VIRTUAL OUTDOORS

WASILLA — Like pretty much everything else in the modern world, hunter education has gone virtual.

One of the biggest draws at this year’s Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show will no doubt be the laser rifle range run by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Shooters will pull the trigger on a screen full of moose, caribou and black bear. A laser registers their hit, giving points for landing one in the vitals while subtracting for ill-placed hits in the hindquarters.

“Our range follows the same rules as a real rifle range,” said Jerry Soukup with the ADF&G Hunter Information and Training program. “The kids who have gone through our classes often show their dads what they are doing wrong.”

The classes Soukup referred to are the hunter education courses offered through the HIT program.

While a bit educational itself, the laser range is really meant to draw people to learn more about the basic hunter, muzzleloader and bowhunter education classes, he said.

The basic hunter education class is geared toward youth, Soukup said. There is no minimum age, and adults are more than welcome to attend as well. The class focuses on firearm safety, responsibility and ethics. There are portions on field survival, first aid and meat care.

“So if you knock down a moose, you know what you’re up against,” Soukup said.

The class is required for all hunters in Alaska born after Jan 1, 1986, in the game management units around the road system. Soukup said other states require the class of all hunters, and the lifetime certificate earned upon graduation is valid across North America.

The muzzleloader and bowhunter education classes are required to qualify for the special hunts only open to these hunting methods. These hunts tend to be in areas closer to population centers, like Elmendorf Air Force Base or the Anchorage Hillside, Soukup said. The certification classes consist of class work in addition to proficiency testing with the weapon.

“An arrow in the back of a moose is not good for anybody,” Soukup said.

All three of the HIT program classes are now available in on-line versions, Soukup said. This allows hunters the flexibility to fit the study portion of each course into their individual schedules. The Internet version of each class still includes the proficiency training or a day in the field, Soukup said.

The classes are offered statewide and all year around. In the Anchorage and Mat-Su area, Soukup said there is at least one class each month.

In addition to the education classes, the HIT program aims to recruit youth and women to shooting sports, Soukup said. The program has helped establish 43 archery programs in high schools around the state in addition to running other youth shooting programs.

The outdoorsman show doesn’t leave fishermen out of the virtual loop either. Alaska Golf Shot is said to be bringing a virtual fishing simulator complete with rod, reel and fish that fight.

The laser rifle range and fishing simulator are just two of the 104 booths at this year’s show at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center.

There are 25 vendors new to the show, said organizer Tony Russ, as well as 30 different expert seminars.

In addition to the show, Russ said a beer and wine garden will be open on the top floor of the sports center. There is a Alaska Avalanche hockey game after the show on both Friday and Saturday nights, and the Arctic Predators will make their home arena football debut during the show Sunday. Discount hockey and football tickets will be sold at the show.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.