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My Hunting Adventure
Brian Woodard

Thanks to some friends that made it possible for me to hunt last year, here I am at 3 AM getting dressed and getting situated for our latest hunting adventure.

I watched the weather this week to make sure that that day was going to be nice and it did say it was supposed to be sunny and warm. This will be much better than trying to hunt in the snow or rain.
As I'm getting prepared for the day, I'm running through my checklist in my head. Do I have a license? No, the licenses are already bought and are waiting at "hunting headquarters" in Branch, Michigan. Do I have the right clothes? Yes, I've prepared for both warm and cold because I know how Michigan weather can turn on you. Gun, yes, I borrowed my dad's 30-06 Remington rifle. Ammunition, yes a full box minus the two that were used for sight in. Rifle rest, no, again that has to be borrowed also. I've yet to purchase my own equipment because I am new at this sport. Although, I hunted all types of game, rabbit, pheasant, squirrel deer etc. for 14 years, before an accident on November 5, 1983 changed my life forever. Just before deer season. I became labeled as a C4-5 quadriplegic complete. Paralyzed from the neck down.
One of the first things that I realized I would not be able to do anymore was to hunt. My brothers tried to make it better by getting a couple of bucks and bringing in their horns to the hospital, although I was happy and proud of them, I realized I would just be a spectator in the sport. The prospects of hunting just faded away and were not really thought of much when the seasons came around.

Now here I am, invited to hunt with a bunch of other disabled people who also were getting the rare chance to get out into the woods and hunt deer. Due to technology and a great bunch of volunteers and organizers we were headed for the woods again and with everyone's help we now have the same opportunity as anyone else.

My mind is whirling, trying to recall the details of hunting from 25 years ago. I know I cannot sneak up on the deer, my only hope to get a close shot will be a deer call. My guide Jerry says he has a few tricks to see if he can get them closer. Even trying to remember the spot where the bullet should enter to bring the deer down is something that has been out of my mind for years.. We will be hiding in a stationary blind so they have to come to us. I need to know which way the wind is blowing. Need to know how skittish the deer are and if we spook them will they come back. What else, what else... I know I must be forgetting something.

Oh well, back to the task at hand. I must get positioned in this chair very straight and very comfortable because I will be here for almost 24 hours. It is now 3 AM and I may not get into bed until 12 AM. Okay, get my clothes looking presentable and comb my hair. My assistant has been working steadily to get everything situated just right and look presentable. Hair combed, yes, teeth brushed, yes, shaved... no, I decided on the rugged look. I will be meeting other people, new friends. So I have to look as good as I can, yes, another stress as well as trying to focus on hunting itself. Okay, we have to fit all of this equipment and luggage into a minivan. The minivan is wonderful for gas mileage and drivability but it doesn't work too well for overnight travel and packing luggage. The conversion to make it wheelchair accessible has eliminated some of the room that may have otherwise been used for storage. There, I'm ready. Everything is packed. Did I forget anything, I'm sure there will be something but I've checked off everything on my list. We will have to go with that. I remembered to call my assistant for a wake-up call so he would get ready and be here by 6 AM. So now I'm waiting for shift change.

Ah, my assistant, Martin Singleton, arrives for shift change. He will be with me the rest of the trip. He exclaims, "all right, let's do this". I think he is as excited as I am. Great! Shift change has taken place. I am loaded into the van, luggage and equipment is packed all around me. Whoops, forgot to fill up the van with gas and didn't get any spending money. This is an unnecessary delay that could have been avoided. Off we go, to the gas station and the bank. Grab some snacks at the gas station and we are heading out on our 4-hour trip to Branch, Michigan destination Ruby Creek Tavern. This is the gathering place for veterans, youth and other disabled hunters. I have printed out my map and the route that we are going to go. It is pretty simple going North on I75 West on M10 for about 95% of the way.

Along the way the excitement starts to build. I actually was looking for deer in the woods along the highway, just to see if I could spot them quickly. Unfortunately, I did not see any. Not sure if they were not there or if it couldn't spot them quickly.

Upon arrival at Branch, we followed the map along the winding road, although it changed names several times it remained the same road. Finally, we see Ruby Creek Tavern and the pole barn out back where all the hunters, the volunteers and the organizers were gathered, along with a few reporters.

As we pull into the parking lot, I see my friend Ray, he is the one that got me started back hunting. He introduced me to another hunter, Jerry Allen, who really wanted me to get back into the woods last year. He worked diligently until I was in the woods at Fort Custer's first annual Freedom Hunt. I was only able to stay one day then and the rifle rest we had didn't work as well as the one that I was about to use today. Unfortunately, we didn't see anything last year. We are hoping for better this time. Jerry will be my guide on this excursion.

