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Written and Submitted to the Star-News by Dirk Price

On Jan. 17, 14 physically challenged individuals arrived in Andalusia for a deer hunt hosted by the Andalusia Lions Club.

Early arrivals met local guides and landowners at David’s Catfish House for lunch. From there, everyone headed to the South Alabama Gun Club’s rifle range to practice with the help of volunteers.

After practice, they checked into the Best Western hotel, provided for free by the Andalusia Lions. Meanwhile, the Lions and other volunteers prepared the Will Coleman Recreation Center for the Friday night dinner. This 120-seat building with a commercial kitchen was provided for free by the City of Andalusia. As everyone arrived for dinner, excitement filled the air as volunteers, guides, landowners, participants, and their families’ shared stories.

Two Alabama game wardens answered questions about state game laws. Before dinner, Michael Shirey, a volunteer guide, reviewed safety rules, and Dirk Price, the Lion hunt coordinator, introduced the 14 hunters. Each physically challenged hunter was paired with an able volunteer guide, and they finalized plans for the following morning’s hunt. After dinner, those without hunting licenses went to Walmart, where the Lions Club purchased licenses for them.

Saturday morning started around 4 a.m. with a quick breakfast at the Coleman Center. Deer activity was slow in the morning, but the afternoon brought success.

Hunter Culverson, a 12-year-old Georgia boy with cerebral palsy, started the action by shooting a nice doe from his wheelchair on John Roach’s property.

Hailey Leslie, a 17-year-old girl from Alabama who is blind, followed with her own doe taken from Andy Willis’s hunting camp. Hailey uses a camera device that mounts to her rifle scope, projecting the crosshairs and target onto a monitor where her sighted father can see the target and direct her aim.

The father-son team of Shawn Satterfield who is a disabled Navy veteran finished the day with a 7-point buck shot at Russ Wilkerson’s farm in Petrey, Alabama.

After dark, hunters gathered at the Coleman Center for a wild game dinner. The hall buzzed with stories of the day’s hunt. Lions Club members and other volunteers served dishes such as antelope tortillas, fried catfish & bass, venison poppers, wild hog ribs, camp stew, venison tenderloin, and more.

After the meal, everyone who contributed to the hunt was recognized. Dozens of donated door prizes were given away and each hunter received a gift bag full of donated goodies, including a beautiful metal plaque gifted by ARS Iron Works. A raffle of high-value donated items followed.

Sunday morning brought cold, windy weather. Alex Seda, a disabled veteran from Missouri, harvested a doe and a 5-point buck from Dirk Price’s property.

Rick Wilson, another disabled veteran from Florida, bagged a doe and a 6-point at Cris Nolan’s place.

The Satterfield team shot another small buck and two does.

Max McFarland, a 16-year-old paraplegic from Georgia, passed on smaller deer in hopes of getting a trophy buck.

Ronnie Hindsman, a 50-year-old from Texas with prosthetic arms, and Ken Crane, a disabled Air Force veteran from Alabama, both saw deer but were waiting for the big one.

Just before dark, Jackie Biehler, a 16-year-old quadriplegic girl from Indiana, dropped her doe in its tracks at Andy Willis’s deer camp. Jackie straps a metal hook to her forearm, allowing her to pull the trigger when she moves her shoulder.

Over the weekend, a total of 11 deer were harvested, and volunteers cleaned them for the hunters to take home.

This was a great group of deserving people with various physical challenges.

The 9th Annual Andalusia Lions Physically Challenged Deer Hunt was a huge success. It would not have been possible without the many individuals, businesses, organizations, and governmental departments that helped. On behalf of the Andalusia Lions Club, we thank everyone involved. This event continues to grow and is an opportunity for physically challenged people who, without over 100 contributors, could not experience deer hunting in South Alabama.