Detroit Archery Club, West Bloomfield, MI - April 2009

What a beautiful day for a walk through the woods with one of my sons, Jim. He and I went to West Bloomfield for a shoot at the Detroit Archery Club (DAC). When we arrived we were greeted by Dave Anglin, one of the board members at the club. While we were registering and getting ready to shoot the 3-D Range we were talking to Dave to get a little background on the DAC. Dave also took the time to walk with us for the first couple of targets just so we got off on the right foot. Come to find out that any one that knows anything about archery knows one of the founding fathers and the first President of this very prestigious Club, FRED BEAR. It is so cool to be in the presence of such a great legend even though he has been gone all these years. There was evidence of his handy work; there was a bear skin rug of his in the display case for all to see, as well as some pictures of Fred. This club has quite a history to it. Both of the founding fathers of the Pope and Young club have been there, as well as Ted Nugent. They have moved around quite a bit but now have settled in Southwestern Oakland County, on 31 rolling acres surrounded by beautiful million dollar homes. 

The club is run on a volunteer basis; in other words, you have to put in so many hours a month volunteering around the club to join as well as an annual fee. All in all, we had a great time shooting the course. What a great bunch of people to have a great time with. They are always looking for new members to contribute to the club. The club has an indoor and an outdoor range as well a 3-D range, all of which have leagues on all days throughout the week. They also have beginner lessons for kids to teach them the fundamentals of archery. After the lessons they give each participant a trophy, a hot dog and a soft drink. What a great way to introduce to the next generation to the art of archery. The tradition of our great sport continues for yet another generation.
 
The club also treated us to quite a smorgasbord of homemade BBQ pork, some salads, sandwiches and there was enough there to feed an army. Oh yeah, Dave said not to expect that kind of treatment the next time we come out to shoot. He said that they do it for the workers and members of the club just to say thanks for all their hard work. Thanks Dave !
I cannot say enough about the members and the people we met. Ron McLaughlin the club president as well as the treasurer Chris Bobolts took time out to say a few words to us. The 3-D Range was really challenging with some tight shots. I recall one shot in particular - you had to shoot the animal through the center of a hollowed out log which was pretty awesome.
Both Jim and I made really good shots on that one, and of course we had to shoot the alligator out in the middle of a pond (swamp is more like it) One of the guys at the club would stand in the water and retrieve your arrow, well when I shot my arrow it ricocheted off the back and out into the woods. He said that he wasn’t going into the next county to get my arrow. So, now I have lost an arrow and got no points for hitting this slippery alligator. HAH! 

But let me tell you the one that really got to us. There was a pig facing left so both Jim and I shot right behind the front shoulder of the pig, but when we went up to score the animal we found that there were 2 pigs, one facing the right directly in front of the one that was facing left, so we both shot that pig in the butt. Real funny Dave, but he did warn us that all things are not as though they seem. Good one for the home team!
 
We really did have a great time shooting the Detroit Archery Club Toughman 3-D shoot. Thanks guys for your hard work in setting up the shoot and taking down the targets afterwards I know there is a lot of work that goes into a quality shoot like that one.

You can visit Detroit Archery Club's website here.