# Full Circle......



## IGluIt4U (Sep 22, 2004)

south-paaw said:


> Oh, and if you read this far…….
> How cool is that ?


Very cool Paaw... thanks for sharing your climb to archery greatness... :thumb:

That's what it's all about, a passion that can be shared by all, young, old, male, female or child. A great bunch of people that share a common goal. The shoot you mentioned was a good example of just that.. as I pulled into the parking lot and saw the group on Saturday, I was awed by the number of shooters, young and old, some even campin out in the parking lot to attend the shoot that weekend. Yes, I was a bit nervous, as I'd never shot competitively at all up to that point, but.. I sucked it up and walked over to One of our well known, and introduced myself. Things went uphill from there.. (well, uphill, downhill, cross hill, over hill, you know...) 

It was my first field competition as well, and surely won't be my last. It was humbling shooting with some top notch archers at first, but by the end of the first half, I felt like one of the crew. They made me feel welcome, gave me some good advice, answered any questions I had, and made it a pleasure to shoot with them. Sure.. I made all the rookie mistakes that day, wrong pin, wrong target, even skipped an arrow beyond the target bale on one target... :mg: :embara:

But... I came away assured that this is something that I wanna do more of, to better my scores and improve my game. I know I won't be holding my own with Hinky anytime soon, but.. that isn't my goal. It's merely to improve my game and enjoy the company in the process. I too joined a club this year, and went from a backyard practicer and bowhunter to an archer competitor, and I have no regrets, other than I wish I'd have started sooner... :chortle: :wink:

The thing I learned tho, it that it really doesn't matter. The guys next to me on the shooting line don't care if I shoot a top score, and average score or a sucky one. They'll jump in to help, offer advice, or rib you.. depending on what you need.. :lol: and don't look down on you for the equipment you use or the skill level you possess... It is truly a sport where all can compete and enjoy.

In a few short years I have progressed from a solitary bowhunter, which I'd been for a looooong time (longer than I care to mention.. :lol to becoming active on AT, to the point where they had to promote me to keep me from posting all over the boards...  I was asked this winter by one of the landowners I lease from, if I'd be interested in helping his wife with the local 4H club this summer, as they are interested in exploring archery, and he knows that I am pretty passionate about it, so now, I'll assume the role of teacher, if I can pull it off. Couldn't think of a better way to repay some of what I've gained from others in the sport over the last couple of years.

I have started shooting spots this winter for the first time as well at a local club, and have found the same thing.. a bunch of people from all walks of life.. young, old, women and men, all having fun and trying to better their skills with stick and string. No, I don't expect to be taking any trophies home any time soon, but that is not the reason that I compete, so I shouldn't be disappointed.. :wink:

A big thanks to all who helped nuture me along that day in the Hills. I will remember it for a long time, and hope to repeat it annually, as long as I can pull the string back.. :thumb: :archer: It was a pleasure meeting and shooting with a bunch of great people, and I look forward to climbing those trails again this summer with you. :thumb: 

I've met a bunch of well known AT'rs, and hope to add to the list as time goes on and I'm able to attend more events.. gonna try to get to Lancaster this weekend to at least meet some, tho I won't be able to compete, I know I'll enjoy putting some faces to the names that I've not yet has the opportunity to do... :wink:

So, to everyone, thanks for welcoming my into the sport. May my arrows fly better than yours... :nyah:   :wink: :cheers:


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## archerycharlie (Nov 4, 2002)

*Archery just grows one you like a virus*

Well that is ARCHERS HELPING ARCHERS. It almost brought a tear to me eye. AC


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## swerve (Jun 5, 2005)

*paw and sticky*

You two do realize that life as you know it is over.:thumb: Exposure to target side of archery enlightens the individual to experience life changes. 

Obssesions with archery equipment, releases, stabilizers, aiming reticules and all other misc. goodies develop. Then comes the pursuit of the perfect shot and then the next one. 

Then you pound your 1st 300. Then missing a 10 becomes a crisis.

