There is no better place to start the series of posts in the essay category than the first class that tackled this assignment – the second class from 2004. I chose an essay that exemplifies the typical student when one thinks of kids in firearm safety class and the anticipations of their first hunts. This writer, Dan Will, was a 12 year-old at the time he took the class.
Like so many other boys his age growing up in Minnesota, he looks forward to time spent in the woods with his dad and the life affirming experiences they are sure to explore together. But as you will find in later posts, that father figure, that mentor, can come as many different individuals - a mother, a grandfather, an uncle, an older sibling, a friend; and I am happy to say that a good portion of my classes are filled with young sportswomen as well as young sportsmen.
I myself never hunted with my father. My dad was a huge fisherman, but never hunted. I owe my introduction to hunting to my older brother and brother-in-law.
However, the vision that comes to your mind, well, my mind anyway, when you think of firearm safety and a first hunt is that of father and son. The following essay by this soon-to-be new hunter showed the enthusiasm and anticipation for that first hunt in an outdoors setting that seems to be familiar yet a thing of wonderment to him. It is clear that he is not new to venison on the table, and that his heart jumps with the flush of a grouse in the woods of Northern Minnesota.
This is why I wanted to join Firearm Safety Class. I really love to hunt. I like to head out in the woods with my dad and look at the natural surroundings. There is so much stuff to see out there. I want to be able to sit in a treestand or walk around in the woods, hunting for deer and grouse. I want to be able to get my own animals. I want to do it so I can spend more time with my dad out in the woods. I am also doing it for the meat. I love wild game, it tastes so good. I want to be able to eat the food that I have harvested. I want to feel the pride of getting my first deer. Since I am taking this class, I will be able to see new places, try new activities that I have never done before. I will get to handle new guns. I will be able to take advantage of my good eye to kill animals quickly and painlessly. Hunting is a really fun sport that lets you get out in your natural surroundings, see things you’ve never seen, do things you’ve never done before. This is why I have chosen to take this firearm safety class.
Dan Will
Copyright 2008
