So its been a long time coming, since my friend back in Cape Town took me to the Stillbow shop in Durbanville I was very interested in this sport and the shop was filled with all the nice stuff that any full time archer could just dream off. I was lucky that day as I left my wallet in the car and could not spend any money. The guys where very friendly and did not force me to buy anything but just giving me a good introduction to the sport. What to look for and how to get started.
So with all the info I left the shop, and went back to work… I told my uncle about the shop and he also started to look into it. But after a few good kitesurfing days the archery was way back in the mind and some time went past. A month before I left my uncle got home and phoned me to come and have a look at his new toy. So he went to the same shop but he was not so lucky as he did not forget his wallet in the car. So he got a nice Bear compound bow with the sites, wrist release and some arrows to get started.
When I saw this bow I was just very impressed.
He paid a fair amount for the bow but if you dont know what you are looking at we both thought its a very nice bow. And it was, it might not be the best bow but its a great bow to start with. He built a target in the back garden and started to practice. Every time I would come and visit he would show me something new he bought. If its not new arrows its a new arrow holder. It did not take long for him to really progress to becoming a very good shot and his wallet was itching again. So he put his BEAR bow up for sale and he went out and got a very nice Hoyt Katera.
He was really keen to get the Hoyt AlphaMax 32 or 35 but his draw length was just too long and the Katera was a better fit for him. So now that we are all upto date this is where my story starts.
After allot of bragging and me trying to settle in Switzerland I started finding out a bit more about this sport and where I can get the gear. After loads of time on the internet trying to decipher german and trying to locate places around me I got to a guy call Chris. Chris has been a bowhunter for a very long time and he runs this shop as a hobby. If you need something to do with bowhunting he is your man. He can sortout you with gear and train you if you need help on a advance level. He does not do intro courses. He is helpfull and really loves the sport.
You can find him at: http://www.bogenjagd.ch/content/index_ger.html
Now I was looking for a place to train when I start… I was looking for a place to shoot after work that is not miles away. So I found a club that is only 15min drive from our home. They have a indoor range in the winter and a nice outdoor range in the summer months. The club has been going for years and most of the people are Swiss. Not a bad thing but for a outsider its going to take some work to get into the system. But then if you dont jump in you never going to know how they are. They do practice sessions on Mondays for the beginners and on Thursdays they do training for them selfs so no beginners. You can belong to the club on a per month basis for 15 chf or you can join the club but then you have to wait for March as they only join new people once a year. So I went to the first beginners night. Very nice people and I got to shoot with a recurve bow. We had good fun and I also had a chat with the guys there to find out when I can start joining the club.
Here is the club details: http://bcbaden.ch/
So by this time 2 weeks has gone past and I dont know where to get a bow to rent as I dont want to drop loads of money on a bow and then I dont get a place to shoot it. I also want to make sure that I come right with the compound bow. As my end goal is to one day go and hunt myself a nice big fat turkey. So I hopped back onto the internet and started looking for shops. There is some really nice shops in Germany but I dont have a traveling permit yet so I am not allowed out the country. But in the end I found a great shop in Luzern. Its about 45 min drive from where I live.
I mailed them and the lady from the shop phoned me back a few days later… we had a nice chat and she told me they rent bows and they will set one up for me to get started. So I made a time and date to go and see them.
Shop details: http://www.strebel-bogensport.ch/
Arrived at the shop and man do they have everything you need. I spoke to a guy called Peter and he setup a left and a right handed bow for me to test. After the loads of testing and tuning I had a left handed bow setup for me. They rent the bows out for up to 3 months. It cost 65chf per month for a whole starter kit. The kit includes
1x Hoyt PowerHawk 2009 model
6x easton 355grams arrows
1x Bow stand
1x quiver
1x quick release (Jimi T)
1x Compound bow bag…
The bow was set to the max draw weight of 50 lbs. So I told the guy to leave it like that as I am hardcore. So out the door I go and off to go and start training myself. I went that evening to the Baden club to test the bow and set the sights. Man how hard it is to pull over that 50lbs after 30 min. As I always do I over do myself on the first few days and then I am so sore from putting muscles that I have never used under super stress. So setting in the bow on Sunday went well but my arms and back was hurting like mad. So I popped onto Skype and spoke to my uncle and he told me to turn the bow down and rather get your style right then pulling 50lbs the whole time. So I had to modify a allen key to work on the bow. After marking the settings I gave the bow on both sides one and a half turn down. So I think the bow is sitting on 45lbs and what a huge difference its making.
So now I am training 3 times a week for about 30-40 min a time. Its really nice to get out on the course and just focus on hitting the target time after time and learning how your bow works and for me to get use to pulling the bow over correctly. I have now watched countless videos on the web about compound bow drawing and style and it helped loads.
So this past monday evening I went to the club and they had a tournament on. Its a small one and we had to shoot on a moving target. What a load of fun. And the target was a turkey… hehe my prize.
I moved in and shot very constant round and came second in the group. I was very happy.
Now its just getting more and more practice in to get stronger and to get use to my rent bow.
I will keep you all posted and if there are any questions please give a a shout.
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