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Just shoot the bird

I’m leaving the office shortly for my last night of a three-session hunters safety class.

We’ll shoot some trap, review the last few chapters of our workbook and take our test.

I’m trying not to be nervous about the test. After all, I passed it when I was 12. It will be mostly multiple-choice questions, I think. I’ll also need to show that I can safely load and unload a gun and safely carry it.

I can do all those things. But, like anything else, when someone is watching, it gets a little nerve-wracking.

It’s been an enjoyable class. I’m working on a story about hunters safety in Wisconsin. I’ll blog more about the class when I’m not feeling so nervous.

My goal, other than writing a story, is to be able to go deer hunting with my family this fall. Sitting in class, listening to hunting stories from my teachers and from other students is making me really excited to get into the woods.

Tonight’s trap shoot isn’t a test. It’s just an attempt on our teachers’ part to give us a chance to handle guns in a safe environment.

Last night after class, my brother made me practice my shooting stance and gave me some tips about shooting trap. I’ve shot before, but never at a moving target.

Brother Rob’s final word of advice: Just shoot the bird, Sis. That’s all you’ve got to do. Just shoot the bird.

He also cut a paragraph out of a hunting magazine for me. Columnist David E. Petzal wrote:

“Recently, I pulled targets for a women-only rifle match, shot prone at 100 yards with .22s. One of the two perfect scores turned in—a 100x4X—was shot by a competitor who had never fired a rifle before. She went into the contest with nothing to prove, no reputation to uphold, no preconceptions, and simply did what she was told, no more and no less. We can all benefit by her example.”

Words, I think, that go far beyond the shooting range.