I'd like to hear about that one amazing shot you pulled off, that you couldn't repeat again in 1,000 tries!!

I'll start (and trust me, I know it was mostly luck lol). Two springs ago, after a frustrating morning of stalking prairie dogs with my black widow, I bombed an arrow at a ground squirrel 64 paces away on my way to my truck. To my amazement.. I hit him center mass and he was stone dead by the time I walked over there to investigate. I know some of you accomplished archers have much better tales and I can't wait to hear them!

Elk hunting....following a ridge.....ridge ends at a 300’ cliff with a lone Douglas Fir right on the edge....Ruffed grouse sitting on a limb 40’ up and I’m 30 yards away.....60# Super Diablo...Bear Razorhead....hit him dead center...he falls straight down....with the arrow sticking half way through him. RKK

25 yard shot at a squirrel,...I can see the arrow is going to be high & right,...at the sound of the shot the squirrel jumps forward & up,...he jumps right into the path of the arrow,...it's the perfect intersection of missile & prey,...cranial shot,...he dies instantly!

Heading out of the woods after a morning hunt, hit the open field and saw a huge flock of Blackbirds out on the field. I let loose on the closest one and similar to casekiska's squirrel, I would of shot over a foot above but the bird went to take off and intercepted the arrow.

65-66 of my paces which is the equivalent of about 54 yards. The longest shot I ever made on a critter but more luck than amazing.

I didn't make this shot but was one of 6 witnesses. We were at a 3D shoot and just as one of our group stepped up to the peg a small white moth landed in the x-ring. Dave Miller turned to us and said, "Good, now I have an aiming point!" When the arrow hit the target we all howled when we saw 2 white wings flutter gently to the ground.

I pulled up to Wesley’s house one day and we were standing in the driveway talking while a chipmunk scolded us from a fence post at the corner of the yard. Wes made some comment about that chipmunk getting into the garage and making a mess out of a bag of birdseed. Said he had been trying to kill it but he couldn’t get close enough for a BB gun and didn’t want to shoot a shotgun in the neighborhood. I reached in the back of my jeep, strung my longbow, grabbed a wood arrow and shot that chipmunk in the eye from I guess 25 yds or so. Only the chipmunk was more surprised than I was. I never told Wes how much luck was involve doing that. He still talks about it 30 years later.

I pulled up to Wesley’s house one day and we were standing in the driveway talking while a chipmunk scolded us from a fence post at the corner of the yard. Wes made some comment about that chipmunk getting into the garage and making a mess out of a bag of birdseed. Said he had been trying to kill it but he couldn’t get close enough for a BB gun and didn’t want to shoot a shotgun in the neighborhood. I reached in the back of my jeep, strung my longbow, grabbed a wood arrow and shot that chipmunk in the eye from I guess 25 yds or so. Only the chipmunk was more surprised than I was. I never told Wes how much luck was involve doing that. He still talks about it 30 years later.

During the summer, much of my practice involves walking a standard NFAA field course. Back in 2018, I was shooting the 40-yard distance at a 50cm "field" target, I was shooting a recurve bow that was 58 lb at my draw length. I stood up there and put four arrows in the 5-point ring... no witnesses of course. Today? At the 40-yrd 50cm target, I'm doing good if I can SCORE all four arrows... more often than not, I'm behind the target looking for one or two arrows... 2018 was a good year for me!

Mind over matter; I was headed out the door at our indoor archery range when I looked back and saw a 2" piece of aluminum arrow hanging on a string in front of the backstop 30 yards downrange.

I had been studying a book about Zen and the mind to accomplish archery feats. I turned my back to the hanging target and envisioned my arrow striking the broken piece of arrow dead center, I wheeled around, drew my bow and released an arrow at the same time.

I hit that hanging 2" piece of arrow so perfectly that I broke it in half, the pieces went skittering across the floor, this was a snap shot at 30 yards.

I was dumbfounded at making the shot that I had envisioned so perfectly. I thought about oriental archers' ability who had mastered the mind/body connection in archery and how devastating it would be to face them in battle.

