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The 1st Annual SCI Low Country Chapter Wheelchair
Hunt was a great success!
The 1st Annual Low Country Chapter Wheelchair Hunt was held on October 29-29,
2005 on 6 private plantations in the ACE (Ashepoo,
Combahee & Edisto
Rivers) basin.
We would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Michael G. McShane of the
Nemours Wildlife Foundation, for allowing us to use their beautiful 9,800 acre plantation as the
focal point for the event. We would also like to thank Ernie Wiggers,
Ph.D., Director of the Nemours Wildlife Foundation, Ray Bass,
Plantation Manager and Eddie Mills, Plantation Biologist for their invaluable
assistance in organizing the event.
The entrance to beautiful Nemours Plantation in the heart of the ACE basin.
1st
Sgt. Lynwood Kearse III, 1st Sgt. William Matthews, Jr.
and Lt. James Wagers, Jr., of the South Carolina Department of Natural
Resources (SCDNR) and
Bobby Harrell of the South Carolina Disabled
Sportsmen Association worked with the Low Country Chapter to make this
event a success.
SCDNR Officers William Matthews, Jr.
and
Lynwood Kearse III.
SCDNR distributed the applications and 1st Sgt. Kearse and Bobby
Harrell chose the 15
lucky hunters for this year's event. SCDNR
furnished pop-up ground blinds and shooting sticks for the hunters, some of which
were purchased with a $1,500.00 donation from the Low Country Chapter to the SCDNRs "Take One Make One"
program.
Bobby Harrell and Ernie Wiggers of Nemours Plantation secured
the participation of 5 additional private plantations
to accommodate our wheelchair hunters, they were Cockfield Plantation, Brewton
Plantation, Mackey Point Plantation, Rose Hill Plantation and Hall Island
Plantation. Nemours Plantation also provided wheelchair accessible portable toilets for the
hunters.
On Thursday, October 27th volunteers
assembled at Nemours Plantation to prepare for the event. At dawn on
Friday the sky was clear and the air was cool as the sun rose over the marsh -
perfect weather for the hunt.
Sunrise over the marsh in front of the main house on Nemours Plantation.
The hunters and their family members were warmly greeted by
the volunteers as they arrived at the plantation house. New friendships
were established and old friendships renewed as the parking area filled with
clusters of people exchanging hunting tales and phone numbers.
SCDNR's chief photographer, Phillip Jones, introduces himself to hunter Joe Brown, 15, as
Bobby Harrell of SC Disabled Sportsmen and hunter, Bowen Smith, 15, look on.
Hunters gather around as Julian Ohmer, 20, shows photos of an Oryx he shot
recently on a hunt in New Mexico donated to the Outdoor Dream Foundation by Ted Turner.
Bobby Harrell showing 1st Sgt. Lynwood Kearse a new, improved wheelchair gun rest.
As talk turned to the afternoon's hunt, gun cases started to
emerge from the hunters vehicles. The group migrated slowly toward the
rifle range to watch and await their turn to shoot.
Vijay Viswanathan prepares to shoot as hunters, Robert Rowell and Tom Ulmer wait
their turns.
Bowen Smith, 15, is assisted by his father, Jessie, as he takes aim.
Behind Bowen is Ted Remley from Cockfield Plantation, Bowen's host for the hunt.
Volunteers QDMA Founder, Joe Hamilton, and Low Country Chapter, Past President,
Ernie Dorsey assisted the hunters at the rifle range.
Once all the hunters had finished zeroing their rifles, it was time to
serve lunch. Volunteers Chris Thomas and Melvin Lane had perfumed the air all morning with the mouthwatering aroma of grilling
chicken liberally slathered with a secret basting sauce! The chicken was
accompanied by red rice and green bean side dishes generously provided by Sharon
Stevenson, owner of The Glass House restaurant in Walterboro. If you have
not yet visited The Glass House, Sharon's lunch buffet is one of the finest
meals served anywhere in the South, and her Sunday Buffet is a culinary
masterpiece!
Melvin Lane, Master Chicken Griller!
