Shooting Straight
   with frank addington, jr. 

Archery Talk’s New Format Unleashed…

      Howdy & welcome to my new column on Archery Talk.   When Terry Martin emailed me about the new page, I immediately said “Yeah, I’m in..” because I personally believe that the internet is a powerful marketing tool that promotes our sport 24/7 around the world.  Now you may have to be stuck in an office in a big city, but for a few minutes each day you can escape to a bowhunting adventure somewhere, read about equipment updates, and read the forums here to see what’s on other archer’s minds.  Pretty cool huh?   

      Thank you for taking time to read my first column.  Soon I’ll be posting some of our adventures from the road with the 2009 “HAVE BOW WILL TRAVEL” tour.  You see,  I don’t spend all my time at a desk banging on a keyboard.  I actually make a living as a professional archery exhibition shooter.  (I don’t like the term “trick shot” because that term implies smoke & mirrors.)  My show, The Aspirin Buster Show, is 24 years old this year.  I have been shooting a bow and arrow since 1971 at the age of four.  My parents have operated an archery pro shop, Addington’s Bowhunter Shop, in Winfield, West Virginia since the 1970’s.  As a matter of fact, we have been a Martin Archery dealer since about 1978.    I was telling Terry the other day that Pop sold a lot of the Martin Cougar and Cougar Magnum’s in the old days.  We even had some customers that were fans of the Martin Dyna-Bow.  Perhaps Terry will write about the history of that bow sometime, it was amazing.

     Anyway, long story made short I was a protege’ of the late Rev. Stacy Groscup.  Groscup became the first archer to ever hit an aspirin from mid air and would later set a world record on national TV by hitting seven aspirin in a row without a miss.  In later years he was inducted into the national Archery Hall of Fame as the 49th inductee.  When I was 18 Rev. Groscup tossed a Pepsi can into mid air and challenged me to hit it.  I did and later that day he put me in front of an audience shooting.  It was an amazing time.  

     Now, 24 years later, I travel coast to coast doing archery shows and promoting the sport of archery 24/7.  What can you expect at my shows?  Six arrows at one aerial target, two balloons from mid air with one arrow, targets of all sizes from mid air, down to a baby aspirin or multiple baby aspirin— all shot instinctively with my bow behind my back.  Why this unconventional method?  I wanted to have a signature shot.  A baby aspirin behind the back is just about the hardest shot I could come up with.

     Archery is a great sport.  I am fortunate that time in the sport has allowed me to cross paths with so many of the archery greats, from Fred Bear to Ted Nugent, Earl and Ann Hoyt, Gail Martin, Al Henderson, Joe Johnston, Ann Clark, Chuck “Woodrow” Adams, Jim Easton, Dick Mauch, Glenn St. Charles, Matt McPherson, and so many well known figures from our sport.  My life has been blessed by all the archery friends I’ve met.

     Now my wife and I have a son who shot his first arrow at less than two years old!  He’s a natural and loves to shoot his bow.  I hope that your family joins you in your outdoor pursuits.  I am a big believer in turning off TV, computers, video games and leaving cell phones behind to spend time as a family outdoors.  If you agree then please stop by my columns from time to time to keep up with my adventures.  Hats off to Terry Martin for the opportunity.

 Thanks for your time.  Until next time, Adios & God Bless.

Shoot Straight,

Frank

Frank Addington, Jr.
www.frankaddingtonjr.com

THE MYSTICAL FLIGHT OF THE ARROW AS HEALER        by Ted Nugent

The young archer’s gaze was intense, animal like, wild eyed. Master athletes refer to this ultra focused intensity as “in the zone”. You can feel it in the eyes and twitching nerve endings of a killer cat in the final stages of its sneak attack, just before the kill pounce. Locked in.

 Macon was there, mind, body, heart, soul and full on spirit as he carefully pulled back the bowstring with all he had, his eyes squinting in the blazing Texas sun, brow furrowing, head slightly cocked, arrow pointing naturally toward the vitals of the 3D deer target ahead. As the arrow nock touched his lip, the bow silently flexed and sent the feathered shaft on its mystical way. 

 Thunk! Dead center into the golden triangle of the deer‘s forward chest, right where the pumpstation and lungs converge for a perfect bowhunter’s kill shot. A broad smile overpowered the sunshine.

