Alberta Hunter Education Practice Exam

Alberta Hunter Education Practice Exam: all 60 questions

Start over

1. 1. Your partner moves from behind you to your right side while you are carrying a loaded rifle at trail carry. What must change?

   1. ANothing, trail carry is always acceptable
   2. BOnly your walking speed
   3. CYou should unload and stop hunting
   4. DYour carry position, so the muzzle stays clear of them as you both walk
   Show the answer

   DYour carry position, so the muzzle stays clear of them as you both walk

   Your carry. It isn't a grip you pick at the truck and hold all day; it depends on where people are standing. The moment your partner shifts to your right, a carry that was fine two minutes ago can sweep them. They move, your carry moves.

2. 2. You engage the safety, set the rifle in the truck, and arrive to find the safety off. What does that tell you?

   1. AThe rifle needs a gunsmith before it can be used
   2. BThat a safety is a mechanical part which can be moved without you knowing, so muzzle control is what actually protects you
   3. CThat the safety was defective from the factory
   4. DNothing, safeties move in transit and it does not matter
   Show the answer

   BThat a safety is a mechanical part which can be moved without you knowing, so muzzle control is what actually protects you

   That nothing is wrong with the rifle. Straps, cases and road vibration nudge safeties all the time. That's the whole lesson. A safety is a backup to muzzle discipline, not the thing you actually depend on.

3. 3. What is the safest way to hand a firearm to another person?

   1. AMuzzle first so they can grip the barrel
   2. BOpen the action, show it is unloaded, then pass it with the action open
   3. CToss it gently
   4. DPass it with the safety on and the action closed
   Show the answer

   BOpen the action, show it is unloaded, then pass it with the action open

   With the action open. Both of you need to see that chamber empty, and an open action is visible proof of it. A closed action with the safety on proves nothing, which is exactly why that option fools people.

4. 4. What does a ricochet risk assessment mean before taking a shot?

   1. AChecking your scope is zeroed
   2. BCounting your remaining rounds
   3. CTesting the wind
   4. DJudging what lies beyond and around your target, including water, rock, and frozen ground
   Show the answer

   DJudging what lies beyond and around your target, including water, rock, and frozen ground

   Looking past and around the target. Hit a hard, flat surface at a shallow angle and a bullet deflects instead of stopping; water, rock and frozen ground all do it, and Alberta has plenty of each. The deflected round can travel a long way off your intended line.

5. 5. What is the most reliable way to tell a mule deer from a white-tailed deer at distance?

   1. AThe tail and the ears: mule deer have a thin rope-like tail with a black tip and large ears, white-tails have a broad tail raised white underneath
   2. BBody colour
   3. CAntler colour
   4. DWhether it is alone
   Show the answer

   AThe tail and the ears: mule deer have a thin rope-like tail with a black tip and large ears, white-tails have a broad tail raised white underneath

   Tail and ears. Colour shifts with the season and behaviour varies from one animal to the next, but structure holds: big ears and a thin rope-like tail with a black tip on a mule deer, a broad tail thrown up white on a white-tail. That works at distance and in poor light.

6. 6. Before releasing a shot at a game animal, what must you positively confirm?

   1. AOnly the species
   2. BOnly that it is legal shooting light
   3. CThe species, its sex where the licence requires it, and what lies beyond it
   4. DOnly the range
   Show the answer

   CThe species, its sex where the licence requires it, and what lies beyond it

   Species is only part of it. When the licence is sex specific, sex becomes part of the legal identification. What lies beyond the animal belongs to the same shot decision, too. It isn't a separate check you run afterward.

7. 7. You wound an animal and it crosses onto private land. What is the correct action?

   1. AStop at the boundary and seek the landowner's permission before entering
   2. BFollow it immediately, since you have a duty to retrieve it
   3. CAbandon the animal
   4. DWait until dark and retrieve it quietly
   Show the answer

   AStop at the boundary and seek the landowner's permission before entering

   Stop at the boundary and ask. You do owe that animal a retrieval, which is what makes walking straight in tempting. It still doesn't outrank property rights, and crossing without permission is trespass no matter how good your reason.

8. 8. What is the ethical limit on shot distance?

   1. AThe maximum range of the cartridge
   2. BThe range at which you can reliably place a killing shot under the conditions in front of you
   3. CThe furthest you have ever hit a target
   4. D300 metres for all rifles
   Show the answer

   BThe range at which you can reliably place a killing shot under the conditions in front of you

   Two numbers are in play: what the cartridge can do, and what you can do. Yours moves with wind, light, the rest you can get, adrenaline. The ethical limit is whichever is smaller on the day.

9. 9. What are the first three priorities if you become lost with darkness approaching?

   1. AKeep walking toward where you think the road is
   2. BClimb to high ground and shout
   3. CStop, make shelter, and make yourself findable
   4. DBuild a large fire and keep moving
   Show the answer

   CStop, make shelter, and make yourself findable

   Stop, shelter, be findable. Walking in the dark is how a lost hunter becomes an injured lost hunter, and every extra kilometre widens the area searchers have to cover. So stop while there's still daylight to build shelter with. Most survival outcomes turn on that.

10. 10. Why is cotton clothing a poor choice for cold-weather hunting?

