Disabled Butler Twp. man continues family tradition
BUTLER TWP — Matt Protzman just wanted to be part of the family game.
“My father hunted. My grandfather hunted. My sister, my uncle ... the whole family,” Protzman, 47, of Butler Township said. “I wanted to do it, too. I grew up with hunting.”
Problem was, he also grew up in a wheelchair.
Protzman was born with Spina Bifida, but that didn't stop him or his family from allowing him to participate in the activity he loves.
His late father, Carl Protzman, built a tree stand for him in 1994 on the property of Matt's uncle Bill Swigart's farm in Fairview Township. The tree stand is 6½ feet off the ground and is on top of a hillside.
It has a ramp for handicap access and allows Protzman a good view of the property.
“I've been hunting for 35 years now, always on my uncle's farm,” Protzman said. “My dad took me out there every year.
“Before he built the tree-stand, I used to hunt from a hill that had easy vehicle access so we could ride in there.”
The tree stand, with a low wall, was built to protect Protzman from the weather. Paralyzed from the waist down, he has full use of his arms and can handle a rifle.
He has bagged 12 deer in his lifetime — the latest being a 5-point buck Nov. 30.
Emma Protzman accompanies her son to the tree-stand every year “so he won't be alone out there,” she said.
Protzman's father died in 2006. His uncle Bill Swigart is deceased as well, but his aunt still lives at the farm.
Donald Swigart, another uncle, comes to Butler each deer season to take Matt hunting. Swigart lives in Mesa, Ariz., and has family in Erie.
Matt's mother said, “I help Matt with his physical needs out there and can provide another set of eyes for him. I saw the buck coming through the field Monday.”
Protzman shot at the buck twice from 265 yards away. Both shots found the target.A solid marksman, Protzman has been a member of Butler's team in the Butler County Trap League for 23 years.“It took me five years to get my first deer,” he recalled. “That was in 1984. I got an 8-point buck in 1988. That was my biggest.”He had not bagged a deer since 2007 before connecting this season. But he gets out to the tree-stand every year.“I'm always out there five days a week, from daylight until dark, during the season, trying to get one,” Protzman said. “I enjoy being out there with nature.“It's a thrill when I do get a deer. It doesn't happen for me all that often.”His mother will keep joining him in the tree stand “as long as I'm able.”“It gets him out, and we've always taken care of him,” she said.Carl Protzman died of a heart attack at age 74 — a day after he took Matt hunting.“I didn't get a deer that day,” Matt said. “I shot at one and missed. I'm thankful because Dad would have had to go out there to bring it back and something might have happened to him then. I had no cell phone with me or any way to reach anybody.“I'm grateful for my father and what he did for me. And I love hunting.”