Years ago, when I was young and foolish. I was setting in a stand on the edge of a hay field, November 14th. Here in Michigan that’s the day before rifle deer season opene. A decent buck came out into the field cruising for does. He angled out into the field abou 60 yards in front of me. I was hunting with a 65lb Howatt Hunter recurve. The sun was just coming up. The deer was angling away from me, and i got the bright idea to shoot an arrow over, beyond the buck. Thinking, when the arrow hit, in the frozen ground, the noise would scare the deer back towards me. I drew back, and aimed over, and in front of the buck. When I shot, the noise of the bow scared the buck, and he started running. I could see the arrow spinning toward the buck. As it got closer I could see it was going to be close to the deer. As the arrow dropped, and the buck ran, they both converged. The arrow struck perfectly behind the bucks front shoulder. He ran down the field about 100 yards, and the buck got wobbly, and went down. The arrow had fallen out of the deer as it ran. When I got down, it was 61 paces to the arrow.

Years ago, when I was young and foolish. I was setting in a stand on the edge of a hay field, November 14th. Here in Michigan that’s the day before rifle deer season opene. A decent buck came out into the field cruising for does. He angled out into the field abou 60 yards in front of me. I was hunting with a 65lb Howatt Hunter recurve. The sun was just coming up. The deer was angling away from me, and i got the bright idea to shoot an arrow over, beyond the buck. Thinking, when the arrow hit, in the frozen ground, the noise would scare the deer back towards me. I drew back, and aimed over, and in front of the buck. When I shot, the noise of the bow scared the buck, and he started running. I could see the arrow spinning toward the buck. As it got closer I could see it was going to be close to the deer. As the arrow dropped, and the buck ran, they both converged. The arrow struck perfectly behind the bucks front shoulder. He ran down the field about 100 yards, and the buck got wobbly, and went down. The arrow had fallen out of the deer as it ran. When I got down, it was 61 paces to the arrow.

Killed a woodchuck at 88 paces.

Was in a tree and a grouse came strutting by me, I didn't want to shoot my good sharp broadhead at him - I always carry one arrow with a field point on it for squirrels and such. So, I carefully swapped arrows and got ready to shoot, by then the grouse was about 15 yds away. I took the shot and hit a tiny sapling about the diameter of my pinky finger dead center. The grouse became alarmed, but didn't fly and continued to stay fairly close. I was stilled determined not to use my broadhead, so I quickly unscrewed it from the shaft. By the time I got everything ready for the follow up shot the grouse was strutting away fairly quickly and was now about 25-30 yds out - I lined up let it fly and hit the grouse in the back of the head with the blunt arrow end. I couldn't believe it, wouldn't make that shot again in a million tries. Tasted good that night though.

While sitting in my tree stand, I decided to shoot at a fox squirrel carrying a cob of corn from the field into the woods. He was sauntering along. Couldn't move too fast with a cob of corn in its mouth. Faster than walking, but not running. Hit him right behind the front leg with a judo-point. Didn't really expect to hit it. Just took the shot to loosen up. Distance was 35 yards.

Years ago walking out of the woods after a morning deer hunt I spotted a gray squirrel sitting up ahead of me. He was about 25 yards and I only had broadheads. The squirrel was facing me so I took a shot and Ihit him right in the throat. The broadhead was perfectly centered on his throat and horizontal so there was a flap of skin on each side being the only thing holding his head on.

Every evening I hunted my Uncle's property, this pesky red squirrel would pester me to no end! He made sure that no deer, turkey or any living, breathing animal came near me.

I made a vow, that I'd get even. It went a few nights when it gave me a opportunity.

When stalking around the property, I seen him run through the leaves and jump into the pine tree, pictured. He sat on top, proud and arrogant, chattering away. I remember stepping it off at 59 steps. 52 pound static recurve with a metal riser, blunt tipped cedar. I distinctly remember how smooth the shot cycle was. There was a loud whack when the arrow hit. And so ends the story of Big Bad Red!

my brother shot a bat out of the sky and you know how they fly

I was on my annual hog hunt with a bunch of my friends. The guide tells my friend and I he has the perfect stand for us. We go to his in laws place and climb on top of a steer feeder that looked like a fuel truck but along the bottom it was a trough. Well the hogs came in each evening and feed on all the steer feed that hit the ground. Well the hogs kept coming but were coming straight in to feed. Well one 100lb sow starts angling away to the left walking and i take aim and promptly hit her to far back, well she whirls around and starts running to the right giving me another broadside shot, I quickly take out an arrow from my bow quiver and shoot in one fluid motion and nailed her with blood pumping out both sides while she runs in the field and piles up.

