Late last year BADF helped my dad, Bernie, get involved with a special hunt in Three Lakes, Wis., with Three Lakes Preserve. I want to thank you for the opportunity to get him hunting again.

Immediately following Bernie's hunt, I found an understanding taxidermist near home who dropped everything to get the mount completed and to my dad as fast as possible. When the mount arrived at his house, it was placed next to his favorite chair in the living room. He told his hunting story to many people and about the generosity of Three Lakes Preserve and BADF.

My dad passed away quietly at home on July 22, 2008, from complications brought on by cancer.
 
Bernie wanted to be cremated. After his memorial, we placed his ashes in his hunting duffle bag with his gear and buried him by his favorite hunting stand on his land in northern Wisconsin.

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High school students from Leon and Freestone counties in Texas recently received a little help with their future plans to attend college, which came in the form of $500 scholarships from the Leon County BADF.

In all, 14 high school graduates received these scholarships during their graduation ceremonies. This is the second year in a row that the Leon County BADF has awarded the scholarships.

The scholarships are funded by community support of the chapter's Second Tuesday in September Banquet held annually at the Jewett Civic Center in Jewett, Texas.

Leon County BADF was established four years ago.

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By Scott Lewis
Jennings Daily News Assistant Editor

-- EVANGELINE, La. - There may not be many sports where the disabled can perform alongside their non-disabled counterparts, but on Saturday, April 19, 2008, the Bayouland Buckmasters chapter of the Buckmasters American Deer Foundation (BADF) proved that "Sportsman's Paradise" can be open to people with all kinds of abilities.

Cajun Elite Shooting Club in Evangeline played host to the sixth annual Disabled Hunters Sporting Clay shoot, an event that allows handicapped and disabled shooters to compete in a family atmosphere.

"We have about 50 teams, or about 200 shooters," said Bayouland Buckmasters President Frank Dennis, who shoots with the aid of two prosthetic arms. "We have four people on a team, with three able-bodied shooters and one disabled shooter. It really exposes more people to those with disabilities."

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During the summer of 2007, I received a phone call from the Cedar Hill Hunting Club. They were calling to inform us they were planning to host a youth hunt for a young handicapped hunter during the upcoming modern gun deer season. The club wanted to ensure it was permissible by Deltic for them to host this hunt, as well as to invite any company representatives to attend if they so desired.

Cedar Hill Hunting Club has 1,120 acres leased from Deltic and is located in Hempstead County just northeast of the historic town of Washington, Ark. Like most industrial timberlands, the habitat is primarily pine stands of various ages with mixed pine and hardwood corridors along major streams. This lease also has the unique attribute of having a significant amount of the land lying on blackland prairie soils that are incapable of growing pine. The blackland habitat supports unique flowering plants, tall native grasses, and also contains a significant cedar component, hence the club's name.

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Cody Sitton was the lucky recipient of a doe management hunt at Herradura Ranch in South Texas. This hunt was purchased for the young hunter by his grandfather, John Sitton of Jewett, Texas during the 2007 Leon County Buckmasters American Deer Foundation annual banquet.

The Herradura Ranch has donated the hunt for the chapter's live auction two years...

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On Sept. 11, 2007, Leon County Buckmasters held its 4th annual banquet in Jewett, Texas. During the banquet, it was announced that our chapter had one more project for the year.

That project was to give a youth an adult-sized hunt. The hunt would take place on the 5H Ranch located in Artesia Wells, Texas. We called all youth at the banquet who are enrolled in school to come to the front and receive a playing card torn in half. The lucky winner who was holding the winning playing card was a young man named Calvin Gilbert. He is the son of Jerry and Peggy (Foley) Gilbert.

The hunt was to be held in October and Calvin's dad, Jerry, couldn't get off work to take Calvin. It was decided that Calvin's uncle, Rocky Foley, would go on the hunt with him. Rocky had hunted on the 5H Ranch and told Calvin that he would have a good time. Calvin's mom decided to go, too.

