Wild game class to be hosted in the Panhandle Region

Idaho Fish and Game staff and volunteers in the Panhandle Region will be hosting a wild game tracking, trailing and scent class on Sept. 17 at the Farragut Shooting Range Center in Athol.

Wild animals are wily and well-equipped to elude humans in the woods at all times. Ask any hunter and they will tell you that the ability to track, trail and understand scent can make or break a hunt.

To match the prowess of wild game, shore up your knowledge and understanding of tracking, trailing and scent by joining this 3-hour class — all just in time for the upcoming fall hunting seasons!

The class will be taught by John Kunkle, former Range Master at the Farragut Shooting Range Center and a lifelong hunter and experienced houndsman. Kunkle retired from a 30-year career in law enforcement, which included many years of man-trailing, and training and working with bloodhounds. You might say he is an expert when it comes to these topics!

The class is participatory in nature, and it is intended for students 16 and older who possess some basic hunting knowledge and skills.

Some of the skills taught will include (among many more):

• The science of scent

• Scent particle behavior while in the woods

• Using blood trail details to understand direction of travel

• Tracking to find the first drop of blood

The class will run from 9 a.m. to noon on Sept. 17 at the Farragut Shooting Range Center. Registration is required, and you can register at bit.ly/3RM0k3w. The cost of the class is $10 per student.

This class is one of the new “Hunting and Shooting Sport Skills” classes being offered across the state. Classes vary widely, but can include field dressing and skinning, sighting in a gun, (name species) Hunting 101 and CWD sampling.