WTF is up with Nevada’s licensing?
I’ve never hunted chukar in Nevada, but have wanted to for a long time now. A few years ago, we met some nice folks from Nevada who’d kindly agreed to meet us for dinner in Winnemucca and maybe point us in the right direction. I posted about it last November, although the events in question occurred in 2022.
The upshot is that when we got down there, after having purchased upland game licenses in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and Wyoming that fall, I (stupidly) assumed I could waltz into Wal-Mart in Winnemucca and buy one from Nevada. Even if the manager had been able to remember his login credentials for his licensing system, he would have turned me away empty-handed.
Unlike the other five states I’ve been licensed in, Nevada has a non-resident requirement for all hunters born after 1960 to provide evidence of having completed a “hunter safety course.” I’d lost my card from the hunter safety course I’d taken after moving to Idaho in 2000, but I was able to go online to ilostmycard.com and (after paying $10 or $20) — wow — get a duplicate of my certificate from Idaho Fish & Game. The course I’d taken was targeted at bow hunters, but covered all of the material for the rifle/general hunter safety courses offered in Idaho, plus extra stuff specifically relating to bow hunting.
We weren’t able to plan a trip to Nevada last year, but I was excited to plan something this season. So I logged onto my Nevada Department of Wildlife account and tried to purchase a license. A popup window told me that I needed to have my hunter’s safety course added to my record, and then I’d be able to purchase a license. The information included an email address to which I was to send my proof.
So I did that. A couple hours later, I received an email that read, “Unfortunately, we cannot accept a Bowhunter Education Certification as proof of Hunter Education. If you have taken a Hunter Safety specific course, please provide a copy of that so we can add it to your account.”
I responded, but was shot down by someone named Harmony. Apparently, Nevada will only accept (but they don’t tell you this anywhere) hunter safety courses taken from their approved vendor (hunter-ed.com). I’ve spoken to several other non-resident hunters, including some born before and some born after the magical 1960 date. They all informed me that they were easily able to purchase licenses online for Nevada without the hunter ed requirement.
So I ask you, those of you from outside NV who’ve hunted in NV, what’s been your experience getting a license to hunt there? Asking for a friend.
Chirp away