# One of my archery heroes



## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Byron Ferguson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xw4B_jcSSM

Like Howard Hill before him, he makes shots that are just unbelievable. Superhuman is not an inappropriate word for what he can do. And he does it on cue, on camera, in real time. 

I had the honor of shooting along with Byron a few times and it's something I'll never forget. I looked up to him for many years and he did not dissapoint when I finally had the chance to see him shoot.

Of course, he gives all the credit to Wanda.  What a great team and what great ambassadors for our sport. They were "archery" before archery was cool. 

Who are some of your archery heroes?

John


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## gkonduris (Sep 10, 2007)

Byron is an amazing shooter..........If only I'd have a qtr of his talent. Below is a video link to two brothers dating back many years. They're known as the Wilhelm Brothers...........I first learned of them thru our local archery club. Their nephews shoot at the club and one day they shared video's of their uncles shooting. It's a long vid but you need to watch the last part to see how crazy these guys were!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np8u69YfSA8&feature=endscreen&NR=1


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Just watched that clip with my daughter. Amazing. Heard of the Wilhelm brothers most of my life but I'm not sure I'd ever seen them shoot. I grew up watching films of Howard Hill and Fred Bear and Ben Pearson. All the reasons I wanted to learn to shoot a longbow and recurve. When Byron is no longer able to perform, I wonder who will fill his shoes as the next true archery shooting artist.

John


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## dmassphoto (Feb 8, 2010)

I can I say the early 90's Robin Hood? :teeth: After all, seeing that movie and how awesome it is to watch an arrow in flight sparked an interest in me that never truly went away. As for real life people, Ferguson is just amazing in the things he's been able to accomplish with a stick, string, and witty personality.


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## gkonduris (Sep 10, 2007)

Sometime during their career, one of them shot the other bother's hand and they never shot again. Lucky it was a hand!............Good point about Byron, once he retires who is next in line?


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## Clarsach (Aug 18, 2012)

Two of my favorite characters in one clip, Stan Lee and Byron Ferguson.

The first time I saw Byron was on one of those TV shows about sharpshooters years ago. I love watching his videos on Youtube. He's not only an amazing shot but he seems like quite the character. In one video he says that the hardest shot he ever did was actually shooting a drop of water because the water fell faster than his arrow could travel, so he had to time it so that he let his shot go before the water actually started to fall.

That's just amazing.

Other than Byron my heroes would be: Howard Hill, because I first fell in love with archery watching Errol Flynn's Robin Hood as a kid.
And my uncle, and avid hunter, who put my first bow in my hand and said, "here, try shooting this".

Of course in the not so real people division I also have to give a tip of the hat to Legoals. It was after reading The Lord Of the Rings as a kid that made me really want to shoot. I painted an Orc on a target and used to practice shooting the gaps in his armor. I put a plastic jug on top with a face on it as his head and tried to shoot him in the eyes like Legolas did in the books.


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## dmassphoto (Feb 8, 2010)

Clarsach said:


> I painted an Orc on a target and used to practice shooting the gaps in his armor. I put a plastic jug on top with a face on it as his head and tried to shoot him in the eyes like Legolas did in the books.


I just used a picture of my sister and pretended she was skeletor.


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## c-lo (Jan 8, 2012)

I would name Khatuna Lorig as one of my heroes, something about her story and her ability to push through adversity is inspiring to me.


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## Travis Shaw (Feb 28, 2011)

He is something to see foresure.


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## w8lon (Jun 2, 2012)

Have had the pleasure to shoot and hang around with some of the ole longbow guys and watch them perform their trick shots. Fun watching them bust aspirins out of the air and challenge each other. Ron LaClair, Jerry Brumm, Terry Henry all of have been around along time promoting our sport. Would like to see Frank Addington/ Aspirinbuster perform sometime if he does another show in our part of the country.


