Missouri Hunter Education Practice Test 2026: Practice test 3

Practice test 3 of 6 for the Missouri Hunter Education Practice Test: 25 more questions with answers and explanations.

Hunting
Missouri
132 questions
Checked October 10, 2026

Question 1 of 25
What should you check before using a tree stand?
- The stand, straps and harness for wear, and the tree for damage or weakness
- Only the color of the stand
- Only the seat padding
- Nothing, as long as it worked last year and has stayed on the same tree since then
Show answer
Answer: A. The stand, straps and harness for wear, and the tree for damage or weakness
Make sure the tree can hold both the stand and you.
Question 2 of 25
Which of these is a limiting factor for a deer herd?
- A hard winter with little food
- A highway sign
- A full moon in the fall
- A new hunting license design
Show answer
Answer: A. A hard winter with little food
Disease, predators, weather and food supply limit how much a population can grow.
Question 3 of 25
When turkey hunting, what kind of spot should you sit against?
- Open ground with nothing behind you, so you can see all around
- A small sapling
- The edge of a road
- A tree or stump wider than your shoulders
Show answer
Answer: D. A tree or stump wider than your shoulders
A wide backstop helps protect you from a hunter shooting from behind and hides your outline.
Question 4 of 25
Two hunters reach a fence together. What is a safe way to cross?
- Unload both guns; one hunter holds them while the other crosses, then hands them over
- One covers the other with a loaded gun
- Both lean loaded guns on the fence
- Both climb over at the same time while holding their loaded guns with the safeties on
Show answer
Answer: A. Unload both guns; one hunter holds them while the other crosses, then hands them over
With actions open and guns unloaded, they can be handed across safely.
Question 5 of 25
Look at the diagram. Which hunter is easiest for other hunters to see?
- Both are equally easy to see
- The hunter in the blaze-orange hat and vest (1 and 2)
- Neither can be seen
- Hunter 3, because camouflage stands out well against trees
Show answer
Answer: B. The hunter in the blaze-orange hat and vest (1 and 2)
Blaze orange stands out against woods and fields, so other hunters can see you.
Question 6 of 25
How should you approach big game that appears to be dead?
- From behind and slightly uphill, watching for movement, ready for a follow-up shot
- Quickly, without your gun
- From the front, near the antlers, so you can look closely at its eyes and nose
- By poking it with your foot from the front
Show answer
Answer: A. From behind and slightly uphill, watching for movement, ready for a follow-up shot
A wounded animal can suddenly get up. Approach carefully and watch the eyes and chest.
Question 7 of 25
If you get lost, what does "STOP" stand for?
- Stop, Think, Observe, Plan
- Shout, Turn, Off-trail, Panic
- Start, Turn, Open, Proceed
- Search, Travel, Orient, Push on
Show answer
Answer: A. Stop, Think, Observe, Plan
Staying calm and making a plan is the first survival step.
Question 8 of 25
What did the Dingell-Hart amendments of 1970 and 1972 add?
- A ban on all handguns
- A federal hunting license required in every state for all hunters over 16
- A tax on hunting dogs
- Excise taxes on handguns and archery gear, partly for hunter education
Show answer
Answer: D. Excise taxes on handguns and archery gear, partly for hunter education
These taxes help pay for hunter education programs and target ranges.
Question 9 of 25
Which US president, a hunter and conservationist, set aside large areas of public land and wildlife refuges?
- George Washington
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Abraham Lincoln
- John Adams
Show answer
Answer: B. Theodore Roosevelt
Roosevelt also helped found the Boone and Crockett Club in 1887.
Question 10 of 25
Why is cotton a poor choice in cold, wet weather?
- It is too warm
- It soaks up water and loses its insulation when wet
- It is too bright
- It is banned for hunting clothing in most states
Show answer
Answer: B. It soaks up water and loses its insulation when wet
Wool and synthetics keep more warmth when damp.
Question 11 of 25
You hit an animal but it runs off. What is your responsibility?
- Make every reasonable effort to find it and finish it quickly
- Assume it will recover, since most wounded animals heal on their own
- Shoot another one instead
- Look for a few minutes, then give up
Show answer
Answer: A. Make every reasonable effort to find it and finish it quickly
Following up on every hit is a basic part of ethical hunting.
Question 12 of 25
How should firearms be carried in a vehicle?
- Loaded on the seat
- With a round in the chamber
- Loaded with the safety on
- Unloaded, and in a case
Show answer
Answer: D. Unloaded, and in a case
Many states ban loaded firearms in vehicles. Pennsylvania, for example, bans a loaded firearm in, on or against any motor vehicle.
Question 13 of 25
