By Mark Coddington
mark.coddington@theindependent.com

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Independent/Lane Hickenbottom To help become an Eagle Scout, Kyle Woodgate of St. Paul is teaching BB gun training sessions. Independent/Lane Hickenbottom Among the many merit badges Boy Scout Kyle Woodgate has earned are shotgun shooting and rifle shooting badges. Click Thumbnails to View

He shoots with the Doniphan trapshooting team, and he has been hunting since he went with his grandpa looking for ducks when he was about 8.

Back then, he'd shoot his BB gun off his deck at cans and boxes.

And like many Nebraska boys, he didn't get any formal safety training until he was 11.

That gap during the elementary years was one that 15-year-old Kyle wanted to help close.

So Kyle, a Boy Scout, organized a BB gun safety class two weeks ago in St. Paul as an Eagle Scout project.

It was just the right idea a little outside the norm of manual labor-driven improvement projects and right in line with Kyle's passion for the outdoors.

"I just wanted to do something that might benefit the kids more, that they'll use their whole life," Kyle said.

Kyle's idea turned out to be a huge hit. He and his mother, Michelle, had been expecting about a dozen grade-schoolers from the St. Paul area to show up. And on a snowy, windy Sunday afternoon, they got 26.

He has already gotten requests to host similar programs in Ord and Greeley.

"It reached out to a populace that doesn't normally get a whole lot of attention, at least as far as gun safety," said Daryl Teter of St. Paul, an outdoor education specialist/law enforcement officer with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the adviser for Kyle's project. "He hit a spot there."

Kyle was inspired by the news last March of the death of 4-year-old Malek Starr-Clifton of Chapman, who was shot by a 10-year-old boy with a BB gun.

Kyle had received a lot of informal training on his BB gun from his grandfather, retired longtime sheriff Woody Woodgate of Ord. But he knew that many others never got that training and that their lack of knowledge could be dangerous.

So he rounded up a space, speakers, snacks and sponsors for an afternoon-long session on BB gun safety. He recruited Teter and Grand Island and St. Paul police officers to demonstrate safety and teach local rules.

He got donations of an air rifle, glasses and earplugs from area businesses for door prizes. He advertised at schools and on local radio stations. And he prepared his own presentation on gun safety, too.

It was a lot of headaches and a lot more work than Kyle expected. But he said he learned responsibility and respect along the way. And he helped teach younger children a lesson in a way that connected with them.

"Kyle, who's 15, telling them, 'Don't point a gun at anybody,' held more importance than maybe a mom or dad," Michelle Woodgate said.

Kyle wants to have a career in conservation or parks management, and if that's the path he's on, he's got a good start.

Teter, who lives about a quarter-mile from the Woodgates and said he has known Kyle since he was a little boy, said he has seen how much the shy teen has matured, especially when he got in front of a few dozen kids for his presentation.

"It's good to see there are still kids out there who want to be involved and help start something new to improve their area," Teter said.

BB gun safety tips

Treat all guns as if they are loaded.

Never point a gun at any person.

Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.

Be aware that a BB can ricochet off flat surfaces and angles.

Don't carry a loaded BB gun while climbing or jumping.

Always use new ammunition in your gun not doing so can damage your gun.