UPSTATE — Mobility impaired hunters will again be treated to a unique opportunity to attend two special deer hunts this year on more than 60 well-managed and exclusive, private tracts of land in the Upstate.
The hunts are scheduled for Oct. 23 and Oct. 24 in Union County, and on Oct. 30 and Oct. 31 in Laurens and Newberry counties.
Applicants can apply for one or both hunts. There is no application fee or other costs associated with these hunts. Each hunt will consist of a noon lunch and hunting on Friday afternoon and Saturday mornings. After the noon lunch on Friday, all participants will then disperse to their assigned hunt sites.
Applications are available from Union DNR Office, 124 Wildlife Drive, Union, SC 29379 and the S.C. Department of Natural Resources Columbia Office, P.O. Box 167, 1000 Assembly St., Columbia, SC 29202. The Union DNR office can be reached at 864-427-5140 and the state DNR office can be reached at 803-734-3886. The fax number for Union is 864-427-8460.
Applications can be downloaded from the DNR website at www.dnr.sc.gov/hunting/mobilityhunt.html. Completed applications must be received at the Union DNR Office by 5 p.m. Sept. 14.
These special hunts are co-sponsored by DNR, which will handle the application process, notification of successful hunters and other correspondence. A number of very generous landowners and managers will accommodate hunters on their properties this year during these special hunts. Additional hosts may be added prior to the hunt.
Applicants for these hunts are carefully screened and are restricted to persons who are permanently and severely mobility impaired. These include only those who are permanently confined to a wheelchair, persons permanently requiring the use of a mechanical aid (walker, braces, cane, etc.) to walk, or persons with complete single or double leg amputations.
Each hunter can be accompanied by one other person who can participate in a non-hunting capacity. This year at each of the hunts some severely injured and permanently mobility impaired servicemen and servicewomen will be accommodated in cooperation with the Wounded Warrior Project. Additional information about the Wounded Warrior Project is available from its website at www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
“Aside from the opportunity to hunt deer on some of the most well-managed and exclusive properties in the Upstate, another important benefit of these events is the opportunity to develop friendships and fellowship among those who have similar disabilities,” said Gerald Moore, a DNR wildlife biologist in Union. “We are pleased to cooperate with the various hosts and sponsors of these hunts in assisting those people who are able to take definite steps to pursue their outdoor interests despite their disabilities.”
Moore encourages all qualified mobility impaired persons interested in hunting to apply.
“It is certainly a great opportunity, and all interested sportsmen and sportswomen who are mobility impaired should try to take advantage of it,” he said.
Union County — Oct. 23 and Oct. 24
Tad Cannon — Arrowhead Farm; Ty Cheek — Pea Ridge Hunt Club; Steve Cobb — Berry Tract; Gordy Darby — Hickory Hills Hunt Club; Keith Douglas (Donnie Loftis) — Rabbit Road Hunt Club; John Farris — Fairforest Land & Timber Company; Wayne Garner — U.S. Sportsmen’s Club; Debby Giesen — Smith Property; Dan Hess (Donnie Loftis) — Padgett’s Creek Reserve; Wayne High (George D. Johnson Jr.) — Tyger Ranch; Bob Jeter — Chufa Ridge Farm, LLC; Steve Koskela — Laura Lyn Farm; Jack Lister — Ridge Runner Hunt Club; Tarri McKinney — Delta South WMA; Walter Oates — Triangle 113 Farm; Ron Roberts — Beulah Creek Hunt Club; Kegan Roberts — Fowken Farm; Rusty Sellers — Rackmaster Hunt Club; Terry Shockley — Trophy Buck Hunt Club; Frank Sistare — Fairforest Timber Company; Jeff Strickland — Strickland Property.
Laurens County — Oct. 30 and Oct. 31
Charles Blackmon — Blackmon Farm; Dr. Wallace Boyd — Quaker Creek Farm; Larry Brehmer — Brehmer Farm; Ricky Childers — Benjamin Property; Mike Davis — Davis Property; Tom Davis — Davis Property — Hog Pen; John Farmer — Farmer Property; Steve Frantz — Southern Timber Associates; Chris Grant — The Clinton House Plantation; Barrett Holmes — Holmes Farm; Tim Howard — Sugar Flat Hunt Club; Steve Johnson — Johnson Farm; Charles McKinney — McKinney Property; Wade Pitts — Pitts Place; Tom Pope — Tojo; Dr. Gus Ramage — Ramage Properties; Danny Roach — Pacolet Milliken Enterprises; Dave Schemm — Triple S Hunt Club; Stan Schoemer — Red Oak Hunt Club; Todd Scott — Cabin on the Water; Penny Spearman — Spearman Property; Bryson Thomason — Fuller Gray Farm; Paul Tollison — Mill Creek Farm; Hobart Trotter — Davis Property; Jim Watson — Indian Creek Hunt Club; Dr. Derrick Wessinger — Hurricane Hunt Club; and Dr. Claude Woollen — Woollen Farm.
Newberry County — Oct. 30 and Oct. 31
Terry Cotney — Lester Estate; Rusty Harter — Piedmont Conservation Club; Mrs. Roy Jones — Mudlick Lodge; Gary Stephens — Belfast WMA; Otis Taylor — The Scott Place (TCA); Lee Walsh — Belfast Hunt Club.