What is the purpose of the lifeline (item 3) in the diagram?
- To mark the tree so that other hunters know the stand is already taken
- To keep you connected to the tree while you climb up and down
- To pull up your gear
- To tie your stand to the ground
Show answer
Answer: B. To keep you connected to the tree while you climb up and down
Use a lifeline from the time you leave the ground until you are back down.
Question 14 of 25
You see movement and hear a noise in the brush. What should you do?
- Fire a warning shot
- Wait until you can clearly see and identify the animal
- Fire at the sound, since deer are the only animals there
- Shoot quickly before it leaves
Show answer
Answer: B. Wait until you can clearly see and identify the animal
Never shoot at sound, movement or color. Hunters are sometimes mistaken for game.
Question 15 of 25
How can hunters help slow chronic wasting disease (CWD)?
- Move whole carcasses across the state to share the meat with family
- Feed deer in groups during the winter
- Ignore sick deer
- Follow carcass movement rules and have deer tested when asked
Show answer
Answer: D. Follow carcass movement rules and have deer tested when asked
CWD is a fatal disease of deer, elk and moose.
Question 16 of 25
What are the basic parts of wildlife habitat?
- Food, fences, roads and towns
- Trees, sun, rocks and snow
- Water, hunters, weather, predators and roads
- Food, water, shelter (cover) and space
Show answer
Answer: D. Food, water, shelter (cover) and space
Animals need all four, arranged so they can reach them.
Question 17 of 25
Why is it dangerous to carry 20-gauge shells while hunting with a 12-gauge shotgun?
- They make the gun shoot too far
- 20-gauge shells are illegal for all types of hunting in every state and territory
- They will not fit in the magazine
- A 20-gauge shell can lodge in the 12-gauge barrel, which can burst if fired
Show answer
Answer: D. A 20-gauge shell can lodge in the 12-gauge barrel, which can burst if fired
Carry only one type of ammunition, the one marked on your barrel.
Question 18 of 25
Who is often called the father of wildlife management?
- Daniel Boone
- John James Audubon
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Aldo Leopold
Show answer
Answer: D. Aldo Leopold
Leopold wrote the textbook Game Management in 1933.
Question 19 of 25
What is the safest way to store firearms at home?
- Unloaded and locked, with ammunition stored separately
- Loaded in a closet
- Unloaded on an open rack, with the ammunition on the shelf beside it
- Loaded under the bed for quick use
Show answer
Answer: A. Unloaded and locked, with ammunition stored separately
Locked, unloaded storage keeps firearms away from children and unauthorized people.
Question 20 of 25
How do wildlife agencies use regulated hunting?
- To wipe out common species
- As a tool to keep populations in balance with their habitat
- As a replacement for habitat
- To remove all predators, such as wolves and coyotes, from the state
Show answer
Answer: B. As a tool to keep populations in balance with their habitat
Seasons and bag limits are set using population data so harvests are sustainable.
Question 21 of 25
Why is "sky busting" (shooting at ducks or geese that are too far away) a bad practice?
- It wounds birds that fly off and are never recovered
- It uses too little ammunition
- It is the best way to hunt geese, so it is not a bad practice
- It is only bad on windy days
Show answer
Answer: A. It wounds birds that fly off and are never recovered
Shoot only at birds within your effective range so you can kill cleanly and retrieve them.
Question 22 of 25
A hunter is selective and judges success by the size of the animal. Which stage is this?
- Sportsman stage
- Trophy stage
- Shooter stage
- Limiting-out stage
Show answer
Answer: B. Trophy stage
In the trophy stage, quality matters more than quantity.
Question 23 of 25
What is carrying capacity?
- The amount of gear in a truck
- The weight a hunter can safely carry out of the woods
- The number of hunters allowed
- The number of animals a habitat can support over time
Show answer
Answer: D. The number of animals a habitat can support over time
When animals exceed carrying capacity, habitat is damaged and animals suffer.
Question 24 of 25
Why should waterfowl hunters learn to tell drakes from hens?
- It only matters for geese, since all ducks have exactly the same limits
- Drakes are only legal in spring
- Some bag limits are different for males and females of the same species
- Hens cannot be legally hunted anywhere
Show answer
Answer: C. Some bag limits are different for males and females of the same species
Learning plumage and flight patterns helps you follow species and sex limits.
Question 25 of 25
In what year did Congress pass the Pittman-Robertson Act (Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act)?
- 1918
- 1900
- 1964
- 1937
Show answer
Answer: D. 1937
The 1937 Act sends money from excise taxes to state wildlife agencies.

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