After reading some of the posts here, I thought it might be wise to remind fellow members of the this.  There is a section on this BB entitled DISABLED HUNTERS which addresses obstacles to overcome for people with physical limitations who still want to get into the woods and on the water.  The limitation could  be congenital, accidental, disabling, age, or service related.  All that matters to me is to assist someone who still feels the urge yet wonders how it might be done either with assistance or independently.  Some of us have the intestinal fortitude (guts) to continue scouting for and hunting game with bow and gun.  If you know somebody like that, please offer him your assistance in some fashion.  The internal "feel goods" you receive will be worth it.  Don't be too surprised if he doesn't accept your help at first.  There is a strong trend among us to "do it for ourselves" so that we don't appear so helplessly dependent.  If you are someone like that, I welcome you to join us on the forum. Let's make the woods and waters accessible for all who dare to venture out.  Thanks for listening.

 

Rob

BE WELL OR AS WELL AS YOU CAN BE

I go out the way for disable people to take one hunting could or would be a blast just to see thier frist take would be something you shall never forget at the up most they will feel more dependent for the next adventure in the good out doors

I would like to thank you as a disabled person myself for this post. Im still able to walk and my disability is due to an auto accident that changed my life forever. People don't realize just how hard it is to have your life changed in the blink of an eye. It isn't something that most people want to talk about or even listen to, they all have problem of their own in life to deal with. But as fellow hunter and outdoorsmen and women we still want to be a part of life and this is a part of my life that I will never give up. I live in Ft. McCoy, Fl. and it is in the Ocala National Forest but as a disabled hunter now I find it very very difficult to hunt here. Just being able to go scouting, planting food plots and all the other thing that go along with a quality hunting experience are difficult if not impossible for some of the people that have a disability. If a fellow hunter can find it in him self to take the time to help a fellow hunter with a disabliity both of you will never forget the experience. Thank you, Bob

ok i guess i may ad my 2 cents worth!
yes it is difficult as a disabled person! i went for 10 years with tag soup after i was rearended(i was parked he was going 55) but with the help of family and very good friends the last 2 have been great! 2 years ago i got a 3x3, last year a 5x4 both were black tails,i am very gratefull for the help i have recieved!!!

now that being said!! you must be very carefull whom you trust your life too! here is the 1st time i accepted help!

2001 i went hunting with guys i had known for up to 12 years, fished with all of them, had never hunted with them, they were muzzle loaders, i was a modern firearms hunter! so i changed to black powder! i thought it was going to be great!! they were my neighbors! so off we go! planning a 9 day camp! first day was great on deer and elk , same the second! the third day, it was decided we would go to a mountain top 1 side was clear cut the other was forested, i was to drop off all able bodied hunter about 45 minute walk from the top, where i was to drive to and just park and watch the tree line, they were going to fan out and push whatever thru the forested side and i would pop whatever came out! ok!! so i drove there parked right on the crest of the mountain!! got out hung my cane on a mirror and leaned up against the truck! i was standing on top of a 4 to 500 foot hillside, almost straight down!! didn`t know it but the ground was 6 inches of wet pine needles! oops down i go! sliding straight down!! leaning left and right dodging stumps! then it happen i hit 1, rag dolled all the way down!! the bottom was a creek, late november waist deep in a creek!! the banks of the creek were stinging nedles!! i did manage to hang on to my muzzle loader! as best i could hanging on the nedles i shot every speed loader i had (8)! i was there for 4 hours! before another hunter found me! to make a very long story shorter! my so-called-friends did not even start looking for me for 4 hours thats when they started to whistle! when i got back to camp (7hours) i asked if they found my cane, they said they thought i just walked off!! i never leave my cane anywhere!!!!


if you choose to help a disabled person, think of it as you are responcible for them!! i have never spoken to any of these people again! lived next door to them for 3 years before i left! side note was taken by ambulance the next morning to the hospital, the docs told me i had been having a caridac episode since i was in the creek, so for 24 hours!!

again be carefull whom you trust your life with, and make no mistake you will be trusting YOUR life with them!!!! now dont let this 1 get to you, it took me 7 years to try again, and i did! you can do it too!! just be carfull!