    1. AIt is too heavy
    2. BIt loses nearly all insulating value when wet and dries slowly
    3. CIt is too noisy
    4. DIt holds scent
    Show the answer

    BIt loses nearly all insulating value when wet and dries slowly

    Soaked cotton pulls heat off you faster than bare skin does. It also takes forever to dry. Wool and synthetics keep insulating while damp, and that's the whole reason for the old saying about cotton in the cold.

11. 11. What is the correct first response to serious external bleeding?

    1. AApply a tourniquet immediately
    2. BElevate the limb and wait
    3. CDirect firm pressure on the wound
    4. DClean the wound thoroughly first
    Show the answer

    CDirect firm pressure on the wound

    Press hard, right on the wound. Direct pressure controls the large majority of external bleeding, which is why it comes first. The tourniquet is the later step, for limb bleeding that direct pressure can't stop.

12. 12. You have permission to hunt a quarter section, and you find a gate closed across the approach trail. How should you leave it?

    1. AClosed again after you pass through, because gates get left the way you found them
    2. BOpen, so you can drive out quickly at dusk
    3. CClosed only if you actually see cattle in the field
    4. DIt does not matter once the landowner has said yes
    Show the answer

    AClosed again after you pass through, because gates get left the way you found them

    Closed, the way you found it. That gate is almost certainly doing a job, usually holding livestock where the owner wants them. Leave it open and a rancher may lose a night chasing cattle. Every hunter who asks that landowner for access after you pays for it as well.

13. 13. Hikers come around a bend while you are packing a harvested deer out to the trailhead. Why does your conduct in that moment matter?

    1. AIt does not matter, because hunting is legal
    2. BYou should hide in the brush until they have gone past
    3. CMost non-hunters form their view of hunting from scenes like this, so quiet, respectful handling of the animal protects access for everyone
    4. DYou should stop them and explain the regulations
    Show the answer

    CMost non-hunters form their view of hunting from scenes like this, so quiet, respectful handling of the animal protects access for everyone

    Most Canadians neither hunt nor oppose it, and what tips them one way or the other is what they happen to see. Hiding in the brush might feel polite. A calm, matter of fact pack out does far more good.

14. 14. A winter range is holding far more deer than the available browse can feed through March. What term describes the limit the habitat is setting?

    1. ACarrying capacity
    2. BBag limit
    3. CPopulation density
    4. DHarvest quota
    Show the answer

    ACarrying capacity

    Carrying capacity: the number of animals a habitat can support through its hardest season, which in Alberta usually means late winter. Bag limit tempts because it also sounds like a ceiling. The difference? A bag limit is a rule written for hunters, not a property of the land.

15. 15. Biologists adjust seasons and quotas from one year to the next. What job does regulated hunting do inside that system?

    1. AIt removes predators from the unit
    2. BIt works toward eliminating a species from an area
    3. CIt guarantees every licence holder an animal
    4. DIt keeps populations in line with what the habitat can support, using harvest as a lever managers can turn up or down
    Show the answer

    DIt keeps populations in line with what the habitat can support, using harvest as a lever managers can turn up or down

    Harvest is one of the few things a manager can change quickly and measure afterward, so it does most of the fine tuning. Guaranteeing every tag holder an animal sounds like the point of a season. It isn't. Seasons are written for the population, not for the hunter.

16. 16. Imagine you could spend a budget on one thing to raise the number of upland birds an area supports over the long term. Which choice does the most?

    1. AReleasing more pen-raised birds every spring
    2. BShortening the season by a week
    3. CBuilding more access roads into the area
    4. DProtecting and improving the cover, food, and water on the land
    Show the answer

    DProtecting and improving the cover, food, and water on the land

    Habitat. It sets the ceiling, and released birds die back to whatever the land can actually hold, so stocking treats the symptom and has to be repeated forever. Money spent on cover, food and water outlasts every other kind of spending.

17. 17. Coyotes are working the same coulee where you hunt mule deer. How should you think about that?

    1. APredators are part of a functioning system, and removing them does not reliably produce more deer
    2. BPredators must be cleared out of any area that is hunted
    3. CCoyotes and mule deer do not share range
    4. DPredators have no effect at all on prey numbers
    Show the answer

    APredators are part of a functioning system, and removing them does not reliably produce more deer

    As part of a working system. Coyotes and mule deer have shared this country a very long time, and habitat and winter severity usually limit deer more than coyotes do. Clearing out predators doesn't reliably put more deer on the hill. Claiming they have no effect at all is the opposite error. Neither extreme matches what managers measure.

18. 18. In late summer a bull elk carries antlers wrapped in a soft, fuzzy skin. What is that covering doing?

    1. AInsulating the antler against coming winter cold
    2. BGrowing on the antler as a fungus
    3. CCollecting shed hair from rubbing on trees
    4. DCarrying blood and nutrients to the growing antler until it hardens, after which it is rubbed off
    Show the answer

    DCarrying blood and nutrients to the growing antler until it hardens, after which it is rubbed off

    Feeding the antler while it grows. Antler is bone, grown fresh every year, and velvet is the living blood supply that builds it. The fuzzy look makes insulation a tempting answer, but there's nothing to keep warm: the antler gets rubbed clean, dropped and regrown.

