Hunters GuideBritish Columbia · CORE
BC CORE Practice Test
The CORE written examination is 90 multiple-choice questions and the pass mark is 68 points, or roughly 76%. 100 practice questions, 12 topics, every answer explained.
BC CORE Practice Test: all 100 questions
1. You reach your stand, unsling your rifle, and your partner walks up behind you. Which vital practice governs what happens next?
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Controlling the muzzle direction at all times, regardless of whether the rifle is loaded
Muzzle control, loaded or not. When someone steps up behind you, where that muzzle points is the only thing still working in your favour. Every other assumption about the rifle can turn out wrong. Direction is the one you control at all times.
2. In the PROVE sequence, what does the E stand for?
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Examine the bore for obstructions
Examine the bore. PROVE runs Point, Remove, Observe, Verify, Examine, and the bore check comes last on purpose. A clear chamber counts for nothing with mud, snow or a stuck projectile packed up the barrel.
3. Why are 20-gauge shotgun shells manufactured in yellow when other gauges are not?
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So they cannot be confused with other gauges, because a 20-gauge shell can slip past a 12-gauge chamber and lodge in the barrel
It's a warning, not decoration. Drop a 20-gauge shell into a 12-gauge and it slides straight past the chamber and wedges in the barrel, out of sight. Fire a 12-gauge round in behind it and the gun can burst.
4. Why is a squib load more dangerous than a round that fails to fire at all?
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Because it sounds and feels like a shot was fired, so the shooter is likely to chamber and fire again with the bore still obstructed
A dud announces itself. A squib doesn't. It looks and feels close enough to a normal shot that you chamber another round and fire it into a bore that's still obstructed, and that's the whole problem.
5. You are hunting alone and need to cross a fence. What is the correct procedure?
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Unload it, place it under the fence with the muzzle pointed away, cross, then draw it through by the stock
Unload, lay it under the wire with the muzzle pointed away, cross, then draw it through by the stock. Fence crossings with a firearm in hand are a leading cause of hunting incidents. Both your hands are busy on that fence, so the muzzle has to be somewhere it can't hurt you.
6. When hunting in a group, which carry gives you the most muzzle control?
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Two-hand or ready carry
Two-hand or ready carry. With both hands on the firearm, you can swing the muzzle off somebody the instant they step where they shouldn't. Trail and sling carries are comfortable. That's exactly why they tempt people, and they park the muzzle somewhere you can't correct in a hurry.
7. Why is silhouette a more dependable identification cue than plumage colour at first light?
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Colour is unreadable in low light and at distance, while shape and proportion stay legible
Legal shooting light starts well before your eye can read colour. Shape, proportion, wingbeat and posture all survive bad light. So identification training is built on those, not on plumage.
8. What behaviour most reliably separates dabbling ducks from diving ducks in the field?
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Dabblers spring straight up off the water; divers run across the surface to get airborne
Watch the take-off. Dabblers spring straight up; divers run along the surface to get going. That difference reads at distance without any help from plumage or light, whereas size and habitat overlap far too much between the two groups to settle anything.
9. A single deer is taken. How many tags may legally be attached to it?
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One
One animal, one tag, off one person's bag limit. If two of you shot at it, sort out between yourselves who claims it. Two tags on the same deer is an offence no matter how the shot played out.
10. What does the principle of fair chase mean?
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Taking game in a way that does not give the hunter an improper or unsporting advantage
It's about the balance between you and the animal, and about not taking an improper or unsporting advantage over it. Fair chase is an ethical standard, not a single rule you can look up. A lot of the regulations grew out of it.
11. What is usually the first sign of hypothermia?
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Uncontrolled shivering
Shivering. That's the body making its own heat, and it turns up in mild hypothermia; slurred speech and confusion come later. If the shivering stops while the person is still getting colder, treat it as a serious warning sign. It isn't an improvement.
12. You are unloading a semi-automatic at the end of a hunt and cycle the action twice. A live round is still chambered. Why?
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The magazine is still fitted and is feeding a fresh round each time you cycle
Nothing is broken. Every cycle throws one round out and the magazine hands over the next. That's exactly why the magazine comes off first and the chamber gets cleared second.
13. A lever action's hammer sits partway back. Is the firearm safe to treat as unloaded?
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No. Half-cock is an old hammer position, not a safety, and the firearm must still be proven unloaded
Not on that evidence. Half-cock is an old hammer position from long before modern safeties, and a solid knock can drop it. Whatever the hammer happens to be doing, treat the firearm as able to fire, and prove it unloaded anyway.
14. On a break action shotgun, what is the surest way to confirm it is unloaded?
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Open the action and look into each chamber, then check the bore
Open it and look. A break action lays both chambers open to direct view, about the clearest proof any action can give you. Then check down the bore. The looking is the step people skip.
15. Opening the bolt on a bolt action clears the chamber. What does it NOT do?
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It empties the magazine, which must be dealt with separately
The magazine. The bolt deals with the chamber and nothing else, so the magazine is a separate job. An empty chamber sitting over a loaded magazine is one bolt stroke away from being loaded again.
16. What does the gauge number of a shotgun measure?
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The number of lead balls of bore diameter that weigh one pound
Weight, oddly. Gauge counts how many lead balls of bore diameter add up to a pound. That's why the numbers run backwards, and why a 12-gauge bore is wider than a 20-gauge.
17. In shot sizes, what does a larger number mean?
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Smaller pellets
Smaller pellets, which runs against intuition. Number 8 shot is smaller than number 4. Lots of small pellets fill the pattern out better, but each one arrives with less energy.
