Personally, I believe some individuals are born with the primeval desire to hunt, as my first memories are of caressing my uncles' shotguns when they would stop in while duck hunting. So I have been hunting at least 72 years, as I had my first .22 single-shot at the age of 10.

About the age of 15, I had a single-shot 12 gauge, so Ihunted ducks and upland birds until I entered the service.

There wasn't much hunting during the war years, but I have made an effort to catch up ever since. I have hunted elk in a couple of western states and also North Dakota; I hunted caribou in Alaska and also shot a moose three years ago in North Dakota.

I love bow hunting deer and was fortunate to shoot a real trophy Sept. 20 of this season. I have some goose hunts ahead of me and also some doe tags to fill with the bow.

I hunt because it seems to satisfy something that most of us cannot explain. Hope to hunt many more years.

(Adrian Dokken, 81, was born and raised on a family ranch north of Towner. He spent his World War II years as a merchant seaman, and he served with the U.S. Army during the Korean War.)