19. 19. Ducks swing over your decoys in the grey light before sunrise, and colour is impossible to read. Which clues are still usable?

    1. AThe colour of the speculum on the wing
    2. BBill colour
    3. CSilhouette, size, wingbeat, flock shape, and calls
    4. DEye colour
    Show the answer

    CSilhouette, size, wingbeat, flock shape, and calls

    Silhouette, size, wingbeat, flock shape and calls all still carry. Colour needs light, and at that hour your eyes barely register it, so speculum, bill and eye colour are gone before the birds are in range. If what's left doesn't add up to a confident identification, the shot doesn't happen.

20. 20. You dress in three layers for a long cold sit. What job does each layer do?

    1. AThe base blocks wind, the middle blocks water, and the outer traps heat
    2. BAll three do the same job, so only total thickness matters
    3. CThe base moves sweat off your skin, the middle traps warm air, and the outer blocks wind and water
    4. DThe base traps heat, the middle blocks wind, and the outer moves sweat
    Show the answer

    CThe base moves sweat off your skin, the middle traps warm air, and the outer blocks wind and water

    Separate jobs are the point. Each layer does its own, so you can add or shed one as your effort changes through the day. Thickness alone just traps sweat against your skin, and damp skin is how a cold sit turns dangerous.

21. 21. One hunter keeps his skinning knife razor sharp and another lets his go dull because he thinks a dull blade is safer. Who has it right?

    1. AThe sharp blade is safer, because a dull edge needs force and force is what makes a knife slip
    2. BThe dull blade is safer, since it cannot cut skin easily
    3. CNeither, because sharpness has nothing to do with safety
    4. DThe dull blade is safer as long as gloves are worn
    Show the answer

    AThe sharp blade is safer, because a dull edge needs force and force is what makes a knife slip

    The one with the sharp knife. A sharp edge does the work with light, controlled pressure you can steer. A dull one makes you lean in, and when it skids off a hide, all that force carries on somewhere you didn't choose. The safer-sounding answer is the wrong one.

22. 22. Your handheld GPS dies in the cold on the second morning of a backcountry hunt. Why does the map and compass in your pack still matter?

    1. AThey weigh less than the GPS unit
    2. BThey need no batteries and keep working when wet or frozen, so they are a backup that does not fail with the electronics
    3. CThey are legally required to be carried
    4. DThey show more roads than a GPS does
    Show the answer

    BThey need no batteries and keep working when wet or frozen, so they are a backup that does not fail with the electronics

    Cold drains batteries fast and screens crack, so every piece of electronic navigation has a failure built in. A map and compass have no power source to lose. They work wet or frozen. Mind you, they only help if you practised with them before the day you needed them.

23. 23. A slip on a steep sidehill separates you from your pack, which slides into a creek. Where should the core of your survival kit have been?

    1. AIn the lid of the pack where it is easy to reach
    2. BLeft in the truck at the trailhead to save weight
    3. CSplit evenly between your pack and your partner's pack
    4. DOn your body, in pockets or on a belt, so it stays with you no matter what happens to the pack
    Show the answer

    DOn your body, in pockets or on a belt, so it stays with you no matter what happens to the pack

    On your body. Packs get dropped, soaked and left behind, and a kit only counts if it's still with you when things go wrong. Fire starter, a signal and a way to make shelter belong in your pockets or on your belt.

24. 24. A new archer asks why broadhead sharpness is treated as such a serious matter. What is the reason?

    1. AA sharp broadhead makes the arrow fly faster
    2. BA broadhead kills by cutting blood vessels and causing rapid blood loss, so a dull edge means a slow death or a lost animal
    3. CSharpness makes the arrow quieter in flight
    4. DA broadhead kills by shock, so the edge only affects penetration depth
    Show the answer

    BA broadhead kills by cutting blood vessels and causing rapid blood loss, so a dull edge means a slow death or a lost animal

    Next to a bullet, an arrow is slow and light, and it kills by cutting blood vessels rather than by impact energy. That makes a razor edge a welfare issue instead of a detail. A dull one means a slow death, or an animal you never find. The shock answer sounds technical, which is why it catches people.

25. 25. A rifle hunter takes up archery and keeps watching animals feed at 200 metres. What has to change about the way they hunt?

    1. AThey need a heavier arrow that will reach that far
    2. BThey should raise their draw weight until 200 metres is realistic
    3. CThey have to close the distance, which means working cover, wind, and patience until the shot is short
    4. DNothing, because archery and rifle ranges are similar
    Show the answer

    CThey have to close the distance, which means working cover, wind, and patience until the shot is short

    Get closer. Effective bow range is a small fraction of rifle range, and no amount of draw weight changes that. So bowhunting is mostly a stalking and concealment problem, working cover, wind and patience until the distance is short. The shot is the last, brief step.

26. 26. Before each practice session you flex and run a hand along every arrow shaft. What are you checking for?

