Hunting season with your bow and arrows is still pretty far off, but for those who practice the discipline, it’s really always archery season. And nobody knows that better than the members of the Lewis and Clark Archers based out of Helena.
They maintain the outdoor shooting range on Davis Gulch. The club’s tournament director JaLina Collins is new to the sport, but has the enthusiasm of someone who’s been shooting for years.
“I’m still at the level where it’s fun, I’ll come out here and just enjoy myself,” Collins said.
For Collins, shooting is much more than just connecting with the target but finding a way to connect with herself.
“I feel it’s really centered me back to, just your self-awareness of how your body functions with archery,” Collins added. “I’ve always rock-climbed, and so when you’re standing there on the archery line it really feels like your are particularly realizing where’s my breath work at, how am I focusing on my target, what is my objective here, how can I be successful in this particular shot and I like it more than rock climbing because there is more stability in it and there is less risk involved in archery. Where I am at in my life it is a great transition for my life in the great outdoors.”
On Saturday, April 8 new archers like JaLina will get a great opportunity to get out and work on the skill with people who’ve been shooting their entire lives at their first 3D target Spring Fling at the Prickly Pear Simmental ranch.
“It will be to benefit the Baxendale Fire Department and Lewis and Clark Archers, " Collins told MTN. "We have a pre-registration that we’d love people to sign up on but you can sign up day of for a little more and it is going to be a great day. Hopefully, the snow will make it more fun and challenging for archers."
More information about the event can be found here.