18. You pick up an unfamiliar box of rifle ammunition. Which marking must match the barrel?
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The cartridge designation on the headstamp
The headstamp names the cartridge, and that name has to match the designation stamped on the barrel. What it won't tell you is the load inside. Only which chamber the round belongs in.
19. A shotshell contains a wad and shot. Which four parts make up a centrefire rifle cartridge instead?
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Case, primer, powder, bullet
Case, primer, powder, bullet. Wad and shot are shotshell parts with no business in a rifle cartridge. Keeping those two lists straight in your head is part of never mixing ammunition up.
20. What does carrying capacity mean?
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The maximum number of animals a habitat can support without degrading it
Push a population past what its range can support and it chews up the very habitat holding it. That drags the capacity lower still. Regulated harvest is one tool for keeping a population under that ceiling.
21. Which of these is a limiting factor on a wildlife population?
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Available food, water, cover, and space
Food, water, cover and space, the things the ground physically supplies, plus disease and predation. Licence numbers and season length feel like limits too. That's the trap: they're the response to limiting factors, not limiting factors themselves.
22. In British Columbia, what does the surcharge added to a hunting licence fund?
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Habitat conservation work
Habitat conservation. The surcharge riding on your licence is the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation levy, and it goes to conservation work rather than into general revenue. It's one way hunters fund a meaningful share of wildlife management.
23. Why is regulated harvest used as a wildlife management tool?
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To keep populations within what the habitat can support, using seasons and limits set from population data
Seasons, bag limits and draws are the dials. Managers turn them against what population data says the animals can actually sustain, and that keeps the harvest inside what the habitat can carry.
24. Before hunting on private land, what must you obtain?
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Permission from the landowner or occupier
The landowner's or occupier's permission. Access is theirs to give. No fence and no sign isn't an invitation, and knowing whose ground you're standing on is your job, not theirs.
25. What does the requirement to remove edible meat from the field mean in practice?
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Edible portions must be retrieved and not left to waste
Leaving edible meat in the bush is an offence. It's also about the plainest breach of hunting ethics there is, and a hard pack out doesn't excuse it. Work out how the animal is coming home before you shoot, not after.
26. What is the recognised distress signal in the backcountry?
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Three of any signal, such as three whistle blasts or three fires
Three of anything. One or two sounds like weather or wildlife, while three reads as deliberate: three whistle blasts, three shots, three fires, three flashes. It's understood right across North America.
27. If you are lost with a few hours of daylight left, what comes first?
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Stopping while you still have light, making shelter, and making yourself findable
Stop while you can still see. Walking on in failing light is how a lost hunter becomes an injured one, and every step widens the ground searchers have to cover. Build shelter, then make yourself findable. A shelter put up in daylight makes the difference.
28. Which signs suggest shock?
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Pale clammy skin, rapid weak pulse, and confusion
Shock is the circulation failing. Pale clammy skin, a rapid weak pulse and confusion are the signs, and it can kill somebody whose original injury never would have. So treat for it any time a serious injury has happened.
29. How should someone with hypothermia be warmed?
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Gradually, concentrating on the core, with wet clothing removed and insulation added
Slowly. Core first, wet clothing off, insulation on. Rubbing the arms and legs, or a fast hot bath, drives cold blood back into the core and can cause cardiac problems.
30. Why does shivering stopping in a cold casualty matter?
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It can mean the hypothermia is worsening and the body can no longer generate heat
Unless someone has warmed them, it means they're going downhill, not recovering. The body has run out of capacity to generate heat. That marks the slide from mild toward severe hypothermia.
31. Three hunters walk abreast through cover. What must they agree before they start?
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The arc of ground each will shoot into, and that nobody swings outside it
Their arcs. This is your ground, that's mine, and nobody swings outside it. Agree on that before anyone takes a step and no barrel ever crosses the person beside you. Working it out partway through the walk is already too late.
32. When should a firearm be loaded relative to the vehicle?
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Only after you have left the vehicle and are in the field
Once you're out of the vehicle and into the field, muzzle pointed somewhere safe. A loaded firearm inside the truck, or leaning against it at the trailhead, is both unsafe and an offence.
33. A cinnamon-coloured bear feeds on a slide. Coat colour tells you nothing. What do you look at instead?
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Shoulder hump, facial profile, ear shape, and front claw length
Shoulder hump, facial profile, ear shape, front claw length. None of those change with the coat, and black bears run from black through cinnamon to blonde, so colour is the least useful thing on the animal. Get it wrong and you've committed an offence and a conservation failure at once.
34. Why must you identify a bear's sex and whether it has cubs before shooting?
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Because taking a female with cubs is an offence and leaves the cubs unlikely to survive
A female with cubs is protected, and cubs left without her are unlikely to survive. So you watch. You keep watching until you're certain of both, and that patience is part of the shot decision.
35. How can elk be distinguished from moose at distance?
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Elk have a pale rump patch and branched antlers; moose are darker with a long overhanging muzzle, a dewlap, and palmate antlers
On the elk, a pale rump patch and branched antlers. On the moose, a dark body, a long overhanging muzzle, a dewlap and palmate antlers. All of it reads at range. Antlers disappear for part of the year, though, so body structure is worth more to you than headgear.
36. Why is positive identification required before every shot, even in an open season?
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Because seasons, sexes, and species are regulated separately, and a mistake is an offence regardless of intent
Seasons, sexes and species are all regulated separately. An open season on one species tells you nothing about the animal actually standing there, and once it's down, believing it was legal isn't a defence.