As of my first cancer, in 2006, I am also partially disabled. The cancer's first metastasis (sp?) was to my lungs. I had a small area I could breathe through. The doctor, soon to be one of my three oncologists, gave me a 50% chance of just getting out of the hospital alive (which I quickly, and not so politely, corrected him on...there was only one acceptable outcome). Sun Tzu wrote: Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him. That's how I looked at the cancer. But, while I beat both it and my second cancer, the first did its share of permanent damage. The first was forced weight gain. It started with a steroid I had to take after three brain surgeries and before/during whole-brain/max-dose radiation therapy. This steroid has two really nasty (independent) side effects: massive weight gain, and uncontrollable massive appetite increase. Now, that last one sounds like it would be a matter of willpower...but it isn't. You literally have NO control over it. That started it (or at least, I thought it did). It actually started when my testosterone levels were lowered drastically due to cancer damage, and my thyroid hormone was also nuked (literally) by the radiation therapy to the brain. Either of those alone results in 100% guaranteed weight GAIN. No possibility of losing or maintaining ... only gaining. I'm on meds for that now, but it's still an issue. The really harsh chemo (high-dose, long-duration Cisplatin) took my energy levels out, too. I can do fine for a while, and then they drop from about 70% of normal to zero, and then, if I don't stop, even what feels like less than zero.

Edit:  my lung capacity is now back to around 60%, and I know that because I get tested routinely, now that I have asthma.

What I need help with is suggestions on how best to A) move any deer I shoot to a nearby tree so I can hoist it up to field dress it; B) get it back to my car (2007 Honda Civic Si ... no truck) and into the trunk, and c) raise it again when I get back to this metal box (trailer) that I'm stuck in (I live on Social Security Disability) so I can process it. I WILL be processing it myself, for two reasons. 1) I can't afford to pay to get it done, and 2) I've both read and been told that when you do pay, you never know WHAT you'll get back...and that is TOTALLY UNSAT. Every now and then, I might have a friend hunting with me, but my plan, right now, is to hunt weekdays, when most people are at work, so I'm not counting on having help, except the mechanical kind. Oh, and did I mention that I'm on SSD, and have an incredibly-limited budget?

Any suggestions would be most welcome!

Thanks....
Jim Graham (spooky130u@gmail.com --- NO HTML E-MAIL, please ... it is dumped by my spam filters as spam before I even see it)

2nd Edit (chemobrain ... I keep forgetting stuff I mean to include):  I live in NW Florida (Fort Walton Beach, to be exact), and will be hunting on the Eglin AFB public land (WMA).  I think that's everything.  :-)

Jim I would suggest you put an ad in the post newspaper explaining your situation and ask for one of the active duty folks who hunt if they would be willing to assist you while hunting. I have found that my fellow soldiers ( I'm retired Army ) are always willing and in most cases eager to help out their fellow Veterans. I did what I am suggesting you do as I lived in Ft Walton when I first retired and the fellers at Eglin were more than willing to help and even invited me a couple of times to hunt on their private leases. We Veterans have to do as we did while on active duty and that is to help each other as much as we can and take care of each other. While I am still able to walk I must do it in short distances without any aid my biggest problem was getting my deer or hog outta the woods once I had killed it. The fellers that helped me took care of getting them outta the woods and then field dressed them for me and then took the deer to the local coller/processors as well. I always invited all the fellers to my house on the weekends and we would grill out, drink beer ( I can no longer do that ), and swap our war and hunting stories. Made so more very good friends and a couples till call and check on me and ask if I am still hunting. They have when possible can to visit and hunt and you cannot put a price on fellers like these fellers are. The main thing is listen to your body but always keep pushing ahead and refuse to stop and lie down. The best of hunting this year my friend and to everyone else on the BB.

