The Fort Frances Sportsmen’s Club has the solution for any wanna-be Robin Hoods of the area who have inclinations of becoming bow-and-arrow aficionados.
The local archery range, located next the group’s clubhouse at Frog Creek, is now open for those interested in polishing their hunting skills during the off-season or just those who make the sport a casual pastime.
“You don’t have to be a hunter to shoot 3-D [targets],” club president Blair Beadow stressed during Saturday’s annual fun shoot. “You just have to be into archery.”
The archery range operates every Monday and Wednesday beginning at 7 p.m., and Beadow welcomes anyone wanting to come out and test their marksmanship.
“We’ve got eight to 10 shooters who come out consistently, and that number goes up in August as we get closer to the hunting season,” he noted.
“We’ve always been here, but there’s never been an overabundance of shooters,” Beadow added. “A lot of people who bow hunt have no interest in 3-D.”
The technology available to today’s archers would make William Tell blush. Along with the traditional bows, there’s been a rise in the construction of compound bows used by serious hunters and competitive archers.
These newer models are made of lightweight yet durable materials, and come with a variety of positioning devices that provide a marksman with increased direction control and speed.
Beadow estimated archers can pay anywhere from $300-$1,200 for a quality bow.
“The bows are good enough that you can use them to hunt from as far off as 50 yards,” he noted. “But I wouldn’t recommend anyone to try shooting over 40 yards—not unless you’ve had a lot of practice and think you’re an excellent archer.”
The targets used by the club are no small expense, either, with deer targets worth roughly $250 each while the elk targets run around $800 a shot.
Beadow stated the club, which has bear targets, too, also would like to purchase a buffalo target in the near future at the cost of about $900.
One target lasts an average of 10 years, and the club tries to replace at least two of them every year.
“We’ve got 37 targets right now, and we’re aiming to have an even 40 and be able to maintain them,” said Beadow. “But some of them are beat up badly enough right now that we probably shouldn’t be using them.
“We try and save some money by just buying the midsections (of the bigger targets) which have the actual target area on them. Then we just have to change those, which extends the life of the whole target.
“But the ears and the head get beat up enough over time that eventually you just have to replace them.”
Beadow said local archers can look forward to a full slate of competitions across Northwestern Ontario and Minnesota this year, including the club’s own Hunter Round event in August.
“We simulate real hunting situations in our competition,” remarked Beadow. “The shots are difficult. There’s lots of trees, with full leaves, that shooters have to negotiate.”
Registration costs to join the archery club are $20 for adults, $5 for children 12 and over, and free for those under 12.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