37. The synopsis and the Wildlife Act say different things. Which one governs?
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The Wildlife Act and its regulations. The synopsis is a plain-language summary, not the law
The Wildlife Act and its regulations are the law. The synopsis is a plain-language summary of them. On the rare occasion the two disagree, the legislation governs.
38. Why must you check the management unit before relying on a season date?
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Because seasons, limits, and permitted sexes are set per management unit and vary widely
Because they're set unit by unit, and they vary widely: seasons, limits, which sexes are legal. Two units sharing a fence line can open on different dates for different animals. Look up your unit. A date you heard for the province won't do.
39. How often should the synopsis be checked?
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Every year, because seasons, limits, and boundaries change between editions
Every year. It's reissued on a regulation cycle, and seasons, limits and boundaries move between editions. Hunting off last year's copy is one of the most common ways to commit an offence, and one of the easiest to avoid.
40. Where would you look to confirm the bag limit for a species in your area?
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The regional section for your management unit, cross-checked against the species tables
It takes two lookups, since limits are set by region and by species. Start with the regional section for your management unit, then cross-check the species tables. The licence in your pocket records what you bought. It doesn't tell you the limit.
41. Two large white birds cross the sky well out of range. How would you tell a swan from a snow goose?
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Neck length and wingtips. A swan carries a very long neck and stays white right out to the wingtip, while a snow goose looks short-necked with black wingtips
Proportion does the work at that range. A swan's neck runs close to the length of its body, and the wing stays white all the way out. Next to that a snow goose looks stubby, with an obvious black patch at the wingtip. Read neck length first; it resolves long before anything finer does.
42. What does the shape a flock holds tell you before any single bird is clear enough to name?
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Geese string into lines or a V, puddle ducks travel in loose bunches, and divers come low in tight lines over the water
Flocks travel in family patterns. Geese string out into lines and Vs. Dabblers move in loose, ragged bunches, and divers come low and tight just off the water. None of that names a species alone, but it narrows the field a long way while the birds are still distant, which is time you'd otherwise spend deciding with them right on top of you.
43. Why do experienced hunters leave cotton clothing at home when cold wet weather is forecast?
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Cotton soaks up water, loses nearly all its insulating value, then draws heat out of you as it dries
Dry cotton traps air and feels warm enough. Wet, it collapses, holds water flat against your skin, then pulls heat out of you as it evaporates. Wool and synthetics keep insulating when damp, which is the whole reason people pay for them. Most of the wet comes from sweat on the walk in, not from the sky. So layer in a way that lets you shed something before you start sweating.
44. Someone in your party has a deep cut to the forearm that is bleeding heavily. What comes first?
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Press hard on the wound with a dressing or clean cloth and keep the pressure on
Firm direct pressure stops most bleeding you'll meet in the field, because you're physically squeezing the vessel shut. Get a dressing on and lean on it. Blood soaking through? Add more on top instead of lifting to look, since lifting tears off the clot you just spent minutes building. A tourniquet has its place on a limb you can't control any other way. Pressure is where you start.
45. Why does the trigger finger stay outside the guard until the sights are already on the animal?
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Startle somebody or trip them and the hand clenches without any decision being made, so a finger already inside the guard fires the shot
Startle a person and both hands close. Trip on a root and the grabbing reflex does the same, and neither one waits for your approval. So the finger rests along the frame until the decision to shoot has already been made. Cold hands make it worse, since you lose the fine control that might otherwise have caught it.
46. Your shotgun carries a tubular magazine under the barrel. Why does an open action not prove it empty?
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Shells sitting in the tube feed straight into the chamber the instant the action closes again
A tube magazine hides under the barrel, so an open action tells you about the chamber and absolutely nothing else. Any shell left in the tube goes straight in the moment the action travels forward. Work every shell out of the tube first, counting them as they come, then look into the chamber and down the bore. Why count? A shell sitting at the back of a tube is invisible.
47. Two bullets arrive carrying identical energy. Why might one still do a poor job on game?
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Construction decides whether it opens up and how deep it drives, so a bullet that comes apart early or never expands wastes that energy
Energy printed on a box is potential, not performance; what counts is what the bullet does when it gets there. Too soft and it breaks up on the near side without reaching anything vital. Too hard and it drills through like a nail, leaving most of its energy in the trees behind. Match the bullet to the animal and to the ranges you genuinely shoot. Then the number starts to mean something.
48. An open cutblock fills in over twenty years until the canopy closes. What happens to the deer that moved in early?
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Numbers fall away as the closing canopy shades out the browse they were feeding on
This is succession, one of the quiet engines behind wildlife numbers. Open ground throws up shrubs and seedlings within reach of a deer's mouth, food is everywhere, and the population climbs. Then the trees win. The canopy shuts, light stops reaching the floor, and that food layer disappears. The deer did nothing wrong; their habitat aged out from under them, which is why habitat work so often means setting the clock back rather than adding animals.
49. A deer bounds off with all four feet leaving the ground together. What does that gait point to?
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A mule deer, which often stots on all four feet, where a whitetail runs in long bounds with its tail flared up behind
A mule deer. That pogo-stick bounce is called stotting, and mule deer use it over broken ground, while a whitetail runs flat out, tail up and fanned white behind it. Back the gait up with ears and tail. Mule deer carry big ears and a thin rope of a tail with a black tip; whitetails have smaller ears and a broad tail that's white underneath. Read two features before you call it, never one.
