NRA Online Hunter-Ed Course Expands to Pennsylvania

Prospective hunters who need to become certified before getting their first Pennsylvania license now have yet another option.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission today announced that completion of the National Rifle Association’s free hunter-education online course will satisfy the prerequisite for obtaining a hunter or fur-taker license in the Commonwealth.

The NRA course will be offered free of charge, in addition to the in-person and online courses currently offered by the Game Commission. In-person courses are back up and running after a year of being available on a limited basis during the pandemic.

Those looking to schedule an online or in-person course can check availability and make reservations from the hunter-education page at pgc.pa.gov.

The Game Commission first made available an online course in 2016, in partnership with Kalkomey Enterprises.

While the majority of new hunters, particularly those who are younger, no doubt will continue to prefer the in-person courses taught by a dedicated team of over 1,800 instructors across the state, becoming certified online is a convenient option that better fits the schedules of some prospective hunters, Game Commission executive director Bryan Burhans said.

“Maintaining Pennsylvania’s strong hunting tradition depends greatly upon the continual recruitment of new hunters, and the more options they have to complete the training they need to get a license, the better all are accommodated,” Burhans said. “For decades on end, hunter education has provided the foundation for new hunters to make sound and safe decisions as they begin hunting and trapping the Great Outdoors, and we are glad to welcome the NRA into the fold in helping to meet our recruitment needs.”

Pennsylvania joins Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia as states that accept NRA Hunter Education as a prerequisite for obtaining a hunting license.