Youth gets deer hunting wish through Buckmasters group

Timothy Moore does his part to put supper on the family table even at the tender age of 8.

The youngster peered through a rifle scope, squeezed the trigger and shot a dandy four-point buck while hunting with his dad, Ron Moore, and friend Lindell Roth on Nov. 12 near West Fork.

It wasn't dad's idea to go hunting. Timothy said last year he wanted to go deer hunting, four years after being diagnosed with leukemia. Getting in touch the the Northwest Arkansas chapter of Buckmasters turned Timothy's wish into reality.

The mission of Buckmasters NWA is to provide hunting and fishing trips for disabled youngsters and veterans. Ron got in touch with Lindell Roth, chapter president, before the season. The father and son from Van Buren went on two deer hunts with Roth. Second time was the charm for Timothy, who proudly posed for pictures with his first deer.

"The first time we went, we didn't see anything, but he wasn't discouraged," Ron Moore said.

That was in early November during the statewide youth hunt. Deer were no shows, but Timothy liked being in the elevated blind six feet off the ground and looking at other woodland critters.

"I thought about squirrels and birds," he said of his four hours in the blind.

The next week, in school at Van Buren's Parkview Elementary, Timothy looked forward to Saturday and another chance at a deer.

Time passed quietly in the blind that Saturday as it did the first hunt. It was about 3:30 p.m., when Timothy said the magic words, "I see a deer."

"He saw it before either of us did," Ron said.

There was the buck, stepping through the woods 100 yards out. Moore and Roth finally saw the buck. Now was the moment of truth for Timothy.

The deer rifle was mounted on a stand for the young hunter. Timothy took careful aim, as he did in shooting practice before the hunt. He couldn't have made a better shot. The deer nearly dropped dead in its tracks.

Talk about excitement. Moore was as proud of his son as a dad can be. Roth was tickled for both of them and Timothy got his deer hunting wish.

Ask Timothy about it today and he'll give you the short version of the story. "It just went 'bang' and there it was."

"He was very good, very quiet," Moore said of his son.

Timothy got a fine buck and learned the value of hunting as a deer management tool.

"Because if there wasn't hunting, we'd have too many deer," he said. When a visitor mentioned there are places in Arkansas that have too many deer, Timothy piped, "I want to hunt there!"

Father and son wore hunter orange caps and vests as regulations require. Timothy knows why.

"It's so we don't get shot."

The journey has been long but successful for the Moore family since Timothy was diagnosed with leukemia a week after his fourth birthday. Treatment started immediately at Arkansas Children's Hospital with good results. The leukemia has been in remission since.

Timothy likes sports, but hasn't been able to play until recently. Now the 8-year-old is making up for lost time. He loves basketball, baseball and swimming. When he's not playing sports, he likes video games and puzzle books. Math, science and physical education class are his favorite subjects in school.

Timothy's deer hunt is the perfect example of what Buckmasters is all about, said Brad Corbitt of Tontitown, with Buckmasters NWA. The chapter formed a year ago.

Over the last 25 years, Buckmaster chapters around the nation have provided trips for about 7,000 disabled youth and disabled veterans, Corbitt said. The Northwest Arkansas chapter is raising money to purchase a track-hoe-type chair. Instead of wheels, the chair runs on tracks like a bulldozer to get immobile hunters into the woods.

"We took some veterans hunting this year. One guy got a deer and another got three deer, so we've been pretty successful with it," Corbitt said.

Buckmasters' mission would be hard to fulfill without places to take their hunters. The group is always interested in talking with landowners who are willing to let Buckmasters take people hunting on their property.

Corbitt and Roth got the idea to form the area chapter.

"When I was very young, I had a cousin who had muscular dystrophy. Roth had a nephew who'd passed away and his last wish was to go hunting," Corbitt said.

Moore and Timothy have hunting memories they'll always remember. Timothy saved the spent cartridge from the shot he made and has it as a souvenir. The family has nutritious venison on their table and in the freezer.

Flip Putthoff can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAFlip

Sports on 01/03/2017