SWING INTO SPRING
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BY MELISSA MENDONCA
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PHOTOS: JEN PETERSON
i choose archery
Merida Disney’s Brave
TA K E A I M W I T H I S H I A R C H E R Y ABOUT TWO AND A HALF MILES up Highway 36 East from Highway 99 in Red Bluff is one of the state’s oldest archery clubs, a place where generation after generation has learned to hit a target, either paper or a 3D animal. Many have honed their hunting skills on the range and some have gone on to national and international archery competitions. “You need to work it all out on the target range,” says Jesse Sisneros, president of Ishi Archery Club, regardless of the use one intends for their skills. Consistent actions are a key to archery success, and the range offers a variety of ways to develop that consistency. “People who are into archery will shoot year round,” he adds, noting that targets are set up in different topographies so that one must shoot uphill, downhill and sideways in preparation for real-life hunting scenarios.
Situated on 125 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, the club’s range is maintained year-round and allows members to practice in all weather. A covered shooting area lets people get out in rain or snow. The range is certified and chartered by the National Field Archery Association and the California Bowman Hunters State Archery Association. Sisneros was born into a hunting family, and came naturally to the sport because it gets him closer to the animals during hunts and allows him to see many more of them when out in the wilderness. Bow hunting season begins before rifle season, so the animals aren’t yet conditioned to look for hunters. “It’s more challenging, more gratifying,” he says of bow hunting. “There’s a limited range with a bow versus a rifle.” 4 continued on page 30
MARCH 2022
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