    1. ACracks, splinters, or dents that could make the shaft fail at the shot
    2. BWhether the fletching colours match across the set
    3. CWhether all the arrows came from one manufacturer
    4. DDust and fingerprints on the shaft
    Show the answer

    ACracks, splinters, or dents that could make the shaft fail at the shot

    Cracks, splinters, dents. A damaged shaft can come apart on release and drive splinters through your bow hand. The check takes seconds. Unsure about an arrow? Retire it rather than shooting it one more time to find out.

27. 27. While tracking a deer, your partner comes to full draw and swings the bow through the spot where you are standing. Why is that unacceptable?

    1. AA nocked arrow at full draw is a loaded weapon, so it never gets pointed at a person
    2. BIt only matters if the arrow is nocked the wrong way round
    3. CIt is fine, because the bow has a mechanical safety
    4. DIt is fine as long as the bow is a recurve rather than a compound
    Show the answer

    AA nocked arrow at full draw is a loaded weapon, so it never gets pointed at a person

    A slip, a startle or a numb finger will release that arrow, and a broadhead doesn't need much speed to be fatal. Bows have no safety to fall back on. So once an arrow is nocked and drawn, the same muzzle discipline you use with a firearm applies.

28. 28. A white-tailed buck stands broadside at a range you are comfortable with. Where does the shot belong?

    1. AThe hindquarter, since that is where the meat is
    2. BThrough the chest just behind the front shoulder, into the heart and lung area
    3. CThe neck, on any animal at any angle
    4. DThe paunch, because it is the largest target
    Show the answer

    BThrough the chest just behind the front shoulder, into the heart and lung area

    Behind the front shoulder. Heart and lungs sit low in the chest just behind the front leg, and a hit there brings an animal down quickly. The paunch is bigger, which is exactly why it tempts people. A gut shot means a long, cruel track.

29. 29. An elk is quartering toward you with the near shoulder covering much of its chest. What is the right call?

    1. ASwitch to a head shot instead
    2. BTake it anyway, because any hit in the front half will do
    3. CAim at a rear leg to anchor the animal first
    4. DHold the shot and wait for the animal to turn broadside or quarter away
    Show the answer

    DHold the shot and wait for the animal to turn broadside or quarter away

    Wait. Quartering toward you, the elk puts heavy shoulder bone between your bullet and the vitals, and on the occasions a bullet gets through, it ruins a lot of meat. Yes, waiting costs you some chances. It's also the difference between a clean kill and a wounded animal.

30. 30. You are working on a bull on a mild September afternoon. Why can field dressing not wait until you get back to camp?

    1. AIt makes the antlers easier to measure
    2. BThe only reason is to reduce the weight you have to drag
    3. CTaking out the internal organs lets body heat escape, and trapped heat plus bacteria is what spoils meat
    4. DIn September it makes no difference to the meat
    Show the answer

    CTaking out the internal organs lets body heat escape, and trapped heat plus bacteria is what spoils meat

    A carcass holds its heat for hours, and warm meat sours from the inside out. Dressing does lighten the load. That's a real benefit and a tempting answer, but it isn't why the job can't wait. Taking the organs out is how the heat and the bacteria problem get dealt with.

31. 31. You shoot at a moose at last light and it crashes off into thick willows. What comes before you follow?

    1. ARun into the willows immediately while there is still light
    2. BWrite it off, since an animal that runs was not hit
    3. CMark where the animal was standing and where you fired from, then check that spot for hair, blood, or tracks
    4. DWait a full day before looking no matter what the sign shows
    Show the answer

    CMark where the animal was standing and where you fired from, then check that spot for hair, blood, or tracks

    Mark where the moose stood and where you fired from. Ground looks completely different once you walk into it, and those two spots are how you find the hit site at all. Charge in and you push a wounded animal farther while trampling the hair, blood and tracks you need.

32. 32. Dusk is coming and you need a fire in wet bush. What do you do before you strike the first spark?

    1. ACollect tinder, small kindling, and larger fuel, and have all three within arm's reach
    2. BLight the biggest log first so it has time to catch
    3. CPour stove fuel over the whole pile
    4. DWait for full dark so the flame is easier to see
    Show the answer

    ACollect tinder, small kindling, and larger fuel, and have all three within arm's reach

    Gather it all first. Your first flame lasts seconds, and anything you still have to look for in the dark is fuel you'll never get lit. Tinder, kindling and bigger wood all sit within arm's reach before you strike. Building up in stages turns one match into a fire that lasts the night.

33. 33. Before a three day hunt in country you do not know, which single habit does the most for you if things go wrong?

    1. APacking a second rifle
    2. BTelling nobody, so your spot stays yours
    3. CCarrying extra ammunition
    4. DLeaving a written trip plan with someone, covering where you are going and when you will be back
    Show the answer

    DLeaving a written trip plan with someone, covering where you are going and when you will be back

    A written trip plan, left with someone. No search starts until somebody knows you're overdue and roughly where to look. Keeping a good spot secret feels smart right up until a broken ankle means nobody comes looking for two weeks.

34. 34. After a wet, windy morning your partner is fumbling with a zipper, slurring words, and stumbling on flat ground. What are you seeing?

