SPRINGTIME ARCHERY FUN

Once again it’s that time of year for everyone to get out, enjoy the wonderful spring weather and all the outdoors has to offer. Unlike in Old England, when archers could not shoot less than 100 yards while practicing and preparing for war, we can shoot just to enjoy the sport. It’s important to keep your main objectives in mind when making plans to go out and fling some arrows. First and foremost, don’t be too serious. Keep it simple, and keep it fun!
Today, when you hear the term “stump shooting” it refers to going out and practice shooting at random targets, but the term originated back when archers would shoot at stumps to practice judging distance. This was a great business for the people making and selling arrows but very costly for archers whose arrows ended up lost, bent or totally broken.

In addition to practicing for accuracy it is also very important to learn how to judge yardage. It doesn’t matter how straight you shoot if your arrow doesn’t reach your target! Judging yardage in itself is a scientific skill all archers need to master. You will want to practice in different environments and weather. Wind, flat areas, water, and hills (uphill verses downhill) can all be a challenge when judging yardage.
Foam technology has made it possible to create so many fun targets and 3D shoots. The foam is significantly lighter than the large, heavy old Indian grass mats used in the past. Now companies are able to create targets of limitless types and sizes. You can get 3D cubes and a long list of life-sized animals including deer, elk, turkey, bear, wild boar, snakes, carp, beaver, coyote and alligator. Some companies have created 3D targets for the fun, adventurous archer like dinosaurs, zombies, and even Big Foot that can be added to the local archery club’s course. Although these make fun targets, I feel if you ever see a real Big Foot it would be better to save it for science, not shoot it with a bow & arrow! We will probably find Big Foot right after we find a jackalope. Yes they also make a 3D jackalope target!!!

Our area has a vast amount of archery shoots & events you can attend. Local groups offer a wide variety of archery events such as Field Shoots, Golf Archery, Clout Shooting, 3D archery, Flight Shooting, Olympic Shooting, and Bow Fishing. 3D is currently the most popular, it simulates the real life hunting of many types of realistic animals. Some courses encourage additional challenges like moving targets or shooting under a branch on one knee. Spring archery tournaments are a lot of fun for the whole family. Check out the Walla Walla Blue Mountain Archers website for upcoming local events at www.bluemountainarchers.com
Club shoots usually offer a variety of group classifications to separate traditional, compound and release-aid shooters, and some offer additional classification for different age groups or skill level. Archery is a sport everyone can enjoy so current tournaments and events offer all archers a chance to participate. The U.S.A. has seen a large increase of archers with disabilities, especially shooters in wheelchairs. The archery community has also welcomed one-armed shooters. These amazing athletes draw back the bow by pulling a piece of leather attached to the string with their teeth. A few years ago an archer with only one arm won the bow hunting division at the Vegas Shoot!
You can even create fun shoots of your own. The choices are endless. You can use balloons, clay pigeons, target Tic Tac Toe, or poker deck targets. You can even rig up an old bicycle wheel to create a moving target. Create different challenges for judging distance but DO NOT try to shoot an apple off anyone’s head! Although shooting and judging yardage out in the wild is more difficult, these games can still be great practice. You can use these events to test your equipment and pre-shooting bow inspection is critical for safety and to avoid malfunction during a shoot or while hunting. It may seem obvious, but NEVER shoot straight up in the air ~ what goes up must come down!
Remember keep it fun!
Archery is also a great way to meet new people and make new friends. Don’t hesitate to check out local shoots, clubs, or events. Archers are known for their kindness and willingness to help new archers. Like all hobbies, if you do well you are more likely to continue practicing and enjoying the sport. Increase your odds by joining up with other archers who can help you improve your skills. Your local archery shop can also be a valuable resource, getting a bow that fits you and your needs can make a huge difference.
I remember several years ago when a local gentleman bought a brand new recurve bow. Soon after he called me to complain that the bow did not shoot right. My first question is always “Is the bow set up correctly?”
He replied that he installed the string as directed, stuck on the sight that came in the box and started shooting.
I explained that the bow did not come with a sight. It turned out that he put the arrow rest on the top of the site window instead of the arrow rest shelf on the bottom. As the saying goes “When all else fails, read the directions.” This is a perfect example of when the friendly members of your local archery club can be very helpful.
You can also access unlimited information and how-to videos on www.ArcheryTalk.com
Membership is always free!
ArcheryTalk.com is always creating new sections and the newest is an area for members to submit their ideas and print out free archery targets.
The time spent with family, friends, and other members of the archery community will create life long memories. It’s also a great way to get out enjoy the spring weather, get some fresh air, exercise, and improve your health. As with most sports, put safety first and just have fun!

Terry grew up in the family archery business building arrows, accessories, and shooting in tournaments from the age six. In the early seventies he began designing and patenting the first Martin compound bows. Many of the features are used throughout the industry today.
In 1997 he started ArcheryTalk.com, the worlds largest online archery community.

THE SHOULDA –WOULDA – I DID BUCK

This hunt took place on the last day of the archery season in Oregon and it was my last and final effort to harvest a Blacktail Buck after a great deal of hunting during the season.  It also would be the first time I exposed my young daughter to an animal of majestic qualities to her dead to look at and touch!

An extremely large buck just stood there looking at me, probably wondering why anyone would be down in a hole like this!   This deer hunt was the end of a long Oregon deer season for me.  Earlier that season, I spent four days at Hart Mountain in southeastern Oregon looking for one of the famous big mule deer bucks that dwell there.  My vacation time had been changed and I was not able to hunt the first part of the season with my group.  So getting that early jump on a big velvet buck was gone.  I’d seen as many as 14 bucks in a group at one time prior to the season.  Truly the big bucks had been stirred up by earlier hunters and were keeping their distance.

THE MOST IMPORTANT AND EXCITING SAFARI OF ALL             by Ted Nugent

The huge, gnarly grizzly bear was pretty much hidden in the jungle-like thicket of the tree covered knob only 30 yards away. Four year old grandson Caeden crouched beside me, shaking with excitement as we ever so slowly creeped slightly closer, one very careful tippy toe baby step at a time.

Staying in the shadows, we kept the wind in our face, and used every trick in the book to sneak into bow and arrow range of our stunning, wary trophy.

Finally, we were within 20 yards when the beast stood on its hind legs, and in one lifetime learned graceful swoop, my arrow was off and zapped the fury monster right in the pumper, and little Caeden and poppy jumped for joy! The smile on his little face, and mine, would provide an immeasurable joyous spiritual muscle memory explosion forevermore.

