Sponsored by: Black Eagle Arrows & Grim Reaper Broadheads
My first memory is when I was a kid and watching my father and the rest of my family shooting their bows and wishing so bad that I could do the same thing. I studied the way they drew the bow and how they stood while shooting. I could see the focus in their eyes and it seeded an interest within me that grew every year. When I finally became old enough my father passed down a very simple round cam bow. I shot every day that I could. At first I was like everyone else that started, I became very good at finding lost arrow. Over time and I became older I learned a lot about backyard shooting and archery hunting but still knew little about the sport of archery. So I saved my money doing little jobs here and there and finally found a bow that I could afford. I still didn’t know much but with a new bow in hand I set out to become a better shot.
My family all said that shooting beyond 30 yards was nonsense; I on the other hand didn’t feel that way. I felt that the farther you could shoot accurately, the better you would become at short ranges. The bow I saved for and bought was the PSE Beast ( Vector), was shooting an older style fang rest from Golden Key-Futura and a bunch of mismatched aluminum arrows I scrounged around for. The important thing was, I found myself really starting to focus on each and every shot and repeating my shot process over and over. I saw that the difference between arrows and weights really affected my grouping so again I saved money and bought my first set of matched, properly spined carbon arrow, I am not sure of the type but I remember they were the Redhead brand.
I felt I was on my way and as a kid this really made me happy, I was shooting out to 60 yards and still hitting a pie plate while everyone else was still stopping at 30 yards. I have learned that focusing on and methodically trying to fix one thing at a time not only made me a better archer, it also flowed over to my everyday life. Now that I have became an adult and have learned far more than I ever expected I still find archery teaches me things about life in general. I apply what I learned in archery and try my best to approach every problem with focus and attention. This has helped me keep my mind clear and keep everything in perspective.
In life we tend to hurry through things, for whatever reason, then wonder why it sometimes doesn’t work out for us in the end. I’ve learned that if I take the same methodical approach I took to become a better, more thorough archer, I accomplish more with better results in other aspects of my life.
I’ve found that archers I’ve met tend to be friendly, helpful people. We encourage each other to do better and congratulate success even if we are not doing so well at the time. What more could you ask for from people? I am certainly blessed to have these kinds of people in my family and as friends. Archery has impacted my life greatly and I think if you look into yourself that you will find it has done the same to you. Archery, more than just a sport.
