Page 8 - Oklahoma Station Chapter SCI Dec 2022 Safari Trails

life for most people. They made sure that I understood the
would live off the of the meat and importance of hunting. Harvest
fur of the animals they killed. Of deer isn’t just about the deer chili
course, hunting has evolved over and the trophy mounts on the wall.
the years. Now we have special- Hunting is used as a critical wild-
ized guns and realistic decoys, but life management tool. For exam-
the culture still remains. People ple, without deer hunting, the pop-
still love and appreciate he out- ulation of deer would explode.
doors and all that hunting is able to They would over-graze and cause
provide. harm to other wildlife and to the
One of my earliest memories of land. Not only that, the deer would
shooting was when I was eight. My suffer from a lack of food and shel-
dad had refurbished my great- ter. I’ve learned that I should al-
grandpa’s old rifle for me to use. ways respect nature and help to
We went to the shoot- conserve its natural beauty. Okla-
ing range and he homa is an amazing place to live.
taught me how Our state is home to over 100 dif-
to shoot and
handle fire- ferent mammal species and has one
of the most diverse ecosystems
Senior Division Girl grew older, he taught with over ten different ecoregions.
arms safely. As I
This provides different types of
Grade: 12 Teacher: Bill Reeves me all about different wildlife in each part of the state. I
consider myself so fortunate to live
types of guns and he
Age: 17 School: El Reno
built my first hunting
rifle. Through my childhood, I had in this great hunting state!

Sharing The Heritage been exposed to various types of (Continued on Next Page)
hunting because my dad and

grandpa were avid hunters. It was
Hunting is a part of my fami- something I was always interested
ly’s heritage. From deer and ante- in doing when I was older. When I
lope to turkey, geese, and wild got that first hunting rifle, I felt so
hogs, we have always loved the excited finally get to be a part of
thrill of the hunt. Hunting is some- that family heritage I had heard so
thing that has been passed down much about. My dad would set up
from generation to generation. I deer-shaped targets and show me
learned how to hunt from dad and where to hit the deer. I was taught
grandpa and they both learned a lot about the anatomy of animals
from their parents. What an amaz- and how to ethically and humanely
ing opportunity hunting can be for harvest them. He taught me how to
a child to make memories with hunt with rifles, bows, crossbows
those they love. From the very be- and even muzzleloaders. These are
ginning, hunting has been a way of some of my favorite memories.
When I started hunting, my parents