50. You hold a valid BC hunting licence but no species licences. What may you hunt?
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Only wildlife that does not need a species licence, since species licences are required in addition to the basic hunting licence
Only wildlife that needs no species licence. The basic hunting licence is the foundation, and a species licence sits on top of it for each animal that needs one: bison, black bear, bobcat, caribou, cougar, deer, elk, lynx, moose, mountain goat, mountain sheep and wolverine, plus upland game birds and wolf for non-residents. Without the species licence for an animal, the hunting licence alone doesn't authorise hunting it. And whatever is hunted still has to be in an open season for the Management Unit you're standing in.
Source: Species licences, Province of British Columbia:
Species licences are required for hunting the following animals in B.C. and are required in addition to basic hunting licences
Checked 2026-09-21.51. How must a firearm be carried in a motor vehicle in BC?
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With no live ammunition in the breech or in a magazine attached to the firearm
No live ammunition in the breech, and none in an attached magazine. The synopsis lists discharging, carrying or possessing a firearm loaded that way while in or on a motor vehicle as unlawful, and the same wording covers railway cars, sleighs, aircraft, bicycles and any other conveyance. Once a clip holding live rounds is attached, it counts as the magazine, so pull it as well as clearing the chamber. Private land or a long drive, the rule reads the same.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, It's Unlawful:
To discharge, carry or have in possession a firearm containing live ammunition in its breech or in its magazine attached to the firearm, in or on a railway car, motor vehicle, sleigh, aircraft, bicycle or other conveyance.
Checked 2026-09-21.52. Season dates differ between two neighbouring management units. What follows from that?
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You must know which unit you are standing in before you hunt
The unit you're standing in decides which season applies. BC defines open seasons by Management Unit, and the regional schedules list dates unit by unit, so the boundary between two MUs is where one set of dates stops and another starts. An animal crossing that line changes nothing. The map printed in the synopsis is approximate, so confirm your MU on the detailed online maps before you hunt.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Hunting Seasons:
To define open seasons the province is divided into Management Units (MU’s). Hunting seasons are shown in regional schedules on the following pages. All season dates are inclusive.
Checked 2026-09-21.53. Light is going on a deer hunt in BC. What ends legal hunting hours for game other than migratory game birds?
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One hour after sunset, and it does not open again until one hour before sunrise
One hour after sunset. For game other than migratory game birds, the synopsis draws the line an hour off the sun at both ends: hunting closes one hour after sunset and doesn't reopen until one hour before sunrise. That hour is exactly when identification starts to fall apart. Colour goes first, then sex and antlers, then whatever is standing behind the animal. The synopsis also leaves the sunrise and sunset call to the hunter in the field, so a deep valley or heavy overcast doesn't buy extra minutes. Work the times out for your ground before you walk in.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, It's Unlawful (During Your Hunt):
To hunt game, except migratory game birds from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise.
Checked 2026-09-21.54. You spend a week at a remote wilderness camp with nobody else for many kilometres. What do the federal storage rules still require of your non-restricted rifle there?
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That it be unloaded, with no lock or locked case needed
Just that it's unloaded. The federal storage rules make an exception for remote wilderness where nothing nearby clashes with hunting. Out there, no lock, locked case or locked-up ammunition is required. Unloaded still is.
Source: Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations (SOR/98-209), Justice Laws Website:
Paragraphs (1)(b) and (c) do not apply to an individual who stores a non-restricted firearm in a location that is in a remote wilderness area that is not subject to any visible or otherwise reasonably ascertainable use incompatible with hunting.
Checked 2026-09-30.55. You park at a trailhead and hike up to glass a basin, leaving your unloaded non-restricted shotgun in the truck. The truck has a lockable storage box. What do the rules ask of you?
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Lock the shotgun inside the truck's lockable compartment
Lock it in that box. For a non-restricted firearm left in an unattended vehicle, the RCMP rules point to the trunk or a similar lockable compartment. Out of sight in a locked vehicle is the fallback only when there's no such compartment. Unloaded is required for transport, but on its own it doesn't cover walking away from the truck.
Source: Storing, transporting and displaying firearms, Royal Canadian Mounted Police:
Lock non-restricted firearms and locked containers carrying restricted or prohibited firearms in the trunk or in a similar lockable compartment.
Checked 2026-09-30.56. Your 15-year-old nephew, who holds no firearms licence, waits in the truck while you walk down to look at a salt lick. Your rifle is inside. Does the law count the truck as attended?
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No, only someone 18 or older or a licence holder can attend it
No. A vehicle counts as unattended under the federal rules unless someone 18 or older, or someone with a firearms licence, is watching over it. Your nephew is 15 and unlicensed. Treat the truck as unattended and lock the rifle in the trunk or a lockable box.
Source: Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations (SOR/98-209), Justice Laws Website:
unattended, in respect of a vehicle, means that the vehicle is not under the direct and immediate supervision of a person who is 18 years of age or older or to whom a licence has been issued under the Act.
Checked 2026-09-30.57. A buck stands behind a screen of willow branches, with its chest showing through the gaps. Why wait for a clear lane?
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Twigs can deflect the bullet or break it up on the way
Even small twigs can knock a bullet off course, or make it tumble and break up. The result might be a wounded deer. It might be a bullet heading somewhere you never intended. Wait for the buck to step into the open, or let him go.
58. Why do many hunters empty a bolt rifle's magazine through its hinged floorplate instead of working each round through the action?
