I teach the class in Texas. Like has been said, we have a standard set of things we have to cover, and 10 hrs to do it in. I usually split the class into two days because when I used to do it in one day, some students just couldn't handle it. Cost wise, the class costs $15 here, but I dont know if that is common among all States or if it varies. Weapons-wise, we cover MLs, shotguns, rifles, handguns, and archery, regardless of if everyone uses all of them of just one of them--and the focus is on being safe with them, with a few basics thrown in on each one, but it is not an extensive how to session with any specific method. We also do some basic first aid, outdoor/weather safety, tracking, animal ID, go over taking care of the meat after the kill, etc, etc. It is basically geared toward someone who hasn't hunted before, but everyone is required to take the class if they are born after August of 1971. Here is the funny thing. You are not required to have your hunter safety card to purchase a license, but you are required to have it on you while hunting and be able to present it to the Game Warden if asked along with your license. And from what I have been told, the fine for not having done the class is much more than the $15 class fee.
As an aside, and this is nothing against anyone here, but as an instructor, I also get a annual brief in the mail or through email from Texas Parks and Wildlife, which includes a summary of every reported hunting accident fo rthe previous year. This includes things such as the age of the person, the county it happened in, the weapon used, weather the person had a hunting license, if they had been through a hunter safety course, and weather the accident was fatal or not, among a few other things. The vast majority of accidents since I have been getting these reports, are caused by hunters who had NOT been through the course, and many of those are old enough to be exempt from it. This isn't anything against older hunters, or anyone else, just a reminder each time I get it that a refresher is a good thing on occasion when it comes to safety. And in case anyone is wondering, the youngest students we can certify used to be 13yrs old, but was lowered to 9 yrs old a few years ago. So you can now send a unsupervised 9 yr old who had taken the course and passed it hunting and they can do so legally.
We have the option of doing or not doing the field portion, but after having had two brothers (13 and 17 at the time) point loaded rifles at my chest and ask me what I was going to do about it, I no longer do a field portion. By the way, those two failed, along with a long letter and video of what they did being sent to the State explaining why I failed them, and why I recommend they never be issued a Hunter Safety Certificate or a hunting license. I wont go into details here, but long story short, it came very close to a shooting that day but it turned out that they were not willing to be on a two way firing range and gladly dropped their rifles when they realized that they were not the only ones armed. I still teach these classes, but after having lost two years worth of deer hunting due to last minute calls begging me to do the class for one or two people every weekend, I make it known that I will happily teach a class on any day I have off of work BEFORE seasons starts, but once it starts, I am hunting and will be happy to resume teaching classes AFTER the season ends so please plan ahead. Some people have gotten upset about it, but I figure they had plenty of warning as to when the season was scheduled to begin and had time to do it. I also tell them they have the option of going to a Cabelas or Basspro which we have both a bit over 100 miles away and they tend to do the classes every weekend, but to call ahead. So I give them an option on where and how to go get it done, but no longer give up my hunts like I used to do.
I guess the nice thing that the OP would appreciate is that my students leave class with a temporary certificate that allows them to hunt that day if they so choose, because I send the paperwork off to the State that day or the next, and it usually takes a week or two for the students to get their permanent State-issued certificate/card.