Then you and your wife and your kids are shooting in your basement and you order conveyor belting instead of drywall

Oh God how I could go on but I am getting nervous, better go shoot:teeth:


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## IGluIt4U (Sep 22, 2004)

swerve said:


> You two do realize that life as you know it is over.:thumb: Exposure to target side of archery enlightens the individual to experience life changes.
> 
> Obssesions with archery equipment, releases, stabilizers, aiming reticules and all other misc. goodies develop. Then comes the pursuit of the perfect shot and then the next one.
> 
> ...


Oh yes, only too well... :chortle: :mg:

Truth is, at the shootoff in the hills, I won a scope... so, I got initiated and moved to the fast track all in one day... :chortle:

Still trying to figure out all the high tech gizmos that go with 'other than pins'.. :chortle: :wink:


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## swerve (Jun 5, 2005)

Truth is I have been shooting them for 2 yrs, I still don't think that I have got them figured out.  Everytime I go shoot at a competition I pick up somethhing. Go home scratching my head :doh: You should have figured that one out.


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## psargeant (Aug 1, 2004)

I was happy to share that hill billy range with both of you guys (Though I only ran into gluey)...Its good to see new blood getting all hyped up and excited about shooting field...S-Paaw...I even enjoyed teaching you how to use that bubble on your sight...I was pulling for you to break 500 the second day, you wouldda done it without the problems...

South-paaw...your rise has been amazing. Keep working at that 300 NFAA...it took me 20 something yrs to get my first one...here you are 1 year in and that close...hope you can make it up to the Carolinas again soon, if not we'll hopefully see you again at the Billy Hill...


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## south-paaw (Jul 3, 2006)

STICKY: Amen.  ... Exactly !!!!! Hey... next year, I'll see you at Lancaster.... no excuses !! ?? :wink: 



> Archery just grows one you like a virus
> Well that is ARCHERS HELPING ARCHERS. It almost brought a tear to me eye. AC
> Today 07:43 AM


Mr. AC (aka CC., aka Santa).....coming from you, that means a lot. I'm reading that you turned in a "shoot-em-up" score this week for the distance shoot.... good luck...:wink:



> Then you pound your 1st 300. Then missing a 10 becomes a crisis.
> 
> Then you and your wife and your kids are shooting in your basement and you order conveyor belting instead of drywall


Swerve: your'e cracking me up !! i substituted conveyor belt for $300 worth of hay bales in the back yard( 4 p-up truck loads).....the guy at the feed store asked me how many horses i had...... I told 'em none, this is for archery !! the look on his face was priceless......



> Keep working at that 300 NFAA...it took me 20 something yrs to get my first one...


PSARGE: I'm thinking if AT had been available, that time frame would've been much shorter...another testament to what AT's potential has to offer. and I havent hit it yet....sooon, but not yet... you guys from NC, Icant thank you enough. you helped me out tremendously that weekend. made the whole experience worthhile.idrove 16 hours, with family in tow, and we camped in the area grounds.errrrr next to your camper !! (lesson learned..:wink: ) cant wait to get back up your way, and yes, south-paaw will be at the hill again; _*and*_,....i am seriously planning on the s.e. sectionals in june !!


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## The Swami (Jan 16, 2008)

South-Paaw,

These are the kind of stories I love to read. I think you now got a good idea of what archery is all about now. You are doing great!!

The 300 game will come very soon if you do what you need to do.

Archery is as simple as you want it to be.

It can be also as hard as you want it to be. Many build walls to block their path to their aspirations.

It sounds like you are willing to do what it takes and realize it is all possible and that you can have fun working on your goals.

To get better, one must humble themselves and realize they need to try something different. Only then are they ready to learn the lessons needed.

You have set yourself on the path, I hope you keep walking it.


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## mdbowhunter (Oct 22, 2002)

Great to hear about your success south-paaw!  Keep up the great progress.

Hope you make it to the Hill this year. But try and take it easy on us Maryland archers.


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## jarlicker (Jul 29, 2002)

Great Job Mr. South Paw. You da man!

