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StephanieRainey backtotheforest@wmonline.com April 23, 2002
P.S.E Tournament
P.S.E ‘s bow tournament was held on April 19-21st in Tucson at the P.S.E. headquarters. The tournament allowed for every type of competitor from the seasoned pro to the beginner. My cousin, my brother and I were there to compete. My brother and I we were there to learn some pointers since it would be our first competition. My brother had just received a P.S.E. bow the day before, from our father, so his introduction into the world of bows was sort of like a clip from the movie, “The Fast and Furious.” We both shot two ranking rounds and received a sticker to place on our chest with our ranking number. We wore our chest sticker with the number two proudly printed on it, as people searched us out to partner up with. You see, number one and number two rankings are very popular in the competition, as I was to find out.
I had the opportunity to shoot with many different people like John, Troy and Brad. On my final shoot, I had the opportunity to be paired with Patrick, a P.S.E. staff person. I shot three arrows into the target this time, my best score yet. My most embarrassing moment almost came when I shot along with about fifty other contestants. There we were standing in a line, elbow to elbow, kind of like a scene out of “Brave Heart,” when I noticed an arrow bounce out from the target. I noticed an orange color to the fletchings and dismissed the arrow as being someone else’s. But when my partner Brad and my brother both asked if that was my arrow, I had to say that it was. The range master came up to me and asked if the arrow that bounced out was mine and I told him yes. He told me to retrieve it and shoot it again. I thought that was great, another try. But as I was walking back to the line, I noticed one hundred beady little eyes watching me as I stood, alone, at the 45-yard line while everyone else watched. I blocked them all out of my mind and took my shot. The arrow flew and this time stuck into the target, it was a perfect shot. I smiled and walked back to join the line with my fellow archers.
At the tournament, I noticed every type of bow manufacturer you could think of. There were Brownings, Jennings and of course P.S.E’s. There were patriotic bows and ones with every color of the rainbow. My camouflaged P.S.E spyder bow looked out of place and dull compared to the others. There were some real competitors at the tournament, those stood out from the rest in that they were the ones that had four-foot stabilizers and gadgets on their bows that I have no idea what they were for. These people were usually the ones that had a number 9 on their chest sticker as that meant that out of 10 arrows shot, they usually hit 9 in the 5-inch diameter target. They were good, mighty good.
After Saturdays shoot, most everyone headed to Pete Shepley’s ranch for a barbecue. Pete is the owner of P.S.E and began the business nearly 31 years ago. P.S.E. is the oldest manufacturer of the compound bow that is still in business. After walking around and meeting people at the barbecue I could see why Pete had done so well. He made a good product, had great employees working for him and knew how to treat people. I could tell that, when I noticed Pete was at the head of the serving table, dishing out the barbecue meat to everyone. After dinner Pete’s wife, Laura was walking around laughing and talking with everyone while she held a garbage bag in one hand and a beer in the other. Down to earth people is how I’d describe them both.
In the end, my P.S.E spyder performed well and the only improvement would have to be in the one shooting it. I can say that the P.S.E. shoot was a lot of fun. My bonus point was in the people I met and the pointers and tips I received on how to improve my shooting. I think I’m hooked!
Stephanie Rainey is an avid hunter, outdoorswoman and writer that lives in Lakeside, AZ. Her articles have appeared in BuckMasters, Arizona Republic and the White Mountain-Independent.
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