The International Hunter Education Association USA announces the launch of its new Firearms Fundamentals online courses.
Developed by IHEA-USA to meet the growing national demand for accessible firearm safety education, these courses offer every state fish and wildlife agency the opportunity to meet the needs of their new customers. These courses were designed with input from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, state hunter education staff, senior volunteer hunter education instructors, conservation industry executive leadership, and professional hunters.
IHEA-USA Firearm Fundamentals offers safety training to all gun owners and includes modules on best practices in firearm safety, responsibilities as a firearms owner, home safety, storage and transportation of firearms, specific information on the safe handling of types of firearms, ammunition, locks and safes, shooting range safety and etiquette, firearm care and cleaning, as well as introductions to the use of firearms for hunting and sport shooting. The course also teaches new firearms owners about financing Pittman Robertson and how their purchases contribute to wildlife management in the United States.
“IHEA-USA is based on developing and implementing standards that serve to teach safe hunting, which implies the safe handling of firearms. It made a lot of sense for us to address general firearms safety for the thirteen million new firearms owners who entered the market in the last two years,” says Alex Baer, Executive Director of IHEA-USA. “Our pistol, shotgun and rifle modules are an extension of our firearms safe handling rules, and we believe all new firearm owners can benefit from these introductory training modules.”
The Firearms Fundamentals course also offers all participating states the opportunity to introduce new firearm owners to hunting, local shooting ranges, sport shooting, and other firearm-related activities in their states. at the end of the course. In addition to creating safe firearm owners, the courses offer participating state agencies a new customer funnel for their R3 and marketing efforts.
Firearms Basics is heavily advertised in the southeastern United States this year through grants from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. The promotional program will provide a “best practices” template for all state fish and wildlife agencies to apply to their Firearms Fundamentals programs in 2023.
States interested in adopting the course should contact Alex Baer at [email protected].
For more information about this release or sponsorship of IHEA-USA programs and initiatives, please contact [email protected].