Courses
Canadian Firearms Safety Course (CFSC)
First-time licence applicants must pass the Canadian Firearms Safety Course before applying for a Possession and Acquisition Licence. After the in-class instruction, you will do a written and practical test. Proof of passing the course is required to apply for a Possession and Acquisition License (PAL).
Anyone 12 years or older can take the CFSC. To get a PAL you must be 18 or older. To get a Minor's Licence to borrow and use non-restricted firearms, the minor must be between 12 and 17 years old.
Topics we will cover:
Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course (CRFSC)
Topics we will cover:
Anyone wanting to acquire restricted firearms must take and pass both the CFSC and also the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course (CRFSC) written and practical tests. You must be 18 years old to take the CRFSC. Upon completion of both courses (in any order), you then need to apply for the PAL with restricted privileges (R-PAL).
Ontario Hunter Education Course
The Ontario Hunter Education Course will assist you to better understand the natural world and become a knowledgeable and responsible hunter. New hunters of all ages must take hunter education training and pass an exam before they can purchase their first hunting license.
We offer this course live and in-person. Our instructors have decades of experience and will bring the material to life and share relevant stories and rationale to help you understand the concepts and will gladly answer your questions – something you will not get from an online course.
Topics we will cover:
Courses & requirements
Courses
On the stated weekends that we run courses, unless otherwise explicitly stated, we usually offer CFSC (Friday and Sat.) plus on Sunday either OHEC or CRFSC:
1) CFSC Only – required for your non-restricted PAL
2) CRFSC only – required if you want to own restricted firearms (CFSC or a PAL is a prerequisite to get a full PAL with restricted privileges)
3) OHEC (Ontario Hunter Education Course) only – required if you want to hunt in Ontario
4) CFSC + OHEC/Hunter Ed. – the “One Stop” program – our most common course combination
5) CFSC + CRFSC – to get a full Firearms License (PAL+R-PAL)
requirements
Ages: You must be at least 12 years old to take the “One Stop” course or the CFSC. For those under 18, a Parent MUST sign a Parental Consent Form on the first night of the course.
You have to be 18 to take the CRFSC. We have all ages in our courses – grandparents to grandchildren and everyone in between.
FEES
FEES
Fees as of January 14, 2024:
Non-refundable Deposit: A minimum $50 non-refundable deposit per person, per course is required to register for a course. Courses are filed based on date/time of deposit being received. You may not get your preferred date based on deposit timing, but it will be applied to a future date.
CFSC (Canadian Firearms Safety Course – for non-restricted PAL) = $180
CRFSC (Canadian RESTRICTED Firearms Safety Course) = $180 ($140 if done within 30 days of your CFSC with us)
OHEC (Ontario Hunter Education Course) = for in-person course and exam = $100
CFSC + OHEC = the “One Stop” Course = $280
CFSC + CRFSC (within 30 days of CFSC) = full R-PAL = $320
To complete all three courses, we suggest doing CFSC+CRFSC first, on one or more weekends, and then the OHEC (Sunday only) on a subsequent weekend. (You may be able to take the OHEC first, if it is offered and available first.)
Prices quoted above exclude text books. Students are strongly encouraged to obtain and pre-read the text books prior to the course date.
For CFSC and CRFSC, the text book is optional, but strongly encouraged. Books are available at several sporting goods stores in the area, including “The Crappie Store” in Dresden, Wortner`s in Chatham, or via www.fseso.ca and http://www.ohep.net The CFSC/CRFSC manual is also available for free download from the Government of Canada here: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2015/grc-rcmp/PS99-2-2-1-2014-eng.pdf
time investment for each course
CFSC Only
8-10 Hours: Friday night, 6:30 pm – 10 pm + Saturday, 8 am – 5 pm. Followed by Written and Practical Exams.
CRFSC Only
6 Hours: Sunday, 8 am – 4 pm. Followed by Written and Practical Exams.
Ontario Hunter Education Course Only (in-person course)
7 Hours: Sunday 8 am – 5 pm. Followed by Written Exam.
One Stop: CFSC + Ontario Hunter Education (in-person)
23 Hours: Friday night, 6:30 pm – 10 pm + Saturday, 8 am – 5 pm + Sunday, 8 am – 5 pm. Includes Written and Practical Exams.
CFSC + CRFSC
22 Hours: Friday night, 6:30 – 10 pm + Saturday, 8 am – 5 pm. Followed by Written and Practical Exams. + Sunday, 8 am – 4 pm