This Weekend was SO action packed it is going to take three blog columns to tell it all.
Now as you know I am a measurer for the California Bowmen Hunters, as well as Pope and Young club. Through that organization I have developed a number of friendships. Among those are people you have seen on these pages before. Hard core, serious, successful Hunters like Cindy and Rich Krug, Ed Fanchin, Nate Treadwell and Doug Rosin. These people were the reason I left Sonoma County at 6:20 pm on a Friday night and drove until midnight to attend the 2011 California State Broadhead Championship at Tejon Ranch in Lebec California.
With Cindy’s superb written directions I found the gate to Tejon Ranch and drove back into Crane Canyon and pulled my car into an open spot to catch a few Z’s before daylight. I set up my cot and my 30 degree sleeping bag for a pretty restful sleep before a full bladder and a 30 mph wind from the North awakened me. As I wandered among the 100 or so campsites and RV’s I heard a shout from one and Cindy and Rich waved at me to come have coffee with them. We caught up since our last visit at the CBH Awards Banquet, then went to sign up for the shoot.
At the center of camp the local Boy Scout troop had a breakfast burrito, hot chocolate and doughnuts awaiting us for a very reasonable price. There 2nd VP of Hunting, Craig Fritz got us lined out, and my previously named buddies found me and let me know I would be shooting with them on Target 33. After a few practice arrows we headed to our target where I met DJ, a fingers shooter from Southern California. Nate, Ed, Doug and I were all shooting in the Release class.
Photo by Nate Treadwell
When the horn blew, we all lined up for our first shot. This tournament was different than any other I’d ever been to before. It was a 1-arrow, at an unmarked distance with an arrow tipped with any legal broadhead (over 7/8th ” diameter fixed or mechanical). In our group we all shot fixed blade broadheads, The brands represented included: Muzzy mx3, VPA Terminators, G5 Montecs, and I shot my tried and True Wac’ems.
Doug Rosin, Myself, Ed Fanchin and DJ grabbing a snack on the range.. Photo by Nate Treadwell
The targets were game animal 3D (three dimensional) targets from 12 to 60 yards away from the shooting stake. A hit of the center imprinted circle scored 10, while a lung area hit scored 8 and any other body part (except horns or antlers) scored 5. At the end of the day a perfect score on 42 targets would be 420.
Ed Fanchin, and Doug Rosin. Photo by Nate Treadwell.
My distance estimation on this morning was “running hot” and the first 10 targets were not my best performance as I shot high repeatedly, over estimating the distance. The gusty wind didn’t help any either. (hey, I’m just getting’ all the excuses out of the way early.) By 2:00 pm we had shot 42 targets and DJ qualified for the final flight in the Fingers Division. The top score for the day was 385 and I racked up a measly 313 points. However the day was a success from the stand point of visiting with other bowhunters whose ideals aligned with mine. Not what you would expect from a financial advisor, city police officer, police detective, and feed salesman, but the love of pursuing big game with bows kept us in conversation all day.
After the shooting portion of the day, the camp activities began. Freelance cocktail hour was accompanied by a DIY barbecue with the Krug and Meadors family, along with last minute ticket sales for the $10,000 raffle that finances the annual broadhead shoot. As people bought and combined forces to purchase the $100 tickets.
Nate Treadwell held a field judging contest. On the hill side 200 yards away were a set of pronghorn horns, a fork horn buck rack and a 4 point mule deer rack. I paid my $3 and guessed the forky at 50 inches, the Mule deer at 120, and the pronghorn at 78. With so many experienced measurers and seasoned hunters in the crowd I figured I was just “donating” .
Shortly after, the raffle began. In this raffle though, the LAST ticket drawn wins the $10, 000 prize, and the second to last ticket $500. The first, and every 10th , 20th, 30th and so on ticket drawn gets their $100 back. It was interesting as names were called and hopes were dashed one by one. 210 tickets were drawn, and at the end of the night, there were some happy people who I won’t name with some extra cash in their pocket, and next year’s broadhead tournament was financed.
I headed to bed and decided to sleep in my vehicle to get out of the gusty wind. Little did I know what in impact that would have on my night….(To be Continued)