 This daily ritual is not all that out of the ordinary at the more than three million bowhunting families target ranges across America, but on this particular day, this was not a normal, everyday arrow or bowhunter. Macon Lynn is just five years old, had never shot a bow before this day, and had just recently endured the ravaging agony of chemo therapy and radiation treatment for his inoperable brain cancer. This may very well have been the most important arrow in the history of archery, for young Macon was in desperate need of escape from the ravages of this life threatening disease, and he and his family figured an escape to Uncle Ted’s SpiritWild Ranch bowhunting epicenter might very well be just what the Dr. ordered. He did.

 Nearly wearing himself out, Macon shot arrow after arrow for most of the afternoon, and we couldn‘t get the bow out of his hands. Archers and bowhunters know why, for we are convinced that our next arrow will be a better arrow, and we never give up trying. We also know what Macon and all the terminally ill kids discover when in that mystical flight of the arrow trance; that there is nothing else beyond our arrow and its next flight. It is that powerfully mesmerizing. Intoxicating. Joyous. Cleansing. Healing.

 Macon joined the Nugent family through the assistance of the wonderful “Wish Upon A Star” charity. A few weeks later, Make A Wish Foundation made the arrangements for seven year old Brianna to visit us at SpiritWild Ranch and other special need kids have been helped by Hunt Of A Lifetime and our own Ted Nugent Kamp for Kids charities. When people really need help, Americans always give it all they got, and we are genuinely moved by the heartfelt love and generosity of so many great American families everytime. We salute them all.

 Over the years, many Americans have been moved to show appreciation for the dedication and sacrifices of the heroes of the United States Military warriors. Those who pay attention, and care, painfully understand that freedom comes with a price, and that the American Dream is fertilized by the blood and guts of warriors who valiantly volunteered to put their lives on the line for the benefit of others. This is the greatest of human virtuousness, and we stand in awe of their service.

 Having saluted way too many flag draped coffins and stood strong with too many grieving families, we created our Freedom’s Angel’s nonprofit charity a few years ago to help the wounded warriors who have given so much. Upon visiting the severely burned heroes at Brookes Army Medical Facility in San Antonio, Texas, we were reminded that most of the military heroes are avid outdoorsmen and women, but with their burned skin slowly healing, there was no way for them to be exposed to the blistering Texas’ sun and were therefore confined indoors.

 Through the undying generosity of many, Freedom’s Angels was able to construct a beautiful outdoor patio where the burn victims could be in their beloved out of doors, but shielded from the rays of the burning sun.

 As a proud and official representative of the Coalition To Salute America’s Heroes (saluteheroes.org) I have been honored and privileged to host many wounded warriors at our SpiritWild Ranch for hunting, fishing, offloading, shooting, archery and BBQ fun. I am convinced that this is the most powerful healing therapy in the world, and we are throttling ahead to do more for them.

 Though the BBQ is great, the machinegun shooting spectacular, and all our outdoor fun remedial, there is no question that the most smiles occur on the 3D archery range. Some of the guys and gals are experienced archers and bowhunters, but many are newcomers. Each and everyone of them light up as arrows are fired downrange and archery form and control is discovered and cultivated.

 With exuberant support across the board, we are now putting together the details of our next Freedom’s Angels project and creating a state of the art archery range for the troops near the Brookes Medical facility so they can shoot more conveniently and develop their archery skills.

 Daniel Vargas, our gung-ho BloodBrother at Saluteheroes.org is working on the details and I wish to thank everyone who so generously helps to make this a reality.

 Never underestimate the healing powers of the mystical flight of the arrow. If you would like to say thank you to the US Military heroes, visit Saluteheroes.org and give what you can. Godbless the US warriors all!

 A big thank you to Saluteheroes.org, Wish Upon A Star, Hunt Of A Lifetime, American Airlines, Avis Rent-A-Car, Hamilton Inns, Academy Sports, Martin Archery, Scott Archery, Sims Vibration Labs, Easton Arrows, Victory Arrows, GoldTip, Delta and McKenzie targets, Mossy Oak, Primos Double Bull blinds, the National Field Archery Association, Freedom’s Angels, ArcheryTalk.com and tednugent.com

LUCKY 13              by Ted Nugent

It was hunting day 136 of my 2008-2009 hunting season. That’s 136 days of nonstop hunting, 136 out of 138 days total, but I was as pumped up as I was on day 1, I assure you. I had posted endless yet hopeful ambush vigils in every treestand I have, and had even improvised, adapted and overcome on many a morning and afternoon hunt, killing many a fine beast in Michigan, Texas, New Mexico, Washington, Ontario and California. Stacks of precious backstraps were nestled in orderly fashion in the Nugent freezer barn, but I wasn’t done yet. With the Hunters For The Hungry program needing more sacred protein for my fellow Americans, and the deer herd begging for a much needed balanced harvest, my drive to kill more deer was over the top. And I had the arrows and tags to go with my passion and bloodlust. God made me a hunter. Blame Him.

