Students at HHS have a wide range of hobbies, but there are only a few whose interests include camouflage and a gun.

Jack Anderson, senior, started hunting after becoming close with his sister’s boyfriend around six years ago, and he has become very involved in it ever since. After hunting many kinds of game, ducks became his favorite.

“[I love] hunting ducks because there is a lot of shooting [involved], and you get to really test your skills because you’re shooting at a moving target,” Anderson said.

There are many rules and regulations regarding hunting, especially for teenagers. Starting at age 11, children can complete a firearms safety course, which includes classroom instruction and field experience, to receive a certificate valid at the age of 12. The safety course can be completed either in a

classroom or online through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

In many cases, Boy Scout troops decide to complete the licensing process together, which is how Anderson completed it.

Every hunter must also possess one particular skill: patience.

“Patience is very important, but it also depends on the game you’re after,” Anderson said. “[It requires] a lot more patience to hunt deer and big game because you’re waiting for them to come to you. As for waterfowl, you can move around more, but once you see the birds in the distance, you [have to] lay low and wait for them to land.”

Hunters purchase different licenses depending on the game they want to hunt, which can only be hunted during particular open seasons. In Minn., the most popular game to hunt is deer, which can only be hunted in the fall. Waterfowl, which includes ducks and geese, are also hunted in the fall, with a tentative opening day of Sept. 26 this year.

Tom Koppe, senior, started hunting in elementary school after his family purchased land up north. Since then, ducks have also become his favorite game to hunt. “A lot of people think that I just like to kill stuff, but it’s more of the atmosphere and simply being outside,” Koppe said. “It’s a lot of strategy.”

Duck decoys are used to help hunters attract ducks. They are life-sized models of ducks, made of either wood or plastic, that are set up around the hunting area. Setting up multiple decoys around a hunting area encourages real ducks to land nearby, hopefully in range of the hunter’s gun.

“The preparation for the hunt and the setting up of the decoys in the dark, not knowing if they’re going to fly that day, is always exciting once the light breaks through the sky,” Anderson said.

Anderson and Koppe spare countless weekend mornings to get up far before they would to make it to school by 7:47. However, for them, it’s all part of the hunt.