I just took the PAL class yesterday from a gent from the Yukon. Our local gun club, plus 20 students paid for the gent to come teach the class here in Juneau. All in all, a very informative session. The end of the class was the best with a movie of John Browning. I did the class so I can transport my hunting weapons to other parts of Alaska. Now I know first hand what you Canadians have deal with.........................

Just curious about what you thought: Did you feel it was worthwhile? Do you feel you learned anything? Waste of time? Not so bad?

Was it worth while? Well.........Yes, for Canadian law, but the course was/is geared for new shooters, which it makes a outstanding representation. For the experience shooters/hunters it might be a bit mundane. It sure points out some bad habits that some so-called experience shooters do. Such as the results of shooting a obstructed barrel, wrong ammo types, safe muzzle handling and so on. We person that are Range Officers already, well, we do our time and listen and watch for new points in safety. The course is a great baseline.



The thing that might be done to streamline the course for the experience hunters/shooters, might be: Are you a active participant in a shooting club, ie, trap club, SASS, and so on. These organizations have safety standards which meet or exceeds the standards given in the PAL. Maybe these folks could have a person from the organization sign off that the person is/has a range safety officer/taken the courses in safety and has not had any safety violations, or take a more advance course geared toward common mistakes that experience shooters/hunters tend to do and Canadian Law. Just a thought.

Yes, a bit redundant for the experienced shooter, but courses have to be geared to the least experienced out of necessity. The Canadian government has no interest in promoting shooting sports/hunting, so they expect you to achieve greater knowledge through courses offerred by outfits like the Canadian Shooting Sports, etc.
I guess we are never too old to learn, but I can imagine how you felt, probably the same as me; IMO the instructor should know more than the student. Glad to here the feedback!

CK

You can challenge the course. Just take the test and skip the class if you are so inclined.