Indoor archery league starts in Plains

Archery season is here again, but this time the "hunters" are going for paper targets at the Trophy Taker's Winter Indoor Leagues just west of Plains.

Ten archers, so far, have signed up for this year's league, which began last Monday, said Zach Butcher, who is running the competition this year. The competitors, which include five women and one teenager, shot Monday and Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., but Butcher said people can make up missed shoots anytime the pro shop is open during the week. The 25-year-old Butcher said four or five other people have indicated an interest in signing up for the league, which he guessed would run about 13 weeks. He has only two classes — men and women — but he said that if more youth signed up, he'd make a class for them.

Sixteen-year-old Zach Anderson of Plains was the only youth participant, but he will be competing in the men's category.

Anderson took first place in the youth division last year.

This is the second year Trophy Taker has held the indoor league. Plains resident Sam Stockett finished first last year, defeating Calvin VonHeeder, also of Plains, by one point. Stockett had 63 bull's-eyes. Twenty archers signed up for the competition last year. Nicole Stockett, Sam's wife, took first place with 2,984 points in the women's division, followed by Sherri Habig in second and Sue Hays in third.

As in last year's competition, the archers' handicaps will figured in after the first three weeks, said Butcher. Competitors can use compound, traditional, or recurve bows, but all last year used compound bows. Participants need to bring their own bows and use field tip arrows.

The competition will be a standard Vegas target, with three targets to shoot. It's three arrows per round for 10 rounds. Scoring points will range from five to 10 with a maximum of 300 points, even with a handicap. The seven lanes are 20 yards long.

Trophy Taker is owned by Dan Evans, who developed a drop-away arrow rest, which a lot of bow hunters use.

The shop is located on Highway 200 about two miles west of Plains. He started the Trophy Taker company in 1999 and had his shop at his residence on River Road West from 2000 to 2004, when he opened on Highway 200.

Evans said that the majority of his business is wholesale, but he has a retail shop set up for the convenience of local residents.

Evans has hunted elk throughout the United States.

He's also traveled to Africa where he's bagged a wildebeest, a gemsbuck a warthog, and a zebra. He's competed in countless archery contests.

Most of the league participants this year at the Trophy Taker are from Plains, Thompson Falls and Trout Creek.

"It's definitely a family oriented sport," said Butcher of archery competition. He also said people don't need to be hunters to enjoy shooting with a bow, although all but two of this year's competitors hunt.

For bow hunters, Butcher said the league is a good way for them to keep their skills sharp during the off-season. He said it works on form and muscle memory techniques. He and other members of the pro shop will be happy to pass on shooting tips to the archers.

Butcher said they haven't decided what the prizes will be this year. Last year, first place in each class took home a $100 gift certificate from Trophy Taker. Second place was a $50 certificate; third received a $25 certificate.