By ANNA BROWN

Staff Writer

The stories told Friday at Beulah Creek Hunt Club weren't about deer and the size of their antlers.

As the men gathered near a wood heater that knocked the chill off a damp autumn day, they heard about the sequence of events that brought four new hunters into their midst, including two members of the Wounded Warriors. The four were guests through the Upstate Mobility Impaired Deer Hunt organized by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Wounded Warriors provides support for families of those who have been wounded, injured or killed during combat operations.

The hunters included 27-year-old Eric Edmundson of New Bern, N.C. Eric and his dad, Ed, drove eight hours so Eric could have the chance to hunt again.

“He has spent the last two years in rehab,” said Ed, talking for his son who is wheelchair bound and who can no longer speak. “You guys are helping him get back that quality of life he thought he had lost. This means so much to his morale and self-esteem.”

Eric was injured in 2005 while fighting in Iraq. Ed said Eric's love of the outdoors led him to join the military.

“That's why he joined the Army, to go to Alaska and hunt and fish,” Ed said. “For seven years he was at Ft. Wainwright.”

When asked what going on the hunt in Union meant to him, Eric gave a huge smile and a thumbs up. He already had had one nice surprise Friday - he won a .50 caliber muzzle-loader given away at a luncheon for the hunters.

Mark Riffle, 40, of Columbia, also participated in the hunt Friday. He is human resources manager for the South Carolina Department of Agriculture and president of South Carolina Disabled Sportsmen. A car crash 22 years ago left him wheelchair bound.

“Too young, too fast and too dumb,” he said.

Riffle said he appreciated the chance to hunt.

“It's a wonderful opportunity to get out in the woods,” he said. “If you get to see some deer or shoot a deer, that's wonderful. I have to be around people all day at work and it's nice to have some solitude.”

Riffle said it is hard to get out into the woods in a wheelchair.

“We've got these folks who are willing to put together an event like this, feed you, and if you kill a deer, they will take care of that.”

Phillip Watters of Spartanburg is 20 and he has been a quadriplegic since a bicycling accident two years ago. He said he began hunting after his accident.

“It means a lot that these guys are willing to give up their time to help us out,” he said.

Sean Long of Lizella, Ga., also was wounded in Iraq.

The 37-year-old former Marine was deployed to Iraq after he joined the Georgia National Guard.

“We were just outside of Baghdad and another younger soldier panicked and swung a 50 caliber machine gun on me,” he said. “I took two rounds in my left leg.”

Long's femoral artery was severed. During three months spent at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, doctors reconstructed his leg and he now has a gortex artery.

“I had to learn to walk al over again,” Long said.

In March of 2006 Long went home and a friend asked him to go turkey hunting. Long went and began walking for the first time since he was injured.

“I just love turkey hunting and I was determined I was going to walk regardless of what the damage was,” he said.

Long has two daughters, including a 9-year-old. He said that as a single parent, it often is difficult to find time to hunt and he appreciated the opportunity provided by the mobility impaired hunt.

The men of Beulah Creek Hunt Club were among six groups in Union County who hosted mobility impaired hunts Friday and Saturday. According to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, 56 people applied to hunt in Cherokee, Spartanburg and Union counties and 84 applied for the hunt in Laurens and Newberry counties, which takes place this Friday and Saturday.

The hunters were treated to a barbecue lunch Friday in Clinton before moving to their appointed hunting sites.

At Beulah Creek, club member Joe Wright of Greer cooked a supper of hash, candied yams, rice, beans and slaw. Some hunters spent the night at the camp Friday, ate breakfast Saturday and went out hunting again.

“This is our third year (hosting the event) and we look forward to it,” said Wright.

He and Gene Bishop of Greer are the last two charter members of the club.

Beulah Creek member Ron Roberts said he also enjoys hosting the hunt.

“We feel like this is our opportunity to assist someone who is maybe less fortunate than us,” he said.