McAAP to host archery event

Sports

July 30, 2010

By JOHN YATES Local Correspondent The McAlester News-Capital Fri Jul 30, 2010, 12:06 PM CDT

FORT SMITH, Ark. — A traditional archery tournament with a deeply rooted history in the area is returning the weekend of Aug. 6-8 to Murphy’s Meadow at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant.

That is the Southern Plains Traditional Archery Tournament. It has been held at the McAlester ammunition facility for about 20 years, according to the ammunition plant’s wildlife specialist Bill Starry.

The plant, which makes up over 40,000 acres in size, is a haven for wildlife, and a sought-after spot for special controlled hunts that are allowed on the plant from time to time.

Following the heightened security after 9/11, there was a year the event was not held at McAAP, but returned the year after that, according to Starry.

It has grown tremendously, according to the wildlife specialist. Many years ago, there were about 35 archers participating in the event. That has grown to as many as 700-1,000 shooting, according to Starry.

It’s an event for more traditional archers, with equipment restrictions to using longbows and recurves, thus in keeping with a traditional archery theme, instead of using more modern archery equipment like tricked-out compound bows.

It’s also a fairly relaxed event, and you don’t have to be an expert shot with a bow to participate. Starry described it as not being a “lockjaw” event, in that it’s not a high pressure shoot, and the prizes in the shooting part of the competition are not particularly large.

However, there is the opportunity to win a very nice prize in a drawing among participants.

There’s also a special focus on children, and children shooting in the event will typically receive something, as Starry said he thought every child shooting would receive a ribbon.

It’s descibed as a family-friendly event, with some specialized vendors. The archery vendors include Black Widow among others.

While McAlester Army Ammunition Plant serves as the host site for the annual event, Starry said it is actually put on by Backwoods Bowhunters.

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