Who needs hunter education
If you were born after January 1, 1971, you must hold a certificate from a recognized firearm safety/hunter education course to apply for and hold a Saskatchewan game or fur licence. All first-time buyers must confirm they hold the certificate, and conservation officers may ask for proof.
The Saskatchewan Association of Firearm Education (SAFE) is the contact for the course. If you took training outside Canada or the United States, check with SAFE or a ministry office that it is recognized.
Your HAL ID and youth hunters
Licences are bought with a HAL ID, a one-time, permanent and personal number. Do not create a second account: using more than one HAL ID to get or apply for a licence is a violation.
| Age | Saskatchewan rule |
|---|---|
| 12 to 18 | Can buy youth game bird and youth white-tailed deer licences |
| 12 to 15 | Must be directly supervised by an adult at least 18; a parent or guardian must give consent for each purchase |
| 16 and 17 | May hunt without supervision, subject to federal firearms law |
Federal firearms law also applies. Someone without a PAL or a minor's licence must be supervised by a PAL holder. Youth hunting waterfowl also need a federal migratory game bird permit, except during Waterfowler Heritage Days.
Big game clothing rules
When you hunt big game with a rifle, during a rifle-only season, or go along with a rifle hunter, you must wear a vest and headwear in approved colours. Saskatchewan allows more colours than many other provinces.
| Item | Allowed colours or type |
|---|---|
| Vest or outer garment | Scarlet, bright yellow, blaze orange or white, or a mix of these |
| Other option | A high-visibility garment labelled CAN/CSA Z96: class 2 vest or class 3 coveralls |
| Headwear | Scarlet, bright yellow or blaze orange (not white); a crest of no more than 50 square cm is allowed |
Bright colours on the head and upper body help other hunters see you.
- Blaze-orange hat.
- Blaze-orange vest.
- A hunter in camouflage only, who blends into the trees.
Hours, vehicles and safe shooting
- Hours: no hunting from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise.
- Vehicles and horses: no loaded firearm in or on a vehicle or while on horseback.
- What "loaded" means: a rifle or shotgun with shells in the magazine (or a loaded clip attached to it) is loaded, even if the chamber is empty. A muzzleloader is loaded when charged with the ignition in place.
- Roads: no shooting across or along a provincial highway, provincial road or municipal road.
- Buildings and livestock: no hunting within 500 metres of a building, stockade or corral occupied by people or livestock without consent.
- Night equipment: no artificial lights, infrared devices or night vision scopes or goggles for hunting.
On open prairie, a safe backstop matters even more, because bullets can travel very far.
- Safe: the earth bank behind the deer stops the shot.
- Unsafe: the deer is on a ridge against the sky, and the shot could carry on to a house the hunter cannot see.
Safety in the field
The firearm safety rules taught across Canada are often summed up as ACTS: assume every firearm is loaded, control the muzzle direction at all times, keep your trigger finger off the trigger and out of the trigger guard, and see that the firearm is unloaded by proving it safe. Never shoot at sound or movement, and be sure of what is in front of and beyond your target.
If you hunt from a tree stand, wear a full-body harness and stay connected to the tree from the time you leave the ground until you are back down. Keep three points of contact while climbing, and raise and lower your unloaded firearm with a haul line, muzzle down.
A safe tree stand setup.
- Full-body harness with straps over the shoulders, chest, waist and legs.
- Short tether from the back of the harness to a tree strap above head height, with little slack.
- Lifeline from high on the tree to the ground, with a sliding knot to clip into while climbing.
- Haul line to raise and lower the unloaded firearm, muzzle pointing down.
Late-season hunts in Saskatchewan can be very cold. Dress in layers of wool or synthetic fabric, carry a way to make fire, and tell someone where you are going and when you will be back. Learn the signs of hypothermia: shivering that will not stop, clumsy hands and confusion.
Meat, ethics and reporting
Do not waste, destroy, let spoil or abandon the edible meat of a game bird or big game animal. Black bear and wolf are exceptions. Make every effort to recover the animals you shoot.
Report poaching to Turn in Poachers and Polluters (TIPP) at 1-800-667-7561.