Archery club shooters score

About 70 members of the Clear Creek Bowmen made their way in small groups around a 35-target course Sunday during the groups' annual Turkey Shoot at the Centennial Park Archery Range.

Members released arrows at foam turkeys, buffalo and mountain goats, ranging from 10 to 65 yards away.

"It's going pretty good so far," Tim Meigs of Mound House said halfway through the course. He was using a wooden long bow he made himself. Most shooters in the club use modern compound bows.

"It's just like a person shooting black-powder rifles," he said of his old-school technique. "I guess you could say it's a little bit more of a challenge."

On the other end of the spectrum Sunday was Dayton's Rob Spencer using a scope sighted in off a computer program called "Archer's Advantage." Spencer, a staff shooter for Hoyt Bows, uses a Palm Pilot to make calculations before firing. Out of the 25 targets he fired at before lunch, he hit 23 bull's eyes.

"We take our shots seriously, but we're not too serious about winning," he said.

"Yeah, you want to win, but you're out here to have fun," agreed Dick Buttner of Carson City. He hit 22 bull's eyes out of 25 before lunch.

Emmitt Topping of Minden made lunch while other club members competed in the tournament. He cooked burgers and hot dogs on a 47-inch grill, custom made at Blue Mountain Steel.

He said the nonprofit club has about 75 3-D animal targets used in tournaments. Members range from professional, sponsored shooters, to 5-year-olds who come with their parents.

"We call them pee wees," Topping said.

The group has several tournaments each year, according to former club president Rick Battaglia. They are the Hell or High Water Tournament the first weekend in March; the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Shoot at the end of March; A Toys for Tots Shoot for which the entry fee is a toy donation; and a shoot where all proceeds benefit the Carson Advocates for Cancer Care.

"This year, we made $900, and we gave them $1,000 so we dipped into our budget to help them out," Battaglia said. A thank-you plaque signed by the advocates executive director Jon Coates hangs in the building the club uses.

Battaglia said archery is great for families.

"It's so great to be out here in the fresh air rather than watching TV," he said.

There is a one-time fee of $20 to join. Annual fees are $25 per family. For more information, call Jim or Carol Davis at 883-0389.