6th Prize
Hunting Journal with Weatherby Logo (100 awarded)
David Keene, Wisconsin
“My name is David Keene. I am from the great whitetail hunting state of Wisconsin where we are blessed with the opportunity to see some impressive whitetail bucks and hunt them. I have been hunting for the past 37 years and have been fortunate enough to harvest some of these nice bucks. I hunt with some close friends of mine who make the hunt a special memory each and every year.
My dad got me started in hunting when I was 12 and we hunted together for many years before he passed away in 2001. While my hunting changed dramatically after my dad was gone, my love for hunting and being in the woods did not. Just being away from the chores at home, the telephone ringing or having to go to work makes it a special time in the woods for me. I enjoy seeing all the wild animals from the busy squirrels getting ready for winter, the racoons playing, the porcupines thinking they are hidden from your sight just on the other side of the tree and, of course, the whitetail deer grazing through the woods.
I am entering your Dream Hunt contest in hopes of winning a big buck whitetail hunt or a big bull elk hunt for a special person. The special person in my life is my friend Todd. Todd is in his late 30s and has had cerebral palsy since he was born. He is crippled in his hands and legs and cannot speak like you and I can. But that does not stop him from his favorite past time...hunting! I have been taking him hunting for about 20 years. His dad will bring him to my place and Todd and I will head to the woods hunting, trying to get a big whitetail buck for him. My dad and I built Todd a tree stand with a stairway going up to it so he could hunt off the ground. Todd has taken a couple of doe from this stand and has seen some nice bucks but has not been fortunate enough to harvest one yet. But his desire never changes from year to year.
The past few years I have let Todd sit in my ground blind during the gun season hoping he could shoot a nice buck from there. Again, he has taken a doe, but could not get a shot off at the bucks that he saw. He is a terrific hunter, but unlike most of us can basically only shoot if the deer come from one general direction because of his cerebral palsy. So his chances get pretty limited at times, because it is sometimes hard to predict which way that big ole buck might come from.
Todd is always so grateful just for getting the chance to hunt and while I know he would love to shoot a big buck, he is just thankful for getting to see some deer and watch them. It makes his day every time we just get the opportunity to see some deer, even if he doesn’t get a shot. Many of the best times I have had hunting are when I am with Todd and can share our love for hunting and the outdoors together. A few times while sneaking through the woods, I have looked back to see where Todd was only to see him peeking up over a downfall that he had tripped over with a big smile on his face and just as eager to keep going. While he can’t walk as well as many of us and we might go a little slower, his desire is second to no one. He will follow me for miles if he needs to. This young man just loves to hunt and I wish the hunting season here in Wisconsin was longer so he could enjoy it more. He does not have as many things to look forward to like the rest of us. The hunting season is just so short that in between his working, he can only get out for four or five days with me to hunt. That makes for a long time until next season.
I would like to win this Dream Hunt for Todd so he could have an opportunity to shoot a big whitetail buck or a nice bull elk. Possibly somewhere out west where there are both elk and deer. Some place where he could go and have possibly multiple chances to get a shot off while in a fair chase hunt. He has gone through so much in his life with his cerebral palsy, his mom and dad divorcing when he was young and then his sister dying after he graduated from high school. Now to top it all off he has developed sugar diabetes. But you know what...he just keeps going like nothing has changed. He deals with it the best he can.
I know that I can’t explain in words my love for Todd, but I don’t know of anyone more deserving to win this hunt than him. He is one of the most gracious friends I know and if you ever had the chance to meet him and hunt with him, you would see for yourself exactly what I am trying to tell you.
I sincerely hope you will keep my story on the top of your list and grant my friend Todd this dream hunt of a lifetime. I guarantee you that not only will you be touching the life of someone in a huge way, you will also be blessed by the chance to meet Todd and get to know him. He is a special young man.
Thank you so much for offering this Dream Hunt. I know it will touch someones life and my wish is that it will be Todd’s.”