All in the name of fun


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## psargeant (Aug 1, 2004)

south-paaw said:


> PSARGE: I'm thinking if AT had been available, that time frame would've been much shorter...another testament to what AT's potential has to offer. and I havent hit it yet....sooon, but not yet... you guys from NC, Icant thank you enough. you helped me out tremendously that weekend. made the whole experience worthhile.idrove 16 hours, with family in tow, and we camped in the area grounds.errrrr next to your camper !! (lesson learned..:wink: ) cant wait to get back up your way, and yes, south-paaw will be at the hill again; _*and*_,....i am seriously planning on the s.e. sectionals in june !!


Hope to see you there...not so sure about the AT thing though. There is a wealth of info here, but I am pedigreed from some of the best shooters (my Dad and Aunt are both legends in NY), even they couldn't straighten me out...

You're more than welcome for the help last year,plan a stop in the Caroloinas on the way to or from the Billy Hill...as you know, we'll shoot till you can't shoot no more....


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## Brown Hornet (Aug 8, 2002)

That is great...

I am glad you ventured to the land of target archery. I remember when it happened to me years ago. I found myself wanting to do nothing but shoot. There were even days when I would get in my stand...sit there for an hour or so then come down and go back to the range and just shoot 

Once the bug bites it is hard to get him to let go. 

See you on the Hill:wink:


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## Ravenshorn (Nov 1, 2006)

*Sport of a Lifetime*

All,

As the NFAA slogan says archery is indeed "the sport of man since time began!" My Dad introduced me to it years ago. It was a passion with him. Dad passed away several years ago, but his memory, passion and legacy lives on in me, my wife, my daughter and my son.

One thing that you said that caught my attention was the fact that your wife asked for a bow. It reminded me of how I got my wife started into the sport. In the beginning, when we were first married, my wife detested archery. Every time we went home on leave from the Air Force Dad and I would sit for hours on end and talk about archery. Our conversations covered everything from form to peep sights to nocks. Dad was a veritable well of knowledge and I drew from it as often as I could. My wife grew to resent archery like many wives resent pro-football, etc.

The first ten years of my military service were very lean years. With a wife and two kids to support there was absolutely zero disposable income. As the saying goes… “We don’t join the military to get rich... we join to serve our country.” After a ten year absence from archery, I had had enough. Upon receiving orders to England, I put my foot down and declared I was going to get back into archery. My wife knew how much I loved the sport and was surprisingly supportive.

Shortly after arriving at my duty station at RAF Lakenheath in England, I discovered the base had an archery club (a rare thing) that was part of the base’s recreation program. As I became reacquainted with shooting, I began traveling to shoots. That’s when the trouble started. On the weekends I would travel with friends and shoot while my wife and kids stayed home. It didn’t take long before she started to get on to me for being gone so long and that they were bored and wanted/needed to get out. Everything she said was true. With some coaxing about how nice the people were she agreed to come to the shoots with me.

Like a trouper she and the kids came to all the shoots with me. They watched as everyone strapped on the quivers and grabbed up their bows for the day’s shooting. They even walked around with groups and kept score for them. After about three forays out to different shoots, one evening while on our way home my wife turned to me and said, “I’d like a bow.” Buuuddy!!! Or as my Father-in-Law likes to say, “I’m a tellin’ you a question!” From that point on, my whole outlook on archery changed. Now we were talking about archery ‘til all hours. If I needed a new fandangled gadget she was all for it. (We ordered almost everything in pairs, one for me and one for her). Even when we went home on leave, she was right there with me and my dad discussing the finer points of shot execution, etc, etc. I had discovered my archery soul mate.:star:

Fast forward a few years. To my embarrassment, :embara: my wife’s shooting prowess outstripped my own (with my expert tutelage of course). :wink: In 1998 she was the Kansas Indoor State Champion and her record still stands to this day (600 and 92 X’s). She also came in fourth at the NFAA Indoor and fifth at the NFAA Outdoor Field Championships in 1998; all while shooting tiny carbon ACC 3X-04’s no less, not your typical fat shafts you see everyone else shooting. In the years since then, our jobs and involvement with our kids’ school and other activities became more and more demanding to the point that we had to take a lay off. We still shot on occasion, but not to the extent and degree that we had in the early to mid 90’s.

