At the July Club Shoot I had the pleasure to mentor 14 year old Luca who has only just begun his bow shooting journey. Luca’s folks dropped him off and Libby and I took him for some practice shots to see how he’d go. Despite only having a bare bow, Luca was a natural and could shoot well.
Placed into one of many small groups up at our Waihopai Course, the young fella was in just the right situation to learn without too much competitive pressure.
Off we went for the shooting round – first target for our group was a billy goat on a rock in the riverbed – a tricky and technical target, but Luca was keen to have a crack. His arrow sailed right over the top of the target and into the Waihopai river. All we could do was watch it float by in the still-swollen rapids. It was a bit of a cruel blow, but we carried on.
Second target, same result – over the top – but, thankfully, this time we managed to find and retrieve the arrow. With heaps of support and guidance we carried on. The third target was a wee rabbit and Luca nailed it!
From then on, the young fella was away – finishing with a big smile and a new group of mates. He’d had an awesome day and was now hooked on bow shooting. I must say that we were pretty rapt too, and we reckon this young fella is one to watch for the future.
The Fishing Paper & Hunting News is proud to support this new monthly column from the Marlborough BowHunters and hopes that you will enjoy following the journey of this group of bowhunting enthusiasts.