Jolie Collins, Operations Manager for
Pearlstine Distributors in Bluffton, SC,
produced two event banners and provided drink coolers and ice. He
contacted his friend, Jerry Hart at the Coca-Cola distributorship in Beaufort,
SC, and arranged to have all
of the soft drinks for the event provided free-of-charge. He also
collected breakfast food donations from Ronny Kessler, Manager of the Piggly
Wiggly Supermarket in Ridgeland and Richard Heaton, Manager of the Piggly Wiggly
Supermarket in Bluffton. We appreciated Jolie's hard work and the
contributions of Coca-Cola, Piggly Wiggly and Pearlstine Distributors.
Hungry hunters and volunteers line up to prepare lunch plates.
Pastor John Bumgardner (r.) from Dillon, SC, said the blessing before lunch.
His son, Wen, 17, beside him participated in the hunt.
The
Schawbel Corporation, manufacturers of the
ThermaCELL
mosquito repellent system, donated 15 ThermaCELL units for use by the
hunters. They also provided 5 of their new
ThermaSCENT
units to help attract the big bucks!
Click the logo above to visit the ThermaCELL website.
There was a huge mosquito hatch in
the lowcountry recently and the hunters were very grateful for the protection
provided by the ThermaCELL units. As always, the ThermaCELLS were 100%
effective in repelling the buzzing swarms of biting gnats and mosquitos, making
the hunt more comfortable and enjoyable.
Dewey Richardson, owner of the
Outdoor Products
Development Group donated 15 of his "Black Death" magnum scent
dispensers and a supply of his "Black Death" premium buck urine ("The Ultimate
Scent for the Ultimate Hunter") for use during the hunt.
Click the logo above to visit the Black Death website.
Tom Ulmer
shot two 8-point bucks while using the Black Death urine in combination with the ThermaSCENT unit.
Several other hunters saw a number of bucks around their stands that were
attracted to the Black Death scent.
Tom Ulmer with the first of two 8-points he shot during the hunt.
Robert Rowell had a birds-eye view of the marsh and a cornfield from
his hydraulic elevated blind. We placed a ThermaSCENT unit with Black
Death buck urine and a Black Death scent dispenser with buck urine about 25
yards in front of his blind. Four bucks and two does were attracted to
within 50 yards of the blind.
Robert Rowell from Santee, SC, with his wife and a nice 8-point taken while
fighting with another buck just 50 yards from his stand on Nemours Plantation.
Just before dark, the Rowells were witnesses to the
heart-pounding excitement of two bucks fighting just 50 yards away! Robert
aimed for the larger buck and dropped him in his tracks with one perfectly
placed shot.
Volunteer, Jolie Collins, Operations Manager for Pearlstine Distributors in
Bluffton and Low Country Chapter President, David Crosby, cleaning one of the 5
deer taken during the hunt.
Following the afternoon hunt on Friday, a light meal was
served. Over soup and sandwiches, the hunters traded stories of their day
in the field, then headed for their motel rooms in Beaufort and Walterboro.
Chapter Member, Calvert Huffines, of
The Huffines Company generously donated the
funds to pay for wheelchair accessible motel rooms for all of the hunters.
This donation was greatly appreciated by the hunters; especially those living on
a fixed disability income.
Before daylight on Saturday morning the hunters returned to
the 6 plantations where they were greeted by their hosts and once again put on
stands for the morning hunt. A number of deer were seen, including some nice
bucks. However, in most cases, either the bucks proved too elusive or they
did not meet the Quality Deer Management standards set by the individual
plantations. Tom Ulmer's good luck continued and he bagged another, even
larger 8-point! Tom was once again using the Black Death buck urine and a ThermaSCENT unit during the morning hunt.
(right to left) Tom Ulmer with his two 8-points. Volunteer, Ernie Dorsey,
holding Robert Rowells 8-point rack, was Tom's guide on Mackey Point Plantation.
Hunters, Rick Edwards, David Stanton and Julian Ohmer are enjoying the moment
with Tom and Ernie.