    1. AEarly hypothermia, as a cooling core starts to affect coordination and thinking
    2. BOrdinary tiredness that a short rest will fix
    3. CDehydration and nothing more
    4. DFrostbite in the hands
    Show the answer

    AEarly hypothermia, as a cooling core starts to affect coordination and thinking

    Early hypothermia. Fumbling, slurring and stumbling on flat ground are a cooling core taking coordination and thinking with it. At the end of a wet morning it reads like an ordinary tired partner, and that's precisely how it gets dangerous before anyone reacts.

35. 35. The thermometer reads 8 degrees Celsius and your friend says it is far too warm for hypothermia. Is he right?

    1. AYes, hypothermia needs temperatures below freezing
    2. BYes, unless somebody falls into water
    3. CNo, but only when it is snowing
    4. DNo, because wet clothing and wind can cool a body dangerously at temperatures well above freezing
    Show the answer

    DNo, because wet clothing and wind can cool a body dangerously at temperatures well above freezing

    He's wrong. Most hypothermia happens in cool, wet, windy weather rather than deep cold, largely because nobody dresses for eight degrees. Water pulls heat from a body many times faster than dry air does. Soaked clothing does damage no thermometer predicts.

36. 36. You get a shivering, soaked hunter back to camp. What order do you work in?

    1. AGive them a shot of whisky to warm them from the inside
    2. BRub their arms and legs hard to drive circulation
    3. CPut them straight into a very hot bath
    4. DGet them out of the wind, swap wet clothing for dry insulation, and offer warm sweet drinks if they are fully alert
    Show the answer

    DGet them out of the wind, swap wet clothing for dry insulation, and offer warm sweet drinks if they are fully alert

    Stop the heat loss before adding any heat. Wind and wet clothing get dealt with first, then dry insulation goes on, then warm sweet drinks if they're fully alert. Skip the whisky. It feels warming because it opens the blood vessels in the skin, and that's exactly why it speeds up core cooling.

37. 37. Halfway up a ridge on a cold morning you realize you are sweating under your jacket. What is the right move?

    1. AKeep it all on so you do not waste the heat you built
    2. BClimb faster so the sweat dries off
    3. CVent or shed a layer now, because sweat soaked clothing will chill you as soon as you stop climbing
    4. DDrink less water for the rest of the day
    Show the answer

    CVent or shed a layer now, because sweat soaked clothing will chill you as soon as you stop climbing

    Vent, or shed a layer, right now. Sweat is wet clothing you made yourself, and the bill comes due the moment you stop climbing. Cooling off on a cold morning feels backwards. Staying dry now is what keeps you warm an hour from now.

38. 38. After a bad fall a hunter is pale, cold, clammy, and breathing fast. How do you manage shock while you wait for help?

    1. AWalk them around to get their circulation moving
    2. BFeed them a large meal for energy
    3. CKeep them lying down, insulated from the ground, and calm, and hold off on food and drink
    4. DSit them upright and give them hot coffee
    Show the answer

    CKeep them lying down, insulated from the ground, and calm, and hold off on food and drink

    Shock means the body isn't circulating enough blood. Rest helps, along with insulation from the cold ground and a calm voice. Food and drink wait, for a specific reason: surgery may follow, and a full stomach makes anaesthetic riskier.

39. 39. Your partner's lower leg is swollen and painful after a fall and you cannot tell a break from a bad sprain. What do you do?

    1. APull it straight to line the bone up
    2. BHave them put weight on it to test whether it is broken
    3. CTreat it as a fracture, immobilize it in the position you found it, and arrange help
    4. DDo nothing until the swelling goes down
    Show the answer

    CTreat it as a fracture, immobilize it in the position you found it, and arrange help

    Assume it's broken. Nobody can reliably tell a fracture from a severe sprain out in the field, so treating it as the worse injury costs nothing if you're wrong. Pulling the limb straight, or putting weight on it to test it, is how a simple break becomes a much more serious one.

40. 40. During a long cold sit your cheeks and fingertips have turned white and waxy. What should you do, and what must you avoid?

    1. ARewarm gently with body heat or warm water, and avoid rubbing the area or letting it freeze again
    2. BRub it with snow to draw the cold out
    3. CHold it close over the fire until the feeling comes back
    4. DIgnore it, because feeling always returns on its own
    Show the answer

    ARewarm gently with body heat or warm water, and avoid rubbing the area or letting it freeze again

    Rewarm gently. Frozen tissue is fragile, and rubbing it with snow or holding it over a fire does more damage than the cold managed alone. Thawing something that then freezes again is worse than leaving it frozen until you reach real medical help.

41. 41. In near darkness a shape disappears when you stare right at it and comes back when you look a little to one side. Why does that happen?

    1. AYour eyes have been damaged by the cold
    2. BThe shape is moving each time you look at it
    3. CThe centre of the eye handles detail and colour in good light, while the cells that work in dim light sit around the outside
    4. DBinoculars would produce the same effect in daylight
    Show the answer

    CThe centre of the eye handles detail and colour in good light, while the cells that work in dim light sit around the outside

    The middle of your retina is built for daylight detail and colour. The cells that work in dim light are spread around it, not packed in the centre, so glancing slightly off to one side brings the shape back. It's a genuine technique, and the shape coming back isn't your imagination.

42. 42. Twenty minutes before legal light you check your phone in the blind. What has that cost you?

