Hunting in the vast, open outdoor spaces of Southwest Colorado can offer more than just an enjoyable experience. In fact, that calmness of being out in nature is a therapeutic tool for a handful of people trying to overcome physical or emotional afflictions.
That is how a group in La Plata County called Hunting Heals came to be.
Aside from people who are blind, Hunting Heals works with hunters who are paraplegic, quadriplegic, or use a cane or walker.
The group also welcomes hunters suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The group strives to have hunters “be present in the moment” and be away from traffic noises, allowing them to absorb the area’s natural beauty as a way of therapy, said Hunting Heals founder Brad Harper.
“Quietness soothes the soul,” he said. “That’s why I think it’s beneficial to so many people.”
Eric Miller, who is blind from being born premature at 25 weeks, grew up in rural Pennsylvania but didn’t have the opportunity to go hunting, which left him frustrated.
“I was always told I couldn’t do certain things because of my visual impairment,” said Miller, who now lives in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
He came to Colorado in 2011. Later, he started working for the South Metro Denver Chamber where he met some outdoor enthusiasts and eventually took up hunting.
Miller, who was in his third hunting season with Hunting Heals, said he enjoys the stillness and calmness that comes with hunting in Southwest Colorado, adding that it’s great to get away from the traffic and other noises of Denver.
“It kind of gives me a chance to recharge in a way. … Definitely gives you a chance to pray more and communicate with God,” he said, adding that he appreciates Hunting Heals’ positive and calming approach to working with fellow hunters.
Durango resident Tyler Cugnini shot a buck on his first-ever hunting trip Oct. 26 just east of Ignacio.
“It was exciting,” he said.
Cugnini is regaining his mobility after he broke his back, leg and feet in a head-on car crash three years ago.
He was initially told he’d never walk again, but he graduated from using a wheelchair to using a walker to not needing a walker.
Cugnini said he was initially concerned about being able to move his back and maintain his balance while shooting from a standing position.
“My free standing is not that great, so I’ve got to have a third point of contact most times,” he said, adding that he used a tripod to help steady himself and his rifle.
Cugnini said hunting is assisting with his recovery because it has allowed him to work on regaining his balance while walking and standing.
“I feel like I’m getting better,” he said. “Going from the wheelchair to the walker to being able to walk around out here without any crutches or any support has been awesome.”
For blind hunters, the group uses an iPhone adapter that overlays the eyepiece of a rifle scope.
“When we turn our iPhone on picture mode, we get to see what you would normally see if you were to look down the eyepiece of a rifle scope. That allows us as the guide to safely position the firearm on the animal’s body. … We communicate with our hunters when it’s safe to pull the trigger,” Harper said, adding that hunters’ hands are guided to the correct location while harvesting animals.
Miller said the cues help him turn his head to the side for a more precise aim.
“Without the adaptive aids, I don’t think I would be able to go hunting by myself,” he said.
Blind hunters are also taught to lean on noncommunication measures like responding to a shoulder tap, and they listen for certain sounds such as when a deer steps on leaves or when a turkey gobbles.
“It’s all helpful. We try to share our knowledge with the hunters, too, to help them understand the situation and kind of prep them for what to expect for the hunt,” said Hunting Heals guide Cole Davis.
Hunting from inside a vehicle is typically illegal, but paraplegics and quadriplegics have medical licenses that are approved by Colorado Parks and Wildlife that allow them to shoot their game from vehicles, Harper said.
In those situations, Davis said hunters may not have particularly strong core muscles, so they may need help getting into position from their seats.
Quadriplegics often use what is called a blow trigger, in which they blow through a straw that connects to a rifle trigger. They can also use a brace that pulls their shoulder back while their hand is on the trigger, so they don’t have to use their index finger to pull the trigger, Harper said.
“A lot of times, our rifles have a lot of equipment on them. So, it takes a lot of finagling in order to get it to work,” he said.
Harper said his younger brother Peter had some health issues at birth and was paralyzed from the waist down. The two grew up in eastern Colorado doing hiking, backpacking and outdoor activities, and they later took up antelope hunting.
Those experiences with his brother prompted Brad to get involved with a program fitting Hunting Heals’ description. Harper, who previous worked with a similar program on the Front Range, found that group after moving to La Plata County, eager to help those hunters overcome perceived limitations that may otherwise keep them from trying. He has now been involved in guiding hunters for almost a decade.
“Nature provides a new perspective sometimes on things,” Harper said. “… The peacefulness that the outdoors provides, I think people with PTSD can benefit greatly from this.”
The group brings out two or three hunters per weekend during its second rifle season, held the last weekend of October and the first weekend of November. Those hunters largely come from the Denver, Colorado Springs and Fort Collins areas, as well as states such as New Mexico and Texas, depending on applications and available hunting properties.
“It’s really neat to get to know these guys, get to know their stories and just appreciate where they’ve come from, then get to do something just so awesome like being out here to hunt and spending time together,” said Hunting Heals guide Josh Kitchen.
The group also coordinates with private property owners willing to let its guides and clients use those areas during a hunting season, which Harper said the group depends on to continue operations in a controlled environment.
Kitchen said one of the group’s main challenges is meeting the hunters’ specific needs, sometimes on the fly. Yet, he also said that challenge makes things more fun for the group.
“The more we do it, the more tricks we can come up with and learn to help accommodate the hunter for whatever challenge they might be facing,” Davis said.
Hunters are required to complete and return a basic safety education form to abide by firearm safety measures one or two months before their scheduled hunting session begins, Harper said.
The hunters later have their game taken to a meat-processing facility before taking it back home to eat, and they have the option to have a taxidermist to mount their game and create memorabilia from the experience.
“It’s very rewarding for us,” Harper said. “It’s pretty cool seeing the expressions and the emotions that people have when they get to go hunting.”
mhollinshead@durangoherald.com
