Beating the odds for a spring gobbler

by Joe Robison, DNR Wildlife Division

Opening day of the 2015 Michigan turkey season was about to begin. I drove north in the early morning darkness, to Bob Knoop’s 170-acre farm near Fenton, Michigan. With clouds, rain and high winds in the forecast, it looked like it would not be an ideal opening day for turkey hunting.

I would be hunting with Brenen Twiss, who has special needs. Six years ago, while Brenen was a junior in high school, he had an unfortunate accident on his way to school one morning. Brenen hit some black ice, totaled his vehicle, and was severely injured. He lost both of his legs and received traumatic brain injuries, limiting the mobility in his upper body. He’ll be in a wheelchair the remainder of his life.

For the hunt, Brenen would be using a liberator machine – a special machine that fires a weapon with the use of a joystick or a straw, depending upon the hunter’s capabilities. The liberator, invented by Pete Odland and named for the freedom it provides special-needs hunters, can be outfitted with a rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader or crossbow.

We set up a large ground blind and placed a couple turkey decoys 25 yards out in front of us in a meadow. Keep in mind, the liberator machine currently only shoots left and right, so the turkeys had to come to a precise location.

As it began to get light out, I started calling for turkeys. We heard a few gobbles off in the distance, answering me, but nothing was extremely close. We heard nothing after that for an hour. We all started getting nervous that we wouldn’t see any turkeys. It would have been too difficult to pick up everything and move, so we had to wait. Every five minutes or so, I would let out some more yelps. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we had a gobbler respond to my calling about 150 yards from us. Things were looking up.

I whispered to Brenen, “They’re getting closer. Get ready.” Just after I whispered to him, I looked out the window and three hens were heading our way. Then, out of nowhere, a big gobbler appeared 10 yards from the blind and gobbled right next to us. The gobble shook the blind, the bird was so close to us!

The big gobbler ran 30 yards right to the jake decoy and began to size him up. Brenen was lining up the liberator machine with the joystick for a shot when Bob Knoop gave him the green light to shoot. Brenen pressed the button on top of the joystick and ka-boom! We were all ecstatic after hearing that shot go off and seeing a big old tom get rolled. A perfect shot. Brenen’s dad, Brad Twiss, was also in the blind to see it all happen.

The big tom weighed 22 pounds, had a 10-inch beard and 1¼-inch spurs. It was an awesome first turkey for this 23-year-old young man. Brenen was all smiles from ear to ear! It’s pretty rewarding helping people get out to enjoy the things that we all love to do.

Bob Garner and Bob Knoop started the PATH (Passing Along the Heritage) Foundation, a group of sportsmen who raise money to help underprivileged and special-needs kids and adults experience hunting and fishing, 14 years ago. Last year, the PATH Foundation raised enough money to purchase an additional liberator machine, which has been used by Brenen and others to reconnect with the hunting lifestyle.

The PATH Foundation is part of the Michigan Operation Freedom Outdoors (MiOFO) partnership. Other partners of MiOFO include the DNR, Eisenhower Center, Zero-Day, Camp Liberty, the Brain Injury Association of Michigan, Safari Club International Foundation, Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the Disabled American Veterans, and more. The mission of MiOFO is to provide improved outdoor recreation opportunities for wounded veterans and individuals with health challenges and to coordinate a support network that facilitates their recovery through connecting with nature.