Fall 2015 T.B.O.F Stickbow News
TBOF member Don Davis takes a fine doe taken with a longbow and wood arrow.
News and Notes By Bryan Finder More Fences and Sidewalks Please do not drive over new sidewalks or camp on the other side of fences. New construction at the FWC Conservation Center is reducing the size of the primitive and generator camping areas. If there is any confusion on where to make camp please find TBOF president Bryan Finder or Vise President Bill Green and we will handle these issues in real time. Vegetation Flagging Have you noticed the flagging of vegetation and seedlings all over the FWC Camp? This is to keep our big feet and ATV’s from flattening their plantings to the ground. They are just about everywhere, so it’s hard to avoid them, but do your best, especially at night when they are harder to see.
Work Party There will be a work party at 9:00 AM Thursday August 6th. If you are able please show up and bring machetes, chainsaws or any other tools that could be helpful. TBOF will provide lunch and your name will be placed in a drawing for a $50.00 gift card for either Bass Pro or Cabelas. Work parties are generally a lot of fun. When enough people show up the work is finished early in the day and the afternoon can be spent shooting arrows at the practice butts, cooking out, relaxing or whatever!
Leave it better than you found it How we leave things at camp after we have all gone home reflects directly upon us as a group. We should show by our actions what type of people we are and set an example for others to follow. Please pick up around your camp and the event site in general so that casual observers will see that we are different. If you rent a cabin from us and leave it messy you will not be permitted to rent a cabin in the future……no exceptions! Ground Fires If you want a campfire, either use one of the provided fire rings or bring an above the ground fire proof container. Your container should be dumped in one of the fire rings when you leave. If you dump it on the ground, it looks like you had a ground fire. If you need fire wood, there is wood sold at camp on the honor system. It is in the big bin between the registration building and the vendor area. New Showers and Bathrooms There have been several new bathroom and shower facilities constructed at the conservation center. These facilities are constructed at the rear of each big bunkhouse and will be accessible by those renting the bunkhouse as well as the general public through a door in the rear. Please…please…please help us keep the new and old facilities clean!
Timothy Roberts with a nice doe taken with his recurve.
Presidents Column By Bryan Finder
I am constantly stunned with TBOF event attendance. I am pleased to announce that we had 500 plus participants at the 2015 Spring Championship! Congratulations to our winners. I hope you all continue to show up to upcoming events to defend your titles! Thankfully, the shoot went off with no major problems and some pretty decent weather. At this year’s championship I was thankful to be able not only to spend some quality time with family but with friends as well (I actually was able to shoot one round)! I would like to give a special thanks to the volunteers that turned out for the work day; Lynn Vaughn, Roxy and Nathan Nettles, Carolyn Faunce, Ray Terella, Andy Love, Jeff Hester, Joshua Church, John Berlett, John Rollen, Bill, Casey, Wyatt and Will Green, George Haseltine, Ron Waiderich, Michael Besel, Wayne Carter, Gary Lynn, Jeff and Brenda Brogdon, Rob (Lone Ranger) and Amanda (Panda) Mathews and Larry Ramsey. I apologize if I missed or misspelled any names, your loyalty and hard work is much appreciated. The upcoming Rendezvous, Charity, and Spring Championship events will officially be the 25th Anniversary shoots. Be prepared for some cool swag, nice trophies and new novelty shoots! These events may take a little extra work to set up, so please consider showing up to the work party. we always have a great time and as usual we will supply lunch. Enjoy your summer and I hope to see you all in August!
Penny Banks with a doe taken “trad” style!
Officers and Directors President Bryan Finder (863) 207-9614 Finder.bryan@gmail.com
Vice President Bill Green tbofbillgreen@embarqmail.com
Director Gary Lynn (352) 299-3634 gnslinn@yahoo.com
Director Rob Mathews (352)361-1568 robmmathews@gmail.com
Treasurer Buddy Oswald dhoswald@gmail.com
Director Ron Sumner (352) 267-1265
Secretary
ronsumner@cfl.rr.com
Casey Green (239) 410-6074 caseygreen@embarqmail.com
Director Gregg Dudley (352) 817-7832
Director
Tradbow70@gmail.com
Wayne Carter (904) 307-1723 wv126@comcast.net
Ad Manager Ray Tareila (352) 323-0925 Cell is (352) 638-1496
Director Carolyn Faunce seekye@comcast.net
straytarrow@comcast.net
Rest in peace Tom Swift
Tom Swift with a nice buck taken with a longbow! It saddens me to inform you that long time TBOF member Tom Swift passed away unexpectedly in his home on May 31st 2015. I was bested by Tom in a shoot off for men’s longbow division the very first time I came to a TBOF event. After that, one of my goals was always to try and shoot as good as Tom…not an easy task! Tom will be deeply missed, not only by family but by the archery community as well. He was a great father, archer, hunter, storyteller and judging by what I have been told by his close friends, much more.
Passing on the archery tradition…
The Cabbage Palm Chronicles with Don D
a creek on a cool fall morning as the surrounding wildlife awakens with the sun. A constant presence in these woods and swamps is the Sable Palm, also known as the cabbage palm for its edible heart that locals refer to as swamp cabbage. Usually straight growing, it offers a solid perch for a treestand. Sheer numbers of the cabbage palm in most locations make it the logical stand choice for Florida bowhunters.
Hearts of Palm As hunters and fishermen, we are blessed to be able to travel this country freely and enjoy its many natural resources. The opportunities to hunt different species seems limited only by ones means to travel. The venues are magnificent, from the forested eastern woodlands to the snowcapped peaks of the Brooks Range. An enterprising bowhunter's quarry may range from grey squirrels to moose in a single season. I have been fortunate enough to have bowhunted several different regions. The large whitetails of the Midwest seem to offer the greatest opportunity to contract a severe case of buck fever while the splendor and excitement of the Rockies during the elk rut is truly awe inspiring. I have been asked many times, if I could choose any place to live and hunt, where would it be. My quick response is often met with surprise and disbelief... I choose Florida. There is a magic that exists in Florida's wild interior that only years spent within its woods and swamps can reveal. The hardwood hammocks and sandy scrub often give way to cypress and creek swamps, its lifeblood the tannin stained water. From a stand within a hammock, a bobcat might be spied silently stalking a group of turkeys, making bowhunters realize how truly inferior their own stalking abilities are. Only a few experiences are as spiritual as watching the steam rise from
I have hunted from cabbage palms more than I have hunted from all other species of tree combined. From them, I have taken my best bucks (not largest, but best, there is a difference) filled my freezer with venison and witnessed the magnificent sights and sounds of a truly wild Florida. A Florida foreign to most, but ever present to those like us who bowhunt and live here. Yes, Florida is my favorite place to hunt. The big game may be larger, easier to hunt and more diverse elsewhere but, in my opinion, there is no better place to be than a cabbage palm tree in hunting season. Home for bowhunters is where their heart is. Be it the Midwest, the Far North, or the Rockies, every hunter's heart seems to be comprised of a little of that which makes his home special. My home is wild Florida. I guess you can say I have a heart of palm.