Page 35 - May/June 2022 Outdoor Oklahoma

ODWC employees and sometimes outside vol-
unteers will serve as staff to conduct the regional DANIEL GRIFFITH/ODWC
and state shoots. They work as judges, scorers,
target pullers, registrars and score tabulators.
Springer has prepared for the shoots by
ordering the 700 or so awards that will be div-
vied out to the top teams and shooters. Banners are installed and ready before the shooting begins.
Over the years, the shooting events have
become a well-oiled machine: School buses DANIEL GRIFFITH/ODWC
shuttle in and out all day long, and scores
along with team and individual placings are
posted through the day and on the Outdoor
Education Facebook page within hours.
It’s a lot of work to operate OKSSSP, not
just during the spring shooting events but
throughout the year, Springer said. “If I’m not
getting phone calls, I’m worried!” But it also
brings a great deal of reward.
“I’m part of getting to introduce them to fire-
arms and shooting, a longstanding thing that
they are going to be able to use the rest of their
lives. You know, go out hunting or just go out
shooting. Some of these kids have probably
never seen a firearm. OKSSSP allows them to
learn about them correctly, in a safe environ-
ment, and they get to represent their schools.”
Smith added that the students get much
more out of OKSSSP than the chance to shoot
shotguns. They learn proper firearms handling,
teamwork, shooting etiquette, cooperation,
and respect of authority, among other things. ODWC employees are assigned to score and judge at each trapshooting field
during regional and state OKSSSP shotgun competitions.
And they learn that safety is the No. 1 priority.
“We’re from Oklahoma, and 99 percent of Signage reminds everyone of the safety rules All of the day’s scoresheets are
during an OKSSSP shotgun event. tallied, stacked and bundled at the
youths are going to be exposed to firearms at end of another successful shoot.
some point,” he said. “One thing about my job is DANIEL GRIFFITH/ODWC
the make sure that exposure is positive and safe.” DANIEL GRIFFITH/ODWC
But he also enjoys seeing the youths have a
good time.
“Seeing these kids enjoy their day, and
the teamwork and camaraderie they feed off
each other with, it’s really nice. I wish they had
programs like this when I was in high school,

because I would have absolutely loved it!”

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