Fast forward to today. We’ve finally settled down and I’ve been retired now for almost a year and looking forward to a job that’s not so demanding. We’ve gotten back into archery with a vengeance, me, my wife and our son. Our daughter and her husband live in Hawaii and are expecting our first grandchild. My wife is almost to her former venerable self and I’ve found a new shooter in myself since not having to deal with the pressures of the military.

Through it all my wife has been with me. I’ll never regret getting her involved even is she does outshoot me. We have talked over the years about our relationship and we both agree that archery has brought us and our kids closer than we could have imagined otherwise.

On final bit of wisdom my Dad shared with me long ago…. He recalled something he had read it went like this…. “When asked how World War III would be fought, Einstein replied that he didn't know. But he knew how World War IV would be fought: With sticks and stones.” Dad then looked at me with a glint in his eye and said, “We’ll be on the cutting edge of modern warfare when that happens.”

“Archery! The sport of man since time began!”


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## rudeman (Jan 25, 2006)

Ravenshorn,
What a great post!! There have been a lot of good ones on these boards, but that one is definitely in the top 3 (if not THE top).


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## WV Has Been (Aug 9, 2002)

*HillBilly Shoot*

I knew the HillBilly shoot was powerful but had no idea that it had this much power.

Glad you guys found your addiction in the Western Maryland mountains.

One from across the state and one from 1000 miles away.

Welcome aboard.:cocktail:


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## swerve (Jun 5, 2005)

You can treat the addict but not the addiction.:thumb:


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## south-paaw (Jul 3, 2006)

*full circle... ravenshorn....full circle !! *awesome sentiments, thanks for sharing.

kudos and congratulations to your wife  ! save some of that tuteladge for yourself........ and maybe some for us.... :tongue:

just think, maybe your kids will be passing it on....
how cool is that ?


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## south-paaw (Jul 3, 2006)

WV Has It said:


> I knew the HillBilly shoot was _powerful but had no idea that it had this much power_.
> 
> Glad you guys found your addiction in the Western Maryland mountains.
> 
> ...


i dont think anyone can imagine the power.... its the attitude....the welcome matt was wide open. litterally. the hospitality was above and beyound. :thumbs_up:thumbs_up:thumbs_up

ill paint another pic. load up the pickup truck, 2 adults, 2 kids, packed to the bed rails, headed to a place never before visited, to be with people never before met, to take part in an event never before done, knowing all along that the 4 of us would be in a tent, for 3 days outside of a parking lot of a archery club. :mg: 
weellll, our 11pm arrival,(16 hour drive) shot my plans to set up camp while the daylight wasnt dark ! .... and _you took care of us_... right to the front door !! not only that, you ring-dingy me a cpl or three times, and provided turn by turn directions that "tom-tom" never would do ! 
_ohhhhhhhh_ ! , and then your club member-volunteers made sure that bath facilities were fully operational, and breakfast was available starting before sunrise, and lunch was available all day, and set targets, and drinks, to and fro , organized the scoring and registration, all with an extremely happy persona. _there is _ a lot of power in attitudes like this. it isnt just the 112 arrows that were thrown all about the hillbilly, its the warm, open arm, _com on in... _ hospitality that took precidence over the archery.

THANK YOU, and all your club members for their natural whole-heartedness and all around good attitude. i left there with more than just the experience of field archery and the famous Hillbilly !! i'll ATTEST that you and your club gave back _more than _ just providing a place to shoot.
THANK YOU.

we'll see you in six months !!!!!! :wink:


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## Paul Payne (Apr 1, 2007)

Some super post here!!!

everyone addicted to archery or thinking about becoming addicted should read these post....

Absolutely loved them...

Paul


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