Group gives ill kids shot at dove hunting
For many children, events are only chance to experience gun sports
The first clay target 12year-old Gavin Morgan of Austin tried to break with a .410 shotgun sailed off unscathed, but a gathering of friends at a dove field last weekend reacted like he had just smashed a perfect 100 straight.
“That’s exciting,” he said after his first experience firing a shotgun.
Gavin was shooting under the tutelage of Bob Thornton of the Texas Dove Hunters Association, as part of a Hunt with Heart outdoor adventure at a field in eastern Bexar County.
“All he had shot before is a rifle, so this is something completely new to him,” said his father, Wade Morgan, who added that the idea was to help introduce Gavin to the outdoor world.
“This is a great opportunity,” he said. “It is hard to find any good bird hunting place for youngsters, and it is wonderful to be able to bring him out here.” Providing therapy
Hunt with Heart, based in Pearland, provides therapy through outdoor activities to young people battling severe, life-altering or lifethreatening illnesses.
This is the third year that the TDHA has organized an event for the group of about 100 families, providing participants with a mini-TDHA Dove Hunting 101 seminar, safety briefing and handson experience with a shotgun.
The event is geared toward providing youngsters and their parents with a taste of the state’s most popular family-oriented outdoor activity.
“We host about 5-10 kids and their parents with Hunt with Heart at an event each year,” said TDHA co-founder Susan Thornton.
“Many of the kids have congenital heart defects, and this might be their only opportunity to have a good time in the outdoors — even if they don’t get to shoot any birds,’’ she said, adding that mourning and whitewinged doves have been scarce at most of the hunts.
During his presentation to the Hunt with Heart youngsters and their parents, Bob Thornton pointed out that the hunting family is a major part of the conservation effort to help maintain and improve habitat and game management.
Since 1937, when outdoor enthusiasts requested that the federal government impose an 11 percent excise tax on firearms, ammunition and other outdoor equipment, hunters like those in the Hunt with Heart group have raised more than $8 billion for wildlife conservation.
Susan Thornton said TDHA events always stress proper processing and enjoying the bounty of the hunt, even if the birds don’t cooperate and have to be donated from other hunts.
Grilled hamburgers and dove poppers (deboned dove breasts stuffed with jalapeño and cream cheese, then wrapped in bacon and grilled) are provided after TDHA session hunts to give the youngsters and their families the total dove hunt experience, she said.
Joe Drescher, outdoor activities coordinator for Hunt with Heart, said the group works with a variety of organizations, ranch owners and outfitters to provide hunting and fishing opportunities for kids suffering from life-threatening conditions.
“Most of the kids are heart patients. This might be their only chance to get out and experience something like this,’’ Drescher said. “With the amazing support of TDHA, ranchers and others, we can continue to be a part of outdoor families for life.”
Susan Thornton said the Hunt with Heart event is just one of the TDHA’s continuing efforts to introduce youngsters and their families to wingshooting opportunities in Texas.
“Once you get the kids involved, the parents will get into it, so they can enjoy the outdoors with them,” she said.
‘Foot in the door’
On Aug. 19, the TDHA held its annual First Flight Youth Day for 5- to 16-yearolds, giving 228 kids a free opportunity to shoot slingshots, pellet rifles, .22 caliber rifles and shotguns. The youngsters and their families also enjoyed interactive outdoor activities such as dog-handling instruction.
“This is just helping them get that first foot in the door to experiencing what the outdoors has to offer,” she said, adding that TDHA works with a variety of youth-oriented organizations such as 4-H and the Texas Youth Hunting Program to help foster a lifelong appreciation of the outdoors.
The TDHA, founded by the Thorntons in August 2012, is based in San Antonio and has expanded across the state with more than 4,500 members organized into chapters in San Antonio, Houston, Austin, the Rio Grande Valley and Fort Worth — plus a large contingent at Texas A&M University.
With safe shooting the foundation of the group’s effort, their goal is to help families enjoy the fellowship of the hunting community, a respect for firearms, and an understanding of wildlife.
“Our key focus is on getting families in the field and growing the next generation of hunters who can enjoy this fabulous opportunity for years to come,” Bob Thornton said.