James Wright of Lillington doesn't let the fact that he's confined to a wheelchair keep him from enjoying one of his favorite pastimes— deer hunting. And, for the fourth straight year, he participated in the annual two-day disabled hunt at the Pee Dee Wildlife Refuge outside Ansonville.

The hunt was held last weekend on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9 and 10, at the refuge, located on Highway 52 between Wadesboro and Ansonville.

The refuge partners with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) and the Friends of the Pee Dee Refuge group each year to host the event. The NCWRC provides the refuge with a hydraulic enclosed hunting platform that will lift a wheelchair approximately 15 feet off the ground. This enclosed hunting platform allows those with limited mobility— like Wright— to experience hunting from a raised deer stand, either up against a tree or freestanding in the wilderness.

Wright used the platform to hunt for deer by a harvested cornfield near the Pee Dee River on Friday.

The hydraulic platform allows Wright and others like him to hunt inside an enclosed space— with windows that can be opened or closed— in comfort. Although he had no luck spotting deer on Friday morning, Wright said he enjoys participating in the annual hunt. "The people [that work at the refuge], I can't say enough about them," he said. "And the other hunters, they're just a great group of guys."

Wright said that over the past few years, he's killed a total of three deer but to him, being out in nature is almost as satisfying.

With the help of the hydraulic platform, Wright didn't need any helpers but other disabled hunters on the ground usually have helpers with them, refuge manager J.D. Bricken said.

Only those with a disabled sportsman's license are able to hunt, however, since deer season hasn't officially started yet.

While the NCWRC provides the hydraulic platform for the disabled hunt, the Friends group provides free food for the hunters, who gather at lunchtime at the refuge office. Bojangles offers lunch at a discounted price to the Friends group, Bricken said.

The Friends group also provided lunch for the youth hunt held two weeks ago at the refuge.