AZ Hunt of A Lifetime makes another dream come true!

DonMartin

Very Active Member
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In the Christmas spirit of giving, I'd like to share with you a really neat story.

A week of so ago I got a text from a friend of mine who said that he knew it was on extremely short notice, but that he wanted to donate a very good muzzleloader deer tag in Unit 16A that his daughter had drawn to the Arizona Hunt Of A Lifetime Foundation.

I know it was a tough decision because this man is a top notch deer guy and his daughters always seem to take huge bucks when they have drawn these coveted tags in the past!

2417brandi_schreiner_unit_16a_dec_11_2005.jpg

How about this buck? What a whopper!

Anyway there were only 25 tags issued for this very special hunt and he did not want it go to waste.

He knows I am the outfitter/guide coordinator for Arizona Hunt Of a Lifetime Foundation, an organization that assists seriously and/or terminally ill children who want to go on outdoor adventures, including hunts.

I made a call to our state ambassador Matt Minshall (928-471-3038) and told him about the availability of the tag and asked if he had anyone on the list who could do a last minute muzzleloader hunt and use this tag.

I also told him that we had a 16-year old young man here in Kingman, who had previously taken my Az Hunter Education class, and who qualifies for the tag if no one else was available.

Minshall told me to sign up our local hunter, Timmy Gunnoe and get the tag transferred.

With that, I started making calls to the two local families involved and in one day we got it all set up and the tag was transferred.

8984timmy_&_kevin_gunnoe_hoal_tag_transfer_12-21-2012.jpg

Barbara @ Region III is all smiles as she gave Timmy Gunnoe his 16A muzzleloader deer tag! Looking on is his dad, Kevin Gunnoe.

This unit is south and east of Kingman, and I know that Timmy's uncle Brian and grandpa (longtime friend Jack Gunnoe) know the unit well.

I was on an archery bighorn sheep hunt at the time and couldn't go out the next day, but I really didn't need to.

Brian and Jack took Timmy out the next morning and within a few hours had located an awesome 4 x 4 buck.

One shot at 125 yards with Grandpa's 50 caliber muzzleloader and the great old buck was down!

8771brian_timmy_&_jack_gunnoe_unit_16a_12-22-2012.jpg

How about this for your first mule deer buck! L-R Brian, Timmy and Jack Gunnoe.

Upon hearing of the young hunter's success, I made a call to my friend Kensen Lee who lives in Las Vegas.

I had heard that Kensen had won a certificate for a 50% off a shoulder mount for deer or sheep at a banquet he had attended. The certificate was donated by noted Kingman taxidermist Henry Aguilar.

I told Kensen of the situation and he immediately offered to donate the certificate to Timmy.

I just spoke with Henry and he agreed to honor the certificate,and maybe even more, so everything has worked out great!

This is a super Christmas present for all of us who worked on this project!

Thanks to the Schreiner family for the donation, Kensen and Henry for the mount and special thanks to Brian and Jack for making Timmy's hunt of a lifetime come true!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Don Martin
Outfitter/Guide Coordinator
Arizona Hunt Of A Lifetime Foundation
 
I dont know you Don but that sounds like an AWESOME foundation you run there. Congrats to the young hunter !! And congrats to you Don for givin back what the outdoors has givin to so many of us.
 
That is awesome. Congrats on a nice buck and that is awesome how a perfect plan comes together.
 
Thats a great story and a heck of a nice first buck for the young man. Congrats to all involved with making this happen and bagging an awesome trophy.
 
Nice Job Evereybody!

Priceless Right there!


So?
You think you wanna take My Hi- Capacity Magazines & Assault Rifles Huh?
Just Try taking My American Pride/Rights!


It's been a long hard ride
And I won't lose hope
This is still the place
That we all call home
 
Great story and congrats to all involved for making this hunt possible. Congrats to Tim on a great buck.

Eldorado
 
Don,
HOAL is a great program.
My son, Bridger, got participate in it a few years ago with some great Men from this site such as AlwaysBHuntin and we had a ball. Keep up the great work. I wish other states, such as Utah, had this program to donate tags to kids who could enjoy it.
There are some great Men who are very generous with their time, tags and hunting resources and I am very grateful to them.
Another Man who I think very highly of is Matt Woodward (Borderland Adventures)who also donated a bunch of time to Bridger.
Thanks again to all of you.
I'm glad We did it when We could because Bridger would not have been able to physically do it the last couple of years and has a tough time going on hunts with his brother and I.
I hope that Bridger will be able to continue spending time with me in the outdoors as he has a great medical team in his corner.
He also has a love for all things outdoors and a great attitude to boot!
 
What a great story to read about on X-mas day!
Made my eyes swell with tears of joy.
Congrats to ALL of those involved!!
Sincerely.
 
Dan:

So sorry to hear about your son!

I tried to open the story, but couldn't. When was it posted? I'd sure like to read it!

Was the hunt in 13A or 13B?