Years ago out of a treestand, I shot at a nice smaller buck and hit him. It did not look like a very poor shot as it was angled away, appeared to have poor penetration and to have actually hit the upper leg muscle and not into the chest cavity. My heart sank immediately. I have no idea why he dropped dead at 40 yards as he trotted away. I was too amazed and too much of a beginner to do an adequate autopsy to investigate,and I was just too excited and relieved.

I once shot over the top of a tree at a doe checking a scrape,Right a way I figured on loosing an arrow but to my amazement it stuck her between the shoulder blades, she ran sixty yards and that's where I found her.

I’ve made a lot of very long shots which went down perfectly…. But then I take many, MANY times more Very Long Shots than most. So when I clip off an arrow shaft at 30 or 40 yards, it’s not a “miracle”; it’s what I had planned all along. And on Saturday afternoon when I hit about 1 inch below the exact center of the X on a 65cm NFAA target from the 80-yard pad (with 5 witnesses), I didn’t count that as Miraculous….. Just one of those rare occasions when I didn’t do anything Wrong….

Now, MIRACLES…..

I definitely meant to hit a bird that was damaging my garden, but there was a substantial amount of luck involved when I took its head off on the wing from about 25 yards…. Especially since it flushed as I released. I had expected that and knew where it was likely headed, but still a pretty good trick…..

But a friend of mine has one that probably counts. He was shooting at a 3D target about 35 yards down the hill, and trying to thread his shot past a big Oak which was about 90%-95% of the way to the target. There was a squirrel on the ground a few yards from the Oak, unseen by the archer because of a bit of a knoll. But at the sound of the bowstring, the squirrel quickly bounded up onto the side of that Oak…. And directly into the path of the arrow. I don’t recall whether he hit the 10-ring on the 3D, but I’m pretty sure he said the squirrel never twitched….

And Not Archery, but I once threw a somewhat flat chip of rock at a bird as it flushed away from me; the bird was probably 2-3 feet off the ground as I released. The bird was headed off to my right, and as I’m right-handed (and was throwing side-arm), the bird and the rock crossed at about 6 or 8 yards, with their paths forming a bit of an X in the air. Then the bird jinked…. and the rock started to curve, as flattish rocks tend to do. Bird climbed left while the rock climbed right, then corkscrewed and came down again. Paths crossed a second time and the bird tumbled as if it had caught a 3” load of high-brass #6.

I’ve often wished I had been able to find that rock to carry as a good luck charm ;)

Makes me think that the ability to really skip a rock well is something which was once a valuable survival skill….

Hail Mary shot on the 80 yard field target uphill. Arrow went under the bales and skewered a gopher. Course I was thinking Rattlesnake with all the thrashing around it did.

My friend and I would meet at an local public archery range before work. The Range ironically had a gopher problem. After several rounds of shooting haystacks we would usually end our sessions and try to knock off a few rodents. I'll never forget this one kill..... a very fat gopher stuck its head out..... I took the shot... nailed him or her in the head from twenty five yards which flung the critter from its burrow at least ten feet.....but the reason I can so vividly recall this event (and there were many) was because of the "popping sound" as the force of the arrow pulled the varmint from its hole. Sort of like when you pull your finger from a closed mouth.

I was shooting bow in my lane. walking to the target i looked down and saw a washer in the stones. I picked it up and slid a 2016 through it, perfect fit.

just for kicks i slipped the edge of it behind the string of the straw bale i was using for a backstop....stepped back to around 20 yds....and shot a arrow right in the hole of the washer 1st try.

tried but couldn't do it again...i could hit the washer occasionally, but didn't center it again.