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It empties the magazine without chambering each live round
Working the bolt pushes every cartridge into the chamber on its way out, and that gives a live round a chance to fire. Drop the hinged floorplate instead and the rounds fall out of the magazine without ever being chambered. Clear the chamber, keep the muzzle safe, then look into chamber and magazine to be sure.
59. A grouse flushes and you rush the pump, pulling the fore-end only partway back before shoving it forward. What is likely to happen?
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The empty may not eject or the next shell may not feed
Likely a jam. A pump only cycles properly when the fore-end runs fully back and fully forward, and a short stroke can leave the empty in the chamber or miss the next shell. Keep the muzzle pointed safely while you clear it. Then practise a full, firm stroke.
60. When you close a loaded break-action shotgun, why lift the stock up to the barrels instead of swinging the barrels up to the stock?
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The muzzle stays pointed at the ground as the action closes
Swinging the barrels up sweeps the muzzle across whatever is in front of you, possibly your own feet or a partner. Lift the stock to the barrels and the muzzle stays aimed at the ground the whole time. A small habit. It keeps muzzle control intact right as the gun becomes live.
61. What makes a semi-automatic rifle chamber the next round after each shot?
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Gas or recoil from the fired round cycles the action
Energy from the shot it just fired, either gas bled from the barrel or recoil, throws out the empty case and loads the next round. One pull of the trigger, one shot. Because the rifle reloads itself, the chamber is live again the moment a shot goes off.
62. A friend offers you a case of cheap full metal jacket ammunition for your deer rifle. Can you hunt with it in BC?
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No, non-expanding full metal jacket bullets are unlawful
Not in BC. The synopsis makes it unlawful to hunt or trap with a rifle using a full metal jacketed non-expanding bullet. Those tend to punch a narrow hole and keep going, wounding rather than killing cleanly. Save them for the range, and hunt with a bullet built to expand.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Legal Hunting Methods:
It is unlawful to hunt or trap with a rifle using a full metal jacketed non-expanding bullet, or a tracer, incendiary, or explosive bullet.
Checked 2026-09-30.63. You are packing shells for a morning in a duck marsh. Which pellets are allowed?
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Non-toxic shot such as steel or bismuth
Steel, bismuth, tin and several tungsten blends are the non-toxic shot types listed under federal rules. Lead shot has been banned for hunting waterfowl in BC since 1995 and across Canada since 1997. Ducks, geese, coots and snipe all fall under the ban.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Notice! Shot Ban:
The use of toxic (lead) shot for hunting waterfowl has been prohibited in British Columbia since 1995 and in Canada since 1997.
Checked 2026-09-30.64. You drew a bison hunt. What does the synopsis require of your rifle ammunition?
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A bullet of 175 grains or more that keeps 2,712 J at 100 m
At least 175 grains, still carrying 2,712 joules (2,000 foot-pounds) at 100 m. Bison are very large and tough, so the synopsis sets a floor for the ammunition used on them. Check the published ballistics for your load before the hunt.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Legal Hunting Methods and Provincial Bag Limits:
Ammunition to hunt bison must be constructed with a 175 grain or larger bullet, which retains 2,712 joules (2,000 ft lbs.) or more energy at 100 m.
Checked 2026-09-30.65. Riding a snowmobile in winter, you come on a small group of caribou. Why does the province ask you to shut off and let them pass?
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Stress burns winter energy they need to survive and breed
Winter caribou run on tight energy reserves. The province says machines, helicopters and skiers can add stress that drains those reserves, hurting survival over winter and calving the next summer. Repeated disturbance can even push caribou to abandon their range.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Southern Mountain and Boreal Caribou Update:
Snow machines, helicopters, or skiers may increase stress on caribou, which can reduce their energy reserves during winter and affect over-winter survival and/or reproductive success the following summer.
Checked 2026-09-30.66. Why do wildlife managers work so hard to keep domestic sheep and goats away from wild bighorn range?
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They can pass on bacteria that cause pneumonia die-offs
Disease. Domestic sheep and goats can carry bacteria that cause pneumonia in wild sheep and mountain goats, and the wild animals don't fight it off well. An outbreak can kill much of a herd and keep lamb survival low for years afterward. Keeping the two apart is the only tool known to cut that risk.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Respiratory Disease in Wild Sheep and Mountain Goats:
Research efforts have confirmed that physical separation of wild and domestic sheep and goats is the only management tool currently available to reduce the risk of disease transmission.
Checked 2026-09-30.67. Out scouting, you find four dead ducks along the same stretch of marsh. What does the province ask you to do?
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Report them to the BC wild bird mortality program
Report them. Several dead birds in one place can be an early sign of a disease outbreak, and the province asks for reports of three or more in the same area through its Interagency Wild Bird Mortality Program. Don't handle sick or dead birds with bare hands.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Wildlife Health, Bird Health:
What to report: 3 or more dead birds in the same geographic location or individual birds of the following species; species at risk, water-associated birds or raptors.
Checked 2026-09-30.68. Scouting a new area, you find an unlocked trapper's cabin and think it would make a handy base for your hunt. What does the synopsis say?
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It is private and is not to be entered or disturbed
Cabins you come across in the field belong to people doing legitimate work there, trapping or guiding. The synopsis calls them private, not to be entered, damaged or disturbed. Bring your own shelter. Leave the cabin as you found it.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Unauthorized Use of Cabins:
They are private and are not to be entered, damaged, or disturbed
Checked 2026-09-30.69. A friend of a friend offers to take you after mountain goats for cash, but he holds no guide licence. What risk do you take on if you agree?