Hunting constantly not only cleanses the soul, wildly stimulates my inner being and feeds many, but it also tunes me in to the good mother earth where I hunt and live. The shortrange challenges of the bow and arrow demands a much higher level of awareness, and if we pay ultimate attention to our surroundings and dedicate ourselves to be the best reasoning predator we can possibly be, a deep and abiding sense of connection develops in our souls to better understand our resource stewardship duties to our life giving environment. I for one get intense gratification from intimately knowing the terrain, animals and spirit of my hunting grounds. These observations give us the definitive understanding of just how many deer, varmints, and other game needs to be killed to keep the land and critters healthy and thriving. I love that part.

Not only do I video each and every hunt for our Spirit of The Wild TV show on Outdoor Channel, but I have kept a running journal of my hunts forever, detailing the various songbirds, small and big game encounters, with a detailed description of each whitetail deer I get to look over. Coupled with the year round census of our herd by myself, family, land managers, and on our Texas property, game counts by Texas Parks and Wildlife biologists, we have a pretty good handle on just what our deer herd is comprised of and how to manage the annual harvest accordingly. Or so we thought.

Ensconced 18 feet up in a crowsnest of thick leaves, vines and branches, the steady southwest breeze caressing my face, my confidence level was as high as a kite this dark, cool January afternoon. With my video camera solid on a swing arm, I was taping myself this day as the first of what would become a parade of whitetail deer slowly made their way through the forest of live oak trees.

At this point late in the season, my remaining Managed Land Deer Permits included six more does and six more bucks, so I was ready to arrow just about any animal. I had picked out some mature does and at least two management bucks that caught my fancy, when all of a sudden, my eyes bugged out at the sight of a big, mature, multi-tined buck. I examined this deer closely with my Bushnells, and quickly realized that this buck had never been identified before.

I was starting to shake. The handsome old boy had a heavy, tall 7×6 rack with a sagging belly and a thick, swollen neck, and I said a prayer of hope that he would give me shot.

He stayed behind the dense foliage, and then trotted off with his nose hot on a big doe. Par for the course in my hunting life, the big boy appeared to be gone with the wind, so I carefully moved my vidcam into position as a shot on a nice slick six point buck was coming to fruition.

I was literally beginning to draw my 53# Martin Firecat bow when the six point jerked his head up and hustled forward. Taking his place at the edge of the clearing was my lucky 13, and finishing my draw, I sent my 400 grain arrow perfecto right there in the golden triangle where heart meets lungs. With a wild kick and a scramble, the mortally hit beast dashed out of sight, his galloping hooves clamoring audibly on the hard ground, then across the rocky wash, with a final, telltale tumble in the tangle across the dry creekbed. Good grief! I was out of body.

Fumbling like a schoolboy after his first kiss, I quivered as I spun the vidcam arm towards me in a feeble attempt to capture the insanity of the moment. I blurted out a spontaneous burst of pure adrenalin pumped excitement explaining how shocked I was to see, muchless kill such a never before seen trophy buck like this dandy 13 pointer.

Self videoing the thrilling recovery took an explosive turn for the better, for as I found the beautiful deer piled up in a tangle of green briar, I heard the rumble of my wife Shemane’s Mercedes coming down the gravel road above the timbered ridge not far off. With the camera buzzing, I ran wildly toward her screaming for her to come join me in the celebration of this very special buck. I come off like a raving idiot (so what else is new?) but succeeded in getting her attention. She graciously took over camera duties like the pro that she is, and we taped the reverential tribute to this fine 150 class whitetail deer. The TV show of this amazing hunt will be as special as the soul stirring encounter and kill with my lucky 13. I’ll take lucky over good everytime.

To book a hunt with Ted Nugent, visit tednugent.com or call Sunrize Safaris at 800-343-4868.

I was just in my local archery store today and I needed to rage about this obsession with speed, I shoot the Dren LD and I am getting on a good day 260fps with axis 340’s, the ridiculous thing is that people think that is far too slow, I am sorry you get to a point where speed just doesnt matter, the only thing you can change with speed is how far in the dirt your arrow is gonna stick after it passes through the deer. Not to mention the new “speed” bows are not a treat to shoot what so ever