TYHP and Attend a Huntmaster Training Today!

The Texas Youth Hunting Program (THYP) kicked off “Training Season” in early March with a combined TYHP Huntmaster Training with a TPWD Hunter Education Instructor Combo course.  Led by Bob Barnette, TYHP Field Operations Coordinator for North Texas, a group of great volunteers completed these courses at Lake Mineral Wells State Park.  The group enjoyed presentations from Game Warden, Ronald Mathis, and Monica Bickerstaff, N TX Hunter Education Specialist.  If you’re interested in Huntmaster Training, we have several more courses available this year – we’d love to have you join us!

Area Chief HE Instructor Charles Marcus, Helotes (green shirt) conducted a combined hunter/bowhunter education instructor course for 13 new applicants at The Bow Shop in San Antonio. Rick Hite and Jeff Hetrick, San Antonio, and Thomas Griffith, Schertz, took the Bowhunter Education Instructor course to add to their Area Chief duties in Hunter Education in Greater Bexar County. Game Warden, Johnny Jones, was available to teach and to conduct background interviews for those in his county. Thanks to Fred & Tammy Rameriz at The Bow Shop for hosting TPWD!

In the morning, Bowhunter Education Instructor, Bob Foster, Austin (see below), who teaches in Texas and runs public bow hunts in Virginia in the Fall, taught the traditional classroom bowhunter education course in the early morning. That was followed by a field course later in the morning, teaching alongside Morgan Harbison, C TX Hunter Education Specialist (R), and Steve Hall, Hunter Education Coordinator. Topics in the field course are highlighted in the 3-in-1 Responsibility Guide available to instructors -- 1. Tree Stand Usage, 2. Big Game Shot Placement, and 3. Big Game Recovery. 

Rob Neilson, Ashby Bowhunting Foundation President, (See Partner News) shows Bowhunting 101 Students, Fazla Elahi, Shayan Rahman, and Waliur Rahman, Austin, the 'paper test' using their personal equipment to determine arrow flight accuracy.  The three are planning an Elk Hunt in the West and wanted to be sure they practiced the latest techniques and ensure bow shooting accuracy.  Ashby's 12 Factors Affecting Arrow Lethality highlights the Bowhunting 101 prior to bow shooting practice & skills. All bowhunter education students took the Bowhunting 101 portion and then finished by completing the final exam.  All in all -- a great way to prepare bowhunters for success!

Brock Minton, S Texas Hunter Education Specialist, assisted with the Career Development Education (CDE) Region III contest held at Welder Wildlife Refuge near Sinton in late March. Agriculture Science teachers from 51 schools brought 204 students, competing in eight events, rotation-format. The focus of the events is career preparation in agriculture, food, and natural resources. Two of  eight events were "Safety" including questions taken from “Today’s Hunter”, the hunter education manual, and "Fish & Game Laws" (staffed by Minton) from the Outdoor Annual - Hunting Rules & Regulations.

Hunter Education Instructors Clyde McMeans, Bellaire, (L below) and Ransom Belton, Crockett, (R - below) were two of several dozen instructors that volunteered to run the Lasershot ® Virtual Shooting & Hunting Simulator at  Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, as part of the Ranching and Wildlife Expo, a week-long outreach event spearheaded by Heidi Rao, SE TX Hunter Education Specialist, and the Greater Houston HE Instructors. Lasershot is an excellent outreach tool as long as instructors reinforce the Shooting Safety Rules and plant seeds for responsible hunting and shooting sports practice -- to take hunter education to the masses and make it more than simply an "entertainment" experience for (urban) youngsters and adults!

Texas Wildlife Association (TWA) hosted its first Wild Game Cooking Class of the year at its new headquarters (6644 FM 1102
New Braunfels, Texas 78132) in February. With an emphasis on the connection between conservation-based hunting and sustainable eating, the classes aim to give participants the knowledge and resources to utilize simple, elevated wild game cooking techniques in their daily lives. Led by TWA staff members Chris Mitchell, TWA Texas Youth Hunting Program Director, and Kristin Parma, TWA Engagement Coordinator, Outreach and Members Services, the February  event focused its efforts on teaching members how to make a historic German dish pannas (pon haus) using venison, as well as creative ways to present and plate. Participants were able to sample pannas in various preparations before taking part in the process of making the dish themselves and sharing in the fellowship of food with each other. (Photo from TWA Web Site; Wild Game Cooking Classes)

Free to its members, TWA intends to host wild game cooking classes quarterly as part of their Hunt to Table program efforts focusing on engaging new and experienced adult hunters and their families.

2022 Hunt to Table: Wild Game Cooking Calendar

• May 21                      Meatballs
• September 10          Tamales
• December 17            Link & Summer Sausage

State Fish and Wildlife Hunter Education Programs have been great partners and beneficiaries of Henry Repeating Arms because of the generosity of the "Henry Family" and its CEO/founder, Anthony Imperato. Over the years, Henry Repeating Arms has donated introductory and commemorative .22 lever action "Golden Boy", acu-bolt and mini-bolt training firearms to  each of the states through the IHEA-USA. The Texas Hunter Education Program would like to thank Anthony and Henry Repeating Arms for its support! 

Imperato said, "25 years ago this last month, in March of 1997, we shipped the first Henry H001 .22 Long Rifle from a small factory in Brooklyn, NY. Today, we’re one of the country’s leading firearms manufacturers. ⁣🇺🇸

⁣There's no doubt about it, we wouldn’t be where we are today without all of you in the Henry Family, and the hard work of over 550 talented Henry employees. For everyone that helped us grow and succeed, we’re forever grateful. ⁣ We’re proud to officially begin our landmark 25-year celebrations this month, and we have a lot in store. From limited 25th-Anniversary Editions to meeting as many members of the Henry Family as we can face-to-face, we look forward to making this our most exciting year yet! ⁣

READ MORE ABOUT THE 25th ANNIVERSARY

Mike Bira (R), HE Instructor, San Marcos, son-in-law to the late Leroy Williamson and instructor since 1994, joined Leroy and Steve Hall, Hunter Education Coordinator, for lunch in 2021, reminiscing over Texas Parks and Wildlife Department history and Leroy's outstanding career as photographer, most notably for Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine.  Steve said, "Leroy was a great mentor when I landed at Texas Parks and Wildlife in 1985, and he was the photographer at Karen's at my wedding in 1988, the year mandatory hunter education was implemented in Texas."  Hall added, "That year, Leroy took a bunch of photographs for the Hunter Education Student Manual we produced, so I was blessed to work with one of the greats on a large project in our shop." Perhaps the best eulogy of Leroy is summed up in a tribute aired by Texas Parks and Wildlife TV in November 2012, Tales from Behind the Lens, "When photographer Leroy Williamson started working at the Texas Game and Fish Commission, there wasn't even a zoom lens on the premises. He went on to build an outstanding photography tradition at what became Texas Parks and Wildlife." For more on nature photography, visit http://tpwmagazine.com/.

HQ HE Administrative Support Available!

512-389-4999 - General Hunter Ed Hotline

Kevin Vo - Hunter Education Administrative Asst Kevin.Vo@tpwd.texas.gov

Andrea Cleveland - HE Administrative Staff
Andrea.Cleveland@tpwd.texas.gov

Keith Powell - HE Administrative Staff - M, W, F
Keith.Powell@tpwd.texas.gov