Firearm Safety
Each April, the Dayton Police Department hosts a Hunter Education and Firearm Safety Course.
Students ages 11 and older can attend a classroom-based firearms safety
certification course and receive their certificate. The firearms safety
certificate becomes valid at age 12.
The Hunter Education and Firearms Safety class consists of a minimum of 4 separate class sessions
(students must attend the entire class for which they sign up),
learning the safehandling of firearms, hunter responsibility and wildlife conservation.
Students then complete the additional field day.
The field day consists of seven required scenario-based training opportunities. These scenarios
allow students to learn and demonstrate commonly accepted principles of safety
in hunting and the handling of firearms. It includes shooting a .22 caliber rifle on a range.
Frequently Asked Questions
Students ages 11 and older can attend a classroom-based firearms safety certification course and receive their certificate. The firearms safety certificate becomes valid at age 12.
You will need to bring your own firearm to carry to field day. We will provide the firearms for the shooting portion, but you will need to bring a firearm to carry for the other portions. If you do not have a firearm available, you can reach out to the instructors and they will assist you.
You will need your birth certificate.
Registration is closed at this time. Check back in early 2026!
A parent/guardian must be present for the initial class. After that, it is up to the parent if they choose to stay.
The classwork portion requires 12 hours of classroom time. The current format is 2 nights a week for 2 weeks from approximately 6 pm to 9 pm. The Field day/Test is one weekend day. The current format has been from approximately 8 to noon.
You can obtain information on hunting and regulation from the Minnesota DNR https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/index.html
We understand some choose to take the classroom portion online and are looking for only the field day portion of the class. At this time, we only register those who will take both the classroom portion and the field day portion with us.
In order to be certified, you will need to attend all classes and the field day. This is a very desirable class with waiting lists. You must make sure you can attend all classes and the field day prior to registering for the class.