Georgia SCI 2024 Wounded Warrior Hunt

Volunteers and veterans stand together at Fieldstone Preserve during the Wounded Veterans’ Hunt just before Christmas. Said one veteran who traveled from Alabama for the weekend, “To me, it’s not about the hunt as much as it is the chance for fellowship with the other veterans. You miss camaraderie and bonding with brothers.”

Santa came a little early for a group of well-deserving deer hunters and American patriots just before Christmas 2024. On Dec. 14 and 15, the Georgia Chapter of Safari Club International hosted its annual Wounded Veterans Hunt in central Georgia. For the second year in a row, Fieldstone Hunting Preserve near Dry Branch, just east of Macon in Twiggs County, rolled out the red carpet with its very own brand of southern hospitality for 16 very special hunters along with about two dozen volunteers.

Fieldstone opened its doors to the public in 2019 and offers just about any type of southern hunting you can imagine. That includes guided deer, quail, and spring turkey hunting along with some fantastic duck hunting. And hog hunting is always on the menu. In addition to Fieldstone’s many prime acres of rolling wooded hills, fields, picturesque lakes and smaller duck ponds, several other adjacent properties were also made available by private landowners for the local veterans who gave so much for their country.

Eric Morris, Ret. U.S. Army Major (left) and SCI Georgia chapter board member and director-at-large, Doug Pearson, talk about the upcoming hunt and discuss Morris’s Winchester 1894, which he would use to take a doe later that day. Pearson guided during the hunt, but he is also a retired Air Force Major General. Morris, who had been in three combat missions, was one of 16 veterans who participated in the hunt at Fieldstone Preserve.

In all, six does were taken by the veterans during the two-day hunt. Nearly all branches of service were represented. A few of the veterans hunted with their own rifles; others used rifles provided by Safari Club. The meat from each doe was packaged at Thomas Deer Processing in Juliette and later divided among all of the veterans so that everyone could share it with family and friends.

“It was an honor to have these men with us and to give them the opportunity to be outdoors on this beautiful property,” said Lester Richardson, Georgia SCI President and a veteran himself. “I know I speak for all of the volunteers that we are grateful for the service of these veterans here and consider it our privilege to help them get afield again.”

“SCI gets it,” said David, a veteran who had served eight years with several tours in combat zones. “It’s so important to get veterans out of their homes and among other people doing things they like to do, like hunting. That’s when the walls will start coming down. They get more comfortable among others, and they feel like, once again, everyone is made of the same cloth. We’re all on the same team.”

Dave (left) a veteran who served eight years with several tours in combat zones, took a nice doe at about 150 yards on Day 1 of the two-day hunt. He hunted with SCI ‘s John Geiger, of Canton.

As the sun was setting on the first day of the hunt, David ended up shooting a prime doe with his AR at about 150 yards using a .300 Blackout cartridge. John Geiger, managing editor of SCI’s monthly newsletter, served as his guide. After dark, all of the hungry hunters and volunteers returned to the lodge at Fieldstone for a delicious meal and some down-home socializing. Clark Haddock, owner of the preserve and founder of the Fieldstone Outdoors apparel line, was among the veterans and volunteers. The camaraderie was a big part of the weekend.

“When it comes to our veterans, all gave some and some gave all,” said Clark Haddock. “It’s critical to show them how much we appreciate the sacrifices they and their families have made to protect our freedoms.

“Chatting with the veterans and volunteers, hearing their stories and seeing them enjoy the outdoors makes this all worthwhile,” Clark added.

Clark Haddock’s popular Fieldstone clothing line is sold in over 2,000 retailers across the county and operates one Fieldstone store of its own at the River Crossing shopping center in Macon. In addition to Fieldstone employees and SCI volunteers, several Georgia Department of Natural Resources game wardens were on hand to talk about wildlife conservation, game laws and firearm safety.