Ok, it wasn’t a real grizzly bear, but we consider any good sized groundhog in the garden or front yard to be every bit as worthy and thrilling a trophy as a genuine Alaska coastal 10 foot brownie. We know how to live!

When in doubt, whip it out, we always say. So after a wonderful morning of grandpa and grandson suburban adventure, bird life, flora and fauna identification education fun, it was only natural for young Caeden to alert me to the meanderings of big small game in the nearby shrubbery.

He learned much that beautiful spring morning, eyes wide with instinctual fascination at allthings wild. Like all kids, and grandparents too, we spend extremely valuable time together in the great outdoors fabricating makeshift bows and arrows and spears and slingshots and forts and ambush hideaways in preparation for the monumental Big Day when he can join poppy in a real deerblind ready to kill a real deer. It is who he is.

Caeden learned critical lessons about the very exciting higher level of predator awareness, the sneaky fun of stealthy stalking, the intimate relationship with the critters, the wind, the sun and the importance of our own natural sensual radar.

Re-living my own youthful adventures vicariously through him all over again, I celebrated the incredible joys of every such experience with all my kids, grandkids and the many young people over many, many years that I have been moved to guide into this greatest of lifestyles.

I have the image of every introductory moment burned boldly into my psyche, and such memories are a very powerful source of my overall quality of life. Theirs too.

All hunters know the pivotal life and death importance of turning youngsters on to the outdoor lifestyle and the stimulating discipline of aim small miss small everything. Never underestimate the power of little hunts, small adventures, any and all special moments together in the wild.

It doesn’t have to include a grizzly bear kill, or any kill whatsoever. As long as we share our own genuine excitement and passion for the overall experience beyond the pavement, pointing out those little things that originally turned us on and steered us into this most gratifying hands-on conservation fun.

Heck, simply teaching a little boy or a little girl how to properly and safely whittle a stick into a marshmallow roaster prong will do it everytime. It is in our DNA.

As we all painfully witness the desouling of America into a nation of electronic game zombies and dependent softies, many of us are convinced that our rugged individual capabilities as epitomized by the hunting lifestyle will ultimately determine the survival of The American Dream and the self-sufficient American way of life.

So take the time to organize a fun outing with the kids in your life. Teach them the basics of archery, marksmanship, wildlife lore, sustain yield resource management, the stewardship realities of wildlife habitat production of clean air, soil and water, and quality of life itself.

Teach them to waste not, want not, to put more back in than we take out, to respect their own sacred temple and how being clean and sober is the ultimate natural healthy high. Teach them that ultimately as goes the health of Ma Nature, goes the health of mankind. All it takes is a little time and effort in the wild.

TEXAS ARCHERY/BOWHUNTING UPRAGE UPDATE

by Ted Nugent

The giant beast remained in the shadows of the impenetrable cedar thickets for a long, long time. The prettiest, and dare I say, deadliest bowhunter in America was poised to kill nearby, and displayed the patience and stealth that identifies experienced, dedicated bowhunters everywhere.

Eventually the huge bull Scimitar Horn Oryx made its last move into bowrange, the dainty pink bow was lifted cautiously into position, and with near motionless grace, Shemane effortlessly pulled back her arrow and sent it square into the pumpstation of the 600+ pound African antelope, burying her pink arrow to the fletching.

Dead.

Her simple compound bow had a mushy draw weight of 35 pounds. I had accomplished the same feat as well recently with my girly-man 45 pound bow, also penetrating all the hard meat, muscle, sinew and ribcage bone of this formidable creature like it was butter.

My hunting buddy Joe had finally had enough with his 70 pound bow, failing to draw it back more than once after long, muscle defeating vigils on stand, the same self-inflicted malady that I have heard of over and over and over again and again, even witnessing it on hunting TV shows by experienced bowhunters.

Hello!! Anybody paying attention here?

Well I am very, very happy to report that Joe, and many hundreds of bowhunters across America, and thank God finally here at home in Texas, are waking up to the self-inflicted silliness of the over-bowing dilemma that has gone on for far too long, and had actually been getting worse over the years.

The tried and true bowhunters’ mantra of “shoot the heaviest bow you can shoot accurately and comfortably” is finally hitting home; Comfortably being the key operative here.

My home of Texas, America’s #1 hunting state, is still rated dead last when it comes to bowhunting participation per hunting license sold, but momentum is increasing as more and more Texans and Texas’ archery shops begin to realize two critical realities; #1-you just can’t borrow someone else’s bow to try bowhunting properly, and #2-you must get a bow maxed out at a draw weight you can pull back with no obtrusive effort whatsoever, which means drawing back without lifting the bow above the horizontal line of sight. Period, case closed, it’s over rover.

When I brought the 45 pound minimum draw weight law to Governor Perry’s attention and informed him that it was still on the books from the 1960’s, he asked what I thought the minimum draw weight should be. With the most polite and respectful tone to my voice I could muster, I said, “With all due respect governor, it is none of your business. It should be the same minimum for the hunting age in Texas; none. It is a personal, family choice, not to be meddled with by bureaucrats who have no knowledge of the issue.”

As America’s best governor and a die-hard bowhunter himself, the great man immediately understood my explanation of kinetic energy delivery with current technology, my extensive personal hands-on experiences with light weight bows, and the inescapable facts regarding other states with no minimum draw weight regulations.

Viola!! Texas leaped into the future those many years ago.

It is beyond me why some guys continue to roll their eyes and snort-wheeze when I tell them how Shemane kills everything with 35 pound draw weight and I and many others bring home the backstraps consistently with 40-50 pounds. It is all mystery to me, unless one still believes in the macho nonsense that I guess still exists out there.

If you can gracefully draw 100 pounds, have at it. Whatever that graceful draw weight is for you, that is the draw weight you should shoot and enjoy. Godbless you all.

But we must all be honest here. As I travel across America for rock-n-roll adventure or hunting fun, my daily meetings with gungho bowhunters in every state reveal way too many tales of woe and heartbreak from way too many bowhunters who have destroyed their shoulders and rotator cuffs, or worse, continue to spook game unnecessarily as they struggle, hump and grunt their heavy bows back, creating the worse conditions possible to accurately hit a non-alarmed critter.

Conversely, I also get emotional tales of joyfulness to the contrary, like my Email flooded daily with happy stories from young, old, male and female bowhunters alike who rejoice their newfound deadliness with a light weight graceful bow. They are elated with the dramatically improved accuracy and increased archery fun, and the deadliest hunting seasons of their lives, all directly attributable to their new easy to draw bows.

