Hunter safety test practice: free hunter education questions with explanations

Practise for the written exam of your state's hunter education course, the test most people call the hunter safety test. Start with 5 free questions, then take two timed tests of 50 original questions in 60 minutes on what hunter education courses teach: firearm safety rules, firearms, ammunition and bows, field safety, tree stands and survival, and ethics, laws and conservation. Every answer is explained, and you see your score per area.

• 5 free questions
• 2 timed tests, 100 questions
• Every answer explained
• Score per course area
• Practice certificate PDF

Who needs a hunter safety course and test?

Every US state runs its own hunter education program, and in many states you need a hunter education card before you can buy your first hunting license. The course ends with a written exam, and in some formats with a field day or live-fire exercise. Who needs it, the course format and the exam differ per state, so always check your own state wildlife agency. Two examples:

Sources: Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Hunter Education; California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Hunter Education Program. Checked 27 October 2026.

What is on the hunter safety test

The Hunter Education Standards of the International Hunter Education Association (IHEA-USA) list five content areas: reasons for hunter education, safe firearm handling, safe firearm field practices, hunting laws and wildlife identification, and personal responsibility. MyLevel groups the questions in four areas:

• Firearm safety rules and handling: the four basic rules (TAB-K or ACTT: treat every firearm as loaded, control the muzzle, finger off the trigger until ready to shoot, be sure of your target and what lies beyond), carries, fences, storage and transport.
• Firearms, ammunition and bows: actions, cartridges and shotshells, gauge, chokes, muzzleloaders, sights, shooting positions, bows, broadheads and crossbows.
• Field safety, tree stands and survival: zones of fire, group hunts, tree stand harnesses and haul lines, fluorescent orange, the hunt plan, getting lost, hypothermia and first aid.
• Ethics, laws and conservation: fair chase, identification and shot placement, recovering game, tags and bag limits, landowner permission, wildlife management and the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937, which turns federal excise taxes on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment into state wildlife and hunter education funding.

Rules on fluorescent orange differ per state. Colorado, for example, requires at least 500 square inches of solid fluorescent orange or pink above the waist plus an orange or pink head covering for deer, elk, pronghorn, moose and bear hunting with a firearm license. Sources: IHEA-USA Hunter Education Standards (2014); Colorado Parks and Wildlife; US Fish and Wildlife Service, Wildlife Restoration Program. Checked 27 October 2026.

What you practise on MyLevel

Every MyLevel question is an original question with one correct answer, three wrong ones and a short explanation that names the rule or fact behind it. The two full tests have 50 questions in 60 minutes each, split 13 firearm safety, 13 firearms and ammunition, 12 field safety and 12 ethics, laws and conservation. The time limit is MyLevel's own, to keep you sharp: course exams are set by your state. After each test you see your score per area. The questions cover general hunter education knowledge, not every detail of your state's regulations, so read your state's current hunting rules as well.

Your state's approved hunter education course is the only way to get a hunter education card. MyLevel is extra practice: 2 timed tests for $9.99, a one-time payment with no subscription and no time limit, which also unlocks every other MyLevel job test.

How to pass the hunter safety test the first time

• Know the four rules word for word: most courses teach TAB-K or ACTT, and many questions are a situation where one of the four rules decides.
• Think in situations: crossing a fence (unload first), a bird flying back over the line (let it go), a deer on a ridge (no backstop, no shot), a misfire (muzzle safe, wait).
• Learn the tree stand steps: full-body harness attached from the moment you leave the ground, haul line for an unloaded firearm or bow, three points of contact.
• Remember the numbers: a zone of fire of about 45 degrees, three signals for help, the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937, and your own state's orange rule.
• Train under time: take a full MyLevel test, read the explanation of every miss, study your weakest area and retake. Aim for at least 80% in every area, and 90% if you plan to test out.

MyLevel is independent and not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the International Hunter Education Association (IHEA-USA), Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife or any other state wildlife agency. All questions are original practice questions written by MyLevel on general hunter education topics, not real course or exam questions. A MyLevel practice score or certificate is not a hunter education certificate, card or hunting license.

Sample question with explanation

Frequently asked questions

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