Show the answer
You can be charged with the same offence as the guide
The same charge as the guide. In BC only a licensed guide outfitter or assistant guide is permitted to guide hunters for pay, and, the synopsis says, a hunter who uses an illegal guide can be charged and convicted of the same offence as a party to it. Ask to see the licence first.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Illegal Guiding:
A person who uses the services of an illegal guide may, as a party to the offence, be charged and convicted of the same offence.
Checked 2026-09-30.70. The cow elk you just took is wearing a radio collar. What should you do?
Show the answer
Contact the regional Ministry office with the collar number
Call your local Ministry office with the number on the collar or ear tag, and return the collar. If the animal was drugged when it was caught and marked, the meat may not be safe to eat. And don't avoid marked animals. Biologists need true data on how they die.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Ear Tags and Collars:
If you kill a marked animal, please contact your local Ministry office with the number on the ear tag or collar because the meat may not be safe to eat if immobilization drugs were used.
Checked 2026-09-30.71. A pilot friend flies over your sheep country and radios where he saw rams bedded. May you use that to plan your stalk?
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No, hunting on game locations seen from the air is unlawful
No. Hunting with wildlife locations found from an aircraft is unlawful under the synopsis, and so is sharing that kind of information for hunting. Game spotted from the air has lost its fair chance. Find your rams on foot, with your own eyes and optics.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, It's Unlawful:
To hunt using information on the location of wildlife that is obtained by means of an aircraft.
Checked 2026-09-30.72. Which of these species licences obliges you to file a Mandatory Hunter Report by March 31?
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Moose
Moose. Everyone who buys an elk, moose or caribou species licence is required to report on their hunting by March 31. Not filing is an offence, and no licence purchase or LEH application goes through for the next season until the report is in. It's filed in WILD, from the licence on your FWID profile.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Mandatory Hunter Report:
All individuals who purchase an elk, moose or caribou species licence are required to submit a report on their hunting activity by March 31.
Checked 2026-09-30.73. You want your dog along to help on a BC deer hunt. What does the synopsis say?
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It must be kept on a leash while hunting deer
Keep it leashed. Dogs are permitted for hunting all game in BC, but the synopsis requires a leash for deer, elk, moose, mountain sheep, mountain goat and caribou. Off-leash dogs are permitted for small game, lynx, bobcat, black bear and cougar. On a leash, a dog can still help you follow a blood trail.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Legal Hunting Methods, Dogs:
The use of dogs is permitted in the hunting of all game, but dogs must be on a leash when used to hunt deer, elk, moose, mountain sheep, mountain goat and caribou.
Checked 2026-09-30.74. During the open season, a bull moose swims across the lake in front of your canoe. What does the law say?
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Not while it swims, unless it was already wounded
Let it swim. Hunting, taking, wounding or killing big game while it's swimming is unlawful unless it was already wounded, and a swimming animal has no fair chance to escape. Wait until it's on land, somewhere you can recover it.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, It's Unlawful:
To hunt, take, wound or kill big game while it is swimming unless it has been previously wounded.
Checked 2026-09-30.75. You filled your mule deer licence in October and now you are hunting elk. Which species licences must you carry?
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All this year's species licences, cancelled ones too
All of them. BC makes it unlawful to hunt without every species licence issued to you that licence year, cancelled ones included. Your basic hunting licence is electronic; species licences aren't. Carrying the whole set lets an officer see your season in the field.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, It's Unlawful:
To hunt without carrying all species licences, including cancelled species licences, issued during the licence year.
Checked 2026-09-30.76. Driving home empty-handed, you come to a roadside game check run by conservation officers. What must you do?
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Stop and report, even though you have no game
Stop and report. By law, every hunter, with or without game, stops and reports at a temporary checking station run by an officer. The data gathered there helps managers set seasons and limits. Have your licences and FWID ready to show.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Game Checks:
All hunters, with or without game, when encountering temporary checking stations operated by an officer, are required by law to stop and report.
Checked 2026-09-30.77. A cougar stands on the trail about 20 metres ahead, watching you. What should you do?
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Face it, look big, speak firmly and back away slowly
Running or crouching can make you look like prey and may trigger an attack. So stay facing the cougar. Make yourself look large, speak loudly and firmly, and back away slowly to give it room to leave. If it attacks, fight back with anything you have.
78. You are waiting out a cold night beside a fire. Why sit on a pack or spruce boughs instead of on the snow?
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Snow and frozen ground draw heat out of your body by contact
Heat flows from your body into anything colder you touch, and snow or frozen ground pulls it away fast. Boughs, a pack or a foam pad break that contact. Insulation under you matters as much as what's over you.
79. A thunderstorm builds while you are glassing from an open alpine ridge. What should you do?
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Get off the ridge to lower ground, away from lone trees
Get off the ridge. Lightning tends to hit the highest point around, a ridge top or a lone tree, so head down before the storm arrives and stay clear of open high ground and lone trees. Caught in the open anyway? Keep low and spread the group out.
80. Before you wade a fast, knee-deep creek with a heavy pack, what should you do with the hip belt and chest strap?
Show the answer
Undo them so you can shed the pack if you fall
Undo them. Fall in fast water with a pack strapped tight and it can pin you face down or drag you under. With the hip belt unbuckled and the chest strap loose, you can slip free quickly. Face upstream, lean on a stout stick, and cross where the water runs slower.
81. Your partner falls onto a sharp branch and a piece of wood stays stuck in his thigh. What should you do?
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Leave it in, pad around it to hold it still, and get help
Leave it in. The object may be plugging the bleeding, and pulling it out can set off heavy bleeding or do more damage. Build padding around it so it can't move, then get medical help.
