A Hunt With Heart

The West Virginia Wounded Veterans Bear Hunt brings veterans, hunters, and law enforcement officers together in the spirit of camaraderie.

This story was originally published in the December 2024 issue of Wonderful West Virginia. To subscribe, visit wonderfulwv.com.

Written by Laura Jackson

Veterans can face a unique set of obstacles after their service in the military. In addition to injuries and physical challenges, they may face post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression. These struggles can feel overwhelming and isolating, and when their service is over, returning to ordinary life may be difficult.

To support wounded veterans, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources holds an annual Wounded Veterans Bear Hunt in southern West Virginia, sponsored by the United Special Sportsman Alliance. The endeavor originally began with a focus on young people who have life-threatening diseases and disabilities, but the pandemic called for a new plan.

“We had to change when COVID-19 came along,” says Sergeant Andrew Lyons, a West Virginia Natural Resources Police Officer with the Law Enforcement Section of the Division of Natural Resources. “It was because of all the restrictions with kids that are sick already, being around groups of people—we had to switch gears.” The focus shifted, then, to veterans with injuries and disabilities.

Release the Hounds

The North American tradition of bear hunting with dogs began during the colonial period, when bear meat was a plentiful source of protein. Teddy Roosevelt famously took many bear hunting trips with dogs.

“It’s a tradition and a heritage,” says Kish Justice, a White Sulphur Springs bear hunter who volunteers with the Natural Resources Police on the annual hunt. “Look at the historical record of bear hunters like Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. They moved from the Eastern Seaboard across the United States, and bear meat and fat fueled the frontier movement.”

Although it’s an event designed for humans, there’s no question that the hounds lead the hunt. For bear hunters, the reward is not the bear itself, but the time spent with the dogs—and a good hunting dog is born with its instincts. Justice says his hounds don’t care about animals like coyotes, deer, or raccoons. Similarly, he says his love of bear hunting comes from somewhere deep in his DNA. “The first time I went and experienced it, I knew, somehow. I think we’re connected to our ancestors.”

Houndsmen like Justice spend considerable time training their dogs. Though bear harvesting season is limited, West Virginians are allowed to train dogs year-round, and Justice does. His dogs are a mix of several popular bear hunting breeds: Treeing Walker Coonhounds, Fox Walkers, and English Coonhounds. But while these lineages date back several hundred years, purebred papers don’t guarantee a successful bear dog.

“I breed them for three big things,” Justice says. First, “nerve and grit: the ability to psychologically withstand an animal that is way bigger and potentially way more aggressive than itself—that doesn’t want to flee, that wants to fight. The dog’s job is to stay there and bark at a bear, no matter how bad it gets, until I can get there and either catch the dogs up and leave or harvest the bear.”

The second important characteristic is endurance. West Virginia’s rugged terrain includes clear-cuts, steep hollows, and impenetrable, overgrown thickets. “These dogs have to be able to get through that kind of terrain faster than a bear,” he says. “They’ve got to overtake it and then stay with the bear as long as it takes while the bear keeps moving through the country.” Lastly, a dog needs the ability to track a bear, often in the snow, when the scent may be 12 to 24 hours old, and to sustain the strength and desire to continue the chase.

 Bear hunters get some bad press, Justice says, but have the utmost respect for the animals they pursue. “We have just tried to do good through the hounds and spread the value of what good hunters and conservationists in the hound-hunting world can do. I can do good for my community and my country and spread the word about hound hunting and the positives around the hound world.”

Part of that good is staying cognizant of and abiding by the regulations issued by the WVDNR to promote the heath of the bear population. Taking cubs is prohibited, as is taking a sow with cubs, which will stay with their mother for two years. Current restrictions dictate that a bear must be at least 75 pounds live weight or 50 pounds field-dressed to be taken.

Hunters take the regulations seriously. “Nobody cares as much about a bear as a bear hunter,” Justice says. “The last thing I want to do is not have bears to run. We’ve gotten good at policing ourselves on how we manage the laws. The state sets the numbers, but we as bear hunters are uniquely suited to judge an animal once it’s caught or treed and decide if it’s the age, the class, and the size we want to take.”

They Ride at Dawn

The annual bear hunt begins before daylight, when the hunters and houndsmen arrive with several truckloads of dogs. The players must work as a team, as keeping up with excited hounds can be a challenge in dense cover and mountainous terrain. The cooperation fosters camaraderie, and Lyons and Justice agree that the veterans who join the hunt have an unforgettable and sometimes surprising experience.

“The majority of them have never watched the total chaos of a bear hunt,” Justice says. “One of the guys said the madness that ensued brought him joy. It’s the adrenaline these guys feel. They’ve been in some of the most dangerous situations that people can imagine, but this experience is just visceral.”

While veterans’ injuries and trauma may linger, the support system that comes from serving together, side by side for months or years, can vanish when military personnel come home. The visiting hunters quickly become friends as the chase unfolds, often forming friendships that endure beyond the few days in the woods, despite different backgrounds and service histories.

Law enforcement officers like Lyons are vital to the uniqueness of the annual hunt. In addition to forming connections with each other, veterans tend to form bonds with their hosts, as both groups share similar experiences in their respective fields.

“I think these guys probably appreciate it more than any group of people that we have ever dealt with,” Lyons says. “They’ve served, and they’ve been out there on the front lines, defending our freedom while we’re all here soaking up the benefit. We’ve got an opportunity to bring them here, all expenses paid. We take them out, get them involved in something that’s really fun, and treat them like family while they’re here. They’ll make relationships that last the rest of their lives.”

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To learn more about the United Special Sportsman Alliance, visit childswish.org. To find bear hunting dates and regulations, check out the 2024–2025 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Summary at WVdnr.gov/hunting-regulations.