Can You Hunt in BC Without Taking CORE?

Yes, once. BC's Initiation Hunting Licence lets an adult 18 or older with a BC resident credential, who has never held a BC hunting licence other than a youth licence, try hunting for one year without completing CORE. It is a one-time-only mentoring licence, and you hunt under the close personal supervision of a licensed adult who has held a hunting licence in at least three of the licence years before the current one.

Who can supervise you

Your supervising hunter has to meet every one of these conditions:

• Be 18 years of age or older.
• Hold a resident hunting licence other than an initiation hunting licence.
• Have held a hunting licence in BC, other than an initiation licence, or a licence to hunt elsewhere, in at least three of the licence years before the current one.
• Not be prohibited from carrying a firearm in any jurisdiction.

Your supervisor signs the Supervisor Form before you start to hunt on each day of hunting. One supervisor can take two initiation licence holders at one time, or one youth and one initiation licence holder at one time.

What the initiation licence does not give you

• No species licences of your own. The initiation licence holder is not eligible to obtain species licences, so your supervisor must hold the appropriate species licence for any species you hunt.
• No bag limit of your own. Any game you take is accounted for as part of your supervising hunter's bag limit.
• No Limited Entry Hunting. An initiation licence holder is not eligible to participate in LEH.
• No second licence. It is a one-time-only licence.

What it does not waive

The initiation licence waives CORE and nothing else. You still need a Fish and Wildlife ID (FWID) and a BC resident credential to hold one. Our guide on how to get your FWID in BC walks through setting up your profile.

Federal firearms law does not change either. The initiation licence is a BC hunting licence, and the PAL is your federal firearms licence. The RCMP puts the possession rule plainly: usually, if you are in possession of a firearm, you need a licence even if you are not the owner and never handle the firearm.

Youth hunters 10 to 17

Hunters under 18 have their own route. A youth hunter in BC is 10 years of age or older and under 18, and a person under 10 must not hunt wildlife. A youth hunts with either a youth hunting licence or, with hunting safety training, a resident hunting licence. A parent or legal guardian buys and holds the youth licence. The youth does not need hunting safety training for a youth licence, but must have a verified FWID.

A youth hunter always hunts with a supervising hunter who is 18 or older, holds a hunting licence other than an initiation licence, and has held a hunting licence in at least three of the licence years before the current one. Under a youth licence, the youth cannot buy species licences, and any game the youth takes is part of the supervisor's bag limit. One supervisor may take two youth licence holders at one time. The full rules are on the province's youth hunting page.

After your trial season: take CORE

The initiation licence runs one year and you can hold it once. To keep hunting after that, take CORE. Passing CORE earns the hunting credential BC adds to your Fish and Wildlife ID (FWID), which you need to buy a BC hunting licence.

We teach the CORE Hunter Education Course in person at the Silvercore training facility, #115-7198 Vantage Way, Delta, BC V4G 1K7. The course runs two full days and costs $210 plus tax, and we also hold CORE exam challenges there. Parking is in front of the building, behind it, and on the street.

If you would rather study at home, the BC Wildlife Federation runs the online CORE course. When you finish it, you book an exam challenge with a certified CORE Examiner.

If you plan to hunt with a rifle or shotgun of your own, take the Canadian Firearms Safety Course as well. Bring your CFSC course report to CORE and you are exempt from the CORE practical test.

Continue on the Silvercore Path

• Take the course: CORE Hunter Education Course, in person in Delta.
• Set up the account: How to Get Your FWID in BC.
• See the full path: How to Hunt in BC, from CORE to your hunting licence.
• Get your firearms licence: How to Get Your PAL in Canada, start to finish.
• Join the Silvercore Club: $59 a year, $5 million in liability coverage for lawful hunting and shooting across Canada and the United States, and free access to every Silvercore online course.

Travis Bader

Silvercore Outdoors