What you Need to Hunt with a Firearm in British Columbia
One of the most common questions we get at Silvercore is whether you need a PAL to hunt in British Columbia. The honest answer is: it depends on whose firearm you are using. There are two legal ways to hunt with a firearm in BC, and the route you pick decides which courses you need and in what order. We will walk through both so you get on the right path the first time.
Both routes start the same way. To hunt in BC at all, you complete the CORE Hunter Education course and get your Fish and Wildlife ID (FWID). That part is not optional. The PAL question is only about the firearm itself, and that is where the two paths split.
Option 1: Hunt with your own non-restricted firearm
This is the route for most people who want to own and carry their own rifle or shotgun in the field. To possess and use your own firearm, you need a Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL), and to get a PAL you take the Canadian Firearms Safety Course (CFSC, or the combined CFSC/CRFSC).
Here is our recommendation, and it surprises people: take your firearms course first, then CORE. One might assume CORE should come first since it is the hunting course, but hear us out. There are two reasons.
The first is safety. The CFSC teaches you to handle a firearm properly before you ever take one into the field. That is the right order to learn in.
The second is a real shortcut. Once you have passed the CFSC/CRFSC, you can be exempted from the practical handling portion of the CORE program. To claim it, you provide proof of your firearms-course completion, meaning your CFSC/CRFSC course report (you receive it at the end of class once you have passed). One important catch, and it is a BC Wildlife Federation rule, not ours: a valid PAL on its own is not accepted as proof. It has to be the course report. If you took your CFSC/CRFSC with Silvercore, we check our records and mark the class list so your exemption is handled for you.
Once you have both your firearms course and CORE behind you, you can hunt in BC with your own non-restricted firearm.
Option 2: Hunt with a borrowed firearm, supervised
You do not strictly need a PAL to hunt with a firearm in BC. To hunt legally, the baseline requirement is that you complete the CORE Hunter Education course and hold your FWID. With that done, you can hunt with a non-restricted firearm without your own firearms licence, as long as you are under the direct and immediate supervision of someone who holds a valid PAL and can lawfully lend you the firearm.
It is a legitimate way to get into the field, and a good way to try hunting before you commit to the firearms course. The trade-off is that you cannot head out on your own. You have to stay with your PAL-holding partner so they can supervise your handling of the firearm. For most people this is a starting point, not a long-term plan.
A quick note on the Initiation Hunting Licence
There is one more entry point worth knowing about. The Initiation Hunting Licence lets a new adult hunter (18 or older) get into the field under the mentorship of an experienced licensed hunter without first completing CORE. It can be used only once in a person's lifetime, it costs $19, and you must hunt while accompanied by your mentor. It is a try-before-you-commit option. You can read the current details on the Province's hunting licences page.
After your courses, here is the rest of the path
Passing your courses is the hard part, but it is not the last step. Once you have CORE and your FWID (plus a PAL if you went the Option 1 route), you still need to buy your hunting licence and the right species licences, your tags, before the season opens. For the full step-by-step from CORE through to tags, start with our guide on how to get your BC hunting licence.
Two things worth doing before a deadline: make sure your FWID and resident credential are current (the resident credential expires every three years and quietly blocks licence and LEH purchases when it lapses), and check the current BC hunting regulations for the season and unit you are hunting.
Our take: do both, in the right order
We recommend taking both the firearms course and CORE. It is the combination that leaves you actually prepared, safe with a firearm and confident with the hunting rules, rather than scraping by on the minimum. If you prefer to study from home and on your own time, you can take CORE online, and you can find our in-person and online firearms training on the CFSC/CRFSC course page. Whether you take both courses or just one, we are here to help. If you have questions, call our office at 604-940-7785 or email info@silvercore.ca.
One last thing worth sorting before the season is liability coverage. The Silvercore Club includes $5 million in third-party liability insurance through Lloyd's of London, valid across North America for your hunting and shooting, for $59 a year. You can join the Club here.
