Classes are mandatory

Three good friends took 10 hours of weekend classes last month so they could have fun outdoors together later this fall. 

Joshua Holzhausen, 12; Nick Mare, 14, and Kai Holderby, 11, were classmates in a Missouri Conservation Commission hunter safety class at the Jay Henges Training Center off I-44 in west St. Louis County. 

The boys and other youngsters were taking a mandatory two-day training class in order to qualify for their Missouri hunting permits. 

Twelve-year-old Joshua said he was taking the class "so I can hunt safely with my friends and they'll accept me as a safe hunter." The seventh grader at Westminster Christian Academy said the boys and their families plan to hunt deer in north-central Missouri. 

He said he'll be using a rifle when hunting. "I'm not a very good archer," he said. 

Like the others, fourteen-year-old Nick said he already has experience with firearms. "My grandmother has a farm where we can go skeet shooting," The eighth grader at Westminster Academy said he owns a shotgun. 

Eleven-year-old Kai said he also plans to hunt deer "and maybe some squirrels." He owns a .243-caliber rifle and also has a bow and arrows. But, he said his bow isn't strong enough to use for hunting deer.

The boys and their families plan to hunt at the Thomas Hill Reservoir area in north-central Missouri, north of Columbia.

Jim Engel is the range officer at the Henges Shooting Range and Training Center in High Ridge, Mo. The center holds hunter safety classes on weekends twice a month.

He said there are similar classes held throughout the St. Louis area. Anyone interested in finding a hunting class near them can call Kurt Kyser, a regional supervisor for the state commission. His number is (636) 441-4554. 

In addition to classes, the Henges center has public shooting ranges where hunters can practice firing their guns and rifles. For information about public shooting times, call Engel at (636) 938-9548. 

The commission's other manned center is at the August Busch Memorial Center in St. Charles County. The number there is (636) 441-4554. 

The two manned centers include ranges for pistol, rifle, shotgun and archery. Both centers also are handicapped-accessible. 

He said an important part of being a safe hunter is making sure each hunter is familiar with his or her firearm. He urged all the class members to practice shooting often on a range  before going into the field. 

He also pointed out it is important to get landowner permission to hunt. He said more than 80 per cent of hunting in Missouri is done on private land. "And be sure to get the permission in advance and in writing," he said. 

One of the young people attending the Henges classes wasn't likely to be shooting in the field. Sarah McDonald, 13, came to class with her father, Kermit, and her younger brother, Skyler, 11. 

"I had the choice of sitting around the house or coming to the class. I don't think I'll go hunting but I got some good information about the outdoors," she said. 

Sarah is familiar with firearms. She's gone "plicking" cans with a .22 rifle. But, she didn't like the idea of killing animals. Her father said she's likely to be the family photographer on any hunting trips. 

Her brother, Skyler, said he's looking forward to bird hunting, rather than hunting deer. "I'm not the stay-still type of person," he said. His dad said, "He's afraid there's too much sitting and waiting during a deer hunt." When hunting birds, the hunters usually are on the move through the fields.