So spread the good word Texas and America! More bowhunters are better than fewer bowhunters. More family hours of outdoor recreation are better than zombie indoor goofball electronic game time. More hunters are better than fewer hunters! More backstraps are better than less backstraps! More conservationists are better than less conservationists! More gun owners are better than less gun owners! More bows and arrows sold are better than fewer. More we the people votes from the good American outdoor family lifestyle are better than the anti-American votes from the other side. More shooting sports fun is a better attraction to more and younger enthusiasts than the alternative. More easy to shoot bows will attract more people to this incredibly exciting mystical flight of the arrow adventure to cleanse more souls that need cleansing.

Try it, you will love it.

A SIMPLE REMINDER MADE THE BEST SEASON EVER

by Ted Nugent

Kid Rock called and asked if I would teach him to bowhunt. He said Jerry Lee Lewis had taught him how to rock the piano, so he would accept only the masters to light his way. Who’s he gonna call? Tom Petty?

Game on!

As one of the world’s most talented and successful performers, I knew better than anyone how important it was for my friend to escape the mayhem of rock-n-roll and cleanse his soul with the mystical flight of the arrow. Plus we all know that the more backstraps one personally harvests and consumes, the more intense and soulful one’s music and life.

Uncle Ted, Strap Assassin1 to the rescue.

We were hot and heavy into the October bowseason up in Michigan, and as a fellow MotorCity Madman, Bob made the short trip to our sacred hunting grounds and the archery lessons began post haste.

Already tuned into the joys and marksmanship disciplines of hunting game with firearms, Bob wanted to elevate his hunting to the intense challenge of getting to fulldraw on elusive critters up close and personal, right in their face with a sharp stick.

On cue, Bob produced a brand new bow from his vehicle and told me how his buddy had set him all up with the ultimate gear for his bowhunting quest.

I tried to subdue my predictable fears, but alas, the bowhunting industries’ self -inflicted suicidal curse reared its ugly head again. Bob’s nice new bow was set at nearly 80 pound draw weight, and though we could draw it back, albeit with much effort and anti-archery gyrations, I took the matter into my own hands, drew if back and let go, dry firing the contraption causing it to blow to smithereens.

After much explanation, my archery pro-shop buddies whipped out a bow set up exactly like mine with a nice, graceful 50 pound draw weight.

Bob drew this bow back effortlessly and smiled broadly at the graceful upgrade, relieved that it was dramatically better than that other T-Rex killing machine he wrestled with a moment ago.

I tuned him into the basic archery form, mindset, touch and hand-eye coordination routine to get him on target, and within mere moments, my rock-n-roll buddy was zipping arrow after arrow into the vitals of our 3D targets. He liked it a lot.

I just so happened to have Don Williams on hand, a highly respected Olympic archery coach and all around “physics of spirituality” martial arts guru to assist Bob with the ultimate fine tuning of becoming the arrow.

I sat back and watched Don coaching Bob with his form, emphasizing precision mental focus and repetitious muscle memory.

When Don removed the sight pins from Bob’s bow, positioned him five feet from a large bale target with a small black dot in the middle, and had him repeat his shot procedure over and over again, a blinding bright light went off in my head as I recalled this exact same procedure being taught to me by my hero Fred Bear, way back in the 1970s.

With no intention of hitting the black dot, but rather concentrating on controlled, repetitious shot procedure while focusing intently on a given minute point of aim, I came to realize that my occasional missing and dreaded target panic hiccups were due to the mistake of focusing on my sight pins instead of the exact, tiny spot I needed to “will” my arrow into.

Oh glory, glory hallelujah!

I grabbed my bow, removed the pins, and stood side by side with Bob as we carefully executed killer shot after killer shot.

After a few dozen arrows like that, we re-attached our sight pins back onto our bows, stood back at the thirty yard line, and allowed our bodies and brains to celebrate the same exacting archery that we had at five feet, but now our muscle memory took over, and as we owned the black dots on each target, our sight pins magically floated onto the dot, we loaded our triggers and the bow went off.

Well, Kid was ecstatic, I was moved, and I went on to have the greatest bowhunting season of my life, making shot after shot, kill after kill, firing off the prettiest, most consistent arrows of my sixty plus years of bowhunting.

Throughout the season I continue to practice the “blind bale” routine, and constantly remind myself that I mustn’t look at the sight pin, but always the tiniest of spot on the crease behind the shoulder of my target animal.

When you watch our Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild TV show on Outdoor Channel this season, watch all those pretty arrows disappearing into unsuspecting herbivores’ pumpstations, and know that the procedure outlined here will dramatically upgrade you archery and bowhunting accuracy and joys.

Kid Rock is on his way, but sometimes the old dogs have to go back and remember the old tricks. Backstraps are us

Oregon needs to get in the 21st Century on Lighted Nocks & Expandable-Mechanical Broadheads

Sweet Baby James’s Oregon Blacktail Hunt of Woes!

Though this is not a long story about a successful so to speak Blacktail Buck hunt in the late season 2012 archery hunt in Oregon, it is about absurd hunting regulations on bow hunting brought upon by the minority to the majority.

When I get into the story you the reader will understand where I am coming from on my logic on hunting regulations that should be changed to improve the experience of hunting.  Much like taking away anchored putters from golfers as technology changes!  As I write that might not happen for pro-golfers…  In their case they still got to get it in the hole!

Sweet Baby James, as his peers called him in the days of his professional boxing is a very good friend of mine.   This past year I got permission for him and his brother to hunt a few days on a small place in rural Oregon in the Willamette Valley to bow hunt for Columbia Blacktail Deer on the late season archery hunt.   His brother was successful in getting a deer for meat and made a great 12 yard shot on the deer.  James would remain un-successful until the last week of the season.

Readers should know that the Columbia Blacktail deer is one of the hardest to hunt and I do believe they are even more nocturnal that the elusive Whitetail deer.  In the Pacific Northwest low light comes earlier than some areas with the heavy brush cover and deep canyons.   Oregon is a mountainous state and Blacktail deer range from 10,000 feet to sea level.  I sometimes feel that the canyons can range the same in footage.   Those that have never hunted in the habitat that Blacktail frequent with the creepers on the ground, blackberries, thistle and deadfall are in for an experience.

As I said before many know James as Sweet Baby James, the professional boxer from Oregon, who has fought clear to Madison Square Gardens, knowing the likes of Ali.  He came from a background, whose father was a world ranked Archer, who should have been in the Olympics 1968, but because took a prize of 73 bucks, he later would be turned away at the Olympic Trials thus not allowed to shoot for the United States of America.   Hmm!  A great deal has changed over the years in that aspect.  He was a good friend of Fred Bear and shot Fred Bear traditional bows before the compound came out.  So growing up with a father that expected the best from his son, James became a great fighter, archer and hunter himself.