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## w8lon (Jun 2, 2012)

Lest I forget another favorite Jeff Kavanagh from Canada has shared many of his trick shots on youtube. Very ill now and has recently undergone chemo and stem cell transplant. Wishing him a full recovery.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJM7MXOaX80


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## jmvargas (Oct 21, 2004)

mine has to be errol flynn and richard todd in their respective robin hood movie roles although i believe howard hill was the one doing the actual shooting....so i also have to include howard hill..

in the local golf and shooting forums where i am a member my user name is TIGERHOOD...


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## lksseven (Mar 21, 2010)

I have 3 archery heroes:
1) Rick McKinney - I very much admire his exacting, meticulous approach all aspects of target archery. Thoughtful, logical, disciplined ... test/analyze/learn/apply ... test/analyze/learn/apply ....

2) Limbwalker - for being such a 'balcony person' (always trying to 'lift up', not 'pull down') - positive, thoughtful, generous. Eager to 'help' (not preen) with his knowledge and insight. He got me started down the right road from the 'gitgo'. And he's the iconic amateur Olympian, which is something to be much admired.

3) Geena Davis - a weird choice, I know. But I can remember reading about her getting hooked on archery while making a movie in the Nineties, then putting much of her focus for the next two years on training for the Olympics, and ending up in the semi-finals of the US Olympic Trials. I thought at the time "that's just about the coolest thing ever" - this big movie star engaged in something so exacting, so disciplined, so 'self contained', so 'fame-less seeking' (and she looked beautiful shooting the bow, too!). But life intruded and I went about my business, forgetting about it all. Fast forward a dozen years to winter 2010 - I'm getting too old and rickety to ride dirt bikes anymore, or continue heavy weight training, but don't think I'm going to be happy just sitting on the porch, so I'm casting around for "what can I do that's physically and mentally engaging, but I don't need to have the joints and ligaments of a 25-year-old to participate in it?" And I'm watching TV, and it's a movie with Geena Davis ... and suddenly the memories of her shooting that bow come back to me, and voila! I know what it is that I'll do next.


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## midwayarcherywi (Sep 24, 2006)

Denny Koerner - The guy who got me started
Darrell Pace and Rick McKinney - not much I can add with those two. They are very different personalities but fierce competitors


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## Bigjono (Apr 21, 2009)

Larry Yien for me. A true gentlemen and world class longbow shooter.


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## Blades (Jun 25, 2012)

I'm going to have to agree with lksseven.

Limbwalker. 

Since the day I joined the forum, I have found his posts to be extremely helpful, thoughtful, professional, insightful, etc. He garners respect without ever asking for it or bragging, and remains true to his beliefs. I highly respect that, and point to John on numerous occasions when talking to new archers, and even used him as a source when researching and comparing forumula vs ILF bows on a legitimate academic paper!

I will also say Viper1. 

His book has helped thousands of archers start out right in this great sport, and it was one of the first things I bought when starting out. He brings such a vast knowledge to the table, and is always willing to share it to help others. 

Viper1 and Limbwalker, you guys rock!


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## chrstphr (Nov 23, 2005)

Park Sung Hyun. Watching her shoot the Olympics in Athens 2004 inspired me to pick up the bow and give it a shot.

Choi Eun Young is a close second. 


Chris


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## WDWILHELM (Jul 2, 2009)

gkonduris said:


> Sometime during their career, one of them shot the other bother's hand and they never shot again. Lucky it was a hand!............Good point about Byron, once he retires who is next in line?



Just to clarify, not that it really matters anyway, but Ken and Walt never injured each other. Ken did get his hand nicked during one of the shows, but it was Ken's son that shot the arrow. Walt was sick and Ken's son had to step in and finish the show tour. It is my understanding that Ken and Walt stopped touring because of Walts illness.

And to keep this post on topic, my vote is for Ken Wilhelm. 

Wyndell Wilhelm


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## bowman72 (Jan 13, 2009)

Maybe not a hero per se, but the post about Legolas makes me think of this modern day archer you would want on your team if it were medieval times.

http://www.wimp.com/levelarcher/


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## eagle man (Jun 7, 2011)

Doreen Wilbur,
I shot with her once after she won the Olympics in 72. I grew up in Iowa and she would come to our club once in awhile for our field shoots. She also came to our fall archery banquet in 1972. What a lady...just a wonderful person. She sure believed in young people. Always had time to talk and offer help and encouragement.


