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August 21, 2010

Armless angler inspires others, stops thieves

Chester Moore, Jr CNHI

(This is the final installment of a two-part series on Ronnie Hindsman, an East Texas outdoors lover who lost both arms in electrical accident six years ago.)





    Ronnie Hindsman, who has fished and hunted his whole life, since lost his arms has harvested deer with a specially-operated gun that allows him to fire with his mouth and has even found a unique way to bird hunt.

     A few years ago he read a story about a hunt for amputees and ended up connecting with Bob Lowry who only has one arm.

    With the assistance of “Shoot Where You Look” instructor Leon Measures he teamed with Lowry to target shoot and hunt doves. Lowry held the gun while Hindsman pulled the trigger with his teeth.

    “It was a lot of fun and is one of those kinds ‘improvise, adapt and overcome’ situations,” he said.

    Hindsman admits his situation is not an easy one but that a positive mental attitude makes all the difference in the world.

    “You have some people who have much less traumatic things happen to them and it cripples them for life. Their attitude defines what they can do much more than a situation. Of course there are exceptions to everything but if you face a really tough situation like I did you can decide either to give up or get up and I chose to get up.”

    He enjoys talking with people who face great obstacles and planting in them seeds of hope.

    “Sometimes its hard to relate to someone unless they have been through what you have been through or something similar. I hope to use my story to help others to overcome the obstacles in their lives,” he said.

    An article published in Electric Co-Op Today detailed what is likely Hindsman’s most inspirational and sensational act.

    “…(Hindsman) was shopping in a Wal-Mart near the co-op’s Livingston, Texas, headquarters when he saw a man snatch a woman’s purse and run out of the store.”

    “Hindsman gave chase through the parking lot and when the suspect slowed to dodge a pole next to a parked car, he made contact.”

    “I hit him with this right arm of mine and he fell to the ground,” said Hindsman.

    According to the story the whack of the prosthetic limb stunned the suspect until a nearby off-duty police officer arrived to find the man with the victim’s wallet still in his hand.

    “When it came to someone needing help, he was there,” said Chief Rob Gilbert of the Onalaska, Texas, police department.

    “If it hadn’t been for Ronnie, no telling what could have happened.”

    When he’s not out catching crappie, hunting deer or whacking thieves with his prosthetic arm, Hindsman is still working hard the Sam Houston Electric Cooperative and inspiring others to count their blessings and not let anything get in the way of their dreams.

   Chester Moore, Jr. is The News Outdoors Editor. To contact Chester Moore, e-mail him at cmoore@fishgame.com. You can hear him on the radio Fridays from 6-7 p.m. on Newstalk AM 560 KLVI or online at www.klvi.com.

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