Mark Hoke (calling) went beyond organizing and guiding injured Iraq war veterans on waterfowl hunts; he helped gather donations and build accessible blinds.

At first, Hoke was concerned about providing the facilities and means to keep the hunters comfortable. He quickly learned that the military training these veterans underwent prepared them for virtually anything they might face in a duck blind, or anywhere.

"Despite their injuries, these guys are as tough as anyone you'll ever meet. When it started to rain on one hunt, I offered to get them rain coats, but they all refused," he recalled. "They can deal with pretty much anything they are faced with because they are trained that way. All they wanted to do was hunt."

Hoke and his fellow Avery pro-staff members aren't alone in their efforts to reacquaint veterans with the outdoors. Reed Weir, PVA shooting sports program director, said "volunteers are conducting hunts throughout the country for physically-challenged veterans."

"There was a moose hunt in Alaska this past season, and an elk hunt on one of Ted Turner's ranches in New Mexico. They killed seven cow elk on that hunt. We've also held pheasant and deer hunts, along with the waterfowl hunts Mark Hoke organized for us last season. There's really no limit to what we can do, as long as we have volunteers willing to help out," he said.

That hasn't been a problem so far. In fact, Weir said hunters are stepping up all over, offering to take wounded vets into the woods and marshes to reconnect them with the outdoors. So are other donors. Hoke and the volunteers couldn't pull off these hunts without financial help, of course. The blinds he uses for his Eastern Shore duck hunts are built out of donated lumber on the property of a farmer who fully supports the efforts of Hoke and other volunteers. Each blind is built over water with a gentle ramp leading to shore, creating easy access for wheelchair-bound hunters. Hoke, who helped build the blinds, made sure a vehicle could pull up to the water's edge in order to remove as many obstacles for the wheelchair-bound hunters as possible.

Paralyzed Veterans of America organizes hunts all over the country, not just for the recently injured vets, but for anyone who has suffered a spinal cord injury or some other permanent disability.

"We also serve these guys breakfast and lunch because we want their whole experience to be a good one," added Hoke.

PVA's shooting sports division recently partnered with Quail Unlimited. The two groups plan to hold dove hunts for disabled veterans this fall and other conservation organizations are jumping on board. Avery Outdoors also plans on stepping up its involvement by inviting disabled veterans on waterfowl hunts all over the country. In fact, "the support for these hunts has grown tremendously over the past few years," said Weir. It's really snowballing. So many organizations and individuals are stepping forward and asking how they can help, he said. As a group, hunters are very giving and generous and it's really showing."

Although the PVA used to focus on veterans with spinal cord injuries, it has broadened its' efforts to include a wide variety of injured men and women. Weir said PVA activity participants don't even have to be former military.

"We include just about anyone with a physical challenge. We just want to show them that it is possible to do the things they loved to do before they were injured," he said.

For Sergeant Neilson, the PVA hunts he participated in not only showed him it was possible to hunt again, they introduced him to fellow soldiers who share the same passion. He is already looking forward to hunting with his new friends next season.