Golden age archery, a description.

Message

elkslayer4x5 · #11 Post by **elkslayer4x5** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 9:14 am

Captainkirk wrote: ↑Tue Jan 28, 2020 7:22 am Wow, you were into it deep!... Please go on...I find this fascinating!

Yes I did get in pretty deep on the local club level, I knew others who were elected to NFAA positions. I'll detour a bit and fill in some background.
As the head pearl diver/ custodian/ prep cook, I was working 6 days a week then, only the weekends did I work straight shifts, worked split shifts, off work from noon to 5:00.
Being about 3 miles from the range, I'd go home, see if Gerri or the kids wanted to come with me. If I just going to practice, I'd take the kids and they would play in the kiddie area, walking a round was tough for my son then ( he was 3) but he was fascinated when I was practicing.
The club had a 80 yard sight in range for the freestylers, along an old logging road, Greg used to follow along as I worked on the long shots. It turns out that loggers weren't the first to use the area.
At one time it must have been a camping area for local indigenous people as there was knapped flint everywhere!! Greg was always picking up pieces off the old logging road. The club house had a big class case with large points found when they cleared the ground thru a grove of redwoods to make parking for 200+ cars. I found a 5 inch spear point, 95 % intact.
I spent so much time on the range that I soon began giving range reports at the club meeting, so that range captain could schedule a work party to do what ever needed doing. By the 2nd year, I was range captain. I have also served as a club officer, including being president. I was range captain for two other 42 target range builds for the club when we had to relocate.

Grizzly · #12 Post by **Grizzly** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 11:41 am

I'm enjoying this presentation. If anyone gets a change to shoot field archery do it. We have a local club that still puts on shoots here. Many times at their monthly shoot you can choose to shoot 3d or field. I always enjoyed the times I went even though I missed out on the glory days of archery. iirr in the Fred Bear Bible there are also photos of all the indoor archery ranges that were once everywhere. They say they were more popular than the bowling alleys that followed them in history and which are now fading from popularity also.

It's nice to have one or two of the older heavier risers that were popular for those competitions. There are many I'd love to have owned but only bought a Root Range Master for my daughter at 36#. The riser is a bit heavier and larger and is a nice stable platform to launch arrows from. I shot my first round of 3d with no wounding shots with that bow and 1816's with light 85gr tips. I think I even used it for a field round or two. Now though, when I show up to shoot field, the only folks shooting traditional are probably shooting along with myself. The club is mostly compound oriented with only a few members who are dedicated traditional shooters. They let us put on a trad only shoot once a year though. I'd get together with a friend and get our machetes out and cut new shooting lanes. He favored close and I always wanted to stretch it out further. I realize most like to keep it around 18 yards, but when they have elk and bear targets, they are just perfect for the longer shots in those spots where the ground is already open for the longer field lanes.

I keep urging Captainkirk who is within driving distance in Northern Illinois to go to Blackhawk Field Archers Club. They have the old paper machete targets they take out once or twice a year for 3d shoots along with the other targets. It would be well worth the drive. If I were able to get away more, I'd love to meet you up there. I know jd/xl who posts here sometimes wanted to get together at Cloverdale, but again, it just wasn't possible.

Grizzly · #13 Post by **Grizzly** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 12:26 pm

Yes, the unsung hero's of any club. They say 10% if that do most of the work in any club. I've done that also years ago and it's really a labor or love at the time, though it's easy to get burned out.

elkslayer4x5 · #14 Post by **elkslayer4x5** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 12:51 pm

Grizzly wrote: ↑Wed Jan 29, 2020 12:26 pm Yes, the unsung hero's of any club. They say 10% if that do most of the work in any club. I've done that also years ago and it's really a labor or love at the time, though it's easy to get burned out.

Unfortunately far too true. After the new range neighbors (up on hill above valley our range was in) being lawyers were able to convince Sonoma County Flood Control that we were a danger to their well being, I gave up field archery. Still by far my favorite round, rather like golf as you compete against your self. Have played Archery golf too.

elkslayer4x5 · #15 Post by **elkslayer4x5** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 2:35 pm

Being involved in the club gave me lots of opportunities, By my 2nd year I had given up pearl diving, (Never found any!, but I sure can cook) and had a union job as an Apprentice carpenter. Eighteen months later I land a job with Otis Elev. in San Francisco, another union.
We had moved to Santa Rosa when I was a carpenter, and bought a house, so we stayed there and I commuted 120+ miles a day. That 600 miles a week took it's toll.
Somewhere along the way I stopped bow hunting. Another marriage later, and I'm sick of city life and I move up to the Mendocino coast where I found a place to find myself again. Got back into construction, drywall contracting. More commuting but on Hyw 1. No one along me side reading a newspaper at 65 mph!
I dislocated my shoulder while hanging drywall, hurt so much that my immediate reaction was to jerk my arm back and it popped back into place, I took the rest of the week off and went back to work. By 2004, I couldn't lift my arm above my shoulder. After getting my shoulder repaired I started being interested in hunting. I found a deal on a compound and started learning how to shoot one.
Always have been a firm believer in practice and standing in one place shooting the same target gets dull, so I built a 14 target range on about 1.5 acres on the back of my place using 7 bags. You'll see

Not many long traditional bow shots, needed a compound to thread a shot from 80 thru the two large branches of the Manzanita!

: range map.JPG (113.26 KiB) Viewed 211 times

This pic show two targets the 20 is the white bag, the 15 yd is yellow and will be shot from where the green tarp is. These pics were taken while under construction, so there's piles of stuff that get removed and put to use like the pile of firewood.

: 20 yd.JPG (135.51 KiB) Viewed 213 times

: 30 yd.JPG (139.41 KiB) Viewed 213 times

That log went with the fire wood, just behind this shooting position was the birdie. It was the blue xed white bag but I moved it to the red boxed area, the red x white bag back there is the 35 yd fan