Veterans Afield U.A. & Veteran Brian Wellsfry
It was a bright and sunny Thursday afternoon when we arrived on April 23rd, our first day of our three-day hunt. We had a meet-and-greet with the rest of the Farm Gang, all 19 members, a quick bite to eat, and then headed out to the fields to see what we could do. Our guide for that afternoon was Tony Schafer, who’s one of the best! We set up in the fields around 1400. Brian Wellsfry and I settled into the ground blind while Tony started calling from outside the blind hoping to lure a tom to the hen decoy. It was about an hour later when Tony spotted 2 toms across the field. He started talking to these toms with his call in lingo that only turkeys can understand. Tony kept calling, not too much, not too little. Whatever the pace, he talked those toms right into shooting range. When the time was right, Tony said, “Take ‘em, Brian.” Without hesitation, Brian took the shot and dropped a large 27lb. tom where it stood. Brian kept the tradition going with that shot of our Veterans getting a turkey ever since we started this program in 2022. AS it turned out, Brian got the only turkey this year. The good thing about this is that the disabled Veterans who did not get a turkey this year will get to come back and try again next year. Bravo Zulu, Brian (well done).
Pat Horvath
Veterans Afield U.A., President