Don Martin
 
His story is in the Spring 2012 of Trophy Hunter and the winter 2012 of Hunting Illustrated. below is the story in his words: In January of 2011 I took hunters safety because I was turning 12 the age to hunt big game here in Utah and I wanted to be able to hunt deer with my bow. When the draw results came out I had a general season tag and my dad had an archery tag. I had big hopes and dreams of shooting a deer with my bow. In April I was diagnosed with Cancer. But that was not going to stop me from hunting. The chemo and treatments I had to go through made me weak and tired so I was not able to practice as much as I wanted to. Opening day of the archery hunt came and I was in the hospital, so we were unable to go until the 2nd weekend of the hunt. My dad had a tag but his plan was to get me a deer. We hunted hard for 4 1/2 days and I had many opportunities at small bucks, but they were just too far out of my range. I shot many times but I just could not get it done. Because of the tag I had I could hunt with a muzzle loader and a rifle also. We were only able to spend 2 days muzzle loader hunting because of my treatment schedule. All we saw were does and more does. About the time the rifle hunt came around my dad's cousin posted on Monster Muleys asking for some help from someone in finding me a place to hunt. We hunted both weekends, and even had a private cattle ranch to hunt on but all we saw were does. Then Mike Silva from New Mexico got involved and put my dad in contact with Matt Minshall of Hunt of a Lifetime. They are an organization like make a wish that provide hunts for kids with life threating illness's. It was a real fast turn around and I found out that I was leaving to area 13a on the Arizona Strip to hunt Mule Deer. And that they were providing a guide. Needless to say me and my dad were both stoked. My uncle Dennis volunteered to drive us down and to come hunting with us. The hunt started on a Friday and they wanted us to come down on Saturday because they had another client that they were guiding. My dad got a call Friday afternoon and Matt told him that the other hunter had already got his deer so the hunt was on. We left our house at 4:30 am and made the 7 hour drive down to Arizona. When we got to the camp we were met by 4 guides and the hunter who had shot the deer. It was a huge deer that had points everywhere. It rough scored at 232 points. Chad Woodruff was the head guide with his dad John and brother Shane and their friend Russ. The hunt started that night and everyone went and set points and started scoping for deer. Chad and I set up by a watering hole and walked and scoped. We did see a 26 inch 4 point about 800 yards away. Chad told me there were bigger ones so we left it alone. About 15 minutes before dark we started driving back to camp and came around the corner and there was a HUGE typical 4 point standing off the road. Chad and I hurried and jumped out, and Chad set up his binoculars and I got ready to shoot. I had a bad case of buck fever. I aimed at him and my scope was on 9 power so I could not pick him up. I hurried and turned my scope down and then my safety was on. When I was finally ready to shoot he was about 300 yards away. I shot and he stood there. I hurried and put another bullet in and he disappeared over the horizon. Everybody else caught up with us and we searched with flash lights but could not find any sign that I had hit him. Now I was ready and glad that Chad and his group had done there home work with scouting and trail cam's so they knew there was big deer. For some reason I thought that we would see deer everywhere but that was not the case. We hiked our butts off for the next 2 days and did not see another buck. Tuesday morning came and Chad, John, My dad Dan and his brother Dennis were convinced they were going to find me a deer. Dennis and John hiked up on top of the mountain to scope and me, my dad and Chad drove over to the water hole that we were on Saturday. We stopped and were checking out a mountain side and Chad saw a 2point, then a doe, then he saw a bigger buck that was hiding in some trees. We sat there and glassed them for a while and I decided I wanted to get a shot at the bigger buck. We were about 800 yards away, so we made a plan and walked around the ridge and over the top. We were about 400 yards away. When we got to the top the big buck started to walk away. My sling had broken on my gun the night before so I was using Chad's Christensen Arms rifle. I had to hurry fast and I shot right over his back. He walked about 15 feet and turned broad side to look for his doe. So I shot again and he ran about 15 yards and did a nose dive. When we got to him I was amazed at what I saw. I had hit him in the heart and he was mine. I am still smiling sitting here writing this. He was almost 28 inch's wide and a very symmetrical heavy 4 point with a 1 1/2 inch cheater on his left side. He ended up with a green score of 184. I just want to give a big thank you to everyone that had a part in making this happen. My dad for spending so much time on making my dream come true. My dad's cousin Daniel for putting it out there and looking for a hunt for me. And to my uncle Dennis for being there and sharing this with me. And to Chad and John of Chad's Guide Service these guys are awesome. I might have cancer but it was all forgotten for those few days when I was doing something that I love. I love and miss you Brandon MERRY CHRISTMAS
 
Wow, what an awesome story!

Thank you Digger for posting it here. Those that read your post I'm sure share my sentiments of what a wonderful hunting experience Brandon had.

I can feel the excitement, enthusiasm and the love of the hunt that he had when reading his story.

You and your family, along with Chan and his guys are to be congratulated for what you all did for Brandon and how you helped make his dream come true.

Again I'm so sorry for your loss; knowing what was done for him is what we continue to do today and truly embodies the spirit of Arizona Hunt Of A Lifetime.

Thanks again for posting this wonderful and touching story!

Don Martin
Outfitter/Guide Coordinator
AZ Hunt Of A Lifetime Foundation
 
That's Huntin in my eyes and much much more. What a bunch of great or I should say amazing human beings, to enlighten a persons life with the the people that love him in the great outdoors. It doesn't get any better than that. Thank u so very much for this thread. Reading it really hit home and reminded me of what the purpose of the great outdoors is about in my eyes. Great job to all involved even though i do not know u personally, as u people all are very special In my eyes. Also a very big congrats to the hunter that was able to take such a magnificent animal. The smile is priceless. Great job all the way around.
 
Thank you for posting this story regarding your son and his hunt. Thanks also to the people responsible for this hunt. What a rewarding feeling to make this happen for someone like Brandon.
Sorry for your loss.
 

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