On March 30th 2012 Chairbound Hunters were able to help Chris Scott archery hunt for turkey thanks to a generous landowner up Hobble Creek near Springville Utah during the first day of the early season for handicap hunters. Chris used a Crossbow and patiently sat in a camo blind to wait for a big tom. Early in the morning he shot at a nice big tom turkey that was in full strut, but only clipped two feathers from his right wing and no sign of blood.

 Later that evening in came a nice tom turkey in full strut with 7 hens and Chris’s arrow hit the mark perfectly at about 27 yards and he got his first turkey ever. Upon examination, Chris noticed the tom was missing some feathers and matched up the two clipped feathers with the ones from the morning hunt and sure enough it was the same tom turkey. Chris was all smiles and very happy to have a second chance in the same day on the big tom. The Landowners were very happy for his hunting success. Pictures were taken and the GoPro Camera mounted on the Crossbow recorded the great shot for lasting memories.

Our 2012 Pig Hunt was a big success thanks to Safari Club International Utah Chapter, Garrett Hunting Services, Wild Flyers and all the wonderful volunteers that came together to make this an amazing Hunt for one Wounded Warrior and 4 of our Chairbound Hunters. The day started off with everyone meeting at 8:30 and then we were off to get into 4wheelers, side by sides and a jeep. Once set up we headed out to scout and find some pigs. That did not take long, but we had to move fast before the pigs were off to bed down so we hit the road. When we came up on the first two pigs we got  hunters lined up and put them down.

The next two hunters moved on to find some more and it was not long before we could hear the shots of success echo through the valley. Now it was time for David our Wounded Warrior to make it happen on a spot and stock with his bow. After finding his big one he snuck up from downwind and put an arrow in it. It soon became clear though the big one wasn’t going down without a fight so he finished the job with his rifle and we had our 5 for 5. When we got back to base camp the Safari Club provided a great lunch for everyone and then we were off to the butcher. We all had a blast and want to thank everyone that helped make this hunt happen.

On September 9th 2011 five Chairbound Hunters held a very successful hunting event where Chairbound young men were provided opportunities to hunt pheasants at a hunting club, Wild Flyers in Manti Utah. The club owners and a wonderful group of volunteers looked forward to this special and ground breaking event that was donated by Fred Barber of Barber Brothers Auto Dealers in Spanish Fork and Clint Boswell of Boswell Construction in Provo.

 

You might ask? How Can a Person in a Wheelchair hunt pheasants? The club answered with their creativity by the following preparations:
1. Accessibility into the club house was made possible by a ramp at the front door so wheelchairs were not stopped by the steps.
2. Four of the club’s four-wheelers were modified by mounting comfortable camo-color seats on the front so the paraplegic hunters could be securely strapped in and have great shooting positions. The 4-wheelers were driven slowly while a hunting dog and handler located the pheasants.
3. One side-by-side 4-wheeler was temporally modified so a quadriplegic hunter with a strap rest and assistance from his Father could also shoot pheasants.
4. Club volunteers prepared a feast of a lunch and cleaned and dressed the birds that were shot by our hunters.
5. Extra shotguns and ammunition was provided for those that needed them.
6. A hunting dog, named Skip and another dog named Buzz were chosen because they wouldn’t range too far out and would hold point on a bird very well.
7. A clay pigeon shooting range and target shooting range were also set up.
8. Hooked On Utah, Gary Winterton and cameraman/editor Kevin volunteered to professionally film the entire event. It will become a featured show in about 2-3 weeks. Watch for it on channel 2 KUTV on Saturday nights.

 

Two groups were formed consisting of Dog/Handler and two 4-wheelers with each having a Chairbound Hunter and driver. They then hunted simultaneously in two different locations. The pheasants were flying and the shot guns blasting and a total of nine pheasants were taken by the group of four hunters. The club members were sensitive to the physical limitations of the hunters and accommodated them very well by trial and error to see what techniques worked best. All hunters gave thumbs up and top rating for the experience. One hunter who has been confined to a wheelchair for 12 years said with a big grin, this is the first time I have been able to hunt pheasant in 14 years. Another hunter who has been in a chair for 10 years said with joy, this was my first pheasant hunt and it was awesome.

The club leaders and members were excited to put on this event and invited Chairbound Hunters to come back as an annual event and to double that number of hunters as well. To see these fine young men enjoy the experience and the excitement of their first pheasants brought tears of joy in more than one of the Wild Flyers club members.