UM archer targets achievement despite disabilities

Never moving his eyes from the target, Danny Gundlach nocks an arrow to the bow tucked under his right arm, switches the bow to his left hand, and smoothly raises it to a steady aim.  He reaches forward to draw back the bowstring, but rather than pinching it with his fingers, he grabs it with the inside corner of his elbow. 

That is because Gundlach does not have fingers, or a hand or a forearm for that matter, on his right arm to grab the bowstring with.  Yet with a subtle twist of his elbow, he lets fly the arrow and watches it pierce a hay bale 50 feet away. 

A UM sophomore in environmental studies, Gundlach was born without his right hand or forearm. He has been an archer for more than two years, using a regular compound bow without any special modifications to hold the bow or release the arrow.

“I don’t even use a trigger release, which is used by a lot of people with two hands,” Gundlach said.

Instead, he grabs the bowstring with a calloused patch of skin on the inside of his elbow, developed over several weeks of consistent shooting.  But even now, after about 30 shots his callous becomes cracked, blistered, and bloody.  Despite the discomfort, Gundlach said his disability does not greatly impact his archery.

“I do pull the string back with my right arm,” he said, “but at the same time I am pushing the bow forward with my left arm.”

For Gundlach, archery provides an opportunity to prove to himself and to others what most would assume to be impossible.  It is a challenge he thrives on.  He also applies this attitude to his job, where he cuts tile using a wet saw, as well as to other sports.

“I never played soccer, that would make sense for a one-armed guy using his feet,” Gundlach said.  “But for me it was basketball or something else that no one would ever expect.”
This year, Gundlach wanted to hunt bigger game than hay bales: He wanted to hunt deer.  Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks offers several reduced fees and special permits for residents and non-residents with permanent physical or mental disabilities. 

These include a Permit to Modify Archery Equipment, which for no charge allows hunters to use special equipment to support the bow and draw, hold, and release the bowstring.  The specialized tools to release the bowstring, called draw locks, are operated in a variety of ways according to Joleen Tadej, supervisor of the information center at Fish, Wildlife and Parks headquarters in Helena.

“Some are mouth-released, some are air-released,” Tadej said.  “If they [the archers] only have one hand, they can lock it with their feet.”

Gundlach could also qualify for a Resident with a Disability Conservation License and tags, which for less than $25 allows fishing and hunting of birds, deer, and elk that would cost other residents over $65 in licenses.

Last year, about 4,200 residents purchased the special conservation license and 180 hunters qualified for the Permit to Modify Archery Equipment, Tadej said.  But Gundlach was not one of them.  Since he uses no modifications on his bow, he does not need that permit, and he bought his tags this year over-the-counter at regular Montana resident rates. 

Gundlach, who is originally from Seattle but has lived in Montana for over a year, had purchased one other license that is currently causing him some problems.

After archery season opened Labor Day weekend, Gundlach hunted on a relative’s ranch near Hamilton, bringing along his bow and resident tags.  On the first day, he spotted a small whitetail buck sneaking out of a field.

“I knew he was headed for the creek, so I stayed in the brush and started following him,” Gundlach said. 

After stalking the buck for more than half a mile, Gundlach came within 25 yards of the animal, but scared it away before he could shoot.

“I walked out from behind a tree, drew back, and the deer shot off,” Gundlach explained.  “The wiser thing to do would be to draw before stepping out.”

“It would have been a nice broadside shot,” Gundlach said.  “Fortunately I did not take it.”

Fortunate because had he shot the deer, he might be in even more trouble than he already is.

The next day, while hunting in the same area, Gundlach was approached by a game warden.

“I did not think there would be any problems, I would just show him my tag and it would be all good,” Gundlach said.

But when the warden questioned the UM student about his short Montana residency, which is printed on the bottom of licenses, Gundlach admitted to having a Washington resident fishing license.  Because it is illegal to have resident licenses in two different states, Montana revoked Gundlach’s hunting and fishing licenses for at least this year.  He also faces hundreds of dollars in fines, depending on the outcome of ongoing court proceedings.

In 2005, Fish, Wildlife and Parks investigated 1,310 cases of hunters or anglers holding resident licenses from Montana and other states, resulting in 249 citations and nearly 100 warnings, said James Kropp, chief of law enforcement for Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

“It is a problem common with college students because people are always coming and going,” Kropp said.  “But it is also a problem in Montana because we have a limited number of non-resident big game licenses.” There is no limit to resident deer and elk tags.

Kropp said hunting on private land without permission and improper tagging of killed game are some of the most frequent hunting violations, while the most common violation statewide is fishing without a license.

So for the rest of this hunting season, Gundlach will have to suffice with hay bales for his quarry.

“I’d been preparing for this for quite a while, so this is really disappointing,” Gundlach said.

Because of the violation, Gundlach’s hunting success next year will not be determined by his stalking, his accuracy, or the lucky alignment of a big buck at a short distance before an open shot.  It will be determined by a judge.