[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/disabled-wisconsin-hunter-shoots-buck-of-a-lifetime\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/disabled-wisconsin-hunter-shoots-buck-of-a-lifetime\/","headline":"Disabled Wisconsin Hunter Shoots Buck of a Lifetime","name":"Disabled Wisconsin Hunter Shoots Buck of a Lifetime","description":"The date was December 5th, 2015. Patrick Schmitt of Port Washington, WI was accompanied by his father Mike, and uncle...","datePublished":"2016-01-15","dateModified":"2018-10-24","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/#Person","name":"Hector Agosto","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Legendary Whitetails","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","url":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","width":522,"height":226}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/GroupPhoto-e1452885589107.jpg","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/GroupPhoto-e1452885589107.jpg","height":604,"width":960},"url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/disabled-wisconsin-hunter-shoots-buck-of-a-lifetime\/","about":["Hunting"],"wordCount":1322,"keywords":["Deer","Hunting"],"articleBody":"The date was December 5th, 2015. Patrick Schmitt of Port Washington, WI was accompanied by his father Mike, and uncle John on the hunt.\u00a0 The three of them were peering out of a blind waiting on a big 10-pointer, known as Triple Threat, to show himself as he had done the nights prior.\u00a0 The hunting \u201cblind\u201d was 2013 Dodge Caravan equipped with a wheel-chair lift for Patrick.The first sighting of the big 10-pointer was two days prior when his uncle John spotted the large deer feeding in a cut cornfield near the house on his way in from the evening hunt.\u00a0 Once John got back he called his brothers Joe and Paul Roden to tell him what he saw.\u00a0 Immediately, the brothers asked if it would be a spot that they could get Patrick in to hunt.Patrick is a C5-6 quadriplegic.A trail cam picture of the big 10-pointer they called Triple Threat.For Patrick, the outdoors have been his oasis since his childhood.\u00a0 Now, at age 31, the outdoors still remain that oasis, but getting out into them carries a whole new set of challenges.\u00a0 The Wisconsin native has been an avid hunter since the age of 12, but everything changed when a routine motorcycle ride to work nearly ended his life and hunting days back in 2006.\u00a0 After spending 75 days in the hospital, 45 of which Patrick was in a coma, he returned home as\u00a0a\u00a0quadriplegic thinking he would never be able to hunt again.The months following the accident were the toughest of his young life.\u00a0 One day he was a young 22-year-old living life to the fullest and the next he was in a chair unable to move his arms or legs.\u00a0 They were trying times for Patrick, but there was one thing keeping him motivated through it all \u2013 the want and will to hunt again.Immediately following the accident, it was Patrick\u2019s mission to get back into the woods.\u00a0 With the help of his amazing family and friends, he was back at it in no time.\u00a0 It just so happened that Patrick\u2019s dad worked in the tool and die industry and with his \u201cMacGyver-ing\u201d skills he was able to construct a wheelchair that would help his son hunt again. The wheelchair itself included a mounted swivel gun rest suitable for Patrick\u2019s semi-auto .308 DPMS rifle or crossbow. His gun was further equipped with a custom trigger activator which allows him to fire more than one shot if need be by cranking a handle similar to that of a window crank.Patrick poses with his big Wisconsin\u00a0buck.For most of the season, Patrick was hunting on another one of his uncle\u2019s property that was equipped with wheelchair accessible elevated blinds.\u00a0 While he was seeing some deer, the big bucks never seemed to show, so the day after John had seen the big buck feeding in the cut corn field, Patrick was out there waiting for him to show again.Unfortunately, the big buck never showed and Triple Threat was looking more like a one-hit wonder.\u00a0 The night ended in a goose egg for Patrick, but not all was lost.\u00a0 It just so happened that on a drive around the property, his uncle Paul had spotted the buck not too far from Patrick!\u00a0 However, due to where they were situated, a bend in the woodline prevented them from seeing the buck during their sit.A pattern was emerging.\u00a0 For the second night in a row, Triple Threat had made a day-time appearance to the cut corn field.\u00a0 Patrick and his uncles knew this buck was killable, however, time was running out.\u00a0 With only two days left of Wisconsin\u2019s gun season, Patrick, along with his father Mike, and uncle John drove the blind in place and waited for the buck to make a third straight daytime appearance.The happiest hunter in the world.Anticipation was high, but time was quickly running out as the sun sank into the horizon. Frequent time checks showed there was only five minutes left of legal shooting light.\u00a0 It looked like the third time out wasn\u2019t going to be the charm.\u00a0 They were about to start packing up their gear, when out of seemingly nowhere a large bodied deer emerged.\u00a0 Just as soon as Patrick saw the buck, the safety was switched and the crosshairs were settled.Patrick rolled his trigger activator and the shot rang out.\u00a0 The buck tore off out of the field into a cedar bottom, leaving the three of them unsure of the hit.\u00a0 Patrick was confident he had hit the buck, but a short search by his dad and uncle John said otherwise \u2013 they found nothing.Patrick spent the rest of the night wondering what could have gone wrong.\u00a0 After all, he\u2019s always been a sure shot.\u00a0 He\u2019s knocked down turkeys at 50 yards and several deer all with perfect shots.\u00a0 His other uncles thought the same thing . . . there\u2019s no way he could have missed.\u00a0 The next morning his uncles Joe and Paul organized a search party to see if they could find the big ole buck that Patrick apparently missed.A crew of twelve guys gathered at the Roden farm the next morning to see if they could find the big 10-pointer.\u00a0 Shortly into the search blood was found which confirmed a hit.\u00a0 They called Patrick to tell him he\u2019d better get to the farm ASAP.\u00a0 Once he arrived the search continued and it wasn\u2019t long before his father yelled out, \u201cHere he is!\u201dThe whole search party after they recovered the buck.Patrick motored his wheelchair over as fast as he could, treating it like a full blown ATV, plowing over any thick grass and shrubs in his way.\u00a0 When he finally laid eyes on the big Wisconsin buck, he couldn\u2019t believe it.\u00a0 The crew gathered around congratulating Patrick on his buck and perfect shot.\u00a0 Then came the real work . . . the drag out.Like any hunting party, razzing and joking around with each other is a big part of what makes deer camp so fun.\u00a0 Before he knew it, the guys were tying a rope from\u00a0the buck to\u00a0the wheelchair.\u00a0 Patrick backed up to put some slack in the rope and then took off down the trail.\u00a0 The motorized wheelchair dug down into the ground and began dragging the giant buck down the path.\u00a0 It was truly a sight to see.For Patrick, this was his biggest buck to date and while this hunt will forever hold a special place in his mind, he\u2019s thankful for every hunt he has.\u00a0 Despite his condition, hunting has always been that special oasis \u2013 the only time and place where he says he can get away from it all.Watch the video below to Patrick drag out the big buck with his motorized wheelchair!"},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Legendary Whitetail's Blog"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/disabled-wisconsin-hunter-shoots-buck-of-a-lifetime\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Disabled Wisconsin Hunter Shoots Buck of a Lifetime"}}]}]