| Wheelin’ of a
Buffalo Hunt!
Every year I start off writing these articles by saying
this year’s hunt was the best hunting adventure
I was ever involved in, but every year these hunts become
more and more memorable. I believe the reason is the
quality of people I have the opportunity to meet and
hunt with.
This year I had the privilege of
hunting with two true sportsmen, Pete Vanko and Jim
Daniels. Both of these gentlemen have been thrown some
curves in life and have been confined to a wheelchair
since they were teenagers. Pete is now 63 years old
and was not expected to live past his 30’s. Jim
is 48 years old and has been in a wheelchair since he
was 15. Jim has hunted all his life, but Pete was just
introduced to the sport a few years ago. Both of these
men have harvested Whitetail deer but have never been
on a Big Game hunt. I was very proud to give them the
opportunity to hunt buffalo this year.
We booked this year’s hunt
a little early hoping for good weather and our luck
and prayers were with us. The temperature was a pleasant
55 degrees, the sun was shining, there was a cool breeze,
and the trees were covered in a rainbow of autumn colors.
It doesn’t get much better than this--we had a
perfect fall day for hunting!
We have used this ranch in other
years for our Safari Wish Hunts and decided to return
this year. Once again, Brent Fisk, owner of Hidden Horns
Ranch (located in Michigan, about 20 miles from Big
Rapids), was our host. They have always treated us very
well, and this year was no exception. In the past ten
years of organizing these hunts on over a dozen different
ranches, I can honestly say that Steve (Smitty), our
guide for the past few years, is one of the best I have
encountered. After spending five minutes with him, he
has the knack of making you feel as though you have
known him for years.
Steve and Jim headed out to the ground
blind to wait for the buffalo to come in and to spend
the morning taking in the sights, sounds and smells
of a perfect fall day hunt. Brent, Mike Nysda (Pete’s
good friend), Pete and I drove to the ranch in Pete’s
van. Pete was more comfortable in his van, since it
is set up for him to drive and hunt as he sits in his
wheelchair. Pete was an amazing driver; he maneuvered
his van around trees, on trails, and occasionally places
without trails. Some people who drive without a handicap
could take lessons from Pete!
After driving around about a half-hour
or so, we located the small herd of buffalo. I was sitting
in the passenger seat, ready to hand Pete his shotgun,
when we got into position. Pete has a small range to
shoot from because of the steel rods in his back, so
you can imagine how difficult it is for him to not only
move the van into position to shoot, but also to move
his body, a task in itself, plus being very pumped when
the buffalo came into range. We had to move several
times in order to get a shot, but it finally worked
out. Pete took his shot. Bang!!! The buffalo went right
down, but to our surprise it got back up and took off
with the rest of the buffalo surrounding it. Again came
the task of getting the van back into position, but
with Pete’s driving skills, it wasn’t a
problem. We got back into position and the second shot
was fired; the buffalo went out into the lower field
and dropped.
This was a fantastic hunt, and Pete
proved that being disabled doesn’t mean that you’re
not able to be great hunter! It was my privilege to
spend this time with Pete. As we were taking pictures
and celebrating, we heard some commotion in the upper
field where Jim and Steve were in the blind. The other
buffalo had made their way up through some trees and
were crossing the field in front of the blind. We saw
them head right toward the blind and knew that the shot
would go off any moment. We could only imagine what
was going through Jim’s mind! It seemed as though
there was no sound just moments before the shot rang
out and echoed through the ranch. Boom!!! The buffalo
went down and didn’t get back up. Another shot
and Jim had his first big game trophy! It was amazing
to be able to watch Jim’s hunt unfold. Later that
day we harvested another cow buffalo with some of the
meat being used at our Safari Banquet and some being
donated to a local church.
I feel very blessed that there are
so many people and businesses willing to help with donations
and services. Without them, these hunts wouldn’t
be possible. It only proves what sportsmen always knew—we
are all part of a big family and we never hesitate to
help out fellow sportsmen.
My deepest thanks to following:
Safari Club International--Safari
Wish Grant Program
Silver Mountain Taxidermy
Brian’s Deer Cutting
Hidden Horns Game Ranch
Safari Club International--Ohio Chapter
The Wildlife Gallery, Inc.
Mckenzie Taxidermy Supply
Tim & Danny Hitch
Mike Nysda
Sincerely,
Jeff Mossbruger
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