    1. ANothing, because eyes adjust again instantly
    2. BYour dark adaptation, which takes many minutes of dim light to rebuild
    3. COnly your ability to hear approaching game
    4. DYour depth perception, permanently
    Show the answer

    BYour dark adaptation, which takes many minutes of dim light to rebuild

    Your dark adaptation. Eyes need a long, gradual adjustment before they work well in low light, and a bright screen wipes out most of it in a second. Rebuilding takes many minutes of dim light, far longer than the glance that threw it away.

43. 43. A hunter hears brush crack, expects a deer, and fires at a brown shape. Which failure of perception does that describe?

    1. AA fault in the rifle's sights
    2. BPoor physical conditioning
    3. CBuck fever, which only affects breathing
    4. DExpectation standing in for identification, so the mind supplies the animal the hunter wanted to see
    Show the answer

    DExpectation standing in for identification, so the mind supplies the animal the hunter wanted to see

    Expectation standing in for identification. Your brain completes patterns from very little, and wanting to see a deer is enough for it to fill in the rest. Perception on its own can't be trusted. That's why positive identification is a rule and not a suggestion.

44. 44. Something in the trees might be an animal or might be a person, and you want a closer look. What do you raise to your eyes?

    1. AThe rifle scope, since it is already in your hands
    2. BEither one, whichever comes up faster
    3. CNeither, just carry on walking
    4. DBinoculars, never the rifle scope
    Show the answer

    DBinoculars, never the rifle scope

    Binoculars. Raise a scope and you're pointing a muzzle at whatever you're studying. Binoculars let you identify at distance without aiming a firearm at a person, and the scope being closer to hand is no reason to use it. That's why the binoculars hang around your neck all day.

45. 45. Hauling a mule deer uphill to the truck puts a heavy load on a hunter's heart and lungs. What does that argue for?

    1. AHunting only from a vehicle
    2. BBuilding conditioning in the months before the season rather than on opening morning
    3. CSkipping breakfast on hunting days to stay light
    4. DCarrying a heavier pack during the hunt as training
    Show the answer

    BBuilding conditioning in the months before the season rather than on opening morning

    Get in shape months ahead. The hardest physical work of a hunt usually comes after the shot, in the cold, a long way from a road. Conditioning built before the season keeps that haul from turning into a medical emergency with help hours away.

46. 46. A wildlife agency asks successful hunters to submit a tooth or complete a harvest questionnaire. What is the point of that?

    1. AIt checks whether you paid for your licence
    2. BIt supplies biological data such as age and harvest numbers, which managers use when setting future seasons and quotas
    3. CIt builds a mailing list for advertising
    4. DIt serves no real purpose and is only a formality
    Show the answer

    BIt supplies biological data such as age and harvest numbers, which managers use when setting future seasons and quotas

    Nobody can count every animal in a province. What hunters send back, teeth and questionnaires both, becomes a large share of the evidence behind next year's seasons and quotas. Skip the survey and you quietly weaken the numbers your own opportunity is built on.

47. 47. An outfitter assures you a wildlife management unit is open. The current Alberta guide shows the season there closed last week. Whose responsibility is it to know that before you hunt?

    1. AThe outfitter, since they gave the advice
    2. BYou, because the responsibility to know the WMU and its seasons stays with the hunter
    3. CNobody, if the advice was given in good faith
    4. DThe licence vendor
    Show the answer

    BYou, because the responsibility to know the WMU and its seasons stays with the hunter

    Yours. The guide puts it plainly: it's your responsibility to know which WMU you're hunting in, and the seasons, rules and regulations that govern hunting there. An outfitter, a friend or a vendor can pass on information. None of that shifts the responsibility off the licence holder, and when advice and the current guide disagree, the guide is what you hunt by.

    Source: 2026 Alberta Guide to Hunting Regulations, WMU Descriptions: It is your responsibility to know in which WMU you are hunting and the seasons, rules and regulations that govern hunting in that WMU. Checked 2026-09-21.

48. 48. A field you would like to hunt carries no signs, has no fence, and no house is visible from the road. What is your first step?

    1. AGo ahead, since land without signs is open to anyone
    2. BGo ahead, and leave only if somebody tells you to
    3. CTreat it as Crown land because there is no fence
    4. DFind out who owns or occupies it and ask permission before you set foot on it
    Show the answer

    DFind out who owns or occupies it and ask permission before you set foot on it

    Find the owner or occupant and ask. No signs and no fence tell you nothing about who holds the ground. In Alberta, occupied land doesn't need to be posted to be protected, and hunting, discharging a firearm or entering for that purpose needs the owner's or occupant's consent. Say plainly that you intend to hunt and shoot. Permission to enter and consent to hunt are two separate things. You usually come away with a name and a phone number, and often an invitation back next season.

    Source: 2026 Alberta Guide to Hunting Regulations, Hunting Privileges on Occupied, Private and Public Land: This means that you need permission to access private or occupied land and when asking permission you must also be clear that you intend to hunt and shoot. Checked 2026-09-21.

49. 49. Walking a ditch beside a graded gravel road, your partner spots a mule deer on the far side and suggests a rifle shot across the road. What is the problem?