82. In the wall tent, your partner wakes with a pounding headache, dizziness and nausea. The stove has smouldered all night with the door flap shut. What comes first?
Show the answer
Get him outside into fresh air right away
Fresh air, right away. Headache, dizziness and nausea in a closed tent with a stove or heater point to carbon monoxide poisoning, and the gas has no smell. Get everyone outside and seek medical help. Never run a stove, heater or lantern in a sealed tent.
83. You roll an ankle on a log on the walk back to camp. It swells, but you can still bear some weight. What does first aid for a sprain call for?
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Rest, cold, compression and raising the ankle
Rest, cold, compression, elevation. Cold and a snug wrap limit swelling, and raising the ankle above the heart helps as well. Severe pain, or an ankle that won't bear weight? Splint it as if it were broken.
84. Your partner carries an epinephrine auto-injector for a bee allergy. He is stung, and his lips and throat start to swell. What do you do?
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Use the auto-injector in his outer thigh and call for help
This is anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction, and swelling of the lips, tongue or throat after a sting is the sign. Use the auto-injector in his outer thigh right away. Then call or signal for emergency help, because the reaction can come back, and he needs medical care even if he feels better.
85. Your deer is hit on the lakeshore, wades out and dies in the water. You fetch it with the motorboat. What does the synopsis require?
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Nobody in the boat may have a loaded firearm
Nobody in the boat with a loaded firearm. On that condition, the synopsis makes it lawful to retrieve dead or injured game with a power boat; otherwise, shooting wildlife from a boat propelled by a motor is unlawful. Unload before you push off from shore.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Legal Hunting Methods, Retrieval:
It is lawful for a person to retrieve a dead or injured game animal with the assistance of a power boat provided no person in the power boat is in possession of a loaded firearm.
Checked 2026-09-30.86. You are a stander on a deer drive, and a buck breaks out of the cover the drivers are pushing through. Where may you shoot?
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Only into your agreed safe zone, away from the drive line
Only into your agreed zone. The drivers are walking toward you through cover you can't see into, and a shot back into the drive could hit one of them. Standers shoot into zones settled before the drive starts, usually once the deer has passed and is heading away. Everyone knows where everyone else is.
87. You are hunting elk on horseback. Where should your rifle be while you ride?
Show the answer
Unloaded, in a scabbard on the saddle
Unloaded, in a scabbard. A horse can spook, stumble or throw you without warning. When you spot game, get off, move clear of the horse, and only then load. Shooting from the saddle risks a bolting horse and a wild shot.
88. Walking a cutblock with a partner, you lose sight of him when he drops into a gully. A grouse flushes toward the gully. What do you do?
Show the answer
Hold your fire until you know exactly where he is
Hold your fire. Zones of fire only work while you know where everyone is, and with your partner out of sight, any shot toward his last position could hit him. Let the bird go. Make contact again and agree on new zones before you shoot.
89. A black bear looks all legs, keeps glancing over its shoulder, and its ears seem large and close together. What does that suggest?
Show the answer
A young bear, likely smaller than it looks
A young bear, smaller than it looks. The synopsis lists long legs, big close-set ears, a thin neck and a nervous manner as signs of a small or young bear. Adult males look stocky, with a big round head and ears that seem small. Be patient: the province asks hunters to select an adult male.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Notice to Black Bear Hunters:
Observe carefully and select an adult, male bear.
Checked 2026-09-30.90. On the coast you glass a black bear with a creamy white coat. What does the synopsis say about hunting it?
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There is no open season on this colour phase
Coat colour usually tells you little about a bear's species. Here it's different. The white (Kermode) and blue (Glacier) colour phases of the black bear have no open season in BC, so with these rare phases the colour is exactly what rules the bear out.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Notice to Black Bear Hunters:
Be aware there is no open season on grizzly bear or white (Kermode) or blue (Glacier) colour phases of the black bear.
Checked 2026-09-30.91. Through the spotting scope you see three mountain goats on a ledge. One is a kid, and the largest adult is a nanny. What does BC law say about her?
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She may not be hunted because her group contains a kid
She's off limits. Hunting a female goat with a kid is unlawful, and so is hunting any female goat in a group with one or more kids. A lone nanny isn't caught by that rule, but the province asks hunters to choose billies to protect breeding females. Sex goats with care before you shoot.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Important Notice for Mountain Goat Hunters:
It is unlawful to hunt a female mountain goat accompanying a kid or a female mountain goat in a group that contains one or more kids.
Checked 2026-09-30.92. A smaller moose trails a large cow through a willow flat. Why look closely at its face before deciding it is a calf?
Show the answer
Calves have a stubby face, and not every follower is a calf
Not every moose travelling with a larger one is a calf, the synopsis warns. A yearling can follow an adult too. Calves are much smaller and show a distinctly stubby face, so be sure of exactly what you're looking at.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Definitions:
CALVES ARE MUCH SMALLER AND SHOW A DISTINCTLY "STUBBY" FACE.
Checked 2026-09-30.93. By mid-morning you have one Barrow's Goldeneye and one Common Goldeneye in the bag. Another Common Goldeneye comes into the decoys. May you take it?
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No, the two goldeneye species share a daily limit of two
No. Barrow's and Common Goldeneye share one daily limit of two between them, not two of each. Your two birds already fill it, so a third goldeneye would be over. Check the regional section too, in case a tighter limit applies.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Provincial Bag and Possession Limits:
The daily bag limit for Canvasback is 4, Northern Pintail is 4, Goldeneye (Barrow's and Common in aggregate) is 2 and Harlequin is 2.
