Page 9 - Outdoor Oklahoma - May/June 2021 Issue

2020 CREATIVE WRITING COMPETITION

“IT IS MY JOB TO SHARE THE HERITAGE”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Each year, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and Oklaho-
ma Station Chapter Safari Club International join to sponsor a creative writing competition for
Oklahoma middle and high school students. A boy and a girl from two age divisions are selected
winners. Students were required to write essays using the theme “Hunting: Sharing the Heritage”
or “Archery: What I Like About Archery in the Schools and Bowhunting.” Winners in the age
15-17 category receive a guided antelope hunt in the Texas Panhandle, and winners in the 11-14
age category receive a hunting trip with Rack Attack Outfitters (or similar) and a scholarship to
the Outdoor Texas Camp. In this issue, Outdoor Oklahoma honors junior category male winner
Coy Davidson, 14, from Elgin Middle School.

I harvested my first deer with my dad when I was just 8
SHARING THE years old. I was using the same Rossy single shot .223 that
HERITAGE OF both my older and my younger brother used to kill their

HUNTING first deer. We were hunting at our lease in a tall ladder stand
when I saw a doe and fawn walking behind me. I grabbed
the gun and pulled the hammer. ‘Put it on her shoulder and
By Coy Davidson squeeze the trigger,” Dad whispered. I listened to every
Wendall Phillips once said, “The word he said and slowly and carefully pulled the trigger. To
heritage of the past is the seed that my excitement, the deer dropped to the ground.
brings forth the future harvests.” After shooting the deer, I couldn’t wait to tell everyone.
Hunting is, was, and will always be My mom was the first person I called, and she was so proud.
my passion. I have been hunting with my family for as long as I Then we called everyone else and told them what happened.
can remember. Hunting has been a part of my family’s heritage Like many boys, my favorite part from when I was younger
for many generations. My great grandpa taught my grandpa; was dressing the deer. It might take a hunter to understand
my grandpa taught my dad; and my dad taught me. this, but cutting the deer open and getting all bloody is exciting!
What I love about hunting the most is spending time in In our family we have many hunting traditions. One tra-
God’s great creation! Even if I am not the one hunting, I still dition is using the Rossy .223 that my brothers and I used
love being knee-deep in the woods. Before I could ever shoot, to shoot our first deer. Another tradition is that everyone
I was in the blind watching my dad and my older brother, and in my family skinned our first deer with the same knife that
I’ve never been more excited about a family tradition than I my dad got from his grandpa. A more unique tradition is we
am this one. I was in the blind when my brother shot his first, sign each other’s bullets for good luck. Every time my dad
second, and third deer, which were a buck and two does. Even goes hunting without us, my brothers and I sign the bullet
though I was young, I still remember the excitement that was that we want him to use. If he shoots a deer with the signed
in the blind, which was much like the excitement one feels on bullet, he sends us a picture of only the bullet, and we all
Christmas morning. know what that means. You can imagine our bragging rights
The first hunt I remember was when I was only 4 years old. if his shot comes from the signed bullet. Also, we keep the
It was Christmas Eve, and my brother and I went alongside my bullet used to kill our first deer or duck. I have five of the
dad and his friend to duck hunt. It was icy and really cold that bullets that I’ve shot deer with and one shotgun shell from
morning. Even though they only shot a couple of ducks, we my first duck. One of my favorite traditions my dad started
still had a blast. is mounting all of our first bucks and ducks that we shoot.
My favorite part of all the duck hunts we went on was when These keepsakes will become conversation starters to help
we stopped to get cinnamon rolls for breakfast after the hunt. pass on our hunting heritage for years to come.
When we got home, I was so happy that I carried the dead Just as this sport has been passed down to me, I believe
ducks around for a couple of days! I learned at a young age that it is my job to do whatever it takes to keep it alive in future
hunting is more than shooting an animal; it’s about building generations. Sadly, more and more kids are staying inside
bonds with family and friends while waiting patiently for a shot. and playing video games when they could be in the woods
Another unforgettable hunt from my childhood was when my hunting. As an avid hunter and outdoorsman, I feel it is my
dad shot a doe with my brother and me. We were hunting out job to share the heritage with other hunters and even recruit
of a ground blind with a blanket taking a nap. It wasn’t long and inspire new hunters. I believe it is the duty of passionate
into my nap when my dad woke me up. “Deer, deer,” he said hunters to work together to keep the hunting heritage alive
softly as not to scare the deer. I shot up from the ground like a and pass along our passion to future generations.
bullet out of a gun, and my dad reminded me to be quiet. My Hunting is, was, and will always be my personal passion.
brother and I held our ears tightly while he shot. He got it! I I have the heritage of the past, a legacy that encourages me
remembered running out to the field to see what my dad shot. to plant a seed for future harvests. To this I owe my love of
I was so excited! From that day, my childhood love for hunting hunting, and I devote myself to sharing the heritage instilled
has become a lifelong passion. in me to generations to come.

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