A few years back hunting an oak ridge that was loaded with deer and acorns. Several good bucks cruising through and one hateful doe. For 3 mornings she would come in blowing and stomping but never close enough for a shot. The 3rd morning once again she hung up and did her routine wrecking my hunt. She was under a cedar tree but I could still see her chest. I quickly sent an arrow towards her and centered her heart. I was more surprised than her as 42 yards was not my best yardage.

Walking along a sand road in South Africa two Guinea Fowl stepped out maybe 70 yards away. I centred one of them with a Woodsman head and it flopped around and was dead when we got up to it. My PH slapped me on the back congratulating me on the amazing shot. Wasn’t untill later that I admitted I was aiming for the other bird two feet to the right. ??

Back when I first started the kid's program at the Compton Rendezvous, the club bailed the hay from the overflow parking lot and brought it down to the Skeet tower so that I could build a wall for a back stop where the kids could shoot. While we "entertain" more these days, back 25 yrs ago we did more "teaching". I had all the kids sitting on the ground and I grabbed a bow and shot an arrow into the wall of hay, saying "this is what it looks like from this side". Then I walked to the other end of the line and shot an arrow into the hay cutting the first arrow in half. Needless to say..............I had their attention!! lol

I have been fortunate over the years to have made many "miraculous " shots(usually just dumb luck).Once though we were having a birthday party for my son out at the family farm. A friend of mine spotted an old basketball at the bottom of the hill next to mom and dad's house. It was probably 80 yards away. Steve says "you're always telling me about amazing shots you've made with your bow...could you hit that old basketball from here?".Without hesitation I said "sure,but I don't have my bow here."Dad says no problem "and goes and gets his old beat up browning compound and one arrow. Amid all of my complaints about having never even shot the bow(which had no sights)I was forced forced to take the shot. To my surprise (and probably everyone else's)I skewered the ball dead center. My buddy picked his jaw up off the ground and said "I will never doubt any story you ever tell-ever again."The only one more surprised than him was me.

A friend and I was shooting at an indoor range alone about 10 lanes apart, We were cross shooting at targets when our arrows hit each in flight. Wish I had that on video

This was actually last year at the Twin Oaks spring open shoot. They have a steel deer at about 18 yards with about a softball size hole in the heart area. I had just fletched some 800 spine Dark Timbers and did not want to use one of those, so I looked in the lost arrow bucket trying to find something that would work. The only arrow I came up with was 500 spine, but it did have feathers. I shot the practice butt a couple times, and it shot a bit low and made a little corkscrew dip to the right. So at the steel deer I aimed a little high left. Not only did I make it in the hole, but it was a dead center X! Don't know if I could have done that twice! I was able to return it to the lost arrow bucket.

I was Bowfishing a river from an 18 ft aluminum canoe. My brother was in the rear steering as we floated along. His girlfriend was sitting on the bottom of the canoe cross legged sunbathing not really paying attention. We had just begun when I spotted a large snapping turtle running along the bottom of the river going the opposite direction. Standing on the front seat with my feet wedged against the gunnels I spun 180 degrees to port and shot just as he passed the back of the canoe. The arrow went in the back of his head and out his mouth anchoring him to the bottom.

When I hefted him over the side and dropped him in the bottom of the canoe the girlfriend went from crossed legged on the floor to standing in the river without flipping the canoe. I Wish I had that on video more than the shot. Good Day

I've over 57 yrs had a few but one stands out. Our group of 4 shooting the Coon Rapids trad shoot. They had a bear target scene where a bear had a guy up a tree. There was a clothes line in front of the bear target and the guy shooting before me nailed it leaving his arrow hanging. We were always trying to hit our buddies arrows so I concentrated on that hanger and split it in two! My arrow then entered the target a perfect twenty!

In my last 70 years of shooting a bow, if the arrow hits where I am looking, hunting or target, I call it Divine intervention !

A called shot on a 100yd Coke can.

A 175yd shot on a ground mole! I was horsing around shooting arrows up in the air in a field. I pulled an arrow from the soft ground and it had blood on the end. Subterranean kill!