It is now Tuesday evening and he is in the treestand about 2 ½ hours prior to the end of shooting time.  He had not been in the stand for very long when from the northern sector of the property he could see a big Blacktail Buck working its way through the maze of vine maple, blackberries and ferns, at 40 yards he could see the buck was the Odd 3 X 3 that seldom entered this area.   Over the course of 6 months I would say the Odd 3 X 3 has been on camera about 20 times in this area.  The buck seems to be on a mission and a direction he was heading for in hindsight would be the deep canyon leading to another property.  The buck did not stop; thou he was walking down the trail to the flat, James made the decision to take the shot at 18 yards with focus and direct eye contact on the boiler room.   The arrow tipped with a 100 grain Thunderhead hit the buck hard a bit back from the heart, which appeared to be in upper lung area.   He could see the arrow hanging out on the opposite side of the buck.  The buck in an instance dug with his hooves and vaulted into forward motion with head down and not missing a step.

James could hear the noise of the buck on the gravel road and anticipated the buck would come around his backside and he would see movement in the trees…

James waited some 30 minutes before leaving the treestand to look for the buck with about an hour of light left to find his trophy Blacktail Buck.   He finds one speck of blood in the dirt, but nothing in the gravel.   There are no tracks to follow as from both sides of the road there is nothing but blackberries and heavy brush.  He felt the buck had entered back behind him and headed into another creek bottom to the east.

I get phone call James while I am down at the coast asking for help, “sorry James but I am long ways away” “did you check to the west of the road”.   Of course it started to rain when he got out of the treestand and there is not going to be any trace of blood to follow.  With no tracks or blood trail and heavy cover James still continues to look for three hours with a flashlight and no help.  Without an extra set of eyes it most difficult on your own to find a downed animal while in panic mode.   If it was legal in Oregon to have a lighted nock on your arrow, James might have seen the travel of the deer through the brush.   More likely if the arrow had fallen out he could see the arrow from an elevated point near the area if he could have used a lighted nock in Oregon.

The next day James looks for more than four hours, but if there was any blood it would be washed away by the rain.   A very distraught hunter not being able to find a big buck that should have gone a very short distance from the hit! If it had been legal in Oregon, an expandable-mechanical broadhead might have help greatly on stopping the buck or leaving a blood trail at the gravel road.

Over the course of months and going out to the farm, this included me to look for the buck’s remains, along with looking for drops we never could find the buck, but still knowing he went down on the property since he was hit hard.

Just recently after going through the winter and the deer moving through the farms or lands in the area, they have made many worn trails.   So this past week in March 2013, I told my son that James’s buck headed to the west canyon a normal route for him to escape.  So with our minds intent on finding the remains, we ventured out.   In know less than 100 yards from the treestand Jr., finds the arrow.  Noted the brush is bare foliage and the blackberries have no leaves on them.   The arrow is completely intact right along the game trail.   Next thing was to scan and split up with me working the lower eastern edge of the canyon and Jr. going to the flat on the western edge of the canyon.  He spots something about 150 yards away, then loses sight and said it must have been a deer.  I tell him to continue to the spot as it is probably what we wanted to find. Low and behold it is the Odd 3 X 3 Blacktail buck.   The coyotes had taken care of the deer and closure was made for all that have hunted the place.

Recovery of the rack is illegal in Oregon, so it will stay until it skull denigrates or grows into a tree ornament as it mends into the V of a tree. Thus only pictures are taken for remembrance of the hunt.

I know myself if I had been shooting an expandable-mechanical broadhead, I might have made a fatal hit on the buck I shot with the arrow passing through the buck and not hitting a vital in front shoulders.  Ok!  He has survived the winter and will be bigger next year as I have vendetta to harvest him.

From my understanding OPS Game Officers have talked and feel that there would be greater recovery on big game with expandable-mechanical broadheads and lighted nocks.   Over 44 other states allow lighted nocks.  All but three states allow the use of expandable-mechanical broadheads.  Oregon, Washington and Idaho have an issue, it is said by some that crossbow users are the problem, but in Oregon they are not allowed…

Did I mention that in Oregon you can use any arrow or broadhead for Game Birds though?  It is said that light nocks and expandable-mechanical broadheads will lead to poaching!  Give me a break, only the stupid would poach at night, thinking they might get away with it.  Poachers are going to do what they do until they get caught.  In Oregon the O.S.P. Game Officers are very talented and educated.  It may take a while but they run a high successful rate on catching the big game poachers.  Poachers should have a clue by now because there are so many trail cams on private and public property out there that the bucks and bulls have names.

Just watch the Outdoor Channel and you see that on every program.

Sort of funny while looking for the buck, we see the landowner and talk about who has access.  She had told us she allow a couple of guys that do business with her they could come out and get some ornamental plants, but said to them “oh we have cameras all over the property”, one of them said “Hmm, I hope you didn’t catch us by a tree..”  They were surprised that the land had surveillance…

Technology in archery or bow hunting has been improved, but the principal of archery and bow hunting remains the same.  You have to be able to hit the target with your talents.  The recovery of game should be in the balance for the hunter, thus I feel that using light nocks and expandable-mechanical broadheads with lead to greater recovery of game.  I am all for a change here in Oregon, as well as everyone that are known in my circles.

Oregon, Washington and Idaho should get out of the dark ages and move forward to the betterment of the sport.

I did do a quick P & Y field measurement on the buck.  To bad he was odd!  He netted out at 92 after setting in the brush for 4 months.  He had 15 inches of penalty with the odd rack.  He has nice symmetry when viewing straight on, most interesting buck…  You would need 95 to make P & Y for Columbia Blacktail!

In closing how many of us can shoot out to 40-50 yards and hit the target, yet miss an easy 20 yard shot?

Bwana Bubba aka Cobra

Bwana Bubba’s Hunting Advantage

A quality single pin moveable bow sight!

As you can see, the pin is easy to see and when looking through the peep sight, you have great viewing and the eye is directed to the pin!

Over the course of some 50 years of shooting bows, from the first re-curve to my latest bow, which is the fastest that I have ever had the privilege to shoot,  I’ve also had a number of bow sights during this time span that worked well with the technology of the bows that I was using.

Let’s talk about the past for a few moments with shooting a bow and how it all started in the 20^th Century for me and others of the same age bracket.

