Effective November 18, 2009, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 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 North Carolina online course—the official hunter education course of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

The following course material is for reference only. Please go to the new course to complete your North Carolina certification.

Selecting a Compass

The orienteering compass is a critical piece of equipment for outdoor travel.

A good orienteering compass has these features:

Clear base plate that allows you to see the map underneath
Straight sides for aligning two points or for drawing lines
Liquid-filled needle housing that keeps the magnetic needle relatively steady when taking readings
Two arrows: a direction arrow painted on the base plate (or you may use the edge of the compass) is used to point the compass from your starting point to your destination; an orienting arrow, located in the needle housing, is used to orient your compass to your map

Metal objects, such as knives, gun barrels, belt buckles, etc., will affect a magnetic needle.