As one of the volunteer guides, I partnered up with Army veteran Varughese Thomas of Lawrenceville. Varughese served four years in Germany in the early 2000s. Although he had never hunted deer and hadn’t shot a rifle in a number of years, he aced the bull’s eye at about 100 yards on the practice range. We later hunted together in a ground blind on a private piece of property overlooking a small food plot in the woods. Because of the number of hunters, several tracts of land adjacent to Fieldstone Preserve were also made available to the veterans. The land Varughese and I were hunting on was leased by a club next to Fieldstone and the club members were only too happy to share their hunting ground with these veterans. Several of the hunt club  members served as guides.

U.S. Army veteran Varughese Thomas, of Lawrenceville (left) and guide Duncan Dobie (right) hunted from a ground blind overlooking a small food plot in the woods. Varughese never saw a deer, but he thoroughly enjoyed his time outdoors.

To say that Varughese was gung-ho to shoot a doe and collect some venison would be an understatement. Although we never saw a single deer during our hunt, he enjoyed his time outdoors immensely.

“It made me realize how I missed being outdoors and out in nature,” he told me. “The outdoors meant a lot to me growing up and during my military life in Germany, and although I’ve never done much hunting in the past, I’d really like to do some serious hunting and fishing in the future.”

This brings up an interesting dilemma. So many Georgia residents of all ages have a burning desire to learn how to hunt and fish yet they often find it very intimidating because they don’t know how to get started. This is especially true in hunting. It can be very intimidating for someone who has never been around firearms to pick up a deer rifle or shotgun and actually use it out in the woods. Every one of us can do our part by mentoring hunters of all ages and showing them how to make that first step. If we could all make an effort to take one person out in the woods who has never hunted before, we’d have thousands of new, enthusiastic sportsmen to continue this cherished tradition in a very short time.

Veteran Chris Parham was thrilled to make a bull’s-eye shot at 500 yards on the shooting range. In addition to deer hunting, SCI Georgia Chapter leaders made five-stand and long-distance target shooting available to the veterans during the two-day hunt.

Steve Rechsteiner, an SCI member, as well as a long-time hunter and endurance runner, drove from Woodstock to volunteer for the weekend hunt. “I’ve never been to an SCI event,” he said. “I was so impressed at what SCI does for the community, how they fight for our rights to continue the hunting tradition in our country and help veterans in events like this. I can’t wait for the next one!”

For the second year in a row former SCI Chapter treasurer Marc Stewart was the “buck-stops-here” man in charge of the two-day event at Fieldstone. Watching him was like spending a day with Donald Trump. His energy lever is amazing. He never slowed down. Mark and his hard-working group of volunteers attended to every detail of the hunt and made sure each of the veterans had everything they needed for a memorable weekend.

“As our Veterans Committee Chair, Dick Caillouet, always says, ‘We can never do enough for these men and women who serve our country,’” Mark said. “This weekend event is just a small token of our sincere appreciation for what these veterans do and did to serve and protect our country.”

The Georgia Chapter of Safari Club International is one of 150 SCI chapters around the world and is one of the oldest, founded in 1981.

Fieldstone Hunting Preserve

Established in 2019, Fieldstone Hunting Preserve https://www.fieldstonepreserve.com/ has spent the last five years outfitting southern sportsman. Once a private operation, the picturesque preserve is now open to the public. Fieldstone is located just east of Macon in Dry Branch and offers something for everyone: Guided quail hunts, superb duck hunting, spring turkey hunts, deer hunting in the fall, hog hunts, corporate hunts and continental pheasant shoots.

Born in nearby Macon, Fieldstone owner Clark Haddock has spent most of his life in Middle Georgia. After graduating from college, he formed Spiritwear, a company focused on creating custom apparel and accessories for schools and businesses. In 2019, Fieldstone Outdoors was born out of a desire to make apparel for the everyday outdoorsman. A passion for waterfowl hunting, and now the outdoors as a whole, has led him and his staff to the founding of Fieldstone Preserve.