The first of course was the arrow or arrow tip itself, which I shot from a traditional bow.

I learned from a single pointed object and angle of the shaft to shoot instinctively and became quite accurate up to ranges of 40-50 yards.  There was one time during my early Navy days that I was at a small caliber range giving instruction to other sailors on how to shoot rifles and gun safety.   I had my Martin Re-Curve bow, 30” Port Orford cedar shaft and 125 grain glue on target tip with me and told my Commanding Officer that I could hit the 10 ring on a 22 caliber 50’ target which was set out to 20 yards.   I think the bet at the time was a dollar!  To everyone’s amazement I hit the 10 ring dead center.  That was the only shot I took, as we were there for instruction of shooting rifles…

Time to get to the point and that is many of use learned how to shoot instinct and were very accurate in doing so and estimating yardage to hit a target or game.

While I was still shooting my Martin Re-Curve I once attached a multiple pin sight to see what it was about.  I drilled holes into the side of the bow and attached the sight.  Using my anchor point I did find it to be accurate and easier to use.

Soon in the late 70’s came the compound bow into my life and I was quick to buy one.  I do remember that my first compound was the Martin Cougar Magnum.  The Cougar was the state of the arc in bows.   That was the first time that I had met Chuck Linde of Windy Linde’s Bow Shop in Portland, Oregon on 82^nd Ave.  He had racks of them in his shop and everyone that I knew wanted the Martin Cougar Magnum, even my cheap skate cousins bought them…

It was a lot faster than my Re-Curve, so the Re-Curve was put in the rafters.   By now I had multiple pins on my new adventurer in the art of harvesting Deer, Elk, Coyotes and Pronghorn in Oregon.

Sometime in the later 80’s I stepped up on my Martin bows and went to a sight that could handle a much faster bow.  It was also at the time I quit shooting fingers and went to a release!  I remained very loyal to the manufacturer of the bow sight, a good friend of mine Mel Stanaslaski.   The pins were set-up to be rotated at an angle to the bow, allowing vision of closer set pins for the speed of the bow.  It was a rock sold machine sight with pins that we would use radium glow in the dark paint.

In 2010 and 2011, I would find myself hunting for Blacktail deer in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, having found a land owner that would allow me and my son to hunt his property for deer.   So many years I would drive by the place on my way to my job that was 54 miles from my home.   I never realize the amount of deer between the job and my home in rural Oregon.   Go figure!   It only took one evening just prior to dark, to realize that this one place held more than 15 bucks in just one area.

In the past I was always hunting in Eastern Oregon for Mule Deer and Rocky Mtn. Elk in more open area with more light.

Low light and not having lighted pins made it most difficult to get on the deer fast enough and judge which pin to use in quick time frame.  Blacktail deer do not hold still very long and are on the move quickly.  I kept using his sight until I received my new 2012 Martin Onza 3 bow from Terry Martin.   It was time to move up to a lighter, short and faster bow with 85% let-off.   I do have to say it is the fastest bow, but more important is very accurate and smooth to shot with no vibration on release of an arrow.

I now decide to go to more modern fiber optic 5 pin bow sight.  The sight was recommended and I had a budget for outfitting the new Martin Onza 3 bow.  I had it dialed in from 10 yards to 80 yards, using the 60 yard pin based on holding approximately a foot above a target’s center to make the hit at 80 yards.   This was done with ease and confidence!

Now this was on a target and setting me up to make the shot.  It was not in the field with a live animal, this test would come in 2012 a couple of weeks into the Oregon Archery season.

Ironic that during the 2012 hunting season, it was also my first time to use a tree stand.  Considering that the projected set-up range for harvesting a deer would be at 25 yards, I was dialed in and the sight worked very well in the low light just prior to the end of legal shooting time.  The real test of my skills would come on a day I was bored with the tree stand and I did a spot and stalk shot and estimated the yardage and did not use the pin for 60+ yards, but used the 40 yard pin as it was a different color and became a focal point on the animal which was later measured at 63 yards.  I instinctively judge the yardage to be more than 50 yards and put the 40 yard pin above the deer’s back at approximately 4-5 inches over his back.

The point being I was able to focus on one pin as it stood out, I knew what it was set for, making it easy for me to make the shot.

As some of use get older it can be difficult to always make the right call on pins as they blend in with low light.  In the State of Oregon lighted bow sights or pins are not allowed.

Another thing that happens when hunters get older the eyesight does change on most.  Some have to have bi-focal, tri-focal, reading glasses, wear glasses for correction near and far.  Then there are those that have to take off their glasses to see up close, causing with rifle sight and bow sights some conflicts when using.  We just get slower and I have seen it on the new outdoor channels when hunters are getting ready to make a shot and it takes forever.  Reality it sometimes takes longer to get it done!

I would have to say I have found an answer that will help many with the problem caused by the aging of the eyes.

At the first of the year I contacted the Number 1 bow sight manufacturer on the recommendation of an old hunting partner who the year before had decided he needed a change.   I asked in the form of a letter about their movable sight.   At first I thought I still wanted multiple pins on the movable sight.   I am very thankful that a left handed multiple pin sight was not available.   I thought to myself of the hunt that I had in 2012, said to C.H. “a single pin is what I really want.”

Thus a new Optimizer Single Pin Movable Sight shows up at my home.   The sight is very easy to set-up on the bow with two (2) screws holding it on the bow and two (2) screws holding the fiber optic surround scope on the bracket.  Another big deal with the Optimizer is that the quiver bracket attaches to the sight bracket and the screws were in the Optimizer packaging.  Outstanding!  One more thing to think about is the fact that only two (2) different Allen Wrenches attached the Optimizer to the Onza 3.

The sight can be sighted in old school by marking the shooting yardages on the bracket as you shoot the normal yardages that one is shooting.  Or you can use the patent scientific sight-in system that company gives you in the package with sight-in tapes and final yardage tapes.  One would shoot the bow at 20 yards and dial the bow in, then work your way out to 60 yards and dial the bow in.  With the sight-in tape you would subtract the numbers on the tape and come up with the tape by number that will have you dialed in from 20 up to 80 yards depending on the bow.  I know that a number of my GPS hunters are very technical and would have a great day setting up a new Optimizer sight on their bow.

After getting the first sight-in done at 20 yards it is very easy to understand the advantage to the Globe Fiber Optics single pin moveable sights.   First advantage is that you focus on one pin, without thought.  It allows the perafel part of our eyesight to take in the object you are shooting at, yet stay focus at the point of impact aim.

