Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Youth hunting permit test for ages 10 and up available at Fish and Game website.
Robert Garcia of Tucumcari does some practice shooting Sunday at the gun range at Tucumcari's Five-Mile Park.
STAFF REPORT
New Mexico's game hunting rules and regulations are complex and hunters have to get lucky to score a game license, but basic gun safety rules are relatively simple, according to New Mexico Game and Fish officials.
There are four basic rules to firearms safety, said Karl Moffatt, spokesperson for the New Mexico Game and Fish Department, based on the initials TABK.
They are as follows:
n Treat all firearms as if they are loaded. Assume all firearms are loaded. This, Moffatt said, is the most important rule of all.
n Always point a gun in a safe direction. Information on safe gun-carrying techniques on the NMGF website, http://www.wildlife.nm.us under the heading of "Education" from the department's home page.
n Be sure of the target and what's behind it. It's better if there is something behind the target that could stop a bullet safely if the shot misses or runs through the target, Moffatt said.
n Keep fingers off the trigger and make sure objects cannot get under the trigger guard.
When transporting a gun in a vehicle, Moffatt said, it should never be loaded.
"You shouldn't load ammo into the weapon until you intend to use it," he said. Some hunters, he said, don't load the gun until they are in position to shoot.
Gun safety courses are available through Game and Fish, Moffatt said. Classes are available at $20 per student, but none are currently scheduled for Quay or surrounding counties, the website shows.
Students can also sign up for an online gun safety class at http://www.hunter-ed.com/newmexico, Moffatt said. Students don't pay the $20 for this class until they pass it, the website shows.
The manual for this course is free at https://www.hunter-ed.com/newmexico/manual, but downloading requires submitting email and billing address information, which the website says will not be shared.
Mentored youth hunting permits are available for young hunters ages 10 and up, Moffatt said. Youthful hunters must register and pass a quiz before they receive the permit.
To register and receive a customer identification number, a youthful hunter should visit https://onlinesales.wildlife.state.nm.us and apply.
Once young hunters receive a customer identification number, they must also pass a 25-question quiz. A study guide for the quiz is available at https://www.hunter-ed.com/newmexico/
studyGuide/202033/, and the quiz itself is at https://www.hunter-ed.com/newmexico/mentored-youth-program.
Mentors can be a parent, guardian or an adult with parental consent, must be 18 years of age or older and must possess a valid hunting license. At all times while hunting, the "mentored youth hunter" and the mentor must be in unaided sight and audible distance from one another.
Moffatt also recommended gun safety education offered through the National Rifle Association. Information on firearms safety classes is available at https://explore.nra.org/interests/firearms-training.