    1. ADischarging a firearm from or across a graded or regularly maintained road is prohibited, so the shot cannot be taken
    2. BDeer may not be hunted from a ditch anywhere in Alberta
    3. CThere is no problem, because road allowances are public land
    4. DThe restriction applies only to a numbered provincial highway
    Show the answer

    ADischarging a firearm from or across a graded or regularly maintained road is prohibited, so the shot cannot be taken

    Alberta's guide lists it among things that are unlawful: discharging a firearm from, or sending a projectile along or across, a provincial highway or any road that's paved, oiled, graded or regularly maintained. A graded grid road sits inside that wording. There is a narrow exception for game birds taken with a shotgun on roads other than provincial highways. And where no ditch or fence marks the edge, the guide says the roadway extends 20 feet from the travelled portion. Let the deer move well off the road, or move yourself.

    Source: 2026 Alberta Guide to Hunting Regulations, General Regulations (it is unlawful to): Discharge a firearm from or cause a projectile from a firearm to pass along or across: a) a provincial highway [...] b) a road that is paved, oiled, graded or regularly maintained Checked 2026-09-21.

50. 50. A friend still holds an unused deer tag and offers to let you take a deer on it. Where does that leave you under Alberta's general regulations?

    1. AA licence and its tag stay with the hunter they were issued to, so you may not carry or use his, and he may not let you
    2. BYou may use it as long as he is out hunting with you that day
    3. CYou may carry it for him, though only he may put it on an animal
    4. DYou may use it once he signs it over to you in front of a licence issuer
    Show the answer

    AA licence and its tag stay with the hunter they were issued to, so you may not carry or use his, and he may not let you

    Alberta issues a licence and its tag to a person, not to a household or a hunting party. The guide is blunt about the rest: carrying or using another person's licence or tag is unlawful, and so is letting anyone else use yours. The reason is that the tag is the single thread tying one animal back to one hunter and one allocation, and the province counts harvest along that thread. Your friend's generosity doesn't survive the paperwork. If he wants that deer taken, he takes it himself, and if you want one, you buy your own licence and tag.

    Source: 2026 Alberta Guide to Hunting Regulations, General Regulations (it is unlawful to): Carry or use another person’s licence or tag or allow another person to use your licence or tag. Checked 2026-09-21.

51. 51. You bring a pump shotgun on a pheasant walk. Out of the box its tube holds five shells, and one more fits in the chamber. What does Alberta's game bird rule require of it?

    1. AThat the magazine and chamber together hold no more than three rounds
    2. BNothing, because a capacity limit only applies to ducks and geese
    3. CThat you load it with no more than four shells at any one time
    4. DThat the chamber stays empty until a bird flushes in front of you
    Show the answer

    AThat the magazine and chamber together hold no more than three rounds

    Three rounds at most, magazine and chamber combined. Alberta makes it unlawful to hunt any game bird, turkey included, with a shotgun that holds more. It's about what the gun can hold, not how many shells you choose to load, and pheasants are game birds, so an upland walk is covered. Most hunters fit a plug or limiter in the tube.

    Source: 2026 Alberta Guide to Hunting Regulations, General Regulations: Game bird: Hunt any game bird (including turkey) using: a shotgun in which the magazine and chamber combined will hold more than three rounds of ammunition Checked 2026-09-30.

52. 52. A large brown bear is digging roots on an open slope in the foothills. Colour will not settle whether it is a grizzly or a black bear. What features will?

    1. AIts size, since any bear over a certain weight is a grizzly
    2. BA shoulder hump, a dished face, short round ears and long claws
    3. CIts coat, since a black bear is always black and never brown
    4. DIts tracks, since only a grizzly leaves claw marks in the mud
    Show the answer

    BA shoulder hump, a dished face, short round ears and long claws

    Black bears in Alberta can be brown, cinnamon or even blond, so colour on its own will fool you. Go by structure. A grizzly has a hump of muscle over the shoulders, a dished face and short rounded ears, with long front claws that are often light in colour. A black bear's face is straighter, its ears taller, and there's no hump.

53. 53. Moments after your shot, you walk up and realize the animal on the ground is not the one your licence covers. What does an ethical hunter do next?

    1. ALeave it where it fell and quietly move on to another spot
    2. BPut your own tag on it and hope nobody looks too closely
    3. CHave a friend with the right licence put his tag on it for you
    4. DReport it to a fish and wildlife officer and follow their direction
    Show the answer

    DReport it to a fish and wildlife officer and follow their direction

    Report it, and follow the officer's direction. Mistakes happen; what you do next shows your character. Leave the animal and you've wasted it, turning one error into two. A tag that doesn't fit, or someone else's tag, only makes it worse. Reporting it yourself right away is the honest path, and the officer decides what happens to the animal.

54. 54. You are picking a spot for an emergency shelter as the sun drops. One site sits at the bottom of a narrow draw, and another is under a big dead spruce. Why pass on both?

    1. ALow ground is too far from water, and dead trees block the wind
    2. BSearch planes never check draws, and spruce needles are too sharp
    3. CCold air settles in low ground, and dead trees can drop limbs or fall
    4. DBoth sites are too sheltered, and you need wind to keep insects off
    Show the answer

    CCold air settles in low ground, and dead trees can drop limbs or fall

    At night cold air drains downhill and pools in the lowest ground, which often makes a draw bottom the coldest place around. Dead standing trees can drop heavy limbs or blow over without warning. Aim for somewhere a little above the low ground instead, out of the wind, near fuel and clear overhead.

