The Delaware Hunter Education Program needs you to help prepare the next generation and other newcomers to hunting or trapping for a safe and enjoyable hunting future.

Join the team of dedicated hunter/trapper instructors. The state will provide materials, teach you how to be an instructor, and provide you with an important, hunting related activity that you can enjoy all year long.

The Role of the Volunteer Instructor

Volunteer instructors teach approximately 30 to 35 courses to more than a thousand participants throughout the state. They are the backbone of the hunter education program. Volunteer instructors are responsible for scheduling course dates, times and locations and for teaching a hunter education course.

Volunteer instructors deliver a standardized course developed by hunter education staff that is accurate, informative and educational. Materials including “Today’s Hunter,” “Hunter Education Tools,” and training firearms are used in the classroom to illustrate hunter safety and safe gun handling.

Volunteer Instructors are also responsible for completing required paperwork (grading tests, filling out volunteer time-sheets etc.) and submitting the paperwork to the hunter education program coordinator.

Become a Volunteer Instructor

if you interested in getting involved and giving something valuable back to the future of hunting, please complete the volunteer hunter instructor application and return it to the Hunter Education Field Office, at 6180 Hay Point Landing Road, Smyrna, DE 19977.

Training and Certification

All volunteer instructors are trained by qualified, trained and knowledgeable instructors which include the hunter education coordinator and other volunteer instructors who have been trained through the International Hunter Education Association (IHEA) instructor training program or on-the-job training.

Initial training includes hunter/shooting safety, teaching techniques and training in the course material. The training focuses on basic hunter education.

Following the initial training, volunteer Instructors undergo annual re-certification. This re-certification will ensure that instructors are kept up to date with new products, policies, program information and current events. It is also hoped that re-certifications will build instructor communication, confidence, expertise and credentials, enthusiasm, commitment and dedication.

Finally, re-certification will help keep instructors in compliance with program requirements and regulations. In addition to re-certification, Instructors will be offered courses/workshops to expand their expertise so that they can assist with other more specialized courses. For example Volunteer Instructors may be offered an opportunity to attend the National Rifle Association turkey instruction course and/or the International Bowhunter Education Foundation (IBEF) bowhunter course.

Volunteer Instructors are carefully selected and must undergo a background check, have experience hunting and be willing to work as part of a team prior to becoming a volunteer instructor.

Related Topics:  dfw, education, fish and wildlife, hunter education, hunting, outdoors and recreation, volunteer