Call of the Wild: Hunting and Fishing Help Veterans

Two months after Tyler Jeffries was blown up in Afghanistan, losing both legs, he was invited on a deep-sea fishing trip down in the Florida Keys with five other grievously wounded veterans.

Despite having grown up in Florida, Jeffries had never been out on the open ocean before. “I remember looking out to the horizon and just an overwhelming sense of peace and clarity came over me,” he told AARP Experience Counts, his voice cracking. “It was just acceptance. I knew I had a reason to live.”

Jeffries, who had been wounded by on IED on October 6, 2012, returned to Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, with a new mindset and the seeds for what would become Hookin’ Veterans — a non-profit that takes disabled vets on deep-sea fishing charters, giving them new skills and a passion for living.

“People sometimes mistakenly see this as just a bunch of guys going out on a fishing trip,” he said. “It’s not about that. It’s about getting guys together who have serious disabilities and giving them an experience that few people will ever have, teaching them skills, and creating a sense of family – people who have been through similar things, who they can open up to.”

The idea moved forward after future co-founder Joseph “Booch” Buccini, a former Chinook gunner in Afghanistan, invited Jeffries on a hunting trip in Texas. They shot wild hogs from a helicopter with a veteran outfit called Helicopters for Heroes.

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Hookin’ Veterans has been offering annual trips to veterans seriously wounded in combat since 2019. The organization covers all expenses, including flight, hotel, group dinners and a three or four day deep-sea charter on a 35-foot luxury fishing vessel. The boat and crew are supplied by volunteers.       

“This isn’t meant to be just a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Jeffries said. “I want them to come back every year.”