Son’s disability was no match for a dad’s will to take him hunting

Jerame Hugunin was the stereotypical proud dad when he watched his son get an award last weekend for having one of the biggest bucks measured during the Kansas Monster Buck Classic.

The size of the 10-point rack was reason enough for him to get emotional for his overjoyed 14-year-old son, Brayden. But the story of the obstacles overcome to take that buck is what made this moment special.

You see, Brayden was born with cerebral palsy, and can’t walk or talk. But he is fully aware of what is going on around him and communicates through sign language.

And the boy made it clear that he wanted to go deer hunting. This moment was the culmination of what a dad went through to make sure it happened.

“I’ve always loved to hunt, and Brayden would always get excited when I would bring home a nice buck,” said Hugunin, who lives in Burlington, Kan. “I kept thinking, ‘If only there was some way I could get him out there with me.’

“I knew there had to be a way.”

Hugunin found that way when he saw an advertisement for an all-terrain wheelchair designed to give people with disabilities the freedom to negotiate the roughest land imaginable. There was only one problem: It cost more than Jerame and his wife, Randi, could afford.

That didn’t stop the the Hugunins, though. They raffled off guns at last year’s Monster Buck Classic. Friends and family also helped out with other fundraisers, and it wasn’t long before the Hugunins were able to purchase the TracFab chair made by a company in Pennsylvania.

“The whole intention of buying that chair was so that he could get out hunting with me,” Jerame Hugunin said. “He just loved it from the start.

“We have pictures of him out in a stream, just playing around.”

The most memorable moment for both father and son came in early December during the Kansas firearms deer season. Hugunin had modified the wheelchair to include a brace for the rifle that could swivel from side to side but lock in once the target was identified. The trigger on the gun was controlled by two electronic buttons that were pushed.

Dad held one of the buttons, essentially keeping the gun on safety. Brayden had the other, which he pushed to fire a shot once dad said it was OK.

That plan worked to perfection that December day.

Hunting on a friend’s land in Coffey County, the Hugunins climbed a hill to reach a field where Jerame had spotted deer before. Sure enough, there were does in the field, but they scattered when the father and son appeared.

“Before we went out, we were going to take the first deer that walked out,” Hugunin said. “It didn’t have to be a buck. A small doe, anything, that would be great.”

To Hugunin’s surprise, a trophy buck suddenly walked out of the woods and ambled toward the spot where they were set up. Hugunin whispered to his son to get ready. Once the buck was close enough, dad helped his son line up the shot, then instructed Brayden to push the button.

The crack of a rifle shot split the cold air, and the deer fell. That’s when the celebration started.

“You should have seen how fast Brayden had that wheelchair going to get his deer,” Hugunin said.

Brayden later brought the rack to school to show his friends and the Hugunins had the 10-point buck mounted.

Last weekend, they were back at the Kansas Monster Buck Classic where their special story started a year earlier, having the rack scored. Using a system that takes in account a series of measurements (length of the tines, inside spread, number of points on the rack, etc.), the antlers scored at 156. That was a “green” (preliminary) score. Official measurements won’t be made until the antlers go through a mandatory drying period.

But no matter what the final score is, the mount will serve as a reminder of a special day.

“I would have been happy if he would have shot a small doe,” Hugunin said. “To take a big buck like that, that was unbelievable.”

This story was originally published January 30, 2016 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Son’s disability was no match for a dad’s will to take him hunting."