Our lunch on Saturday was donated by Jamey Copeland of
Walterboro Feed, Garden & Pet Supply. Jamey provided hot dogs with condiments and
chips for everyone. Following lunch, the hunters enjoyed another
opportunity to converse and exchange contact information. Volunteers
processed the deer and helped the lucky hunters pack their coolers for the trip
home.
Master Taxidermist, Larry Quinn, of
American Sportsman Taxidermy in Tallahassee, FL
donated a shoulder mount for the Wheelchair Hunter who shot the
biggest buck during the hunt. Tom Ulmer won this prize with his 8-point on
Saturday. But Tom received another surprise gift when his hosts on Mackey
Point Plantation offered to have his other 8-point mounted!
Our 1st Annual Wheelchair hunt was a great success! We
hope that it was just the first of many more successful Wheelchair Hunts in the
ACE basin co-sponsored by the SCI Low Country Chapter, SCDNR and the South Carolina Disabled
Sportsmen Association.
We would like to thank the participating
plantations, their owners and staffs, the hunters and our volunteers for making this
great event possible!
Participating Plantations
Nemours Plantation - The duPont Family, Owners; Ray
Bass, Manager
Brewton Plantation - DeeAnn Terni, Owner; Joe Hamilton, Huntmaster
Cockfield Plantation - Susan O'Brian, Owner; Ted Remley, Manager
Hall Island Plantation - Michael Thomas, Bray's Island Huntmaster
Mackey Point Plantation - Tony Martin, Manager
Rose Hill Plantation - Lane Morrison, Owner
Hunters
Steve Avinger, Myrtle Beach, SC
Joe Brown, Moresville, NC
Wen Bumgardner, Dillon, SC
Harry Jennings, Cordova, SC
Rudy Chilton, Myrtle Beach, SC
Rick Edwards, Inman, SC
Julian Ohmer, Erhardt, SC
Mark Riffle, Columbia, SC
Robert Rowell, Santee, SC
Bowen Smith, Moresville, NC
David Stanton, Hartsville, SC
Tom Ulmer, Columbia, SC
Vijay Viswanathan, Boulder, CO
Volunteers
Sgt. Lynwood Kearse, III,
SCDNR
Sgt. William Matthews,
SCDNR
Lt. James C. Wagers, Jr.,
SCDNR
Ernie Wiggers,
Nemours Wildlife Foundation
Ray Bass,
Nemours Wildlife Foundation
Eddie Mills,
Nemours Wildlife Foundation
Bobby Harrell, SC Disabled Sportsmen, SCI Chapter Member
David Crosby, SCI Chapter President
Missy Crosby, SCI Chapter Member
Chris Thomas, SCI Chapter Treasurer
Barbara Thomas, SCI Chapter Member
Clint Lemon, SCI Chapter Past President
Camille Lemon, SCI Chapter Member
Col. Thomas Hodges, SCI Chapter Director
Rick Bennett, SCI Chapter Member
Tammy Bennett, SCI Chapter Member
Calvert Huffines,
The Huffines Company, SCI Chapter Member
Mark Peterson, SCI Chapter Webmaster
Holly Peterson, SCI Chapter Director
Ted Stoney, SCI Chapter Member
Ernie Dorsey, SCI Chapter Past President
Dean Elsey, SCI Chapter Member
Dennis Fleming, SCI Chapter Member
Jolie Collins, Operations Manager,
Pearlstine Distributors
Jessica Avinger
Corry Burbage
Penny Viswanathan
Sharon Stevenson, The Glass House Restaurant
Jamey Copeland, Walterboro Feed & Supply
Melvin Lane, Chicken Griller Extraordinaire
Congratulations Bowen!
Here is a photo of Bowen
Smith and his dad, Jessie, with the beautiful buck that he shot the weekend
after our Wheelchair Hunt. Bowen was hosted by Brad Jones and the Outdoor
Dream Foundation on this hunt.
Congratulations Steve!
Steve Avinger shot this
fine buck in Horry County, SC about 10 days after our
Wheelchair hunt!
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