Michael Luter has made a consistent effort to teach the Little League players on the Windsor Longhorns about more than just baseball.

“We try to teach social responsibility and awareness to those 9- to 12-year-olds,” he said.

On Saturday, he gave them a unique first-hand experience to talk and work together with wounded veterans from different branches of the military in the inaugural Heroes and Horns Dove Hunt at the Mike Luter Ranch in Zuni.

Helping run the event was the Freedom Hunters organization, a military outreach program that takes active-duty and combat veterans, families of fallen heroes, children of the deployed and wounded warriors on outdoor adventures.

At this event, there were eight wounded warriors, and each teamed up with a Little League player and his parent to participate in the dove hunt.

Luter planted sunflowers a couple of weeks prior and cut them down to lure in the doves that will eat the seeds. The hunting teams would then sit and wait patiently for the doves to fly by.

The Longhorns players helped give the veterans eyes in the back of their heads to spot the doves.

And unlike other types of hunting, this type does not require silence from the hunters.

“You can talk, which is perfect,” Luter said. “They got to exchange stories.”

Bud DePlatchett, who is the East Coast coordinator for Freedom Hunters, said, “They can talk about baseball, talk about hunting, talk about the warriors’ experiences.”

Of course, the wounded warriors did not relate gory horrors of war, but by sharing some stories of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, they did give the Longhorns a sense of what they had been through and why they went through it.

Luter, who coaches the Longhorns with Travis Luter, said he has been telling the boys what he thinks they now understand — that freedom is not free.

DePlatchett elaborated on what the event does for the youths.

“It gives them an understanding of what other people go through for them,” he said. “There are people out there who are willing to basically give their lives for them.”

The veterans got a lot out of the event, as well.

“It was a huge success,” DePlatchett said. “I’ve received several emails from the warriors just saying that was really a great day in the field.”

Despite the heat, the veterans and youths had a great time, stretching a brief bit of skeet shooting before the dove hunt into an extended session as the boys challenged the veterans.

The hunt was followed by dinner at the Zuni Hunt Club, provided by Todd Rose, and then homemade desserts were made available, provided by the mothers of the 12 Longhorns who participated.