I’ve always had a bow. My first was a Fred Bear compound. I used my meager childhood savings to buy a roll of camouflage tape. I carefully wrapped the entire bow and the arrows to ensure I blended with the rural surroundings. Walking the mountains of Wyoming alone, stump shooting for practice. I kept one arrow tipped with a broadhead. Just in case. Just in case of a bear or a mountain lion. My young brain was addled with bravado. Plenty of time, I thought. Plenty of time to get off a fatal heart shot were I to be attacked. And if that failed, the knife on my hip would be my final line of defense.
Mano a mano with nature.
There was a time when the bow faded to the background. My Los Angeles days. Galleries, shows, and photo shenanigans. And no place to shoot. Concrete jungle. A hundred and fifty miles before the land opened enough to let it fly. New Mexico screams for archery. Endless space and rolling hills. Game if one so chooses.
This day was about recurve and targets. Texas. Moisture amid oaks and cedar. Highs and lows and judging falloff. Arcing shafts through branches and rocky riverbeds. The solid “thwap” of an arrow striking fabric. “You haven’t missed,” she said. “Why are you so good at this?” No sights. Just feel and routine. Index finger near the edge of the mouth. Walking back further and further. The outer range of what’s possible with the draw poundage.
I will be ready when the Zekes come.
Comments 14
Archery is a fun sport! It’s fantastic that you have some many interests to keep you busy. I’m sure that it’s been many years since you knew what boredom was, if ever.
Author
Never really been bored. All you need is a book, journal, place to move, something to photograph, etc. I’m fortunate to have had parents that made sure boredom was never a thing.
I’m amazed how many people out there have the same interests as I do. The number of photographers that also are into guitar/ music, archery, camping and 4wding is pretty high!
Author
don’t forget motorcycles, cycling, paddling, hiking, fly fishing,
I grew up on a farm in southern England: Home made bow n arrow-air gun-four ten shot gun-12 bore shot gun-22 rifle. I’ve now been in London for decades and I have a yearning for the smell of damp bracken again. You have so much space. It’s hard to find space here. Traffic is so bad, it takes forever to get far out enough to find small pockets of solitude. There comes a time when nature, much like art soothes the urban soul.
Author
I am enjoying our space while I can. We are losing HUGE amounts of open land, and the current admin is no friend to anything country, park, space, etc. unless they can somehow profit from it. Oil and gas is so powerful. they take what they want.
‘He’ won’t be there for ever.
Author
Let’s hope not.
I have a high school student that’s a 1st grade Kyudō (弓道) archer. She’s won a few tournaments apparently.
It’s amazing the amount of ordinary citizens here that are casual black belts in this martial art or that. Always be wary of picking fights in Japan 🙂
Author
I’m ware of picking any fight, at any place, at any time. I’m on best behavior in Japan.
I too ventured into the world of archery, dabbling in both compound and traditional. I always seemed to lean towards traditional archery. I preferred its more natural, imperfect, primitive way. I felt I had more of a connection with my recurve then my compound. There seems to be a trend here in my life as I prefer film over digital. What’s your preferred method of aiming? Gap? Instinctive?
Author
Instinct. I guess you could call it that. I hadn’t shot in years, and had never had a recurve. Bought the bow, and target, strung it up and pasted all ten dead center, and was even doing it back far enough to have to arc the shot. No idea how, really. It just FEELS right. And sure, I watched Robin Hood at least a hundred times. And Rambo 2 and 3.
I remember when a student asked Bill “Superfoot” Wallace, what was his favourite martial arts weapon, Answer, .45 Semi Auto. The lesson I took away, if you get to be given a choice, Choose Wisely.
Author
Superfoot. Force of One, Chuckie and Bill fight to the death. Classic.