Page 29 - 2020 May/June Outdoor Oklahoma

A similar background belongs to Paula Tate, an active
skeet shooter at OKCGC and a former chairman of the WhereToShoot.org
club’s Shotgun Division. Tate grew up watching her father
and brother venture off to hunt, and it wasn’t until 2007 that Managed by the National Shooting Sports
she attended her first Women on Target event. Foundation, the trade association for the firearms
Tate and her husband, Brent, remain very active with the industry, this website is the most comprehensive
club. Both of them shoot competitively, and both serve as online directory of shooting ranges. Log on to find a
instructors at a variety of events. place to shoot near you.
For Adam Dreyer, also an OKCGC member, becoming
involved in shotgunning activities was delayed only by his age.
Dreyer, a native of Illinois, moved to Edmond with his
parents on his 8th birthday. It would be two more years DANIEL GRIFFITH/ODWC
before he picked up a shotgun, but it wasn’t for a lack
of desire.
“I started doing the 4-H archery and air rifles, and I had to
wait until I was 10 to do shotguns,” he said. “And ever since
then, I’ve been doing shotgun sports.”
Dreyer has been actively involved in all shotgun disci-
plines, with his main focus being skeet. He is also an avid
duck hunter.
Dreyer has had to dial back on his level of skeet shooting
while pursuing his education at Oklahoma State University.
Majoring in wildlife ecology and management, he hopes to
one day serve as a game warden with ODWC.
For those new to shooting sports, Dreyer offers this
advice: It takes time, practice, and patience.
“If they try it and they are not successful at first, don’t
be discouraged,” he said. “It takes a lot of muscle memory
and practice to get to where you really start to enjoy it.”
Dreyer said shooting sports are about skill, not athlet-
icism, and “anyone can partake and not feel discriminat-
ed against.”
That sentiment also echoes with Springer when it comes
to the OKSSSP.
“Some kids don’t have the desire to play other sports like
football, basketball, baseball. But this program allows them
to still be a competitor for their school,” he said.
Aside from the OKSSSP, ODWC also conducts the FFA
Sporting Clays program (a modified five-stand setup) each
fall. The Department also has a Shotgun Training Education
Program (STEP), which offers small hands-on clinics across
the state, throughout the year, to introduce people to shot-
gunning and firearms safety.
At the Department’s annual Wildlife Expo at Lazy E Arena
in Guthrie, as many as 5,000 people of all ages get the
chance to shoot a shotgun.
“It’s always about safety first and then learning the finer
points of becoming a proficient shotgunner,” Springer said.
A young trap shooter awaits his turn during a tournament within the Oklahoma Scholastic
Shooting Sports Program.

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