Making Archery Great Again | Wolf Run Bowhunters
If you have a local 3D club nearby, cherish it! As a young man I took this place for granted. These days, I understand the effort required to run a successful club. It's all about the PEOPLE. Love your fellow archer and community/growth will come.
Video - Short Club Summary | May 7th, 2023 Tournament Results
"Welcome to Roodhouse, Il… The home of the esteemed Wolf Run Bowhunters archery club. Whitetail hunting and 3d archery runs deep in the veins of this community. With the local allure of big buck hunting, comes big pressure to be a better archer. JD Garner knew this and began Garners Archery in 1978, as a source of equipment and community for the local hunters. By 1980, Garners Archery and the now strong core of local archers banded together to form Wolf Run Bowhunters. With the dedication of members such as Sonny and Karen Kirchner, JD, Billy, Dixie Garner, the Perkinson and Camden families, it was decided that a property should be acquired. That property and the facilities created there are what you see now at the modern Wolf Run Bowhunters."
"Over the years thousands of arrows have been sent downrange on this little 40 acre piece of archery paradise. The club membership and shooter turnout has ebbed and flowed with the times. Wolf Run has experienced times of robust growth and times of sorrow and near death. Only 5 years ago the club was on it’s final stand with low membership, poor event turnout and a bank account that barely covered the property tax. Thankfully, God wasn’t finished using archery here, and a new fleet of archery crazed members have breathed new life into the club, resuscitating it to a point that feels like “The Good Old Days” may have just begun."
“With the threat of rain, there was palpable uncertainty in the clubhouse... “would anyone show up?”. That uncertainty was quickly replaced with hopeful anticipation as the first wave of shooters arrived. With quickly increasing temperatures, the mud was replaced with humidity… the cloudy darkness replaced with sun and good lighting on the range. I walked the course, connecting with the competitors, moving through the groups of shooters. Some described their day with excitement, some with lighthearted despair. As always, inside jokes and jovial banter echoed through the woods as the generally hushed sounds of the timber was replaced with lively voices, young and old. People here come for a variety of reasons… some wish to compete at the highest level of archery and use this as an opportunity for pressured practice. Some enjoy the competitive spirit but simply want to shoot amongst their peers for the bragging rights. There are bowhunters who want to practice judging yardage and shooting at the animal targets to improve their success, and still others simply enjoy the time on the trail, enjoying the sights and sounds of nature with a bow in hand. It seems that most fit into more than one of these categories, but all the same, archery is community.. and community is here…”
“The novelty shoot is one of the fastest growing events at the monthly Wolf Run Tournament. This month’s event was named after the world-famous Marked 3D Western Classic Trail Shoot. As these shooters were walking the hills of rural Greene County in search of a Wolf Run victory, Bodie Turner and Paige Pearce were on their way to the top of the podium in Redding, California. Back here in Roodhouse, an 85 yard deer target and a 38 yard wolverine, both marked with orange dots, were set center stage in front of the clubhouse. The sign near the shooting stakes gave the rules… pay one dollar per shot. Hit the orange dot on the deer and your name goes into the drawing 5 times, hit the orange dot on the wolverine and get one chance at drawing for the jackpot. The jackpot being the donation of all your fellow archers attempting to do the same thing…. Once the first few archers bravely stepped in front of the crowd, it was on. A large portion of the day’s shooters eventually took a chance and tested their talent. Hit the dot and you have a chance, miss and you donate to those who did… Lane Hubbard and Braxtyn Wellenreiter took the early odds. Both young shooters impressed the crowd with their ability to perform under pressure. By the end of the day the pot had grown to $142 with only 8 shooters eligible to be drawn… a decent day’s return for the winner, based on a few dollar investment.”
“By mid afternoon, all the shooters were off the range and scorecards were in to be double checked by Miss Dixie at the registration desk. Novelty entries were all in and shooters headed home anxiously awaiting the posted results for both events. Tournament director, Adam Fox, compiled the scores and member, Chad Kirchner drew the novelty winner. As he pulled the winner his eyes he couldn’t hold in his joy, letting us know that the winner must be present as Trevor, Adam and I looked on. He wouldn’t miss the opportunity to give the winner a hard time, if given the chance. Sure enough, yours truly, took home the prize… not without a touch of guilt. As the club president… and based on the fact that several of the other entries were youth shooters I vowed to buy all other eligible entrants lunch at the June 11th tournament. Later that evening the word was spread and the scores were posted to the Wolf Run Bowhunters Facebook page. No doubt, these archers were excited to view the results as they shared the page to their friends and family. Another successful archery tournament came and went, life long friendships were kindled, discipline and skill were improved and bowhunters were born. Only one month to go before we meet again, June 11th, here at Wolf Run Bowhunters in good old Roodhouse, IL.”