4/1/2005
Realtree Online Stories by Stephanie Mallory 
DOUBLE-BARREL DARYLE

One of the event's participants, country music star Daryle Singletary, earned the nick name "Double Barrel Daryle" during last year's event for missing two turkeys on camera, and after missing another bird during the first part of the 2005 event, it looked as if his luck wouldn't change.

I was really down in the dumps after missing another bird during the 2005 hunt," Singletary says. "But luckily, I shot one the day of the concert. I decided not to tell anyone until that night. When I got up to perform, I called all of the country singers and hunters up on stage. Then, I played the clip from last year of me missing both of the birds. Everyone was yelling, 'Daryle, you s_ _ _!' Then we aired the footage of me finally shooting a bird. Everyone went crazy!"

4/1/2005
Realtree Online Stories by Stephanie Mallory 
SHOOTING FOR THE MOON

Country music artist, Rhett Akins, says he's extremely pleased with the outcome of the charity event and looks forward to helping it expand to other regions of the country. 
"Sam and I have been friends for a long time, and when we get together, we shoot for the moon," Akins says. "We knew the Country Goes Huntin' idea would work, but we had no idea that it would take off this quickly. We thought it would take many more years before the event would raise more than $100,000. I think we experienced more success this year than in years past because we started working on the event a little bit earlier. I called 15 stars and thought only a handful of them would actually participate, but we ended up having 12 major country musicians take part."

After guiding several young disabled hunters following a Wheelin' Sportsmen banquet four years ago, Klement called up his childhood friend and fellow hunter, Country Music Star Rhett Akins, with an idea.
"Those disabled children touched my heart, and I wanted to do something for them," Klement says. "I told Rhett that we had the resources to put on an awesome fundraiser for the Wheelin' Sportsmen program. With his involvement in the country music scene and my involvement in the hunting scene, we could put together a fundraiser that combined the best of both worlds."