When I decided last March that I would give hunting a try, there was just one hurdle: a hunter education class.
Successful completion of a hunter-trapper education class is required to get a Pennsylvania hunting license.
With precious few exceptions, the course is held at sportsmen's clubs on several weeknights followed by a full-day session on Saturday.
My work week is Tuesday through Saturday. Saturdays are our busiest day, requiring all hands on deck.
No worries, though. The Pennsylvania Game Commission offers independent study courses: 10 hours of online study plus an in-person test on a weeknight.
Finding an open test date presented another challenge. Most spring classes in my area (Chester and Lancaster counties) were already full. And I wanted to get out for spring gobbler.
My best option was at Gifford Pinchot State Park, in Lewisberry, York County — quite a haul from my home in Christiana.
So one Thursday night in April, about eight of us, including one other woman, meandered into the Beaver Creek Conservation Building — which seemed to be a former one-room schoolhouse.
A game warden gave a short, informal talk, mostly about poaching. In absence of questions, we got to the test.
The test was surprisingly simple, given the amount of study required. It took about 15 minutes to complete and I only got one answer wrong — something to do with a part on a muzzleloader.
The class was as much about laws, types and parts of weapons, ammunition, trapping, and hunter etiquette as it was safety.
Maybe guys who grew up hunting know all this stuff already. I didn't.
The things I learned gave me confidence and prepared me well for my first outing.
And I'm proud to join the rest of my household in carrying that orange card.
To view or sign up for hunter-trapper education courses, see http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/ and click the Hunter Education link in the center of the page.
Jeannette Scott is a Sunday News staff writer. Contact her at jscott@lnpnews.com or at 291-8689. 