THE LAW OF THE LAND

from September 2022

LOCAL LEGENDS

BY DALEN MCVAY

THE LAW OF THE Land Archery Q&A with Grant Gungoll

Happy almost hunting season folks! It’s about time to get out the ole stick and string and get tuned up for archery season. I’ve asked our local archery expert (who shoots WAY better than me) a few archery questions.

What is the first piece of advice you are giving someone looking into archery?

The first piece of advice I would give would be to take the time to examine what you want to accomplish by starting the sport of archery. What is your primary objective for starting archery? Is the reason hunting, competitive shooting, recreation, exercise, social interaction, family activity, or something else?

The second piece of advice I would give, and probably the most important, is to consult an experienced archer before buying any equipment. The biggest mistake I see, which is also the most common mistake I see is people buying used equipment without any consideration for how it might fit them or their children. It is important to me that you get off to a good start for your development in the sport and your safety. You cannot be successful in archery if your equipment doesn’t fit.

Bow or Crossbow? Advantages and disadvantages of both?

Compound archers, in general, tend to strongly dislike the fact that crossbows are legal, and they often do not acknowledge them as archery equipment. My personal view is that as hunters and archers we have a very serious obligation to the animals we hunt. We should feel obligated to make the most accurate and lethal shot possible for the respect and recovery of the animal. If you are not willing to put a substantial amount of work into practicing and tuning a compound bow, please consider a crossbow. You still need to practice with and tune a crossbow, but it takes a lot less time, commitment, and knowledge.

Pros of crossbow:

Higher draw weight, Faster, eliminates the step of having to draw the bow back when an animal comes in, can be used by multiple people without adjustment, easier to use in ground or box blinds

Cons of Crossbow:

Some models are loud when shot, you must shoot the crossbow to unload it in most cases, hard to shoot without a steady rest, harder to get maintenance done, risk of severe hand injury if fingers go above the guard

Pros of Compound Bow:

Highly adjustable and customizable in most cases, lots of accessories available at several price points, more opportunities for competitive shooting, more legal hunting opportunities in other states, easier and safer to handle when hunting. Cons of compound bow:

Need to be specifically adjusted to one shooter, more practice and skill needed, archers’ physical size and strength dramatically impact the performance of the bow, constant equipment adjustments and changes for youth archers, equipment value can depreciate quickly.

Hunting/Competitive shooting what are the main factors to consider?

The great thing about bowhunting and competitive archery is that there truly is something for everyone! In competitive archery, the type of equipment you use, your gender, and age put you in a certain class. Then those classes are used among several different disciplines of competition. These disciplines all require a slightly different skill set. There are indoor, field, target, 3-D, and even broadhead events available to participate in at different times throughout the year. In Oklahoma 3-D and indoor are currently the most popular types of archery in my opinion. This is mostly due to lots of youth organizations and clubs specializing in these types of events. The opportunities to travel for tournaments are a lot more prevalent with these types of contests. The skills learned through competition can improve your ability as a bowhunter. Several equipment classes use the same equipment you will hunt with while others give you the ability to use highly specialized accessories. Traditional archery with longbows, recurves and selfbows are also an option to hunt and compete with and are rapidly growing in popularity. Several more types of equipment classes exist that you might have never considered, and I encourage you to research these and find something that interests you.

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