Instructors target mentor hunting bill

A groundswell of opposition is emerging against a bill that would allow people of any age to hunt with a mentor for five years before being compelled to take a hunter education course.

Leading the opposition are many of Montana's volunteer hunter education instructors.

"The majority of hunter education instructors do not support House Bill 382," said Michael Sherrard, a veteran instructor from Shelby who has been networking with his colleagues across the state.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Robin Hamilton, D-Missoula, would give a person of any age a five-year exemption from completing a hunter safety and education course as long as he or she hunted with a mentor.

Mentors would have to be at least 21 years old and comply with a law that requires anyone born after 1985 to complete the state's hunter safety and education program.

A hearing for the bill was held on Feb. 3, attracting well-organized support from a coalition of hunting groups leading a campaign to boost hunter recruitment across the country.

Spearheading that campaign is a group called Families Afield, which reportedly had a representative from Ohio testify at the hearing. Also supporting the bill were the National Wild Turkey Federation, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the U.S. Sportsman's Alliance, Ducks Unlimited, Safari Club International, the National Rifle Association and the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association.

Opponents included the Montana Wildlife Federation and a long line of hunting education instructors.

Since the Families Afield coalition was established in 2004, it has led the way in reducing "barriers to hunting" in 27 states as part of its campaign to curb a national trend of declining hunter numbers. The organization has a report that classifies Montana as a 'very restrictive" state, largely because of the law that requires a minimum age of 12 to participate in the state-sanctioned hunter safety and education courses.

The Families Afield Web site contends that "parents, not politics, should decide an appropriate hunting age for their children" and that "when introducing youths to hunting, earlier is better."

After the hearing, Hamilton was quoted saying that the bill's supporters came with evidence to support their position, but opponents relied "on a great deal of fear."

He could not be reached for comment this week.

Sherrard and other instructors maintain hunter education has markedly improved hunter safety in the field since courses started being taught in 1959.

And they deride House Bill 382 as a careless attempt to recruit hunters younger than 12, regardless of the safety risks. Sherrard also said he believes the bill's provisions allowing "apprentice" hunters to purchase over-the-counter hunting tags would be exploited.

He calls it the "daddy tag bill" because an adult with two young children effectively could purchase three A-tag licenses to harvest three buck deer in a season.

"If a dad is walking with his 7- and 9-year-olds, and three bucks run up a hillside, is daddy going to take the time to get everything ready for the kids to harvest the deer or is daddy going to shoot three times?" Sherrard asked.

"I'm strongly opposed to it, and so is my group of hunter safety instructors," said Challis Crismore, a 14-year hunter education instructor in the Libby area. "And the reason is it's so vague in what it's doing."

The bill doesn't specify whether it applies to archery or rifle hunting. It requires that apprentice hunters be within voice contact of their mentors, but Crismore questions whether that could mean being within shouting distance.

Like other instructors, Crismore questions not only the physical ability of children to handle high-powered rifles, but their mental and emotional maturity as well.

"I see a lot of kids 12 years of age that are ready to go hunting," he said. "Unfortunately, I see quite a few that aren't mentally ready yet. They are still immature and you can see it with their gun handling."

Crismore said a group of about 25 Libby area instructors met last week to discuss the bill and "everybody was pretty much against it."

Sherrard said roughly 140 instructors who met in Great Falls last year expressed opposition to the mentor concept while only a few supported it.

Instructor John Cuthbertson said there is strong opposition among his fellow Kalispell-area instructors.

He likens the mentor program to giving 12-year-olds the keys to a vehicle and telling them to come back in a couple years for drivers education.

"I think it's absolutely insane," he said, adding that if the bill passes he no longer will be a hunter education instructor. "I think half of us will stand up and turn our stuff in."

There are 230 instructors and 70 bowhunter education instructors in Northwest Montana, with student enrollments averaging about 1,600 every year, according to John Fraley, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks regional public affairs officer.

Instructors have been making noise in Helena since last week's hearing.

"There are some hunter education instructors who have contacted me who are very concerned about it," said Sen. Greg Barkus, R-Kalispell, who shares their concerns.

Barkus noted that mentor hunting also would clear the way for adults to hunt without any safety training, and it would likely result in more accidents in the field.

"I would rather hunt with a 12-year-old fresh out of hunters education than a 30-year-old who never had it," said Barkus, who is chairman of the Senate Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee.

If the bill clears the House, he said, it will get a fair hearing in his committee. However, Barkus said he doubts the bill will make it through the legislative process.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com