Posted By Big Dawg on 06 Sep 2012 09:55 AM
Jim I would suggest you put an ad in the post newspaper explaining your situation and ask for one of the active duty folks who hunt if they would be willing to assist you while hunting. I have found that my fellow soldiers ( I'm retired Army ) are always willing and in most cases eager to help out their fellow Veterans. I did what I am suggesting you do as I lived in Ft Walton when I first retired and the fellers at Eglin were more than willing to help and even invited me a couple of times to hunt on their private leases. We Veterans have to do as we did while on active duty and that is to help each other as much as we can and take care of each other. While I am still able to walk I must do it in short distances without any aid my biggest problem was getting my deer or hog outta the woods once I had killed it. The fellers that helped me took care of getting them outta the woods and then field dressed them for me and then took the deer to the local coller/processors as well. I always invited all the fellers to my house on the weekends and we would grill out, drink beer ( I can no longer do that ), and swap our war and hunting stories. Made so more very good friends and a couples till call and check on me and ask if I am still hunting. They have when possible can to visit and hunt and you cannot put a price on fellers like these fellers are. The main thing is listen to your body but always keep pushing ahead and refuse to stop and lie down. The best of hunting this year my friend and to everyone else on the BB.

I wasn't active duty, but I know exactly what you're talking about.  When I was at 16th Special Operations Intelligence, I was a
(can't say civilian---I'd be in deep trouble for that[1]) contractor.  Now, I know the reputation contractors normally have, and
after dealing with some, I know why.  But that wasn't me.  The Major once told me that I was more like active duty than a lot
of active duty personnel (he meant it as a compliment).  These folks were (and still are) my second family.  We all took care
of each other, and each other's families.  It wasn't something we were "expected" to do ... it was just something we did.
I worked long hours, 12-hour shifts when needed (no overtime), etc., as the mission required, just like everyone else did.
I wasn't about to let my team down.  (And contrary to what I'd been told to expect on day one, which was "This is Jim,
he's here to support our team", as I was being introduced, it was "This is Jim, he's the new guy ON our team."  I will
NEVER forget that.  And everyone there treated me exactly that way.  Enlisted treated me like an officer.  Officers treated
me as an equal (except for our IN and Deputy IN, who treated me with the same respect as everyone else, but also as
the bosses (as one would expect).  Even if I could go back to work (can't, because of cancer #1's damage, some of which
I haven't mentioned here), I seriously doubt I could ever work in the civilian world again.  I've been spoiled by working
with the finest people (from Major to Airman Basic) that I've ever known, and probably ever will know.  You just don't find
that in the civilian world...at least, not normally.  I have seen rare exceptions (funny thing...all retired or former military).
Yep, I guess that still proves my point on that one.  :-)

I am going to start by asking at the Jackson Guard office when I get my permit.  I'm 99% sure they'll give me a number
to call.  Like we both know, we all help each other out....  Then, when we're all done, I'd probably coin-check 'em just
for fun.  :-)

Thanks,
   --jim

[1] Here's the story on why I'd be in trouble.....  One day, while I was working in the SCIF, a (then) SrA named Amanda
was working on a different high-side system, reading OSINT.  In this case, it was a story about some idiots at some
college protesting the military, not smart enough to realize that without the very military they were protesting, they
wouldn't have the RIGHT to protest anything.....  Anyways, Amanda suddenly said, "I hate civilians."  I turned around,
and just to give here a hard time (normal daily stuff...you know what I mean).  So I turned around, and said something
like, "Ummmm, Amanda? Remember me, one of those civilians you're talking about?"  She didn't realize I was just giving
her sh**, and stumbled through trying to say she didn't mean me.  I told her I was just giving here a hard time, but
what I didn't know was that she didn't hear that.  The next morning, her husband Jason, who worked in our Imagery
branch, stopped by my branch's office and told me that Amanda had been up all night, worried and upset about having
offended me or something (she hadn't---I knew she didn't mean me).  He tried to explain that I was just giving her a
hard time, too, but she was still upset.  Right about then, she was in the office and said, "You are NOT a civilian.  You
are a PATRIOT."  I tried to think of what to say, and the only thing I got out was "Ok."  :-)   We still tease each other
about that one.  :-)

Patrick:  That's some scary story!  Can't say as I blame you for being PO'd!  Those guys just haven't a clue!    When I go out with others we all carry the small walkie-talkies. We all know the "standard" channel and security code that we all are on if we're in the woods.  We also all carry our cell phones. Both are set to have all sounds off and vibrate only.

