Complete the HCAP Course for only €130

IFA Countryside offers its members an opportunity to avail of subsidised participation in approved deer stalking training and certification, in partnership with and facilitated by Deer Alliance HCAP and subsidised by IFA Farm Business Skillnet for IFA and IFA Countryside members.

Deer Alliance HCAP, in partnership with IFA Countryside, will hold the first event in the 2027 Series of assessments with a Training Workshop & MCQ talking place on Saturday 13th February 2027 (10am-5pm) at the Woodford Dolmen Hotel, Kilkenny Road, Carlow, R93 N207, followed on Saturday 20th February 2027 (10am start) by the associated Range Test for candidates successful in the HCAP MCQ at the Midlands National Shooting Centre, Blueball, Tullamore, Co. Offaly R35 NC58.

For more information on Deer Alliance HCAP, see www.deeralliance.ie (http://www.deeralliance.ie/faq) or you can view the full syllabus here (https://ifacountryside.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/HCAP-Training-Syllabus-2025.pdf).

All candidates for HCAP must carry appropriate shooting insurance, to be exhibited at the Range Test stage.

Membership of IFA Countryside includes a range of membership benefits including insurance as required by Deer Alliance HCAP for purposes of the Range Test which follows the HCAP MCQ for successful candidates.

Members of IFA Countryside can avail of discounted cost of only €130 to include Training Workshop, Stalker Training Manual, MCQ & Range Test. Manual will be posted shortly after booking is confirmed. If you are not a member of IFA Countryside, call Barbara on 01 4260368 or complete the Request to Join Form here (https://ifacountryside.ie/membership/#quote).

ℹ️ Where a candidate does not, or cannot, appear for his or her scheduled HCAP date, they are automatically carried forward to the next scheduled date, through to the end of the calendar year.

FIREARMS FOR RANGE TEST

HCAP Candidates who do not have access to their own deer-legal rifle have two options open to them. If they have a friend who has a deer-legal rifle and is prepared to let the candidate use that rifle for the Range Test, that is permitted, provided that the friend holds a valid Firearm Certificate for the firearm in question, holds valid shooting insurance and is present with the Candidate on the Range at all times. Alternatively, the candidate can avail of a Club Rifle in calibre .243, available from the Midland Range. Booking must be made at least two weeks in advance and is subject to Garda vetting. The current cost of rifle hire is €60.00, to include ammunition sufficient for the standard Range Test. Candidates with no previous experience of full-bore rifle shooting may be required to undertake basic tuition and competency testing on a one-to-one basis at the Midland Range (to include the Range Test Course of Fire but not as part of the Range Test), the current cost of which is €150.00 (one person, one day tuition and test preparation). Hire of a Club rifle and/or arrangements for tuition and test preparation, including all costs, are entirely a matter between Midland Range management and personnel, are outside the ordinary HCAP process and Deer Alliance HCAP has no responsibility or obligation in this regard. For further information about use of a Club firearm for the HCAP Range Test, contact John Paul Craven (Range Operator), 086 823 2641 or Tony Saunders, 087 097 7589.

BOOKING OF A CLUB FIREARM FOR THE RANGE MUST BE ARRANGED BY THE CANDIDATE NOT LESS THAN TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE DATE OF THE RANGE TEST.

ALL RANGE TEST CANDIDATES MUST CARRY THEIR OWN SHOOTING INSURANCE

MANDATORY CERTIFICATION

Certification has been mandatory for all first-time applicants for a Deer Hunting Licence since 2022 and has been obligatory for all persons hunting on Coillte forest property since 2005. In addition, the recent Irish Deer Management Strategy Group report published in December 2023, recommends phased certification for all hunters over the next 3 to 5 years (including licensed hunters not hunting on Coillte forest property and/or holding a Deer Hunting Licence prior to 2022).

ABOUT HCAP

HCAP is the only training programme in Ireland developed in partnership with Coillte Teoranta, National Parks & Wildlife Service, Forest Service, An Garda Síochána and all principal deer organisations. Enquiries by email to deeralliance@gmail.com or by phone to 086 1927 845 (office hours).

SIKA THE WILD DEER

In addition, thanks to a special sponsorship deal offered exclusively to Deer Alliance HCAP, early HCAP Candidates in 2027 will receive a complimentary copy of Sika the Wild Deer (retail value €25.00), the story of the life of a sika stag in Wicklow, from conception to maturity, seen through the eyes of a stalker.

Description supplied by the event organiser.