55. 55. At camp your partner grabs the handle of a pot on the stove and burns the palm of his hand. What should you do?

    1. ASpread butter or grease on it to keep the air off the skin
    2. BCool it under cool water for several minutes, then cover it loosely
    3. CHold a chunk of ice on it until the hand goes completely numb
    4. DBreak any blisters so the fluid drains and the skin can dry out
    Show the answer

    BCool it under cool water for several minutes, then cover it loosely

    Cool water, for several minutes. It draws heat out of the skin and stops the burn going deeper. Then cover it loosely with a clean dressing. Butter and grease trap the heat. Ice can damage the skin further, and broken blisters let infection in.

56. 56. You are loading a pack for a long walk into elk country. Where should the heaviest gear, like food and water, ride?

    1. AIn the middle of the pack, snug against your back near your spine
    2. BStrapped to the outside of the pack so it is quick to reach
    3. CAt the very bottom of the bag, below everything else you carry
    4. DIn the top lid, where it sits highest above your shoulders
    Show the answer

    AIn the middle of the pack, snug against your back near your spine

    Centred, snug against your spine. Weight kept there keeps your balance over your feet. Heavy gear hung outside or packed far from your back pulls you off balance on rough ground. Light, bulky items like a sleeping bag go low, and the things you need often go in the lid or side pockets.

57. 57. Your bow has sight pins set for 20, 30 and 40 metres. A buck stops at a distance your rangefinder reads as 35 metres. How do you aim?

    1. AUse the 20 metre pin, because the buck is closer than it looks
    2. BHold the gap between the 30 and 40 metre pins on the vitals
    3. CUse the 40 metre pin, because holding high is always the safe choice
    4. DUse the 30 metre pin, because a few metres make no real difference
    Show the answer

    BHold the gap between the 30 and 40 metre pins on the vitals

    Split the gap. Each pin is set for one distance and an arrow drops quickly between them, so at 35 metres it lands between where the 30 and 40 metre pins would put it. Hold that spot on the vitals. Practise the in-between distances before the season and the hold will feel natural.

58. 58. You bone out a mule deer in the field to lighten the pack out. Under Alberta's rules on evidence of sex, what has to come out with the meat?

    1. ANothing extra, since boned meat no longer needs any proof of sex
    2. BOnly the tag itself, which can travel loose in a pocket of the pack
    3. COnly the head, which can be carried out on a later trip on its own
    4. DThe tagged part of the leg, with the evidence of sex still attached
    Show the answer

    DThe tagged part of the leg, with the evidence of sex still attached

    The tagged part of the leg, evidence still attached. Alberta's rules allow deboning in the field, provided the portion of leg and tendon carrying the tag also has the evidence of sex, species or class on it. For a deer, that can be the testicles, scrotum or udder, or the fully haired tail. Plan your cuts so that piece comes out in one unit.

    Source: 2026 Alberta Guide to Hunting Regulations, Evidence of Sex, Species and Class: It’s not necessary for the full hind quarter of meat to remain intact while still bearing the required evidence, provided that portion of the leg and tendon where the tag is attached also has the evidence of sex, species or class still attached to it. Checked 2026-09-30.

59. 59. After a cold morning in the blind, a friend passes around a flask and says a shot of whisky will warm everyone up. What is actually happening?

    1. AAlcohol raises your core temperature for several hours after a drink
    2. BAlcohol opens blood vessels in the skin, so the body loses heat faster
    3. CAlcohol has no effect on body heat at all, only on how you feel
    4. DAlcohol slows heat loss by thickening the blood in cold weather
    Show the answer

    BAlcohol opens blood vessels in the skin, so the body loses heat faster

    That warm glow is blood rushing to the skin, which is exactly where heat escapes. So the core cools faster. Alcohol dulls shivering and judgement as well. Warm, sweet drinks and food are what give the body fuel to make its own heat.

60. 60. You have permission to hunt a quarter section. A whitetail feeds near the fence line, about 120 metres from a neighbouring family's house on the next property. What does Alberta's occupied building rule mean for that shot?

    1. AThe shot is fine, because the house sits on a different property
    2. BThe shot is fine, as long as the bullet travels away from the house
    3. CYou may not fire within 183 metres unless its owner or occupant allows it
    4. DThe shot is fine, as long as nobody in the house is outside at the time
    Show the answer

    CYou may not fire within 183 metres unless its owner or occupant allows it

    Alberta makes it unlawful to discharge a weapon within 183 metres (200 yards) of an occupied building, or to send a projectile within that distance of one. The exception covers the owner, the occupant and people they've authorized, subject to local bylaws. Your landowner's permission doesn't extend to the neighbour's house. At 120 metres, this deer is off limits.

    Source: 2026 Alberta Guide to Hunting Regulations, General Regulations: Prohibitions: Discharge a weapon within 183 m (200 yards) or cause a projectile from a weapon to pass within 183 m (200 yards) of any occupied building. Checked 2026-09-30.