The hunt date finally arrived. Calvin, his mom, and Uncle Rock found themselves at the 5H Ranch where they met Steve McMullen who was their guide. From this point, Calvin said time flew by.

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By Jeff Merrill

It's been a long 22 years since a diving accident left me disabled in May of 1986, leaving a C5-C6 quadriplegic. I was 19 and an avid outdoorsman. I hunted, fished and spent every opportunity in the great outdoors. Finally in the fall of 2007 my quest to start hunting again became a reality. A person may not think it would be that difficult to hunt, but once in an electric wheelchair it becomes quite an under taking. However, by being blessed with the help of my uncle and some adaptive equipment from BADF my dream became a reality.

The possibility of this hunt began when my uncle and I saw some deer on my family's property in the summer. The area we hunted is on the backside of the property near an old chicken coop and burn barrel my grandfather used when he was alive. It is a natural corridor through a small field with everything a whitetail needs including food, water and plenty of surrounding cover. My uncle and I began watching the deer closely trying to figure out the best way to approach them and get close enough for a good shot with my Horton crossbow.

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By Buckmasters Online

Photo: Lloyd Fortner, center, took home a Remington Genesis Muzzleloader, in the BADF raffle held at the 2007 Buckmasters Expo in Greensboro, N.C. BADF Coordinator Beth Gregory and Steve Brown, BADF member, presented Fortner with the grand prize.

Lloyd Fortner of Weaverville, N.C., was the proud winner of a Remington Genesis Muzzleloader during the Buckmasters American Deer Foundation (BADF) raffle held at the 2007 Buckmasters Expo in Greensboro, N.C.

Proceeds from the raffle will help support a variety of programs offered by the BADF including, but not limited to disabled hunter assistance, life hunts, adaptive equipment grants, Project Venison, youth projects and scholarships.

Approximately 160 Expo attendees purchased tickets for the BADF raffle while learning more about local BADF chapters and programs. Numerous leads for chapter development in the states of North Carolina and Virginia were obtained as a result of the BADF raffle.

For more information about BADF, contact Beth Gregory at 1-800-240-3337 or bgregory@buckmasters.com.

Buckmasters | GunHuntermag.com | Rackmag.com | BADF.org | YoungBucksOutdoors.com

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By Buckmasters Online

Photo: Secretary and Treasurer Bobbie Oden and Vice President Wayne Oden of the Northeast Florida One Shot Buckmasters Chapter present to Union County Extension Director Dr. Jacque Breman and 4-H Program Assistant Colan Coody with an $800 grant to help fund a youth archery program.

The Northeast Florida One Shot Buckmasters Chapter recently presented the 4-H program of Union County, Fla., with an $800 grant to help start an archery program for local youth.

According to Wayne Oden, the chapter's vice president, the Northeast Florida One Shot Buckmasters Chapter has given over $8,000 in grants and scholarships to local communities.

For more information about BADF, contact Beth Gregory at 1-800-240-3337 or bgregory@buckmasters.com.

Buckmasters | GunHuntermag.com | Rackmag.com | BADF.org | YoungBucksOutdoors.com

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By Buckmasters Online

Britney Woosley, daughter of Nancy Padgett and the late Danny Woosley, harvested a 6-point buck in Lumpkin, Ga., during the week of Thanksgiving 2007.

Danny was an active member of the Buckmasters One Shot Chapter of Southwest Florida until he was tragically killed in 2004.

As a result, the chapter created the Danny Woosley Memorial Scholarship.

For more information about BADF, contact Beth Gregory at 1-800-240-3337 or bgregory@buckmasters.com.

 Buckmasters | GunHuntermag.com | Rackmag.com | BADF.org | YoungBucksOutdoors.com

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The Buckmasters American Deer Foundation's Heart of Texas Chapter introduced two area kids to the great outdoors during its second annual youth hunt held in Brown County, Texas.

