Gary, are you familiar with this, for first time hunters???

Apprentice License Information The purpose of the Apprentice License Program shall be to extend limited hunting privileges, in lieu of obtaining a valid hunting license, to persons interested in learning about hunting sports.

•Provides that an Apprentice Hunter License may be issued to a person of any age.
•Youth under the age of 18 years old must be supervised by a validly licensed resident or nonresident parent, guardian, or grandparent.
•Provides that a person with an Apprentice Hunter License who is 18 years of age or older must be supervised by a validly licensed resident or nonresident hunter who is 21 years of age or older.
•The Apprentice License shall be a one-time, non-renewable license that shall expire on March 31st of the following year.

No, I have never seen that before. Seems a bit silly really. The hunter safety courses are free (I believe) so what it the purpose? It seems they made a law, then made a law to get around the law....at least for one year.

I found an opening in November to take the certification class for hunting. Does it only last until March 31st? That seems silly

On a side note, I'm pretty excited about the new regulation changes in apprentice class because I would love to hunt with a Harris Hawk (though, I have a special love for RT). So it is nice that there will be more options

Not sure if I am understanding you correctly or not, but you only have to certify once with the hunter safety.

HHawk is not a good option for an apprentice. I breed them, have flown them for years and have a pretty good understanding of them. I wouldn't support my apprentice with a HHawk. Can an apprentice do it? Yes. However, the HH has an incredible amount of potential, and most falconers barely touch the surface of what they can do. Allowing my apprentice to take a HH would be a disservice to the bird. Don't misunderstand me, a new apprentice can make a game hawk of one; but it will never reach it's potential under their hand. There is so much more that comes with a HH. You have to cater to the social nature of the animal, you have to always be mindful of temperatures, to much failure will ruin a HH, you have to know when to say "enough"-something that only comes with experience, there are just endless reasons why one shouldn't fly a HH for their first bird and only one to support it...HH's are easily trained and cooperate readily. Is that reason enough to fly one? RT's train just as easily and they don't come with the extra baggage.

Yes, the classes are still free.... Being at times there are no classes scheduled or they are full, the State has given a way for first time hunters to get out in the field and experiance hunting. That's the reason they have to have an experianced hunter with them. Not a bad idea, kinda like having a sponsor with you when you first go out with a new bird...

That makes sense, but wouldn't it make more sense to just allow more people in the classroom? I took the course so I could get a Kansas hunting license and it wasn't rocket science and I don't recall there being much of a "test". Why not just hold in a gymnasium?
BTW-One of the IFO directors is a hunter safety instructor.

Gary- that is all good information to know then. I was basing my idea off of the HH from Frank L Beebe's book A Falconry Manual. Apparently, I have much more reading to do (which I plan to). Thanks for the information. He (Frank) mentioned that RTs are a good, durable bird that is more forgiving to an apprentice. I'll work my way up to an HH after some years of training and working with birds.
As always, I appreciate all of the information.

Also, I signed up for a 2 day hunting certification class in November so I can get that one done (plus, take the test for it). Sadly, graduate school is delaying my goal to take the falconer's test sooner rather than later but I'd rather be really prepared for it the first time-- I don't mind taking my time so that I know the information and not merely "memorize and forget."

Good questions Gary, I wish I had a good answer....

Hey Kris, the falconry test is just a formality.... The real learning will come when you get your first bird (which I would recommend a Redtail) and what your sponsor teaches you...

Thanks Steve!
I'm ready to get this test aced and begin the real learning! I figured I would get a red tail