Big shots: Archery tournament coming to town

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Press Photo by Lisa Call Mike Hanson of Dickinson eyes-up his target during a league shoot at the Roughrider Archers indoor range in downtown Dickinson on Tuesday evening.

Talk about it

Archery has seemingly become a family affair at the Roughrider Archers indoor range in downtown Dickinson and the club is sponsoring an indoor shoot on March 13 and 14 and six members of the Dukart family are participating.

“When we say it’s a family affair we’re not kidding,” said Tom Dukart, owner of Duke’s Boot Repair & Saddlery in Dickinson.

Held at the Dickinson State University Indoor Arena, the shoot encompasses all age groups, both male and female and seven classes of bow fall into each division.

Registration for participation in the March 13 Roughrider Archers Indoor Shoot ends at 5 p.m. and registration for the second day ends at 2 p.m.

The shoot will entail a few rounds.

One will be a 300-round in which a participant shoots 60 arrows at one solid target.

Participants can also then shoot in a “Vegas round,” where three targets are shot with 10 arrows each.

The shoot will also include a two-man best arrow where two people shoot together and the best arrow is counted.

Participants cannot use range finders, however may use binoculars.

“Seeing it and hitting, it’s another thing,” said Loren Adams, a member of the Roughrider Archers since 1984.

On Friday, DSU’s Indoor Arena will transform into a forest-type setting.

“We’ve got probably 100 Christmas trees saved,” Adams said. “Me and some other guys drove around and picked up Christmas trees and hauled them to our outdoor range. We have two different contractors in town with Bobcats with posthole diggers on there … they’ll drill a hole in the floor and we stand the Christmas trees up … so it’s just like you’re out hunting.”

To make things even more realistic, full-size targets will also be set up, including grizzly bears, an elk, caribou, turkeys and even a tyrannosaurus rex.

Running for at least one more week, the Roughrider Archers hold a kid’s night each Monday beginning at about 6:45 p.m. at the group’s indoor range located at 103 1/2 E. Villard St. in downtown Dickinson.

Regardless of experience, the public is welcome and the range can provide bows and arrows to those who do not own the equipment. Members of the Roughrider Archers are on hand to assist those with a desire to learn the sport.

Young Dickinson archer Ava Hoerner, 5, has been visiting the indoor range on and off for about a year with her father.

Shooting a bow about as tall as she is, Hoerner said “getting the animals” is her favorite part.

Matt Heinz, a Dickinson archer, was on hand helping 3-year-old Owin Seibel and 4-year-old Davin Seibel, both of Dickinson, and said seeing them having so much fun is a cure for a bad day.

“I laughed so freakin’ hard,” Heinz said. “It helps you out.”

Dukart joined the Roughrider Archers in 1982 after it was founded about 30 years ago.

Dukart’s daughter, Jessica Dukart, has been shooting with her dad since she was a small child.

After taking a few years off from archery, Jessica Dukart, along with her husband, have picked the sport up once more.

“We wanted to hunt,” Dukart said.

Tom and Jessica Dukart now participate in about eight tournaments per year.

Jessica Dukart said about 10 to 15 percent of area archers are women.

For more information on the Roughrider Archers, visit www.roughriderarchers.com.

Tags: roughrider archers, eric martel, mike hanson, indoor shoot, outdoors, recreation, archery, tournament