I met Max this past summer at the “Bob Gerding's Outdoor Adventures” convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was interested in assistance as a Mobility Impaired Hunter. His leg had been amputated below the hip, but that was obviously not going to stop him from carrying on a long tradition of hunting.

   It was early spring so we had time to apply for the hunting tags and mobility impaired permits through New Mexico Game and Fish. We filled out the hunting application, drank coffee and shared hunting stories as two life long outdoorsmen from New Mexico.

   Hunting season grew closer. Then Max called with good news, he had been fortunate enough to draw his first choice Elk tag for the Gila. I was excited too, since some of the best hunters in the state that I know of are very familiar with the unit for which Max drew. The, Gila is a rich and difficult area.

   I contacted my friend GT Nunn, from “Frontier Outfitting” to see if he could point us in the right direction. GT and his friend Rick helped to set up this hunt and their knowledge of the animals and area made this hunt successful. We had discussed a strategic location for camp and that’s where we were headed the day before the hunt. We camped in a gorgeous location and heard Bull Elk bugling through the night.

   We hunted right out of camp the first morning and came close, but were only able to admire the quick glimpse of horns and the majestic sounds echoing across the canyons. We returned to camp for breakfast and the midday downtime of Elk hunting. During the down time it was decided to setup on some private land for an evening hunt. Of course we had permission.

   That evening we located a nice bull working his way down a hill across a meadow. Darkness was setting in fast and the by the time the Bull made it into the open it was past shooting light. We backed out quietly and planed the next morning hunt. Everyone was excited to see if he would still be there in the morning. The Elk around camp bugled even harder that night and sleeping was done only for short periods of time when the bulls were not surrounding our camp making their presence known.

   The next morning we left camp at about 5:00 am to meet G.T. and Rick at the private land. Setting up so many people in the dark was not an option. Just Max, Jay, G.T. and Rick went out. The rest of us waited in the truck. A cold front had moved in during the night. It was 27 F.  We waited for sun rise and the sound of rifle fire. I watched for that time of the rising dawn when your eyes start to see color. It came and got brighter, shooting light had come. Time passed and the colors became brighter. We waited … Suddenly a shot! Everyone cheered… then another shot… What was happening? All was silent. Then Rick appeared, smiling! “we got him, he’s down” he said.

   Latter we learned that Max had missed his first shot due to cold and a shaky fence post. The bull had run a distance but G.T. stopped him with a quick cow call. Max’s second shot hit the mark, some 200 yards away, and a great shot.

   We had a blessed hunt, and what an honor it was to share this experience with all the great people involved. 

Dustin Berg

Founder/Executive Director