Bill Cochran

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I have a friend who would like to take his wife turkey hunting -- she’s never been hunting before and she wants to go -- but when she was told the law required that she first complete a 10-hour hunter safety course, she said, “No way.”

So they haven’t been turkey hunting, and for a long time it didn’t look as if they ever would. But that may have just changed.

This week, the state took a giant step toward establishing an apprentice hunting license, which will let would-be hunters experience the sport before having to invest heavily in hunter education or expensive hunting licenses.

Legislation to accomplish this has been approved by the Virginia General Assembly, with similar bills in the House and Senate being hurried along without -- get this -- a single negative vote. It is the most significant outdoor legislation of the 2008 General Assembly, and could help reverse the downward trend in hunting license sales, especially among young people.

In short, it is excellent news for youngsters, for dads, for women, for husbands, for uncles, for hunting, even for wildlife itself when you consider fees collected for hunting licenses and taxes on guns and ammo finance much of the nation’s wildlife programs.

There are some differences in the House and Senate bills, but these will be ironed out before the measure is sent to the governor for his signature. The basic concept is this:

The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries will be authorized to offer a one-time apprentice license, good for two years, at the coast of $10 for residents. It will allow entry-level participants to temporarily waive the hunter education requirement and hunt under the direct supervision of a licensed hunter who is 18 years old or above.

Once this introductory period is completed, it is hoped that the participant will be hooked on hunting and will take the hunter education course, thus joining the ranks of fully licensed hunters.

All across the nation, the feeling has emerged that in too many cases we have made it more difficult than necessary for people to take up hunting. Many states have addressed this by adjusting or removing minimum age restrictions or by offering an apprentice license which allows hunting on a trial basis.

Care had to be taken so the movement wouldn’t be viewed as going soft on hard-earned hunter safety mandates. That issue will be addressed in Virginia by a requirement that the new recruit must be under close supervision of a mentor who is an experienced hunter.

Virginia will become one of 13 states offering an apprentice license. The idea has been viewed as the key outdoor issue of 2008 for the Virginia Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus.

Just four years old and composed of sportsmen-friendly legislators, the caucus has established itself as a major force for hunters, anglers, boaters and wildlife watchers.

The apprentice license came to the House via HB 1175, introduced by Scott Lingamfelter, R-Prince William County. Lingamfelter is a co-chair of the caucus. The Senate bill was the work of Sen. Kenneth Stolle, R-Virginia Beach.

The concept has received the support of the DGIF, although in the beginning some of its staff thought it unfair that Virginia was classified as one of the more restrictive hunting states. It had been ranked 28th most restrictive for youth access to hunting, a figure certain to change with the new legislation.

Major backers behind the effort to encourage youth and new hunters are the National Sports Shooting Foundation, the National Wild Turkey Federation and the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance. The trio has been laboring under a movement called Families Afield.