The excitement continues to build as we begin to meet people and greet friends we intended to meet there. As I approached the pole barn, you can hear the buzz of the sportsmen and their stories. The camaraderie is immediately obvious. Everyone is excited and looking forward to going into the woods. I am greeted by Ruby Creek's owner and the veteran's hunt organizer, Jerry Welcome. A very personable man and eager to get things going. He is amazing in his own right by his accomplishments and hobbies. The whole organization of "who goes where" and the time schedule seems to be in his head. I did not see any clipboard or notepad anywhere. We make our introductions and he announces that I am the only one that is allowed to take a buck. I thank him for his generosity and express I will do my very best.

We won't be going into the woods until the afternoon so everyone is having some lunch and swapping stories. Just to boost the excitement a little bit, the pole barn that we are in must be a meeting place for many hunters because there were several types of animal mounts hanging on the wall. From sheep, to Bobcat, to mule deer and of course white tail deer were dotted along both sides of the barn.

As we near the time to go out, the volunteers make sure that everyone has hunter orange for safety. There were some generous sponsors that had donated jackets and caps for all the hunters. We were all grateful for the sponsors and organizers because their support is what makes this happen.

Finally, the signal was given for everyone to load up and move out to our respective hunting places. Our bunch gathered at a farm nearby and Jerry Welcome gives last-minute instructions on what to do and who goes where. After receiving our instructions we load back into our vehicles and proceed to the spot we will hunt at.

Upon arrival at the blind where I am going to hunt, I see that there are two blinds. The reporters that have been following me around all day taking pictures and asking questions will be positioned right beside us so they can see all of the excitement also. I see they have prepared my site with 4 x 8 sheets of plywood so that my wheelchair won't get stuck in a rut or in the grass. I unload and roll over to where my blind is. It appears that they have thought of everything. The man that I am borrowing the rifle rest from mounts it on my chair and positions the rifle. The hunting blinds do not have a door that a wheelchair can roll into so my assistant, Martin, in my guide Jerry lift the blind up in the air and I drive into position. Luckily, the blinds do not have a floor either so the blind can be positioned over me with no problem. We make some minor adjustments with the blind so that I can put my gun out the window without any obstructions. We hook up the battery to the rifle rest and make sure that the joystick and the sip trigger mechanisms are working properly. The reporters go into their blinds and we are set in mine and now comes the waiting game. It wasn't long before we spotted some deer about 300 yards off. They were a little too far to take a shot at so we waited. They were joined by several more within a short period of time but they were still too far away to shoot.

I watched the deer through the scope and took practice aim on several of them through the scope but knew I could not touch off the trigger because they were too far away. The excitement in both blinds was mounting in anticipation that the deer would come closer and I would have a chance to take a shot. We tried a deer call but they did not budge. They looked up and looked around and seemed to be a little bit uneasy but steadily kept on feeding in the grass. Suddenly, something spooked the deer and they all ran off. My hopes dropped for a moment. I was wondering, "will the deer come back now or are they scared for good?" After a few minutes, the deer started trickling back in and continued to graze but still were 300 yards off.

Whoa!, three deer just jumped out of the woods within about 60 yards of us. I quickly checked them and they were all does. The littlest one was leading and was the furthest out in the field. The larger ones were holding back and I decided to go for one of them. The gun wasn't quite positioned right so I whispered to my assistant "Martin, move the gun to the right". He quickly but quietly moved the gun and positioned it just ahead of the deer. I did some minor adjustments with the joystick to make sure that the crosshairs would be where they needed to be. It was still out ahead of the deer a little bit so I waited until they walked into the crosshairs of the scope. My guide Jerry, was whispering "take your time, take your time". Although, he told me later that his heart was racing and he was saying inside, "take the shot, take the shot".
As the deer, approached the position that I wanted her in, I moved my head over a little bit too get to the sip trigger and readied myself for the shot.
There it was, she's where I needed her, I sipped on the trigger and a shot rang out! It startled the reporters behind us, but with all the excitement I didn’t even hear it. Wow, the deer dropped just like what I've seen on TV. She fell to the ground and there she lay.

During all this excitement the other deer were confused and didn't know where the shot had come from but due to our hooting and hollering in the blind we scared the other deer off. It was the greatest moment ever, my very first deer! All the years that I had hunted before, I never got the opportunity for this type of shot. Yes, I had seen plenty of deer but never had a clear shot and I was taught not to take a shot unless it is a good one.