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Vision fitness practice questions for Alberta

These 5 vision fitness questions are drawn from the Alberta Hunter Education Practice Exam. They are original practice items written from published Alberta Hunter Education Course curriculum topics, with an explanation on every answer.

Vision fitness questions

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

    The 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 the low light cells are spread around it rather than packed in the centre. Looking slightly off to the side is a genuine technique, not a trick of the imagination.

  2. 2Twenty minutes before legal light you check your phone in the blind. What has that cost you?

    1. Your dark adaptation, which takes many minutes of dim light to rebuild
    2. Nothing, because eyes adjust again instantly
    3. Only your ability to hear approaching game
    4. Your depth perception, permanently
    Show the answer

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

    Eyes need a long, gradual adjustment before they work well in low light, and a bright screen undoes most of it in a second. Getting it back takes far longer than the glance that threw it away.

  3. 3A hunter hears brush crack, expects a deer, and fires at a brown shape. Which failure of perception does that describe?

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

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

    Your brain completes patterns from very little information, and wanting to see a deer is enough to make it fill in the rest. Positive identification is a rule precisely because perception on its own cannot be trusted.

  4. 4Something 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. Binoculars, never the rifle scope
    2. The rifle scope, since it is already in your hands
    3. Either one, whichever comes up faster
    4. Neither, just carry on walking
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    Binoculars, never the rifle scope

    Looking through a scope means pointing a muzzle at whatever you are studying. Binoculars let you identify at a distance without aiming a firearm at a person, which is why they belong around your neck all day.

  5. 5Hauling a mule deer uphill to the truck puts a heavy load on a hunter's heart and lungs. What does that argue for?

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

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

    The hardest physical work of a hunt usually comes after the shot, in cold weather and far from a road. Fitness built ahead of time is what keeps that moment from turning into a medical emergency where help is hours away.

Ready for the full set? Take the Alberta Hunter Education Practice Exam.