Archers are right on target
The Cache Archers are among the most avid of sportsmen. They shoot bears, deer, elk, grouse, beavers, alligators, armadillos and velociraptors.
OK, the animals aren’t real. They’re three-dimensional foam replicas designed to give archers the practice for hunting in the wild. All of the animals, minus the velociraptors, alligators and armadillos, are commonly hunted with a bow and arrow, said Mark Oakey, fishing manager at Al’s Sporting Goods.
Mike Beaney, a Logan resident who has been an archer for approximately 50 years, said only archery hunting can be done on the Millville face of Cache Valley. The fun isn’t even the hunting, he said.
“The fun is going out and getting camo’ed up and sneaking around the woods,” Beaney said.
He said most archers start hunting in early fall.
“It’s a nice, quiet time to be out,” he said.
Oakey said most hunters are ethical.
“Most archers will pass up anything but a perfect shot,” he said.
Beaney said shots are perfect when the animals are in sight, about 30 yards away and broadside to the hunter.
And it’s not just big game archers hunt.
Bowfishing is even becoming common in the marshlands of western Cache Valley, he said. Archers use an arrowhead from which prongs protrude to keep the arrow inside the fish, most commonly carp. To the arrow is attached a fishing line archers reel in when they make their catch.
Oakey said specific licenses or tags are required to hunt each animal – $35 for deer and $55 for elk.
Bow construction has evolved over the years to make arrows shoot faster and farther.
Older style compound bows are made with wheels at the end of each limb, Beaney said. The wheels facilitate drawing back the strings, he said. However, newer compound bows are made with cams, which are oblong-shaped wheels that diminish the bow’s draw weight by causing let off.
Oakey said a bow with a 70-pound draw weight will have a let off of about 65 percent, meaning approximately 24 pounds of pressure are needed to keep the bow drawn.
He said the newest single-cam bows shoot arrows up to 314 feet per second.
“Some are pushing 325 feet per second and one company is claiming 340 feet per second,” he said.
Beaney said Utah state law dictates at least 40-pound draw is needed to hunt big game.
Bows get expensive quickly, Oakey said. They range in price from $199 to $1,000 without even buying arrows.
Beaney said the Cache Archers will host the International Archery Federation (FITA) Outdoor State Shoot May 18. He said this is the first time the event has been hosted in Logan and is scheduled to be held at the Mountain Crest High School soccer field.
People desiring to join the Cache Archers can call Herb Mays, chairman of the club at 753-8428. Family memberships cost $55 and individual memberships cost $45.