Once the sight is dialed in, there are so many advantages to using the single pin movable sight for me that I will make the shots that I take count.   If using a tree stand and have the target area sighted in for set-up of taking your game, you can set the single pin for the yardage.  Thus you will be focused on a single pin and single animal, leaving nothing to distract the eye.  If the animal happens to be at a different distance than what you are sighted in at and you are not able to pull up a range finder, you can move the movable bracket without notice.  Yes! You are estimating the yardage, but then again we can feel that you are making a golf shot on the approach to the hole!

Now if I am going to do the spot and stalk method which I prefer, I will have the sight set at 40 yards, knowing what my bow will do from that yardage in or out on the target.  Practicing at different distances with the 30 or 40 yard pin will give confidence on the shots that I might not be able to range finder in.   Another words I will be back to being able to shoot instinctive when needed.  Being able to be in combat mode without great thought one can get the job done.  It is no different with the Optimizer sight than it is with a rifle scope with a duplex or mil-dot reticule.   The eye focuses to the center of the reticule, with the Optimizer the eye centers to the pin.

Even with the younger generation, it is a plus to learn how to shoot instinctive for conditions that don’t allow the time to range find in your target.   The bow sight for bow hunters is just the solution to success in the field!

I do feel that a bow sight that is made in the U.S.A. and has the same Lifetime Warranty as my bow has the same qualities will fit all bow hunters’ needs.

Over the years, as I have been guilty of it myself is to buy an expensive bow or firearm and then not put on the best sight.   Learning early in my life, plus running a successful sporting goods store, that set-up and the quality of the product leads to more success in the field or on the range.  Just think of how much you put into the arrow and broadhead.  The last broadhead’s I bought cost me 10 bucks a piece and the arrow is 10 bucks.   My Weatherby 30-378 cartridge only cost 8 bucks a round.   So spend the money for the best sight you can get for your bow!

In closing when using the Single Pin Movable Sight and having a great bow, if one misses it will always be operator error, as the equipment is without flaw in my option.

Bwana Bubba aka Frank Biggs

STRAIGHT SHOT

with frank addington, jr.

Monday, February 25, 2013

From my friend Sherwood Schoch:

It is with regret I am informing our archery community of the passing of Tom Jennings on this date, February 25. I have been asked to produce an obituary and eulogy which will follow shortly. Warmest respect, Sherwood Schoch

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changed archery. He was a pioneer. An icon. And who could forget that hat??!?! He was at our place here in WV in the early 1980’s and people loved having him sign their T Shirts, hats and bows. For many, many years we got a Christmas card from “Tom and Hazel Jennings” until sadly she passed. That was years ago. Anyway, Tom passed today and he will be missed, another archery icon gone.
Here is an interview I did with Tom with Sherwood’s help in 2006. Probably one of Tom’s last archery related interviews, due to him living for many of his last years in such a remote location.

Anyway, wanted to share this news with you. The late Rev. Stacy Groscup thought alot of Tom too.

The photo I have attached was circa 1980/81 with my dad and I with Tom at our place.

RIP Tom. You will be missed.

Sadly, my “inner circle” of archery friends, heroes, and icons is getting smaller yearly.
Shoot Straight,

Frank Addington, Jr.
PS

You may also want to read Sherwood’s interview too, it ties in very well w Tom’s. I know this news must have been tough for Sher to share. Praying for him and Tom’s family.

Me and my pink vanes! This is how I found the buck!

It was extremely hard for the team to stop hunting the Rancho Rajneesh, it was an addiction!

It is about time that I share this story with my readers and friends with all the facts.   It happen a few years back, lets say some 25 years ago, (which feels yesterday), during an opening day bow hunt in Central Oregon in the Grizzly Hunt Unit for Mule deer.

The story is of humor, comedy of errors, or just plain hunting!

We would be hunting the Rancho Rajneesh again or better known to the locals as “The Big Muddy” we spent a great deal of time over there, glassing, scouting and taking pictures of the deer and elk that thrived in the area.   On this hunt I would be accompanied by one of my hardcore hunting partners Dave Brill who is a very accomplish bow and rifle hunter.   On this trip I actually let someone else drive their truck.   This would work out greatly for me at the end of the hunt. “Dave it looks like I won the toss, so I get first shot at a Mulie buck” “Ok! Bubba, even if it is my truck and all!”   “Ya! Dave, like you would let me drive your truck?”  That was a great line to use, but the next day, I would have his truck while he hunted…  I needed to get the deer meat into cold storage in Madras, Oregon.  One of the grocery stores in town had a separate locker for game meat!

Again we would be hunting one of our favorite spots in Central Oregon, which would be outside of Donnybrook, Oregon on the south side of the Rancho Rajneesh.   There was a couple of parcels we found ourselves going back too every year, as it was B.L.M., yet tied to a couple of ranches that we could pass through and sometimes hunt.   Ah!  You are wondering of the spot, well I will give you the spot of big bucks as near Hinkle Butte!  Old man Crowley (Raymond) was a great man to know in the area!  You could find him on his front porch at his home in Donnybrook along Gosner Rd.   He had a number of parcels that bordered the BLM in the “Big Muddy Ranch.”  This gave a save access into the BLM without being noticed.   We were able to keep are secret spots to ourselves for over a 20 year time frame.

This land is now owned by Young Life and a real estate broker in three separate parcels.

We had spotted a number of bucks during our trip into the area for the evening hunt.  The morning hunt was a bust for both of us!  I love to hunt the evening, as most everyone else has settled back down into their camps.  It does not bother me to hike out in the dark when I am deep into the interior of B.L.M.; usually the evening is from about 1330 on.   If I look back over the years I have probably harvest more game from 1300 until dusk!  Figuring that big bulls and big bucks need to stretch a bit after their mid-day nap!

Let’s get back to the story, as I stated earlier, we had seen a number of bucks on the way in.  As we were approaching the honey spot, I notice a real dandy buck up on the hill with what I figured at about a 29” outside spread and heavy racked.   Hunt on, as I roll out the truck and took off with my pack, pack frame, crackers, light sweater, Leupold binoculars, camera, new Martin Onza bow, and Kershaw knives!   Oh! Did I mention that I forgot water in my pack?  The buck is working up the hillside and not knowing that I am behind him I figured.  So quiet that I am in the stalk of this “Big Muddy” buck.   He is working up in front of me through the Junipers, rocks and Sagebrush still in view at about 90 yards.  I feel that I am closing the distance quickly and when I get within 40 yards I will just let him have it when I grunt at him and get him to swing broadside. As I turn the corner of the ridge I was working up he has disappeared, “what no way he is gone.”  The wind was coming down the ridge into my face; I just missed seeing him turn into the draw…

Got over that little trip in the mind and decide to continue the hunt at a place we called the swamp.  

