Archery Shoot in White River Country
by Joshua Heston
One by one, pickups pull into the open space atop the ridge. It is a cold, sunny winter morning above this particular Ozarks cedar glade. Archers of all ages and skill levels amble to the check-in tent, then to the test range.
“You know you’re a redneck when your bow costs more than your truck!” Camaraderie is evident. “Work? I know you! You don’t work!” Good-natured ribbing comes naturally here.
Soon, clusters of two to four archers begin picking their way down the hill where narrow ranges have been cut into the forest.
“As a club, all we have to do is remove obstructions that keep archers from hitting the scoring zone,” explains White River Bowmen founder Davy Wilson. “It’s not about making it easy, as much as making it accessible. You want the experience to be challenging but fun.”
Throughout the mountainside course, the ranges vary dramatically in distance and difficulty. Realistic, 3D targets — whitetail deer, black panthers, black bear, javelinas, foxes and even an African lion — peer through the forest. Ozarks ledge rock, interesting angles, and sudden changes in elevation make each shot a unique experience.
“Last year the feedback we got from the pros was, ‘This is a challenging range.’”
White River Bowmen is a non-profit archery club co-founded by Davy Wilson and Brandon Beckett. Both are passionate about community as well as archery and the non-profit has already given $750 each to two different local families in need. “We want to be a vital part of the community,” continues Wilson, who also owns Wilson & Co. Barber Shop in nearby Hollister, Missouri, and handcrafts knives in his spare time.
Despite the club’s recent founding, White River Bowmen has already been honored by both Missouri’s and Arkansas’ Archery Shooters Association (ASA). “This is our second season and we applied to hold a state qualifier,” explains Wilson. “They recently upgraded [White River Bowmen] qualifiers to dual-state, so now folks in Arkansas can come and shoot to qualify in their state finals, and vice versa. It’s building community and archery really is about building community.
As we talked, pros and novices of all ages walked past. “This is one of the few sports where mom, dad, and the kids can all compete. We want everything we do to be fun and accessible.”
