Disabled hunters need a hand
Outdoors with Don
April 20, 2006
 
Deciding whether to stay-put and wait -out a reluctant gobbler, or get up and chase him is a tough decision for any turkey hunter. Unless that hunter is in a wheelchair, in which case, there is no strategy to ponder.
 
Just getting into the woods and setting-up is often a big ordeal for some disabled hunters, so the only move they typically make is to go home. They have to rely on a little help from the turkeys, as well as their friends.
 
Despite that potential hunting handicap, some disabled hunters boast success rates as high as more mobile hunters.
 
Ex-Indiana University basketball star, Landon Turner, is a good example. Despite being paralyzed from the waist-down from a car accident, he has managed to call-in and kill an Indiana gobbler the past two years in a row.
 
“Sometimes I wish I could move, but a lot of times, it really pays to stay-put,” Turner said.
 
Last year’s hunt was a good example.
 
On a hunt near Brookeville Reservoir, Turner and a friend got an early response from what seemed like an eager gobbler. They were set-up in a blind to conceal Turner’s wheelchair, with their back facing some woods and a small clearing in front of them.
 
Turner guessed that turkeys might be roosting in the woods across the clearing, so he had his partner place a couple decoys in the clearing in front of them. If everything worked as planned, a gobbler would approach from across the field.
 
“It’s always a surprise when any turkey gobbles back at you, but this one was a welcome surprise,” he said. “He was were I suspected he would be, and if he followed the rest of the script, he would be dead within minutes.”
 
But despite the bird’s opening raucous salvo, he eventually stopped talking, never even peeking his head out of the woods across the clearing.
 
After 20 minutes of unreturned turkey calling, Turner wished he could move and go after the bird that seemed to have disappeared. Instead, he stopped calling, and waited for the next bird to wander within range.
 
Turkeys are a peculiar bird, however, and though it is probably too complimentary to say they are savvy or even smart, sometimes they do things that make them look like geniuses.
 
Without making another sound, that gobbler had circled around and dropped in on the ground-blind from the opposite direction. The hunters practically fell out of their seats when the bird decided to announce his presence with a full-volume gobble only five-yards behind the blind.
 
“At that point, we just sat as quiet and motionless as possible, assuming he could see the decoys and would head for them,” Turner said.
 
Within minutes, the 21 pound turkey slipped around the side of the blind and made its way to the decoys.
 
In the unexpected excitement, Turner shot too low as the turkey strutted his way into the clearing. When the bird started to run away, he pulled the trigger again.
 
The second three-and-a-half inch turkey load that exploded from his 12 gauge Berretta turkey gun hammered the bird, and it was down for good.
 
“Had I been able to move, I would have,” he said.” Thank goodness I didn’t.”
 
Handicapped hunter help
 
Handicapped hunters like Turner rely on the generosity and help of other outdoorsmen. For them, finding a place to hunt that has game and is accessible are huge obstacles.
 
That is where The National Wild Turkey Federation’s Wheelin Sportsmen program can help. With 19,000 current members nationwide, the Wheelin Sportsmen program expects to have 26,000 members by the end of the year.
 
“We are growing at an unbelievable rate,” said Mark Velthouse, Wheelin Sportsmen Regional Events Coordinator.
 
He said their goal is to provide opportunities for disabled hunters to get back into the outdoors, regardless of their physical or mental challenge.
 
Though there are no large events currently planned in Indiana, there are several one-on-one outings scheduled for turkey season and the upcoming fishing season. Velthouse said the smaller, more personal outings are often more enjoyable and successful than the large ones.
 
With membership so large, there are hunting and fishing opportunities available, but Velthouse said they always appreciate new volunteers and places to hunt.
 
Volunteers, disabled hunters or persons needing assistance for a disabled hunter in Indiana, can contact Mark Velthouse at www.wheelinsportsmen.org.