Lolo, MT—The International Hunter Education Association – USA announces the launch of its new, online Firearm Fundamentals courses (https://www.ihea-usa.org/firearm-fundamentals/).

Developed by the IHEA-USA to meet the nationally growing demand for an accessible firearm safety education, these courses offer each state fish & wildlife agency the opportunity to meet the needs of their newest customers. These courses were crafted with contributions from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, state hunter education staff, tenured volunteer hunter education instructors, conservation industry executive leadership, and professional hunters.

IHEA-USA Firearm Fundamentals offers safety training to all gun owners and include modules on firearms safety best practices, responsibilities as a firearms owner, safety in the home, storing and transporting firearms, specific information on safe handling of types of firearms, ammunition, locks and safes, range safety and etiquette, firearms care and cleaning as well as introductions to using firearms for hunting and sport shooting. The course also teaches new firearms owners about Pittman Robertson funding and how their purchases contribute to wildlife management in America.

“The IHEA-USA is founded on developing and implementing standards that serve to teach safe hunting, which involves safe firearms handling. It made perfect sense for us to address general firearms safety for the thirteen million new firearms owners coming into the marketplace over the last two years,” states Alex Baer, Executive Director of the IHEA-USA. “Our handgun, shotgun, and rifle modules are an extension of our safe firearms handling rules, and we believe that all new firearms owners can benefit from these introductory training modules.”

The Firearm Fundamentals course also offers all participating states the opportunity to introduce new firearms owners to hunting, local ranges, sport-shooting, and other firearms-related activities in their states upon completion of the course. In addition to creating safe firearms owners, the courses offer participating state agencies a new funnel of customers for their marketing and R3 efforts.

Firearm Fundamentals will be heavily advertised in the southeastern United States this year through grant funding from the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies. The promotional program will provide a 'best-practices' template for all state fish and wildlife agencies to apply to their Firearm Fundamentals programs in 2022.

States interested in adopting the course should reach out to Alex Baer at abaer@ihea-usa.org.

For more information on this release or sponsorship of IHEA-USA programs and initiatives, contact sponsorship@ihea-usa.org.