Another cool shot was at the Howard Hill in Wilsonville. I knocked 2 arrows at the flying tiger target and put both in the 10 ring on camera. I never hit the damned thing during the scoring rounds.

When I was a kid... I had seen a guy shoot a duck out of the sky with a bow on TV so naturally I set out to kill a bird with my bow. I terrorized birds in my yard all summer... with out success. My grandparents came to visit and wanted to show my grandmother how I shoot my bow. So I got out a haybale and came walking out with my bow when... a tiny bird (sparrow maybe) flew in the tree above my haybale. He was perfectly silhouetted with nothing but a big pasture in the back. I immediately drew on him. My Grandmother was standing right there said "Oh Allan - don't shoot that little bird." I drilled that thing. He came spiraling down... our mama cat took note of the falling bird and she and I had a foot race for the bird. I won. My mom and dad still have the picture...

The bow police might come after me for this one.....

I was hunting the late archery season in AZ for Coues deer. I found a remote water tank that dry most of the time but in December there was a fluky amount of rain so I brushed in and sat it.

Sure enough, a few deer came by with a couple good buck cruising. The problem was its 45y across and I didn't feel comfortable with that shot. I shoot tourneys and such but all of my shooting is about 33y and in.

I went home and set up a different arrow with a 46y point on....and shot that distance on my 3D target every day. It's amazing how good you can get shooting your PO like that- crazy accurate.

So two weeks later I hiked way back in to that same spot, still had water and a lot of sign. Sure enough, a good buck comes in across the tank at 46-47y, waters, turns quartering away and I drilled that buck dead center- he got just into some trees about 40y further and I hear his big death moan.

Arrow went in behind his ribs and out breaking his front shoulder with the BH just peeking out. Dang, I don't know how he went that far like that with that arrow quartering through him.

I will say, I would take that shot again if I prepped for it like before....but I wouldn't take it right now.

on the oak ridge treestand 2004, early november and the rut was on ! heard a deer coming up behind me and a doe stepped out in the field. she continued on across the picked cornfield. a little later i heard the leaves rustling as another deer came up the ridge behind me.at 30 yds a really good buck stepped out smelling the doe that had just passed by. well i pulled up with my old recurve and shot low! he never even flinched ! still with his head in the air smelling the doe he continued out in the picked corn and stopped at about 35 yds! by that time i had another 2117 with a wensel woodsmen on the string and shot again this time the arrow hit him perfect behind the shoulder! still didn't know he was hit and continued on out in the field another 10 yds with his nose in the air smelling the doe! he stood there a few seconds and then dropped! i couldn't believe it! still amazed thinking about it this morning!

Great shooting gentlemen! Keep shooting straight and keep the stories coming! I'm loving these so far...

On the ground straight up shot at a big fox squirrel, launched a broadhead. Arrow zipped right by him and into the wild blue yonder never to be found. Like most fox squirrels he just laid there. Was contemplating a second shot when he fell almost at my feet. Throat sliced neatly by the broadhead i took as a miss. Another time a blackbird at 100 yards on a gravel lane. I actually hit low, but it skipped off the gravel and centered him exactly half way through his body (field point) Memories

This may seem a bit mean but my buddy is VERY protective of his arrows and he had just bought a new dozen. We were shooting a 3D course and he shot one of his brand new arrows into the Coyote 10 ring and I “Robin Hooded” it! Almost felt guilty for laughing!!! Cotton

This may seem a bit mean but my buddy is VERY protective of his arrows and he had just bought a new dozen. We were shooting a 3D course and he shot one of his brand new arrows into the Coyote 10 ring and I “Robin Hooded” it! Almost felt guilty for laughing!!! Cotton

Years ago I was shooting a 3d course with friends. A couple of the club members came and swapped out a deer target just ahead of us. There were two people ahead of us then our group. The target was new, no holes. Both shooters ahead of us made very good shots. One dead centered the kill, the other just a little right of the first. I was the first of our group to shoot. I could see the holes. It was around a twenty yard shot. I said they left us something to aim at. I focused on the center hole and shot. When my arrow hit there were still only two holes. My arrow hit perfectly in the hole I was aiming at. I just acted like I did that all the time. Everyone new better though.

