Everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy the excitement and challenges that hunting and fishing have to offer. The Missouri Disabled Sportsmen group works to reduce barriers for people who want to enjoy the woods and waters.
Founded in 2008, the statewide organization relies on volunteers and donors for 100 percent of the experiences it creates for people with mobility issues, as well as youth and people with terminal illnesses. An upcoming hunting event in Bloomsdale will be hosted during the first anterless-only season this fall.
Registration is through the state Department of Conservation online application process. Twenty hunters will be given the opportunity to participate in the Marvin Drury Memorial Antlerless Deer Hunt October 11-13 at the Drury family property. The Missouri Disabled Sportsmen organization will provide meals, experienced mentors, blinds and meat processing for participants.
Rich Cook of Crystal City recently volunteered with the organization and is looking forward to helping a hunter at the upcoming hunt and other outings in the future.
“I’m willing to give up my opening day to help someone else,” he said. “I could go and take another deer to hang on the wall in my basement, but seeing the excitement for someone else is a lot more thrilling.”
Cook said he began following Missouri Disabled Sportsmen on Facebook. When he saw pictures they posted of anglers in wheelchairs that could go into the water at his beloved Montauk State Park, Cook was hooked.
Through partnerships with volunteers, state agencies, private landowners, and other organizations, the 401(c)3 not-for-profit has offered deer, pheasant, turkey, and waterfowl hunting outings, along with fishing and other outdoor educational events throughout Missouri and around the country, said Jeff Roth a Ste. Genevieve County resident and organization vice president.
“It all started with a deer hunt, then more and more people were interested,” Roth said. “I have beagles, so we’ll go rabbit hunting. I have the stuff for waterfowl, so we have goose hunts. I like predator hunting. We pretty much can make anything happen. If they want to go squirrel hunting, we’ll go squirrel hunting.”
The group’s primary fund-raisers is scheduled for Saturday, August 17, with a fish fry, auctions, raffles, and a poker run for Jeeps and side-by-side sports utility vehicles. The third annual “Making it Possible” event begins and ends at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomsdale.
The fish fry meal will be available from 2 to 6 p.m. and the band Kicking Kountry will play from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. From 6 to 7:30 p.m. the silent auction, live auction, and several fund-raising games will take place, Roth said.
Registration for the poker run begins at 10 a.m. and each $15 registration includes a ticket for the fish fry meal. Additional poker hands may be purchased for $5 each. Proof of insurance is required, and all UTVs must have a flag or slow-moving vehicle placard.
Roth said the fund-raiser evolved from an appreciation event he hosted for volunteers and the disabled hunters the organization helped.
“I fish a lot, so my friends and I always have a lot of fish, so we started the fish fry dinner several years ago. One year my brother said, ‘you ought to get a band.’ The next year the band had such a good time they said, ‘you ought to turn this into a fund-raiser.’ Now it’s our biggest event of the year,” Roth said. “The Jeep and UTV poker run is a new thing this year.”
The auctions, raffles and games rely on donations from many of the organizations sponsors. Items that are available can be viewed on the group’s Facebook page and raffle tickets may be purchased online through the social media site until August 13.
For more information on Missouri Disabled Sportsmen and its upcoming events visit missouridisabledsportsmen.org or call Roth at 660-346-7476.
John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine.
Don't Call Me Outdoor John 
nice!!
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