•July 31, 2024•

After Sullivan successfully got a shooting sports team, the Moultrie County, Illinois Hunter Safety Facebook page posted start dates for hunter safety courses. The importance behind hunters attending these courses is not only to keep the hunter safe but also to keep the people around them safe. Average hunter safety courses discuss the responsibility and ethics of firing and handling a firearm. The course also goes over safety tips with ammunition and identifies zones of fire from those of populated areas where firing is prohibited. These safety courses also provide education on killing for sport or killing for a food source as well as what is considered game in Illinois. In Illinois it is not banned to hunt for sport, but it is heavily discouraged within these courses. Illinois is one of the states with the most wide range of game for hunters to choose from but identifying the correct species can be difficult. Per IDNR policy, anyone attending under the age of ten must be accompanied to and during the sessions by an adult or  a guardian of 16 or older. Sign-ups for the Fall 2024 course can be found on the Moultrie County, Illinois Hunter Safety Facebook page.