SUN JOURNAL • May 8, 2021
Because we are all prone to stupid mistakes, you can’t overdo it when it comes to firearms safety. Bullets can’t be called back. Deliberations about the future of the Hunter Safety Program conducted by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife have me concerned. More states are transitioning to online hunter safety training, including Maine. In Maine, licensed junior hunters are not required to take the certified state hunter safety course. This, coupled with the recent change that sets no minimum age for the purchase of a junior hunting license, strikes me as far too lenient. A five-year-old licensed hunter may deer hunt with a high-powered rifle as long as he or she is “within 20 feet of a qualified parent or guardian.” Does that distance truly meet the criteria, which is by law, “effective control?” That same licensed five-year-old junior hunter may hunt alone “without supervision” if he or she has satisfactorily passed a hunter safety course! ~ V. Paul Reynolds