MERIDIAN —    Whether it be a pistol, rifle, or shotgun, the legendary markswoman Annie Oakley was masterful with them all. Dubbed "Little Sure Shot" by Chief Sitting Bull (she was five feet tall), her sharp shooting in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show won her many awards and captivated audiences far and wide. Her name remains synonymous with firearms and entertainment.

    Though many young ladies may feel intimidated around their male hunting counterparts, in reality the ladies are much easier to train and pick up the shooting sports with relative ease when given the opportunity. And many of them not only enjoy shooting and hunting, most excel at it when they’re given half a chance. One only has to look at the pages of this newspaper during hunting season to view the successes of these modern day lady hunters!

    Though Little Sure Shot has been gone from the American scene for quite some time, her legacy lives on and should inspire young ladies everywhere to pick up their rifles and shotguns and head to the shooting ranges and fields, or woodlands.

    Some youngsters, like Savannah Pope and Mikayla Giles, are following in her footsteps and don’t even know it. Modern day outdoors women enjoy all of the perks of being a woman and more. Think hunting’s just for men, then think again. Savannah and Mikayla are a couple of those young lady hunters who can fish, hunt and shoot too! Yes, modern day outdoorswomen like Pope and Giles can don their favorite camouflage and head to the woods, or dress up in their favorite outfits and hit the town!

    Did I mention that they are both cheerleaders and excellent students? Pope is a cheerleader at Clarkdale and Giles is a cheerleader at Calvary Christian School and both are active in all areas of life. One minute you see them dressed like students, and the next they’ll have on their cheer outfits and be leading cheers at the football games.

    But they also get the opportunity to dress in sharp looking camouflage and enjoy the outdoors with their friends and family. Though both have harvested many deer, including nice bucks, they also enjoy being outdoors while canoeing and swimming the rivers and hunting small game.

    They spent last Saturday morning in the woods along the Chunky River in pursuit of furry little critters, aka squirrels, and there were plenty of squirrels working the water oak trees and feeding on acorns.

    It didn’t take long for the action to begin shortly after dawn as the squirrels scurried up and down the surrounding trees. Shortly thereafter the youngsters were having a ball burning powder and shooting squirrels. Shooting squirrels that are running, jumping and flying through the trees is not easy. The diminutive rodents offered plenty of opportunities and the girls responded well by knocking a few out of the trees.

    As shots resounded up and down the river bottom it was obvious that others were having good luck as well. Squirrel season opened with a bang and provided hunters another chance to get outdoors and experience nature’s bounty.



    Contact  Mike Giles at 601-917-3898

or e-mail him at ikegiles18@comcast.net