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## Jim C (Oct 15, 2002)

many have been mentioned, Darrell, Rick. Some who have not been. Charlie and Mildred Pierson. patient, kind, with no need to self promote. world class people and coaches. Don Rabska-another guy who has taught me a lot-whenever I have some strange tuning problem with a student's bow I know I can get the best possible answer from Don. Terry and Vic Wunderle-never too busy to help my son or other kids. 

I remember years ago-one of the CJO kids was having a lousy nationals. I remember Terry saying Vic would be happy to sign a hat for the boy after Terry tried to get him back on track. So the men's championship was about over and Terry asked me if I had asked Vic to sign a hat for the boy. I said I didn't want to bother Vic (this was before I really got to know him) because he had just lost the title by a couple points to Butch. Terry said ask him-he won't mind. He didn't. he was happy to. I was sort of pleasantly shocked.


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## maxicooper (Aug 13, 2012)

My daughter's hero is Ki Bo Bae, London double Olympic gold medalist.


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## Matt Z (Jul 22, 2003)

My archery heroes include Darrell Pace and Paul Eldridge for showing me what it's like to really have fun shooting the recurve.

Matt Howard to is every bit as talented as Byron Ferguson with a longbow and had the pleasure growing up with.

Jim and Liz Coombe. People really have no idea what they both do for not only Ohio archery as a whole but their generosity to their JOAD kids and fellow archers without batting an eye. They truly want to see people succeed and enjoy the sport of archery.

And finally my step-dad, who taught me to pick up a bow and the values that come along with it which inspires me to teach my kids the same.


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## InKYfromSD (Feb 6, 2004)

I second Matt's mention of Jim and Liz. There is so much those two do for archery that to try and compile a list would take quite a few pages. I don't know how they find the time to actually shoot a few arrows themselves. This sport needs more people like them if it's going to truly flourish. 

There a several other people in the archery universe that I admire a great deal and owe a lot to. The late Harrison Bond and his son Jay were the guys who helped me get started with a hunting compound and got me into target archery. Tim Strickland spent a lot of time with me, teaching and coaching and making me understand why I was doing what he was asking me to do.


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## 2413gary (Apr 10, 2008)

My wife Sandy McCain what she has done and will do with a bow and arrow amazes me.


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## Jim C (Oct 15, 2002)

I would also list the two Hall of Fame Ann's who have done so much for the CJO, the late Ann Hoyt and Ann Clark who continues to promote archery constantly


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## edgerat (Dec 14, 2011)

In no order

John Magera
Rick McKinney
The Ragsdales
Earl and Ann Hoyt


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## fitadude (Jul 15, 2004)

Adding my two cents....Well anyone who knows me realizes it doesn't take much for that HAHAHA. My Hero is Darrell Pace. Being form Ohio I have had the honor to shoot with him my whole recurve career. He is a man that stands for the everyday archer and never waffles about that. I have had the opportunity to even bowl with him on occasion. Well he beats me in that too. I remember the fist time I was shooting on the top targets at national outdoors back at Oxford and I was having a very unhappy day with no one talking to me on the top bales. I was wishing I was shooting further down the line so I could have some fun. Then came along Darrell and said "hi Doug how you shooting?" that was all it took for the other s to lighten up in me. I to this day appreciate that. I have many stories over the year to tell but I must move on.
My coach Tom Deberry, without him I would have never gone anywhere in the sport. The only thing that kept me from the top was me and no fault of Toms. Jason Lewis, He has been a good friend and even sponsored me with equipment. My constant companions Steve A and Kim B. We have had a lifetime of great times shooting for all these years. Last but not least thanks to Jim and Liz for their help and those at Crooked River JOAD who still motivate me to be my best.


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