one shot hunters

FWP ENCOURAGES YOUNGSTERS TO MAKE A COMMITMENT TO BEING
"ONE SHOT" HUNTERS
      Fifty young hunters harvested their 2005 big game animal with a
single shot, to be counted among Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks' first
"One Shot Hunters."
      "We created the One-Shot Hunter program to emphasize good
hunting skills," said Thomas Baumeister, chief of FWP's education bureau
in Helena. "It takes knowledge, skill, patience, and the right approach to
be a one-shot hunter."
FWP invited about 800 recent Hunter Education Program graduates to
participate in the program. Next year, FWP may extend the program to all
young Montana hunters and possibly to adults, Baumeister said.
"The one-shot program builds on Montana's hunter education training
to help a young hunter go from the basics to becoming a good hunter for
life," Baumeister said. "As a reward we gave each successful hunter a
One-Shot Hunter cap and set aside a place on the FWP website for photos
and personal testimonials."
      The youngsters' comments suggest the program may have had a
positive impact. When asked what she learned by aspiring to become a
one-shot hunter, Tiffany Salveson, 13, of Malta said the effort helped her
harvest a white-tailed buck in a manner that wouldn't ruin any meat and
wouldn't make the animal suffer. Kalispell's Steffan Stroupe, 12, who
harvested a white-tailed deer, said participation in the new program led
him to pay "closer attention to making my shot count rather than just
getting excited."
      Twenty percent of this year's one-shot hunters were young women,
Baumeister said.
      For more on Montana's One Shot Hunter program and for tips on how
you can gain one-shot hunting skills, go to fwp.mt.gov and look on the
Education page under Hunter Education.
                                              -fwp-