A few years back, Klimek, who also works at Wal Mart and rides horses several times a month as a form of physical therapy, learned of an organization based in Glenwood which takes handicapped people of any kind on hunting trips to Park Rapids.

The organization named, United Foundation For Disabled Archers or UFFDA, was formed by Dan Hendricks approximately 14-years-ago when he reached an agreement with Camp Wilderness to allow disabled hunters to hunt deer in the park.

While the notion of going hunting may have seemed like a near impossibility in his wheel chair, Klimek and his friends began pondering a way to help him fulfill his dream of bow hunting for deer. The planning didn’t take long, as Klimek and his friends were soon building a contraption to allow him to ride off road.

The chair, which is a rig shaw that features a barbers chair fastened to the top, allows Klimek to turn a full 360 degrees to allow him to fit into blinds and tight spots while hunting. Of course there is one small catch, the rig shaw must be pulled from spot-to-spot by hand.

“You have to have real good friends to help you get where you need to go,” he said.

Once in the blind, Klimek has proved to be a quick study with his cross bow. In just two years, Klimek said he has bagged two deer and a better-than 1200 lbs., elk he shot in late September while on a hunting trip in Montana. The double lung shot came just two days into a six day hunting trip Klimek won during an auction at an UFFDA banquet.

Klimek said the best part of the trip was “just the people we interacted with and the friendships we made out there.” In addition, he said the hunting trip gave him an opportunity to get an up close look at a different part of the country.

Hendricks, who helps organize a number of smaller hunting trips like the one Klimek went on earlier this year, said the success stories like Klimek’s and others who have managed to harvest a deer, is what makes all of the work and effort put forth by UFFDA members worth while.

“When you see these people with these limitations take these animals, and to see their face of joy when it happens, it makes it all worth while,” he said.

Less than a month after returning from his elk hunt, Klimek said he is already planning his next big hunt. He said he is planning on hunting either wild boars or buffalo in the next few years.

But for Klimek, the best part of hunting is “being able to be out in the outdoors and not letting my disability stop me.”

If his latest hunting trip was any indication, Klimek will continue to hone his hunting skills and prove he can do anything he wants to, just in a slightly different way.