Wildlife Department offers school shooting programs

“Kids across the entire state are involved in outdoor activities,” Springer said.

The Wildlife Department has two types of outdoor education programs, some that are open to the public and some that are offered within public and private schools.

“Chisholm and Kremlin-Hillsdale are two area clubs that are active in the shotgun program,” he said. “We had several shooters from Chisholm who placed in state.”

Public programs are free of charge and include a wing shooting program (shotgun training education program), hunter education and family fishing clinics. The department provides instructors with all the equipment (guns, ammo, rods and reels, tackle, bait and education materials) for these events.

Schools that are involved in the department’s in-school education programs are provided with equipment kits as well as educational materials.

To get involved with school programs schools must send at least one teacher to a training course and commit to offering the programs as part of their in-school curriculum. Programs include the National Archery in Schools Program, Explore Bowhunting, Explore Bowfishing, Oklahoma Fishing in the Schools, Hunter Education in the Schools, Oklahoma Scholastic Shooting Sports Program and Varsity Archery.

“We have teachers tell us that kids come to school because they want to participate in these programs,” Springer said. “We have kids who are interested in the outdoors.”

Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation officials decided to create the Oklahoma Scholastic Shooting Sports Program, a trap-based shotgun program. The program is focused on providing a fun, safe environment for students to participate in shooting sports and reconnect with the joy of being outdoors, Springer said.

The goals of the OKSSSP program will raise awareness of conservation-related sports, promote safety and responsibility and raise self-esteem, he said. Schools who want this program must have teachers who attend a one-day training taught by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Instructors to learn basic shooting skills, trap-shooting fundamentals, gun safety, how to get the kids started, shotgun patterning, etc.

Once they complete the training course, the school is eligible to receive an equipment kit from ODWC. Teachers return to their schools fully prepared to teach a two-week shotgun shooting course to their students.

“At this time, kits are only available to ninth through 12th-grade high school level teams,” Springer said. “We hope to have some available for seventh and eighth-grade levels in the future.”

“The archery programs are very popular because they can be done inside,” Springer said. “The program is for grades four through 12th grade.”

Oklahoma State University started shooting classes in 2013, and now there are teams in all colleges in Oklahoma, he said. Springer has been with the Wildlife Department for 26 years.