With the fall hunting season set to begin in August, hunters have secured their licenses and are set to suit up in camouflage with rifles in hand. For some hunters who like to mix the sport up a bit, they may have a bow in one hand and a few arrows in the other. That switch can come with a bit more challenge.
Steve Dockray, the president of the Rimcountry Bowhunters Association, an archery club in the Verde Valley, can vouch for that. A devotee to the bow and arrow since 1988, Dockray started out hunting with a gun, but after picking up a bow and arrow he hasn’t gone back since. He sticks to archery for many reasons, two being the heightened challenge and the thrill.
Whether using a bow or a gun, the objective can be the same — to bring home a kill or to recreate.
But, when choosing the bow and arrow route, wind can be an archer’s biggest competitor, as well as the need to be at a closer proximity to the target than when shooting a gun.
“You can spend all your time getting close enough to shoot, and then the wind changes direction or swirls and then they are gone,” Dockray said.
If a hunter is proficient with their bow, Dockray noted that the odds aren’t enough to keep them from getting a bullseye.
“Some guys are good enough that they can shoot out at 110 to 120 yards and be pretty proficient,” Dockray said, noting that arrows travel at high speeds — the arrows Dockray shoots with travel about 300 feet per second.
How fast an arrow travels is also dependent on its weight, and the draw length and length of one’s arm can also influence distance and speed.
When shooting with a bow and arrow, the peep sight at the center of the bow allows archers to set their eyes on the target. Some bows also come with range finders, a laser or mechanical lens that estimates a target’s distance.
Just like most hunters prepare for a hunt, archers also dress in camo and spray on a cover-up scent to mask their smell to animals. They leave early in the morning before the sun goes up to get to where they are going and set up for the day.
One of the misconceptions about hunting with a bow and arrow is that it may not be as effective as using a gun. But Dockray said when a hunter is agile and knows the sport, it only takes one shot to take a target down.
“If you make a good shot it’s just like a gun. They are going down. You are aiming to hit right behind the front leg because that’s where the lungs and the heart are, and that’s kind of the optimal kill area,” he said. “If you get them in the heart, they are going down pretty quickly. If you get them in the lung they are not going too far until they go down. If you shoot them too far back, you shoot them in the guts and
they go quite a way.”
Archery is also taken out of the forest and to the banks of waterways throughout Arizona. In the Verde Valley, it is to the edges of the Verde River. Dockray noted that the Bowhunters host a shoot out competition for carp along the Verde River.
Just liking hunting, a fishing license is required to fish with a bow and arrow. There are strict stipulations, and carp are the only type of fish in Arizona that can be hunted with a bow and arrow. This is because carp is not considered a game fish like trout, crappie and bass.
Archers also have their own method of reeling the fish in.
“Your arrow has to be attached to your bow with a string or fishing line,” Dockray said. “If you go down to the river you will sometimes see guys down there with their arrow shooting fish in the water, and their arrows are hollow, so they will float to the top, and they won’t have them attached to the boat. Legally you can’t do that. The arrow has to be attached to the bow.”
Dockray and a majority of the Bowhunter members prefer not to fish in a boat, but rather shoot from shore, which gives them more vantage points to shoot from. Typically, he and the Bowhunters fish early in the summer when it’s warm, so they can kick back, relax and enjoy the outdoors.
“I wear an old pair of tennis shoes and my camos, and I’m wading back and forth across the river,” he said. “Typically, I like to be on the bank, and then I shoot them in the water. A lot of the time when the carp will spawn they are in the shallows, so you can see the backs of them out of the water.”
Just like a traditional fishing hook, the arrows an archer uses have two prongs. When the arrow hits the fish and the archer pulls back, the arrow will hook on.
Like any sport, archery requires patience, discipline, practice “and a good mentor,” Dockray said.
“Somebody who is willing to spend some time with them. That way the learning curve is not so long.”
For those who feel hunting isn’t the sport for them, they don’t have to take archery off the table. Arizona is a prime archery state, according to Dockray, and there are archery competitions that take place throughout the state that are familyoriented and inclusive to hunters and archery enthusiasts of all ages.
“They try to attract the little ones because they are the future of this sport,” Dockray said.
Archery competitions throughout the state feature 3-D targets made of foam and are lifesize and made to look like big game, such as elk, bears and small game such as coyotes and pheasants. Trails are designed for participants to walk along in pursuit of the targets, and the competitions feature levels for all age groups from peewees, which is typically for children 8 and younger, novice level shoots all the way up to expert levels.
“They have the trails staked, and there are different color stakes depending on the class you shoot in,” Dockray said. “From that stake you have to shoot, and you have to judge your own distance and shoot at the animal and based on where the arrow hits, that’s one’s score.”
The Verde Valley Bowhunters will host its 27th annual Rim Country Bowhunters Shoot Saturday and Sunday, July 28 and 29, at Clint’s Well. Dockray said the Bowhunters club is comprised of people through the Verde Valley from Cottonwood to Sedona and some hailing from Flagstaff. The shoot typically includes 500 people who are competitors or enthusiasts.
Whether one is a regular competitor or is looking to take a shot at the sport, Dockray said all are welcome to come see what a bow and arrow is all about.
Makenna Lepowsky can be reached at 282-7795 ext. 126, or email mlepowsky@larsonnewspapers.com
