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All about the sport of archery

Hello, my name is Hunter Vedder. Today, I am going to tell you about archery and how I became interested in it. I am a Boy Scout and while I was still in Cub Scouts my mother was the Cub Master and she managed to get us a chance to go to Straight Line Archery.

I now go once a week for one hour because I really enjoy the sport. Eventually, my sister Eleanor came in to shoot and then about three weeks ago my littlest sister Linnea started shooting (Eleanor is 7 years old and Linnea is 5). Our instructors are Shelly (the owner) and Mindy.

They start you off easy. For example, with Eleanor she had the target about 10 feet away when she first started. Linnea has the target about 5 feet away. Eleanor started on a recurve bow, which is what they usually start you off on, unless you can draw back a compound bow, and then when you are ready they move you on to a compound bow. Linnea is still drawing a recurve bow.

As I said before I started off with a compound bow and then Shelly asked me if I wanted to try a recurve about four weeks in and I said yes. I shot the recurve and I liked it even better than the compound. It gave me more of a challenge with the weight of the draw back because you can’t just keep the bow string pulled back for long without releasing the string but with the compound you can hold it back for a while unlike the recurve, long or flat bow.

I just got my first bow. It’s a recurve and I shoot without a sight or anything. My sister Eleanor will be getting a compound with a sight, release and even more gadgets. In other terms, I shoot Genesis and she shoots, well, handicapped, I think.

Normally with a recurve you would use feathered arrows because it slides off the shelf or rests cleaner than plastic ones would with a recurve. I believe you use feathered arrows with a long and flat bow. There is nothing wrong with shooting plastic arrows. Plastic arrows are plastic feathers pretty much. With a recurve, long or flat bow, if you want a smoother arrow when it flies, I would recommend the feathered arrows. With the compound bow you usually use plastic arrows. I started off shooting with plastic arrows with my compound and recurve and now with my own bow I shoot with feathered arrows.

I really like archery and hopefully soon I will be able to go bow hunting and join a competition. I like it also because I get to see how well I can do with something new. I recommend this sport to you. If you get to really love this sport and you would like to get your own bow, then I would ask an instructor or parent which bow they think is right for you. Most people use a compound but that is expensive; just the bow itself could cost you $200-$300, and if you want a sight or release or anything else for it, that’s expensive too. It costs about $50 for one arrow. If you were to get a recurve you would need a glove or finger tabs. A recurve bow can cost between $90-$150, and the arrows for it are pretty cheap. A long bow is also not as expensive and same with the flat bow. I hope you can try out this sport!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Hunter Vedder is in the sixth grade and enjoys archery.

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