Donald Heider -- "Do what you do best; and pass it on."

Firearm Instruction: Don has been serving as a hunter education instructor for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources since 1995 -- and qualifies about 120 students per year to receive hunting certificates. The course begins with an on-line introduction provided on the IHEA website; followed by hands-on training in firearm safety, loading and unloading, fence crossing, tree-stands and a mock field hunt in which they drive deer, trail blood and flush out fowl -- all taking place at the Black Ash Gun Club in Kewaunee County. Students finish up with a written exam and field test on 22 caliber rifle and muzzleloader shotgun. Also, as an NRA instructor, Don provides small bore instruction for approximately 200 students each year at the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Dept. His next challenge is to attend a marksmanship clinic to become certified on high-powered rifle and qualified to teach and certify others as instructors.

Personal Profile: Don grew up on a beef cattle farm in the town of Campbellsport just south of Green Bay. He worked as a tool and die maker for Mill Tool MFG in Washington County for 20 years; and as a manufacturing engineer and plant manager for Nesco Roasters in Two Rivers for the past six years during which he has resided in nearby Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Don's wife Cyndi enjoys the great outdoors; and their three daughters -- Tina, Laura and Rachel -- are all avid hunters.

Hunting/Shooting Preferences: "Ever since I began hunting at age 12, I've really enjoyed going after the plentiful white-tail deer in northern Wisconsin with high-powered gear -- nowadays with my 7 MM Remington Mag. And there's nothing like going after deer and turkey with a muzzleloader; which is a little more primitive and also -- like bow hunting -- involves fewer competitors out in the woods. I even get into all the prep -- like working on loads and deciding what types of primers, powder and projectiles to use. Of course you also need to set the sites, figure out ranges and practice in the woods. It's all part of the fun of hunting."

Fondest Outdoor Memories: "My daughters are creating all the memories. Rachel bagged three deer with three shots in the past three years. Laura dropped a 210-pound, 8-point buck sporting an 18-inch spread with a 7 mm rifle last year; and more recently took a 25-pound tom with a 12-inch beard and 1-inch spurs with a muzzleloader. And Tina has shot her share of deer with both rifle and bow over the years -- and is currently serving our community as a fine law enforcement officer."

On Our Hunting Heritage: "I really love working with young people and watching them hone their outdoor skills. I guess I try to lead by example -- doing what I do best and then passing my knowledge and skills on to others. We also need to give more credit to the many outdoor associations that help keep the outdoor sports alive and well -- such as the NRA, IHEA, NSSF, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation and our local Sturgeon Bay White Tail Deer Association. Plus all those manufacturers who -- like USP Bore Paste -- support shooting and hunter education with endowments, training aids, products and other programs."

On Firearm Care: "I used to really like this paste-like product that came in jars which I used on all types of firearms. I'd just run it down the bore on a cotton pad -- about a stroke for every shot fired. It not only smoothed off the lands and grooves and removed all the fouling; but really tightened the patterns and increased my accuracy. So I was really glad when I found out that this cleaner is still available -- now in a tube and under the name of USP Bore Paste."

Don Heider, resident of Two Rivers, Wisconsin and a Certified NRA Hunter Safety Education Instructor for the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources, poses with the buck he took with a muzzleloader in 2004.

Levi, a graduate of NRA Instructor Don Heider's Hunter Safety Education Class, proudly displays his very first buck.

NRA Hunter Safety Instructor, Don Heider of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, with the "black powder buck" he took during a 20-degree-below-zero hunt he made in 2004.

Posing with turkey he took in the Fall of 2003 is NRA Hunter Safety Education Instructor for the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources, Don Heider, of Two Rivers, Wisconsin.

Laura Heider, daughter of NRA Instructor Don Heider, with husband Matt and the "black powder doe" she took in 2004. Both are graduates of Don's Hunter Safety Education Class and also are Certified NRA Instructors themselves.

Tina Heider, daughter of NRA Instructor, Don Heider of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, poses with Hunter Education Student, Natalie Neuville, and the "black powder deer" she bagged in 2004.

Rachel Wilz, step-daughter and former Hunter Safety Student of NRA Instructor, Don Heider of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, poses with the buck she shot in 2003.