Overcoming Obstacles

Duncan McNeil was awarded a spot in the youth hunt by posting a perfect score on the Texas Hunter Education exam.

The Heart of Texas Chapter covered the class fees, provided lunch and hunter education supplies for the 30 young hunters.

Duncan is 12 years old and had never fired a rifle in his life. He also had a little problem to overcome before we went hunting - Duncan was right-handed and left-eye dominate. That is a problem when looking through a rifle scope at a deer downrange. Off to the riffle range we went for a little target practice before the opening weekend of the Texas Youth deer season.

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The Central Arkansas Buckmasters Chapter helped three hunters to each harvest a deer in November 2007.

Bonnie Gunter, who had double knee replacement surgery, harvested her first doe during the hunt.

With the assistance of a mobile deer blind, Taihlor Flowers took a doe during the hunt.

Camille Foscue harvested her first deer while hunting with chapter member Ronnie Robertson.

For more information about BADF, contact Beth Gregory at 1-800-240-3337 or bgregory@buckmasters.com.

Buckmasters | GunHuntermag.com | Rackmag.com | BADF.org | YoungBucksOutdoors.com

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This program is all about introducing young people to hunting. You can share your knowledge of the outdoors with your son or daughter, grandchild, or even with a youngster who has never had the opportunity to hunt before. Sharing your knowledge and love for the outdoors can leave a lasting impact on those young lives, and even if they don't become life-long hunters will give them a better understanding of the wild and the natural cycle of life.

The program is simple. Abiding by all applicable laws and regulations in your state or province, take a young person hunting! There are plenty of young people who have no means to hunt even though they have the desire. Many times there is no adult figure with experience who can help.

The HOT program is not just limited to young people, although young non-hunters are the prime candidates.

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Life Hunts is a wish-granting service for children and young adults with critical illnesses and diseases. The program was officially founded in 1998 to grant hunting wishes and has served 148 children and young adults to date.

We will always accept applications from qualified children for Life Hunts. Because of the anti-hunting sentiment within many medical organizations, it is difficult for us to spread the word through these channels. Please help us get the word out to children's hospitals, cancer centers and councilors! Provide anyone interested with our website link, or contact us for printed information to distribute.

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A Sopchoppy, Florida resident has been named winner of a prestigious national award for physically challenged hunters. Jay Leonard, paralyzed from the waist down after falling from a tree stand in 1990, was named the “2006 Streamlight Challenged Hunter of the Year” by Buckmasters American Deer Foundation and Streamlight, a maker of quality flashlights based out of Pennsylvania. The award is given each year to an outstanding disabled outdoors person who has overcome great obstacles in order to participate in the sport of hunting, then applied his or her knowledge and insight to help and inspire others to do the same.

Leonard is a 50-year-old design draftsman who has been a hunter for 35 years. He has placed six deer in the Florida Buck Registry, including the state’s second-highest-scoring buck for 2005. But a primary consideration for awarding the honor to Leonard was his desire to give back others with disabilities. Leonard is a volunteer for many groups aimed at assisting other challenged hunters and youngsters, and he often holds seminars teaching how to successfully call in and take whitetails.

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Three conservation organizations and a Georgia ATV and boat retailer consolidated their resources to complete a habitat project to benefit game and non-game wildlife in central Georgia.

With the assistance of Charles Ayer of Perry Sports Center, the Ocmulgee Chapter Buckmasters, the Ocmulgee Chapter of Quail Unlimited and the Rum Creek Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, the Georgia Forestry Commission was able to purchase a 350cc Yamaha ATV to help with prescribed burning projects.

Prescribed burning is a beneficial practice for timber and wildlife management. It helps existing timber grow and creates early succession plant growth, which provides forage for wildlife including deer. Prescribed burning also helps promote nesting habitat for birds such as quail and wild turkeys.

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