Archery......how it effected me!

When I was about 13 years old, my parents purchased an Indian Spirit "compound" bow for me. At the time I had no idea how to shoot it, where exactly to rest the arrow, or what those little pins were. I had an idea that the nock should go between those two black marks, but for the life of me, I could not hit anything. Why did it fishtail like that? How could anyone be accurate with such a thing? After 26 years, the bow is still kicking around our garage.

Last year, the idea of flinging arrows took on new life for me when a friend gave me an old PSE Infinity SR1000. The thing felt stiff, but it was fun to launch arrows and have them actually hit the target. Here was some power and a semblance of accuracy! My interest in archery was reborn. I got as good as shooting 6 inch groups at 25 yards, but I was never confident enough to take it out for a hunt. Hunting - now there was another area where I had much learning to do. I had never hunted in my life, so I knew next to nothing about hunting tactics and the behaviors of the elusive whitetail deer.

Then there was the day I shot a friend's modern day Hoyt. I can't remember the model, but it sure was different. He warned me…………said it would be dangerous, and he said my wife might hate him for it (she doesn't). Knowing the potential risks this venture posed to my wallet and relationship with the woman I love, I went ahead and did it anyway. And I knew in the instant that the arrow left the string that it was time to think about a more modern bow. One year later, I got involved in the online archery community, and I picked up a PSE Axe 6. The 70 lbs felt much smoother and easier than the old creaky bow I had been shooting, and the speed was startling. It wasn't until a friend came over and really looked over my old bow that I learned that I had actually been pulling 80lbs on that old dinosaur. Ouch. I haven't drawn it back since. That same friend then went on to give me an education about archery, shooting form, equipment selection, and hunting tactics. He's been doing it all his life - and he loves to teach. I owe him a lot.

Learning about draw length, arrow spine, FOC, brace height, the release options and types, the arrow types, the stabilizer options, broad heads, the rests... and on and on... has been interesting, stimulating, addicting, and expensive. But for some crazy reason, it's all worth it! I have made new friends, and through their generosity and time, they have enabled me to become an archer.

For some, the goal is making that score in competition. For others, it's that trophy animal or getting meat in the fridge. Those are the obvious benefits. But I'm sure many of you can attest to the benefits of quiet time in the woods, connecting with the primal hunter within, the joy of having a good day of target practice, or getting an A-HA moment where you make a correction and it makes you better in an instant. It is also very rewarding to tinker with the bow to get it more in tune to improve you’re shooting. But most rewarding (at least in my opinion) is to have the opportunity to fellowship with like minded souls, to minister to others with similar interests, or to be a mentor or a student in this sport.

For me, it's a little of all that, as I am sure it is with many of you. There's just something about pulling that string back and letting the arrow fly - something that draws me back to the sport, compels me to sit just another hour out in the cold, or makes me go one more round at the target. It's why I will shoot for the rest of my life as long as I am able.

I would have none of that right now if it had not been for my friends' investments in my life. What drives you to keep going in archery? What is it that you love about it? And who in your life might need you to show them the way? Take a moment and remember when you were new to the sport, and think about how you might share that joy with someone else in the coming year.

Tom Pierce-Ruhland
Archery Addix Forum Member