Adair's lodge draws international attention
Nature Wilderness destination hosted American television show, which will feature a New Brunswick bear hunt
SHEPODY - One never knows what interesting characters may be lurking deep in the woods of Adair's Wilderness Lodge.
Owner and operator Larry Adair won't say much about the rumoured sightings of Tom Cruise enjoying a New Brunswick bear hunt at this Shepody business, nor will he reveal the names of the high-profile men in black suits who pulled up to his lodge looking for a VIP experience.
"We've had a celebrity or two," Adair said vaguely.
When asked about Cruise specifically, he laughed slyly as he responded.
"Well, I guess that's what people say."
Adair said he has never been asked to keep a high-profile hunter's visit hush-hush, but he insists their experience and return visits are more important than the press and bragging rights their visit would bring.
"Regardless of their walk of life, people come here looking for peace and quiet. It doesn't matter to me who you are, I will do everything to provide that experience," he explained from his picturesque property 20 minutes southeast of Sussex.
"Money can't pay to make this a private club," he said. "Whether it's guys coming in here with suits and ties or guys with holes in their boots, it's all the same to me."
The outfitter does get very excited, however, to be the focus of a filming project for a U.S.-based TV show hosted by former amateur heavyweight boxing champion Jerry Goff who battled Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis.
In Goff's show, Knockout Hunting Adventures, big and small game are hunted around the world.
On the last week of bear hunting season in the province, the shows' pro staffer Dr. Rod Oglesby experienced Adair's and captured it on film.
A professor of accounting at Drury University in Missouri, Oglesby is an avid hunter who defies limitations in his sport.
After suffering from polio at age six, his left arm and shoulder were paralysed.
"I felt very restricted to gun hunting," he said, because the cumbersome bow didn't seem to be an option. That meant a shorter season.
"If I was hunting with a gun, I could only go out for two weeks, and the hunting experience is never as intimate with a gun," he said. "I knew if I could bow hunt, I could enjoy the experience from September through to January, and with more time, I could be more selective with the animal I chose."
In archery, Oglesby explained, hunters usually shoot from 20 to 40 yards away. On average a rifle reaches 100 yards and up to 300 yards.
"I like being in the animal's bedroom," he said.
He was told his solution was a crossbow. With only one arm to manoeuvre it, holding the crossbow for the length of time needed to get that perfect shot was a struggle.
"That day I hung the crossbow on the wall of my garage and that's where it has been ever since," he said.
Others suggested a mouth tab so he could draw the bow but he learned of too many people losing teeth in the process.
It was his modification to the patented Draw-Loc mechanism, created by Goff and manufactured by Hickory Creek Archery in Mississippi, that is changing lives for people with disabilities.
It allows a bow to be held in full-draw and locked there while hunters await their best shot. Oglesby built on their invention's trigger to make it one-arm friendly.
Demonstrating the technique, Oglesby drew the bow using his foot, removed the safety with his tongue, and then, while stabilizing the back end of the bow with his teeth, squeezed the trigger and shot dead centre of his practice target each time.
"I just want to demonstrate that for people with disabilities, there are options. Hunting is one of those equalizing sports, it doesn't matter how much money you have or even whether you have the use of both arms, it's how well you can control yourself in front of a bear 20 yards away," he said.
During his week at Adair's, Oglesby hunted and filmed. To further promote the experience here, he was able to bag a 260-pound North American bear on his second hunting day.
Local taxidermist Dale Robinson is completing a full body mount of what Oglesby calls a "nice New Brunswick trophy."
Oglesby also captured footage of the region and will include clips of attractions like covered bridges, Sussex murals and the overall beauty of the area in the TV program. This was his first Canadian hunt, and he hopes to spread the word in his country about the opportunities for his sport here.
"It's kind of an unknown area for hunters," he said. "As Americans, we think of the western provinces and Ontario for big game, but we don't think this far east.
"We'll get calls of interest as soon as the show airs," he added. The program has 23 million viewers weekly, he said.
Adair, as sponsor of Oglesby's hunt, said there is no better marketing tool to lure non-resident hunters across the border into Canada and its outfitting businesses.
"This is a low year in the province for the American hunters because the economy is bad, but when it returns, hunters will be educated on what is offered here," he said.
Adair said each non-resident hunter spends about $5,000 during his stay.
Knockout Hunting Adventures featuring Adair's lodge and the Sussex region, will be aired at undetermined times this year on the American-based, outdoor lifestyle network Pursuit Channel (611HUNT) on DirecTV.
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