Back about 50 yrs ago I attended my very first archery shoot at a bowhunter club near Columbus OH, and to be honest I don't remember much about it. It was a relatively small group of bowhunters and I had finished the coarse and was talking to some of the new friends I had met. One of the guys suggested that we should, just for some fun, shoot for quarters. There was about 6 or 7 guys that was willing to shoot, and they egged me on to join in. They all had shiny new compound bows and there I was with my Wing Chaparrel recurve. Well, what the heck, it was only for a quarter. I was in. One of the guys stapled a 22 rifle target to a piece of cardboard and fastened it to the target bales, then we backed up, it was 50 or 55 yards. I guess they wanted to make it tuff for me. Well, it came my turn to shoot and I drew back and launch a wood arrow that took out the X-ring of that target, just a lucky shot. Well not to be denied, we all moved up to about 20 yards. I drew back and put my wood arrow in the same hole and took their quarters again. About 20 years later at another shoot, my son I were walking into the club house after shooting, when a guy hollared at me. I turn to see who it was and recognized the guy from that first shoot. He said he had a question for me, but before he could ask the question, I said, "Yep, that was me." He laughed and said that he would never forget watching me take the quarters from those guys with their shiny new compounds. My son turned to me and said, "Gee Dad you're a legend in your own time." End of story !!

It was the last hour in the last day to hunt on the Proving Ground and a 6 point buck crossed about 45 yards from me. I pulled back and put the broadhead about a foot in front of his nose and let fly. It hit him and killed him. No great feat for a young guy who shot a lot of field archery in those days.

Not too miraculous in my opinion as I had been shooting a lot of aerial targets that summer. Just one that sticks out.

Was out Antelope hunting w a new friend that had never hunted them before. He hit a real nice Buck the night before high in the shoulder slight quartering to.

The next day we couldn't find him. The rancher had a plane and I told Gary to see if we could go up and spot it from the air. Which he did and we found him.

After landing we drove down to the fence line and walked along it. The Antelope was bedded about 30 yds in from the fence, not too far from the corner of the section.

As we got near the end I saw him with his head down about 20yds away. Binocs revealed his eye open and him breathing.

I told Gary to move my way and shoot. I had an arrow ready.

As he got closer, "he said I don't see him". I realized the sage he was up against was hiding him from Gary's view. I told him to move towards me. As he did the Buck jumped up and started running. I quickly drew, and heart shot him. He went end over end while Gary was yelling "I can't find him in my peep".(Compound shooter).

I said, "never mind, he's dead". That Buck would have made B&C if he hadn't broken off a prong on one side.

I was hunting pronghorns with a group from the East coast that I met thru the ABCC in the fall of 1983. Returning to camp one morning a large jack rabbit flushed out of the sage brush and ran the direction I was going, rounded the corner of a barbed wire fence and sat up. Since I was going that direction, I nocked a judo tipped arrow, put the point on the hare, raised it 4 or 5 feet above the hare and released. I was shooting an old Jennings waffle handle compound that had been converted to a two wheeler and its point on was right at 85 yards. I lost sight of the arrow about 2/3 of the way there but heard a thump and the jackrabbit started squealing. I step close to a yard and it was 108 steps to the corner of the fence and another 20 steps to the jackrabbit. I had spined the jackrabbit. So don't know the exact yardage but was around 100 yards. 1 in a 1000 shot.

I was hunting a South Dakota coulee when I had a great 6x5 come down my runway at about 18 yards. My arrow hit a little back and a little high, probably liver. The buck spun and bounded out to about 40 yards facing straight away from me, looking around trying to figure what had just happened. Keep in mind I would never take this shot but with an arrow already having drawn blood I had nothing to lose. At 40 yards the Texas heart shot went right up the chute and he was down in two bounds.

One more, this time a coyote. Was deer hunting when I had a coyote come trotting through. He never broke stride and at 20 yards I double lunged him tight behind the shoulder. He was down and out in 15 yards.

D31’s snapping turtle reminded me….

In my earlier teens, my brother and I surely had The Bug, but resources were limited. Even the Bear recurves down at Gart’s seemed far out of reach at $45…..

