- Joined
- Mar 11, 2001
- Messages
- 70,011
- Reaction score
- 1,003
California tailors hunt to wheelchair-dependent
By JOEL HOOD, Modesto Bee
November 14, 2002
MODESTO, Calif. - A paraplegic since an accident on his family's potato farm outside Ripon, Calif. at age 3, Rodney Khan has no memory of standing or walking under his own power.
But his disability has far from slowed him down.
A business owner, a husband and a father of five, Khan has made a living helping others with disabilities lead active lives.
His company, Buds Portable Welding, transforms cars, sports utility vehicles, Harley-Davidsons and all-terrain vehicles into easily accessible modes of transportation for people dependent upon wheelchairs.
An avid hunter and outdoorsman, Khan, 51, plans annual duck and elk hunting adventures with friends and often uses the modified ATV's his company builds to track game through the wild.
But even with the freedom his ATV gives him, Khan admits the opportunities for hunters dependent upon wheelchairs is somewhat limited.
That's why he and close friend Buster Bowmen will be two of about 20 taking part in the California Department of Fish and Game's special pheasant hunt for persons with wheelchairs Sunday in Chowchilla, Calif..
"I think this will be a good opportunity for a lot of hunters like me to get out and try something different," said Khan, who now lives in Railroad Flat, a town of 650 in northern Calaveras County. "For a lot of them, it's maybe the only opportunity they get to hunt all year."
While Sunday's pheasant hunt, which is already filled up, is the only DFG-sponsored event of its kind this year, many private clubs hold hunts for people who are wheelchair dependent, including the Camanche Hills Hunting Preserve northeast of Stockton and the Bird Ltd. Pheasant Club in Cool.
Due to an increase in the number of hunters who have applied for the special disabled hunting permits, the DFG now allows hunters dependent upon wheelchairs to hunt from their vehicles. But as one might suspect, there are pages of restrictions that go along with this somewhat controversial policy. The hunter must first register his planned hunt with the DFG ahead to secure a safe location. That information must then be passed to the wardens on patrol so that they can inform other hunters in the area.
The DFG also includes a link on its web site - www.dfg.ca.gov - that gives information about accessibility for disabled persons and provides a list of upcoming hunts and those wildlife areas that are wheelchair accessible. For the first time, the DFG held separate duck-blind drawings for hunters who use wheelchairs. In previous years, those hunters were tossed into the same pool of applicants.
DFG officials say it's all about increasing opportunity. In 1996, the number of hunters who were granted mobility impaired permits that allows them to shoot from their vehicle was 62. In 2001, the number was 128.
"It's an expanding program," DFG habitat supervisor Andy Atkinson said. "We're trying to provide equal opportunity and equal access for people dependent upon wheelchairs in different types of habitat. It's become a big priority (for the DFG) in recent years to meet the increase in demand."
In Chowchilla, DFG officials will release 75 pheasants, 50 of which were bought through community funds and 25 donated by a local business. Trained pointing dogs will be used to help the hunters locate the birds through the flat, mile-long alfalfa field. A number of football players from Chowchilla High have volunteered to help push the hunters over the rough terrain. The dogs are used to locate the birds and rustle them up, sending them into flight.
"It's an excellent event," said Donald Brown, 56, a Stockton, Calif. resident who will return for a second time Sunday. "But I learned last year that it's much easier to have the (football players) pull you than push you through the field. Last year I shot at just one bird, he was dead before he hit the ground."
Doug Bowman, a DFG official who helped organize the Chowchilla pheasant hunt, said the interest is there. The toughest challenge, he said, is getting the word out to hunters who might have an interest in it.
"We're still trying to get the message out that there are opportunities for hunters who rely on wheelchairs to get around," Bowman said. "The hunters I talk to who come out each year love it. For many who might be veterans, it can be real emotional. But they're always grateful."
E-mail Joel Hood at jhood(at)modbee.com
By JOEL HOOD, Modesto Bee
November 14, 2002
MODESTO, Calif. - A paraplegic since an accident on his family's potato farm outside Ripon, Calif. at age 3, Rodney Khan has no memory of standing or walking under his own power.
But his disability has far from slowed him down.
A business owner, a husband and a father of five, Khan has made a living helping others with disabilities lead active lives.
His company, Buds Portable Welding, transforms cars, sports utility vehicles, Harley-Davidsons and all-terrain vehicles into easily accessible modes of transportation for people dependent upon wheelchairs.
An avid hunter and outdoorsman, Khan, 51, plans annual duck and elk hunting adventures with friends and often uses the modified ATV's his company builds to track game through the wild.
But even with the freedom his ATV gives him, Khan admits the opportunities for hunters dependent upon wheelchairs is somewhat limited.
That's why he and close friend Buster Bowmen will be two of about 20 taking part in the California Department of Fish and Game's special pheasant hunt for persons with wheelchairs Sunday in Chowchilla, Calif..
"I think this will be a good opportunity for a lot of hunters like me to get out and try something different," said Khan, who now lives in Railroad Flat, a town of 650 in northern Calaveras County. "For a lot of them, it's maybe the only opportunity they get to hunt all year."
While Sunday's pheasant hunt, which is already filled up, is the only DFG-sponsored event of its kind this year, many private clubs hold hunts for people who are wheelchair dependent, including the Camanche Hills Hunting Preserve northeast of Stockton and the Bird Ltd. Pheasant Club in Cool.
Due to an increase in the number of hunters who have applied for the special disabled hunting permits, the DFG now allows hunters dependent upon wheelchairs to hunt from their vehicles. But as one might suspect, there are pages of restrictions that go along with this somewhat controversial policy. The hunter must first register his planned hunt with the DFG ahead to secure a safe location. That information must then be passed to the wardens on patrol so that they can inform other hunters in the area.
The DFG also includes a link on its web site - www.dfg.ca.gov - that gives information about accessibility for disabled persons and provides a list of upcoming hunts and those wildlife areas that are wheelchair accessible. For the first time, the DFG held separate duck-blind drawings for hunters who use wheelchairs. In previous years, those hunters were tossed into the same pool of applicants.
DFG officials say it's all about increasing opportunity. In 1996, the number of hunters who were granted mobility impaired permits that allows them to shoot from their vehicle was 62. In 2001, the number was 128.
"It's an expanding program," DFG habitat supervisor Andy Atkinson said. "We're trying to provide equal opportunity and equal access for people dependent upon wheelchairs in different types of habitat. It's become a big priority (for the DFG) in recent years to meet the increase in demand."
In Chowchilla, DFG officials will release 75 pheasants, 50 of which were bought through community funds and 25 donated by a local business. Trained pointing dogs will be used to help the hunters locate the birds through the flat, mile-long alfalfa field. A number of football players from Chowchilla High have volunteered to help push the hunters over the rough terrain. The dogs are used to locate the birds and rustle them up, sending them into flight.
"It's an excellent event," said Donald Brown, 56, a Stockton, Calif. resident who will return for a second time Sunday. "But I learned last year that it's much easier to have the (football players) pull you than push you through the field. Last year I shot at just one bird, he was dead before he hit the ground."
Doug Bowman, a DFG official who helped organize the Chowchilla pheasant hunt, said the interest is there. The toughest challenge, he said, is getting the word out to hunters who might have an interest in it.
"We're still trying to get the message out that there are opportunities for hunters who rely on wheelchairs to get around," Bowman said. "The hunters I talk to who come out each year love it. For many who might be veterans, it can be real emotional. But they're always grateful."
E-mail Joel Hood at jhood(at)modbee.com