As I approach the swamp, I see a lone buck standing at the edge of the water with lots of cover to work into him.   The buck is not very wide, but tall and extremely heavy with abnormal points.   As I get ready to drill him at 35 yards (he has no clue I am behind him), out of the corner of my left eye, I see about 25 bucks starting to get up in another part of the swamp in the cattails at about 45 yards.  They were now in full line of sight.   I swung onto this buck that was pushing 30” who was just standing their broadside looking me, as were all the rest.   Easy shot and I took the shot, only to see it hit the only branch of Sagebrush sticking up at the boiler room.  The arrow of course deflected and cut the hair off the top of the buck’s back.  He gave me a smile and just walked off into the direction sun and they all stood out at 70 yards on the open hill side!  “A bird in the hand is worth how many birds in the bush?” I would have say that was pretty wild and not ever going to be repeated in my lifetime of so many bucks taking a bath together at one time.  I found a few empty Ivory Soap wrappers at the waters’ edge…

I am now over that experience also and moving on as I had more ground to cover and see what was out there.  

I move alone a Juniper tree line and spot 6 good bucks, one being swamper in a small basin at about ¼ mile away.  To run the game down to within 100 or so yards, then put the final stalk on was great enjoyment for me.  Mule deer with enough cover are pretty easy to sneak up on.  I get to Juniper and Sagebrush along a B.L.M. cross section fence line that was next to the small barren basin which is about 50 yards from the deer.   You wonder about the 50 yards and all!  I used my range finder the wheel type and it said 50 yards to the big buck.   I took a picture of the big boy also!  You’re saying how many big bucks can this guy find? Well it was un-real, but real.  The big bucks were there and everywhere around the area within a 50 mile circle.  Alright being skeptical of my dial a wheel range finder (just got it), I felt the buck was no more than 40 yards as I drew back and shot through the brush, I should have believed the range finder, as the buck must have been 50 yards, as I watch arrow past under his belly.

Almost!  Horseshoes anyone?

Now I am really bummed out about this whole hunt and rushing into the hunt and not believing first thoughts.   Well there was still some day light left and I never give up until it is illegal to shoot.

I am now up on the plateau glassing down into another basin.   All of a sudden I see a single buck at about 1000 yards out.  I figure he is about 25” to 26” wide and a pretty good looking buck, plus the fact it about time to get the job done.  He is feeding in the middle of the basin, but I could see that he was working towards the West.  In his path of travel it would lead him past a big pile of dead Juniper trees.

This is another reason we keep coming back. Michael James took this picture during the opening day of archery, but in another one of our spots. He was a rifle hunter, that love to scout when we were archery hunting…

Hunt on, as I race to cover ground and get on the buck.  Getting within a quarter mile of the spot that I would ambush the buck, I drop my pack frame.   With only my Martin Onza (first run production Onza) I raced to the pile of dead junipers.  I was completely invisible (another words he had not clue I was standing in the open and waiting for him) from where I was standing, yet I could see his rack as he moved along the pile.  I went to full draw and had the 30 yard pin on the spot I figured he would come to once he cleared the pile.  It is great that he covered the distance in a short period of time as the Onza had a draw weight of #90.  It was mental thing in those days of bow hunting to have the biggest and baddest bow made! In the 21st Century my new Onza 3 with a draw weight of 72 is most likely about 100 fps faster than my first Onza and it was a hottest bow in the 20th Century! (Yes, I know believed the range finder and mentally plugged in points of yardage.)  As he cleared the pile and was broadside to me, yet was still feeding, I let my fingers do the work.   As the XX75 2317 26 1/2” with a 125 gr. Brute 3 in flight the buck look straight at me into my sunglasses (he heard the bow, but it was too late for him).  That was the last time I saw his eyes looking at me, as to my amazement the arrow hit him dead center in the mouth.   “You got to be kidding me”, as the buck jumped over the side of the rim that I didn’t know was even there.  I thought to myself as the light was fading, what I am going to do now?   I set my bow down on the rim and started to glass in to the bottom of the canyon.  It took me about 2 panic minutes to spot him hunkered up in the bottom (arrow went down this throat about 12 inches).   Ok! I have found him, but I don’t have my pack frame or camera.   I took off on a dead run to where I left my pack frame and ran right back to the rim.   It took me another 90 seconds to remember where I left my Martin Onza.  Finally I get myself down to the buck, take pictures as no one is going to believe this shot.   I give the buck my “Hawaiian Cut” which puts him in quarters with the removal of backstrap and tenderloins.   This is the only way I field dress big game, fast (30 minutes on a deer) and there is little blood!  I get as much as I can on the pack frame along with the head and cape.

Strange Rack on this buck, with a double left beam.

I have to climb out of the bottom and head back to the truck that would be waiting for me I hoped.  It would be about 3 miles line of sight to get back and light was fading fast, real fast.   There was a great deal of cheat grass and it made it possible to see for a while.   I had decided to take a short cut to the road, which would be a mistake for me.  It was now dark and dark, as the thunder heads over the John Day River were settling in.  Thunder and Lighting now was everywhere, plus it started to rain.  When the sky would light up I would move towards the direction of my pickup spot.  I could see the micro wave tower light and that helped me for a while.  I then lost all the grass and got into just rocks.  I could no longer go forward in reaching the truck or Dave. I had lost the lighting as it would move further east towards Mitchell, Oregon.

I was going to have to spend the night out in the weather with only a light sweater on.   Did I mention that I had forgotten water, now I needed it for sure after eating the crackers?  The crackers were pretty dry.  It was a good thing that I trained in the desert on running missions with no water… The temperature had now dropped and my sweater was not enough at this point.   I hate DIRT, (did I say I hate dirt?) but knew the only way I was going to make until morning, was to hunker down under a low hanging Juniper and bury myself in the dirt (dust).  Though it was raining it would not last very long, as the storm had past.  That is just what I did; waking up about every two hours to see if light had come finally over the John Day River.   It was probably about 5:30 AM when I woke up again and could see a hint of sun coming over the hills above the John Day River.  There was not a cloud in the sky now with only the sun to show up for the day!

