Effective August 1, 2009, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources changed their guidelines for distance learning. Students are now required to spend a minimum amount of time on each course page before proceeding to the certification exam.

Click here to go to the latest version of the Today's Hunter in Indiana online course—the official hunter education course of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

Know Your Muzzleloader

Primitive hunting arms include the muzzleloader firearm, the bow and arrow, and the crossbow. Today, these hunting arms are sought both as collector’s items and used for sporting purposes. Muzzleloader is the term given to early firearms because they are loaded from the muzzle or open end.

On these early firearms, locks played the role of modern-day actions. Matchlock and wheel lock muzzleloaders are rare and valuable, but they also may be unsafe to use. Flintlocks and percussion locks are the muzzleloaders typically used for shooting competitions and for hunting. They are generally less expensive, lighter, more reliable, and easier to load and maintain than matchlocks and wheel locks.

Muzzleloading handguns come as both pistols and revolvers. Pistols are mainly single-shot. The revolvers contain multiple-shot chambers.

Black powder is the only type of powder that should be used in muzzleloaders. However synthetic substitutes, such as Pyrodex®, also can be used. Don’t use modern-day smokeless powders in black powder firearms. Smokeless powders can cause serious injury if used in muzzleloaders.