New Hampshire Apprentice Hunting License: “Take a Friend – Make a Hunter”
OutdoorHub 11.05.13
This year, New Hampshire is once again offering the Apprentice Hunting License, an opportunity for sharing or participating in the hunting experience. First offered in New Hampshire in 2012, the license allows people to hunt, under the guidance of an experienced hunter age 18 or older, without first taking a Hunter Education course. In instituting the program, New Hampshire followed the lead of thirty states that have established apprentice hunting programs.
The Apprentice License costs the same as a regular resident or nonresident hunting license and is valid from date of purchase through the end of the calendar year. It is available to state residents as well as nonresidents. You can purchase an Apprentice License just once in your lifetime. After that, you have to take a Hunter Education class in order to buy a hunting license. Apprentice licenses can be purchased only at Fish and Game headquarters, 11 Hazen Drive in Concord, or by mail (visit http://www.wildnh.com/Licensing/license_forms.htm for an application.)
In its premiere year, the Apprentice License proved quite popular. In 2012, a total of 1,666 Apprentice Licenses were sold. Of these 427 were purchased by women. “It was exciting to see the number of younger people who participated,” said Wildlife Programs Supervisor Kent Gustafson. He noted that the vast majority of apprentice licenses were sold to people age 16-34, a demographic that bodes well for the future of hunting in New Hampshire. The Apprentice License is expected to be a big hit this year as well.
Learn more about the apprentice license, including tips for both apprentice hunters and those who accompany them, at http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/apprentice.html.
In a nutshell, here’s how the Apprentice License works:
- One-time opportunity: You can purchase an Apprentice Hunting License only once in your lifetime. If you want to hunt in a future year, you must first complete a hunter education course, then buy a regular New Hampshire hunting license.
- Accompanied: The licensed apprentice hunter is allowed to hunt only when accompanied by a properly licensed hunter age 18 or older. “Accompanied” means maintaining physical direction and control (keeping the apprentice within sight and hearing at all times, without the use of electronic devices).
- Cost: The apprentice hunting license costs the same as a regular resident or nonresident hunting license.
- Restrictions: The Apprentice License may not be used to hunt moose and does not apply to the three-day small game license.