Later in the day the temperature reaches about 98 degrees, same the first day. I was now up and getting the pack frame on with most of the buck attached.   It was a good thing I did not try to venture further during the night; I surely would have found myself in the bottom of narrow rock crevice for life.  There was no way that I would have seen the edge and would have fallen to the bottom.  Making it out to the dirt road, out of no where, Dave and his truck appeared.  Dave had driven the dirt road hitting the horn once in a while until about midnight, and then parked off the road until morning; he figured I would be ok with my military background!

Dave’s Buck from the last weekend!

I told Dave it was time for him to hunt the elk he had seen while he was coming up the road.  I could get the front quarters out later in the afternoon! Dave never got on the elk again, but at the end of the season we went back to our spot and he killed a great buck!  That will be another story, but I will let you see Dave’s buck from the last weekend of the archery season in 1987!

Morale of the story:  Be Prepared – Have a Trusting Friend

This is why we hunted the Grizzly Unit in the day! This is a great 37″ buck taken!

Straight Shot

   with frank addington, jr.

The coolest friend I never met…
My phone would ring.  It may 10am or 10pm.  “Hey Pancho….” a voice would say.  From that point the conversation could go 100 different directions.   Tony Dukes was like that.  He may want to brag on some tacos he and Milo (Dave Milam) had just eaten, tell me his latest tall tale, or anything under the sun.  You never knew with Tony where the conversation was going.
I can’t remember just how Tony Dukes and I became friends. It seemed to happen all at once about ten or more years ago. He and I would talk on the phone and we had a lot of common friends. Ted Nugent was the main friend we shared but there were many more, including Jesse and Ginger Moorehead. Everyone seemed to know Tony. He was a wheeler dealer and always working on a deal, a trade, a hunt. He had gotten passionate about taking wounded warriors bowhunting upon their return from war. He had a big heart and was always soliciting gear for these hunts. He wrote articles and also appeared on a lot of hunting videos. He was a good promoter and was always thinking of ways to help wounded warriors.  That became his passion.  That and archery.  He loved them both, and he loved God.
He told me lots of stories over the years about famous people. You see Tony was a bass player. Evidently a talented bass player who had shared a stage with some of the 70’s and 80’s biggest names in the rock and roll world. He collected, bought and sold guitars and loved to play music. He is known as one of the last of the real blues players in Texas and I believe was inducted into the Texas Music Hall of Fame.   Tony was weak when we first talked.  As a matter of fact he was terminally ill the entire time I knew him. Talking with one friend today he estimated Tony had been terminally ill more than 12 years. But Tony survived and always seemed to beat death. So often that his military friends started calling him old “Hard to Kill”. Tony took pride in that.
Tony was the kind of guy that would do favors for you “just because.”   He felt I should meet Dave Milam, Toby Keith’s road manager and one of Tony’s closest friends.  So Tony stepped in and made sure Milo and I met.  This lead to a great friendship and I have enjoyed this friendship for almost ten years now.   Every time Tony and I talked we usually got around to chatting about Milo.
I encouraged Tony to bowhunt for bear with Danny Dyer in New Brunswick, Canada. Danny really liked Tony and put Tony in his next season’s hunting brochure.   I also introduced Tony to my pal Butch Thompson at King Ranch via email/telephone and Butch was honored to help a wounded warrior with a hunt. Although I got tickled at Tony who called me upset because the guides at King stayed with him, he couldn’t just go hunting on his own.  I was laughing telling him no one got to just roam around the 825,000 acre ranch, they had rules and that was one of them.  You don’t just go roaming around that ranch.
Tony had a passion for archery.  I knew him to use a compound but he also took game with traditional equipment from time to time. Tony felt the late bowhunter Bill Negley belonged in the Archery Hall of Fame.  Negley took the African Big Five and was a legend in Texas with his bow and arrow.  The Buckhorn Saloon in San Antonio features a prominant display on Negley.  Tony also told me a story about making the wooden arrows used in the movie Lonesome Dove. Tony always amazed me with his stories and who he knew and where he’d been. He was never boring, that’s for sure.
Tony would call out of the blue and hand the phone to a soldier and tell me to say howdy to them. He would also take them to WHATABURGER and tell them Addington had suggested it. He was always up to something.  He loved his friends, good times and the Lord. He was passionate about our troops. He also was loyal to all of his friends and often sent gifts to my son Gus from him. Just because. He had turned his life around from his wilder rock and roll days.
I got a call from Tony about a month ago. Seems he was dying. He had made a list of a few folks he wanted to chat with and was basically calling us all. I brushed it off because, after all, he’d been dying every time I talked to him.I somehow expected Tony to just keep beating death like he had a dozen times or more it seemed.  We had a great conversation and shared a laugh or two. He really liked my dad and asked about him. I’d hooked Pop and Tony up and they shared some time at an archery event. It was a good visit and I was sure we’d talk again soon.  When I hung up though I realized that call was different.  Tony’s tone was different.  He was in a hurry.  He kept the subject light and cheerful.  Looking back, maybe I knew it would be the last call but wouldn’t accept that.
Sadly that would be the last time I’d ever hear Tony’s voice. I got an email this morning from Dave Milam that Antonio was gone. Ole “Hard to Kill” went to Heaven around 5 PM on January 7, 2013. His physical pain and suffering here on earth done, he’s now up there with the other archery legends who went before him.  If he has access to a bass guitar I’ll gaurantee he’s playing music, telling jokes and making people laugh.  And of course shooting a bow and arrow.
News of Antonio’s death saddened me for two reasons.  First, I’d not share anymore crazy phone calls with him.  Second, I’d never get meet Tony Dukes in person. You see, Tony and I had never once met face to face. Although he had hung out with my dad, hunted with friends of mine, and we shared lots of mutual friends, I never once got to shake his hand. I called Dave (Milo) today and told him that fact and he was shocked. He didn’t know Tony and I had never met face to face.  Tony was perhaps the coolest friend I’d never met.

So long Antonio, your spirit, your sense of humor, your patriotism, your passion for archery and archers, your laugh and your bravery will be missed. I am sure Milo will eat some good tacos for you soon, Ted Nugent will shoot an animal of some kind, and I’ll bust a few baby aspirin from mid air for you amigo. Ted Nugent, Milo, and I join a lot of other people who will miss you but are glad you suffer no more. Your work here is done. Godspeed, and as Theo often says, “In the wind…”

You can visit Tony Duke’s Memorial site at:  http://memorialwebsites.legacy.com/dukes/MemorialSite.aspx

The photo is from Dave Milam.  That’s my first STRAIGHT SHOT Column for 2013.  As always, Adios and God Bless.
Shoot Straight,

Frank
www.frankaddingtonjr.com