Traditional Friends In May 2008 , The Amite River Traditional Archery Club (ARTAC) and Waddill Wildlife Refuge in Baton Rouge located on Flannery Road host the 10^th annual multi-round traditional archery tournament. Waddill Wildlife Refuge facility is owned and operated by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. This facility is a wonderful place for local residents to bring the family to picnic, fish or hike. The hiking trails consist of over 2 miles of winding, shady and educational trails. Two big ponds are available for fishing. This facility is open to the public. More information call Wayne Houston at 765-2933 or Mike Genusa at 272-7418. 143 Competitors from several surrounding states participated in the 10^th annual ‘The Real Thing’ archery tournament for three days. We had a large number of visitors from the Baton Rouge area that came out to observe and get a glance of a fine traditional shot. To some, traditional archery brought back memories from there earlier days when they cut there teeth on a stick bow. The activities started early Friday morning securing the final touches to the course. Registration area, targets, directional signs, water jugs and installing the Sponsor signs at each target was completed. We had vendors arriving after lunch to set up for the weekend along with shooters securing their cabins and temporary shelter of tents for the weekend in the primitive camping area. Some shooters chose the local motels for their temporary shelters while others slept in the air conditioned cabins. After settling in, several shooters registered for the early bird shoot and hit the course. The early bird shoot started at 2 and ended at 6 pm. This shoot consisted of 20 shots at a mix of 3-D targets. Pre-registration Friday was a good deal because the range opened at 7 am Saturday and the shooters were ready to take advantage of the cool morning air. It appeared someone had opened a gate. The competitors started arriving early one after another. Each competitor registered in their class, received a score card mingled with a group and started the course. The competitors shot 25 targets for score scattered through out 1 mile of beautiful easy walking nature trails lined with benches, bridges and educational markers describing the different trees along the way. There were over 30 targets on the range simulating a scenic view in some cases. There were multiple target setups of life like 3-D McKenzie, Longhorn and Delta foam targets consisted of deer, pigs, turkeys, black bear, Grizzly bear, bobcats, coyote, alligator and wolfs allowing the shooter a choice of two target stations to make extra points. From the shooting stake, the archer could shoot a close target for a score of 10, 8, 5 or 0 while the other target scored 18 points for the 10 ring, 11 pts for the 8 ring and 0 pts for anything else. Some archers were happy after the shot while others second guessed their decision. 2 of the 25 targets were moving targets. The moving targets consisted of a beaver that traveled on a rail really fast, a feed deer and an antelope on a cable and a very big crimson bear on a track. The real deer, squirrels and rabbits were added pleasures but not shot at. Each 3D target is positioned in such a manner to promote an ethical archery shot. The archer, walking with other archers, would walk the trail until he reached a station, which consisted of a number sign, sponsor sign, shooting stakes and a target. He would prepare for his shot by focusing on a spot on the target, draw, anchor, aim and then let go the arrow to hit the mark. The next archer in the group would take a turn. Each archer either scored a 10, 8,5 or 0 depending on arrow placement. Once the group finished the round they would turn in their scorecards and receive another card to start the round over and try and beat the previous score. The archer’s highest score was used for award placement. Now, if any of you were outdoors Saturday or Sunday, you know that it was very HOT. There were several archers that shot 5 rounds and some 3-4 for the weekend. This should give you some idea of the physical condition that some of these traditional archers are in or either they just like shooting. ARTAC had help from the Boy Scott Troop out of Gonzales. These guys were a big help working the moving targets, keeping the water stations full of ice and water and other special activities. The range closed at 7:00 pm however back at the registration area, our own special cook, Eddie Lobell had the area smelling so good with a jambalaya that he prepared for all. Starting at dark was the coon shoot but let me explain the coon shoot. You don’t need to bring a good coon dog. What we do is the first 10 targets are illuminated with 2 glow sticks, one glow stick at the shooting stake and the other at the target. The glow stick at the target shined a soft light so that you could barely see the outline of the target. All the shooters would turn their flashlights out, one-foot touching the shooting stake, let their eyes focus and take turns shooting one arrow at the target for score. Each group of shooters will shoot at 10 targets for a possible score of 100 points per shooter. The real outlaws will rise to the top. Lets talk this event up for the 2009 tournament. Sunday morning started off the same way as Saturday with shooters arriving early. Church service was held at 7 am . Registration at 7:30, vendors opened for business and shooters hit the trails. All score cards had to be posted at 2:00 pm for them to count. Everyone moved to the AIR CONDITIONED education building and prepared for the closing ceremonies. See you next year at the Waddill Wildlife Refuge. 2008 Tournament results listed on the Results page.