Checked 2026-09-30.94. In BC, which of these birds is a migratory game bird that needs a federal hunting permit?
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Band-tailed Pigeon
Band-tailed Pigeon. The synopsis lists the migratory game birds as ducks, geese including Brant, American Coot, Common Snipe, Band-tailed Pigeon and Mourning Dove, and hunting them takes a federal permit as well as your BC licence. Grouse, turkey and pheasant are upland birds under BC rules.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Definitions:
MIGRATORY GAME BIRDS - for which there may be an open season in B.C. and for which a Canadian Migratory Game Bird hunting permit is required are: waterfowl (ducks and geese, including Brant); American Coot; Common Snipe; Band-tailed Pigeon, and Mourning Dove.
Checked 2026-09-30.95. A small slate-blue duck with bold white spots and stripes on its head feeds in the whitewater of a mountain river. What is it?
Show the answer
A Harlequin Duck
A Harlequin. The drakes are slate blue with bold white markings and chestnut sides, and they nest along fast mountain streams. BC gives the species its own daily limit of two. Know it on sight and you stay inside that limit.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Provincial Bag and Possession Limits:
The daily bag limit for Canvasback is 4, Northern Pintail is 4, Goldeneye (Barrow's and Common in aggregate) is 2 and Harlequin is 2.
Checked 2026-09-30.96. A big diver with a reddish head crosses the decoys. What separates a canvasback drake from a redhead drake?
Show the answer
A canvasback has a long sloping forehead that runs into a dark bill
Look at the head profile. A canvasback's forehead slopes straight into a long black bill, a wedge shape. The redhead has a rounder head and a bluish bill with a black tip, and its back is greyer than the canvasback's pale back. Canvasback carries its own daily limit of four in BC, so the difference counts.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Provincial Bag and Possession Limits:
The daily bag limit for Canvasback is 4, Northern Pintail is 4, Goldeneye (Barrow's and Common in aggregate) is 2 and Harlequin is 2.
Checked 2026-09-30.97. A regional table lists a deer season with a bag limit of 2(1). What does that mean?
Show the answer
Two animals, one of which may be antlerless
Two animals, one of which may be antlerless. For ungulates, the number outside the brackets is the season bag limit, and the one inside shows how many may be antlerless. Read it together with the rest of that unit's entry, every time.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Provincial Bag and Possession Limits:
An entry such as "2(1)" used for ungulates means the season bag limit is two animals of that species, one of which may be antlerless.
Checked 2026-09-30.98. For grouse, a regional schedule shows 10(20). How do you read it?
Show the answer
A daily limit of 10 and a possession limit of 20
Ten a day, twenty in possession. For game birds the first number is the daily bag limit and the bracketed one is the possession limit. Careful, though: the same bracket style means something else for ungulates, so check which kind of animal the entry covers.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Provincial Bag and Possession Limits:
An entry such as "10(20)" for game birds means the daily bag limit is 10 and the possession limit is 20.
Checked 2026-09-30.99. What does the entry NBL mean in a regional schedule?
Show the answer
No bag limit on that species
No Bag Limit, meaning no maximum number of that species a hunter may take. That's all it lifts. Open season dates, hunting hours and every other rule still apply.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Provincial Bag and Possession Limits:
In the regional schedules, NBL means No Bag Limit (no maximum number of a species or type of wildlife that a person may take or kill)
Checked 2026-09-30.100. At a gated road, the posted sign describes a motor vehicle closure one way and the regulation says another. Whose wording do you follow?
Show the answer
The regulation, which is the final authority
The regulation. Where signs and the regulation are inconsistent, the synopsis names the regulation as the final authority. Signs help as reminders, but they can be old or damaged. Check the online motor vehicle prohibition maps before your trip.
Source: 2026-2028 B.C. Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis, Motor Vehicle Prohibitions and Restrictions:
Where there are inconsistencies with signs and the regulation, the regulation is the final authority.
Checked 2026-09-30.
These are practice questions, not the official exam. We wrote them from the published course topics. We did not copy them from the Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Education question bank. So a good score here means you are ready to book the real thing. It does not mean you are certified.
Ready for the paperwork? Our guide to getting a hunting licence in British Columbia covers the steps after the course. If the real exam goes badly, failing CORE covers the rewrite.
What the CORE written examination covers
The Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Education is organised into 13 chapters. This practice set follows the same outline, so you can drill any of them with the topic buttons above the questions.
- Firearms Safety: ACTS and PROVE
- Non-Restricted Actions
- Ammunition
- Conservation
- Ethics
- Laws and Regulations
- Outdoor Survival and Safety
- Indigenous Peoples and Hunting in BC
- First Aid
- Field Use
- Animal Identification
- Bird Identification
- Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis
Questions about the CORE written examination
Is this the real Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Education exam?
No. These are original practice questions written from published curriculum topics. They are not reproduced from the official question bank, and passing them does not certify you to hunt in British Columbia.
What does the CORE written examination cover?
There are 12 topics here: firearm safety, field use, bird identification, ethics, survival, firearm actions, ammunition, conservation, first aid, animal identification, using the synopsis, regulations. The official course covers the same ground in more depth.
Does a British Columbia hunting licence work in other provinces?
No. Hunting licences are issued province by province, so a British Columbia licence only covers British Columbia. The hunter education credential is a separate question, and each province decides for itself which outside credentials it accepts. We set out what each one publishes in our guide to whether hunter education transfers between provinces.