Run Bucky, Run

[ruttinbuc]

In light of the running deer thread I turned on the way back machine and came across this Hi8 video I took of a mid 90's weekend at Forksville, PA. Every September they have the Pennsylvania Bowhunters Festival. They have 3D courses and a bunch of novelty shoots. Ranges for kids, a big chicken dinner and a lot of vendors selling their wares.

The running deer shoot was by the far the favorite. People would go to the festival just to shoot the rascal. It was a real trick to hit em in the kill zone. We used all the junk and mismatched arrows we could find to whack the paper mache' whitetail. A lot of people would destroy the arrows they brought and then buy them by the dozens and destroy them, too. The arrow vendors made a small fortune for sure. It was absolutely a great time! It was a forty yard shot straight away, but you had those guys who would try and hit the thing from cross corners. They usually caught heat for taking out everybody's arrows from the side.

Realize that this is long before the hype of today with all the marketing and what hunting has turned into. There were a few stars who showed up. Guys like the late Stacy Groscup who would amaze the crowd by shooting aspirins out of the air with his stick bow. Larry Wise with his Indian bows, Byron Ferguson with his show. Bob Kirschner with his PA renowned Silver Top buck lure. The only outfitter selling hunts at the time that I remember was Carter's Lodge from Illinois. Loggy Bayou was the hot treestand and Mathews bows were in their infancy. There were very good deals to be had at almost every booth.

The festival still exists today, but like a lot of things is a mere shadow of the event it was. I have not gone since NJ started the early bow season. Maybe this year I'll take the time and go waste some junk arrows once again..

No deer were harmed in making this video...:cool2:

Count the carbons!

Edited March 31, 2010 by ruttinbuc

[Goinghuntin]

Haha thats a good video! Makes me wonder how I'd do at it...

No deer were harmed in making this video...:cool2:

And don't try telling me that. At the very least that guys pride is hurt, running around getting shot at all day :hammer1:

Nathan

[Chenango Dave]

I remember going there as a kid - it was a blast seeing it in person. I remember seeing all the broken arrows on the hill behind the deer too. I remember seeing people getting into a fight over who's arrow was who's.

Good times, thanks for sharing the video.

[buckee]

"In light of the running deer thread "

This is a great post Mike. I hope many read both threads and come to some sort of responsible conclusions.

"Guys like the late Stacy Groscup who would amaze the crowd by shooting aspirins out of the air with his stick bow. Larry Wise with his Indian bows, Byron Ferguson with his show. Bob Kirschner with his PA renowned Silver Top buck lure"

How did those guys do. I didn't see very many arrows (very, very few, in fact) going into the kill zone in the whole video. And that deer decoy, for the most part, was running really slow and barely bouncing up and down most of the time. 40 yards or 2 yards coming straight at you, it makes for a pretty tough shot.

No deer were harmed in making this video..

Thank goodness for that..eh

Now that sure does look like fun.

[ruttinbuc]

This is a great post Mike. I hope many read both threads and come to some sort of responsible conclusions.

It is my hope too, Steve. Part of why I made the video was to show how tough it is to hit a moving target with a bow. Albeit these shots are at a distance you still need to make responsible decisions when letting an arrow fly at live game. What is different from those times are the attitudes of the hunter today which is greatly influenced by the anything goes media, both in the mainstream and the internet. Five minutes of fame has changed things by a lot.

How did those guys do. I didn't see very many arrows (very, very few, in fact) going into the kill zone in the whole video. And that deer decoy, for the most part, was running really slow and barely bouncing up and down most of the time. 40 yards or 2 yards coming straight at you, it makes for a pretty tough shot.

It was tough hitting it. You never knew what the thing was going to do. Some of the operators would have it just run back and forth at a constant speed while others would make it stop and go and change it up. It was frustrating when you put it on him and he sped up, turned around or started bucking up and down.... Just like a real deer you didn't know what it was going to do.

I played some with the speed when editing the clip to catch the arrows in flight and to make the deer run faster.

I remember going there as a kid - it was a blast seeing it in person. I remember seeing all the broken arrows on the hill behind the deer too. I remember seeing people getting into a fight over who's arrow was who's.

Good times, thanks for sharing the video.

I am glad it brought back those memories, Dave. There were quite a few arguments over arrows for sure. My brother and I had special marks on the fletching and the knocks . We would come up short on the arrows and then walk the line looking in quivers or arrow tubes and claim them back. Those arrows were like gold, lol!.

Haha thats a good video! Makes me wonder how I'd do at it...

And don't try telling me that. At the very least that guys pride is hurt, running around getting shot at all day :hammer1:

Nathan

I bet with practice you'd be pretty good at it Nathan.

Even though that deer looked like a pin cushion he didn't say a word and actually looked happy running down that track.

[RangerClay]

That was great Mike. Maybe one I will come down and check it out.

[Diamond Archer 01]

That is cool.