Swamp

People sometimes ask, “What can we do to thank a vet?” The Arizona Elk Society’s’ Hunts for Heroes program has that question nailed: On December 27th at 2 o’clock in the afternoon I received a call from Dave Holbrook (Hunts for Heroes director) about a donated desert sheep tag in Unit 37B. The only complications … the season was to end on the 31st and I live in Williams, AZ. After considering the magnitude of an Arizona sheep tag and a conversation with Tom Wagner (Hunts for Heroes coordinator), we decided to give it a go. I was able to meet up with Tom around noon on the 28th and we headed to Superior, Az. Tom said we had some volunteers on the mountain glassing for sheep. Turned out “some volunteers” meant 6 volunteers from CouesWhitetail.com had showed up to be part of the hunt. After glassing the mountainside for a while, we pinpointed two beautiful mature rams. After discussing the situation, 3 volunteers and I then headed up Picketpost Mountain. 3/4 of the way up Picketpost, we spotted the two shooter rams a little over 500 yards uphill --- they had spotted us and were looking straight down at us. Although the wind was in our favor, we decided trying to get closer would probably send them over the top. After a few minutes of fumbling around trying to get a solid rest, we were able to take a solid shot. One shot and the ram rolled downhill out of sight. It took us about 45 minutes to cover those 500 yards, and I was speechless when we walked up on the monster sheep. The guys down below could hear our celebration all the way from their glassing location. After 30 minutes of pictures it was starting to get dark as we finished quartering out the ram. We proceeded to head down the mountain with heavy packs, our way lighted by headlamps. I’m still in disbelief of the coordination, volunteers, and of course harvesting a trophy desert bighorn. The way December 28th came together was absolutely insane. I cannot thank the volunteers from CouesWhitetail.com and Arizona Elk Society’s Hunts for Heroes program enough. It was an unbelievable team effort and I truly appreciate the compassion and footwork that made this hunt possible. It made me feel greatly appreciated. Many combat wounded veterans say the hardest thing isn’t the combat tour itself, but the transition back to “normal” life. For someone like myself, hunting has proven to be a great healing experience, and great steps toward normalization. Thanks again for an unbelievable hunt, Neil Schalk, Cpl, USMC

The Hero spent time on the keyboard this morning --- his new thread coming shortly ...