imported post
The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries offers Hunter Education courses, free of charge, throughout the year at various times across the Commonwealth. It is a two-day course; day 2 is a review and a test. You will receive a certificate of completion on the same day, if you pass the test. I have read that there is also an on-line option for the VDGIF Hunter Education training and test.
You would be taught, among other things, general firearms safety including safe handling practices as well as "safe" and "unsafe" shots. You will also learn how firearms work, from muzzle loaders to semi-auto. The context of this training is in the outdoors, away from cities and subdivisions. You would *not* learn any urban self-defense scenarios, tactics, nor any laws beyond the fish and game laws of Virginia.