2002
Tulsa YHEC Highlights
Tulsa Gun Club – March 30, 2002
Another successful YHEC was held March 30, 2002 at the Tulsa Gun
Club. The event was the largest Oklahoma YHEC
yet. 58 young shooters representing 23
Cities braved what was forecast as a miserable wet day.
The shooters missed the rain and other than some strong gust the 33 Junior and 25
Senior competitors enjoyed a perfect outdoor day. Ages
for the competitors ranged from 18 to our youngest shooter Alex Cash at 8 years old from
Owasso. Over 3,300 total miles were traveled
by competitors to reach the event with Zachary Mathews traveling from Cement and Doug
Howard all the way from Woodward. Hennessey
was even represented by 5 participants. Tulsa
and Owasso were well represented as well with 12 and five participants respectively.
The top shooters overall were Zac
Brown from Hennessey taking top honors followed by E.J Oppenheimer from Tulsa both in the
Senior division. Hawk Bledsoe of Jenks a
Junior Division shooter, finished third just behind the older shooters. Senior top shooters were Brown and Oppenheimer
followed by Joe Witt of Collinsville. Bledsoe
lead the Junior top shooters followed by Rocky Menefee of Woodward and Justin Hoot of
Owasso. Of the top six shooters, four
represented Tulsa Gun Club.
The skill level of the participants
ranges from beginner to quite skilled. However
the quality of the youth in the event is always high.
At the Tulsa event a new CVA muzzleloader was to be given to the top Junior and
Senior Competitors. Zac Brown had received
the top award at an earlier event. He without
hesitation, passed his selection of the top gun to Hawk Bledsoe, the Junior Champion,
allowing him to choose his gun first and then Zac passed his grand prize down to E.J. the
runner up in the event. Clearly the competitors are at the event to learn about their
sport and Zac’s sportsman is a true sign of the quality of youth exposed in a
positive manner to the shooting sports.
YHEC is an event designed to give new or beginning shooters as
well as more advanced hunters or shooters a chance to experience the shooting and hunting
sports. Participants are exposed to shot
gunning, archery, and rifle events. They also
are tested on their knowledge of wildlife species, knowledge of regulations and hunting
ethics. Hunter safety trail ties it all
together when participants are lead through simulated hunting scenarios and must determine
when it is legal to harvest game but also must make educated decisions to not shoot when
appropriate depending on safety and ethical concerns.
YHEC on a statewide level has been
made possible through grants from the Friends of the NRA making equipment available for
the event. Seven events will be held this
year in Oklahoma before the State event in Oklahoma City on June 15, 2002. The Tulsa Gun Club and their members hosted the
Tulsa event. Many volunteers from
organizations including Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Oklahoma Bow
Council, Tulsa Retriever Club and the Oklahoma Hunter Education Association assisted in
overseeing the events. Shooters pay an entry
fee of $15.00 to defray cost of the event but individuals and local business also help
sponsor prizes for the competitors. This
year, Owasso Wal-Mart provided breakfast for the volunteers and competitors.
If you are interested participating
this year, shoots are still scheduled in Ponca City and Canton. Oklahoma YHEC is searching for volunteers
including individuals or organizations to help both this year and in future events. Many of the events like Tulsa, assign an
organization to man an event. The
organization then has an opportunity to share their experience and has an opportunity to
share information about their organization. The
competitors are benefited from the shooting and hunting experience shared by the
volunteers.
More details about Oklahoma YHEC can
be found at www.yhec.org including event scores, photos and contact information. For information about the Tulsa event contact
Bryan Young at (918) 371-9872. Paul Conrady
is the State Director and can be reached at (405) 341-6374.