Another thought is that a lot of states allow atv use for disabled hunters. That makes getting in an out as well as handling the game a LOT easier if there's a winch on it.  I have permission to use mine on a private farm locally and it makes things a LOT easier when I'm alone.

When any of us go out solo, we still carry the radios and have them on just in case someone else happens to show up.  Standard rule is to announce your presence over the channel even if you think you're the only one there. 

Posted By Steve on 08 Sep 2012 09:10 AM

Another thought is that a lot of states allow atv use for disabled hunters. That makes getting in an out as well as handling the game a LOT easier if there's a winch on it.  I have permission to use mine on a private farm locally and it makes things a LOT easier when I'm alone.

When any of us go out solo, we still carry the radios and have them on just in case someone else happens to show up.  Standard rule is to announce your presence over the channel even if you think you're the only one there. 

I don't have an ATV, myself (not even close to having a budget for one), but I'll ask if Eglin AFB has some that they loan out
to disabled (or partially-disabled, in my case) hunters.  The worst they can do,  obviously, is say no.....

As for radios and cell phones, I plan on taking my cell phone (in airplane mode except for GPS) until I can afford the $97
to buy the GPS  I'm looking at (Bushnell HuntTrack 360500 1.63" Handheld GPS with Built-in Digital Barometer) and for
making an emergency call, if needed.  I'll also be carrying my 2m/70cm HT with a repeater list for all of the repeaters
in Okaloosa County and surrounding counties (I only know two---our local amateur radio club's repeater in FWB---South
Okaloosa---and the big one in Crestview---North Okaloosa), as another method of emergency comms.  I don't trust my
rapidly aging cell phone (Motorola Bravo MB520, Android 2.2) anymore....can't wait to get a new one (with Android 4.03),
but I know I can trust amateur radio.  Got my Novice, then Technician in '84, and my General in early '86, and have helped
run disaster comms several disasters, along with being an Assistant Emergency Coordinator for the Brazos County ARES in
around '86--'89, and also as AEC for Okaloosa County ARES.  And for what it's worth, I've been a Skywarn spotter (formal
NWS training) since around 1989, and made my first formal report of a tornadic system just a day or two after that first
Skywarn class.  That particular system ended up producing a LOT of tornadoes....  But it was an easy one to spot:  it
had all the signs....  VERY heavy rain, followed by heavy rain and hail, and then, at the rain-free base, a violently
rotating wall cloud (no debris, so no tornado yet, but the signs were all there, ready and spinning up).  It was like a
photograph right out of the Skywarn training...a big and butt ugly wall cloud with well-pronounced rotation...and it
was only about 100 yards to the left from the road I was driving on....[1]

Later,
   --jim (N5IAL/4)

[1] In my first Skywarn training, the area NWS Director  doing the training first started out with the definition of
a tornado:  a violently rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm base and in contact with the ground.
He then showed a number of pictures of wall clouds, etc. and then later, gave us (what I later found was common
to all Skywarn classes) a quiz.  He showed us a picture of a big, ugly wall cloud, with a funnel cloud descending
from it.  Oh, and there was a bit of dust on the ground.  He asked if anyone in the room (Amateur radio, police,
fire, amulance drivers, etc.---all with formal training for emergency comms via radio) saw anything immediately
threatening in the photo.  We all stared at it for several minutes, until someone finally spoke up and said, "umm,
no...."  The instructor then said, "Well, you better see something, because there's a tornado right in front of
your face.  Remember the definition of a tornado, a violently rotating .... Notice that it doesn't say anything
about a VISIBLE violently rotating .... See that debris on the ground?  That's your indication that a tornado
is there; it just hasn't sucked up enough debris to be visible yet."  We were all looking around for someone to
leave, so we could follow them out....  The instructor wasn't done, though....  He then said, "And while we're
dispelling myths, you know how people say you can always tell when a tornado is coming, because it sounds
like a freight train?  Well, frankly, that's bullsh*t.  Most of the time, if you hear ANYTHING at all, it's after the
tornado has already crashed through your walls."