So we shot whatever we could lay our hands on, which included those bicycle safety flags on the fiberglass rods. One of those — I think they were 6 ft — so we could get two 24-inch “bows” and two 12-inch arrows out of each one. Duct tape for a shelf and mason twine for the string with a duct-tape collar about an inch behind the hastily filed point.

And one day when thusly armed, we were walking along a drainage ditch which had just a little water flowing through it. I glanced down an saw a fair-sized Garter snake swimming hard up-stream, its head zipping side-to-side on about a 6” arc. I didn’t even think about it — just drew back the 10 or 11 inches that my “arrow” would allow, and zzzzzipp! There was a plume of fine silt, colored with a small cloud of blood in the water, and the snake now waving gently in the bit of current like moss in a spring creek. Somehow, I had centered the snake’s head to absolute perfection on a shot from less than half-draw, with an un-fletched arrow which must’ve been a couple hundred pounds over-spine.

Ever since then, I’ve had a little regret over killing a perfectly good snake for really no good reason whatsoever, but from an “instinctive” shot perspective, that’s as fine a shot as I’ve ever seen made. Yes, the distance from my bowhand to the bottom of the ditch was probably all of 6 feet, but just the same…..

It was I think 1974, Sunday afternoon right after getting home from church. Me and older brother had went in together, both in HS, bought our first good bow, a Pearson Hunter 50#. We had aluminum arrows, and we'd been letting em fly daily, a lot! We went out to shoot, and brother said, let's see who can get closest to white fence, without going over it. We lived in country, and a grassy field ran from our yard, down to a state highway 2 lane road, aprox? 150yds?, a white wood fence right at edge of the road. He shot first, a high looper, and when it came down, I don't remember for sure, but within 20yds our side, a good shot it being his first, and I can honestly say, first time we'd try this! Well i knew I had to get close to beat him, and I played to win. I let her go, almost outta sight. When it finally touched down, we both pretty sure it hit right on the yellow line! And about time it hit, loud screeching tires, car slid stop right where it had hit! We froze, it was a KY State Trooper Car! After a standoff on both sides, a voice came over loud speaker, "You boys quit shooting them arrows down here!" We hadn't moved, but it wasn't us, even tho I was in wide open holding a bow! After a little deliberation he drove on. We, I don't remember, but picked another target lot closer! This is the exact truth! Right on the yellow line!!!

30 years ago. Made a a few osage self bows. Gave most away. I was all caught up in instinctive shooting,(if you believe, it will happen), had great eyesight, shot often. I was finishing up a selfbow and it really looked awesome, draw weight was perfect. I had a stack of soft spine cedars to get it shooting. Dialed it in, made a new string, everything was perfect. 10:00 AM on an early June Saturday morning, scorching hot, flip flops, new bow in hand heading our to look for groundhogs. Trying not to sweat. As I left the yard a flock of starlings landed in the corn sprouts about 60 yards away. I drew, just to draw, suddenly one bird gets my focus. I new I was dead on that bird, the arrow left and smashed a target point right thru that European invader. I still can't figure out how I knew I was going to kill that bird. Maybe it is youth and eyesight?

We all know that feeling when the shot is going to be perfect. I sure wish that could be re created more often!

I also shot a groundhog that ducked down when he saw me, just over the ridge in the field. He was not visible while the arrow was in flight. like the Fred Bear trophy ram story. The arrow dropped over the hill and hit the groundhog perfectly. All I could see was the fletching sticking up and shaking w the death of the sod poodle.

I probably have more if I think about it.

I - We, get so wrapped up in trying to kill a nice buck these days with hight priced custom bows and $20 arrows that we forget how much fun it is to shoot stuff!

Earlier this week I took my 5 practice cedars out and wrecked them all. Those arrows had been my daily practice arrows for at least 1 1/2 years or more. What a blast to use them up!

Their replacements are so much more consistent. (80-85 custom tapered cedars from lost nation) I should have replaced them long ago.

I really like making my own arrows. But sometimes it is nice to use a professional set. Lost Nation makes good ones.

Tedd

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