The very future of conservation and the life and death of the supportive sporting goods industry is in the hands of great American entrepreneur families across the country, and we salute them all.
Being the hopeless mystical-flight-of-the-arrow addict that I am, some of my most joyous memories in life took place at archery shops across America.
I remember so vividly my youthful bicycle jaunts up town to Millers Feed Store on Grand River Avenue in Redford on the edge of Detroit, Michigan, where I was born in 1948.
Though my dad was already a bowhunting follower of the great Fred Bear, there is no doubt that my immediate and natural love affair with the bow and arrow would have taken place no matter what.
Besides the intoxicating aroma of fresh green alfalfa and wheat straw bales, assorted feed and seed, the farming and ranching tools and implements, and a plethora of such goodies at Millers, it was that back wall lined with beautiful recurves and longbows with row after row of colorful, natural turkey-fletched cedar arrows that drew me in like a bug to light.
Even though back then it was a given that everybody was kind and friendly, the folks at Millers seemed to treat everyone like family, and it was always a wonderfully positive experience just to hang out and browse there as a kid.
I get goosebumps on my goosebumps reminiscing about those northern jaunts to that little cinderblock shack in Grayling, Michigan, where I first met his majesty, Fred Bear!
The kid-in-the-candy-store colloquialism cannot begin to explain the sheer giddiness I experienced every time I was blessed to be in the presence of the great man in his original Bear Archery headquarters.
There was old Ron Chamberlain in his Leslie Arrow Shop, where I learned so much and made friends for life surrounded by bows, arrows, guns, ammo, sporting goods of every description and a bloodbrother atmosphere that has a life of its own.
The same wonderful sensations occurred at the old Anderson Archery headquarters in Grand Ledge, Michigan, with all the great guys.
I have found in my nonstop rock-n-roll touring for 50-plus years in all 50 states of the good old USA, that that positive vibe and spirit is universal in every archery and sporting goods store I have ever wandered into.
We all love to talk bowhunting and archery overall, and there seems to be a wide-eyed fascination with hearing other’s perspective on all things mystical flight of the arrow.
Right now, down in Tarpon Springs, Florida, a possessed, passionate arrow freak by the name of George Britton at Brittons Archery is running mad, teaching archery nonstop to newcomers from very young to very old.
It seems that not a day goes by that old George doesn’t create a bow-and-arrow party atmosphere to attract people to his range to discover their inner Samurai spirit of out-of-body excellence with a simple bow and arrow.
George always has introductory friendly bows on hand, lightweight recurves, longbows and of course, the incredible Mathews Genesis bows, where with feather-fletched arrows at close range, he lovingly baptizes them into our beloved archery lifestyle.
George doesn’t stop there, but goes whole hog with scrumptious BBQ on the grill and all sorts of grilling delight to keep the gang coming back for more.
George puts in 14- to 16-hour days throughout the year giving each new archery student intimate, hands-on tutoring for proper form, focus and FUN!
My good friend Bruce Cull, president of the National Field Archery Association and his store manager, Scott Asse, are hard at it every day all year long as well, bringing the joys of archery into many folks’ lives.
Their reputable Dakota Archery & Sports in Yankton, South Dakota, also the famous world headquarters for the NFAA Hall of Fame Museum and range, is a destination mecca for newcomers and old veteran bowhunters alike, to know for sure that their bows will be set up to perfection and the professional guidance from Bruce and Scott is as good as it gets.
In downtown Jackson, Michigan, you will always find the parking lot full at Schupbachs Sporting Goods on Pearl Street. Bryan Schupbach has nurtured and cultivated a hardcore multi-state following by dedicating himself and his knowledgeable family and staff to earn a reputation for masterful hands-on guidance and bow tuning.
People will drive hours just to get the Schupbach touch and family atmosphere.
Up North in Bear Lake, Michigan, Dan and his bowhunting wife Twyla Osborn run their little, yet famous, Osborns Sport Shop in the heart of legendary Fred Bear big timber national forest bowhunting mecca.
In the historical bowhunting epicenter of Northern Wisconsin you will find Fred and Darlene Christen hard at work at their family-run F&D Archery in Osseo. Carrying on the Wisconsin bowhunting founding father Roy Case’s dream, Fred and Darlene are the real deal and continue to earn the respect and trust of hardcore archers in this great state.
The legendary Frank Addington and his bowhunting queen Cathy run the eternal Addingtons Archery in Winfield, West Virginia, much to the delight of gungho dedicated archers in that region. The Addingtons have built a reputation on world-class professionalism and the mastery of setting up people with the ultimate gear for the ultimate archery experience. Old Frank is indeed a Fred Bear team member.
Out in the wilds of Southern California there is a longtime, lifetime bowhunting master named Bob Fromme, that has operated his famous Performance Archery forever.
Going back more than 50 years, Bob lives the bowhunting lifestyle and his positive reputation precedes him, drawing in the old-timers and many newcomers to get his archery guru direction.
Up north there in Rocklin, real California, bowhunting freaks frequent Wilderness Archery to visit with owner Mike Woltering, to get the real deal lowdown on where to arrow hogs, bears, varmints and the wonderful California blacktail deer.
In Fort Worth, Texas, the archery mega-store Cinnamon Creek Archery delivers the goods by Joe Musacchio and family for the backstrappers of the Lone Star bowhunters.
In Waco, Texas, you will find lifetime bowhunting nut Allen Cargill and wife Pat at their famous Outhouse Archery, setting up bows and mentoring the growing army of archery enthusiasts in the Lone Star State.
I would like to salute each and every one of the thousands of killer archery shops and sporting goods stores across America by name to be found in every state, but based on my own boots-on-the-ground, firsthand experience, it is suffice to say that only the good ones survive and flourish, and they all live by a code of professionalism and positive spirit that is something to behold, and should be experienced and celebrated by us all.
In the big scheme of things, bowhunting season just doesn’t last long enough. (Except in Texas, of course, where it throttles relentlessly nonstop 12 months a year!)
Know that our beloved bowhunting spirit can be had and celebrated all year long simply by stopping by and visiting your friendly regional bowhunting shop.
Keeping the bowhunting spirit mindset all year will go a long way toward being in ultimate readiness for the season opener.
I don’t know about you but I live this magic stuff all year long like I mean it! Your Spirit BloodBrothers are out there waiting on you! Join the party!
Multi-platinum guitar legend TED NUGENT has a new full-length album THE MUSIC MADE ME DO IT, on Round Hill Records. The album is available now for order everywhere, and the title track “The Music Made Me Do It” is available to download and stream wherever music is sold.
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With more than 40 million albums sold, rock legend Ted Nugent is equally well known as the nation’s most outspoken proponent of our 1st and 2nd Amendment rights, conducting thousands of pro-gun, pro-freedom, pro-American interviews in major media worldwide. Nugent is a New York Times best-selling author whose works include Ted, White & Blue —The Nugent Manifesto; God, Guns & Rock ‘n’ Roll and Kill It & Grill It. This year, his award-winning Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild TV show celebrates its 500th episode! For all things Nuge, visit www.tednugent.com
Why Did You Shoot That Buck?
Ted Nugent on Fred Bear & Public Relations
