As most 16-year-olds become excited for their licence and work towards buying their first vehicle, Hunter Rolufs of Arcola is saving his hard-earned money to purchase a competition bow. Developing a passion for archery over the last five years, Rolufs has been competing for the past three years.
Rolufs decided five years ago that he wanted to build a bow. Working in his grandparent’s backyard, he went to work.
“I did it for fun,” Rolufs says. “I wanted to see if I could build one and what would happen, if it would work.”
As he worked on a homemade bow, Rolufs came across one in Walmart which jumped out at him. He decided this was something he wanted to pursue further and began saving money for it. His parents, Todd and Billie, saw the efforts he was putting into saving money for the bow and decided it would make a perfect Christmas present.
Thrilled with the gift, Hunter began shooting on his own, attempting to figure out the intricacies of shooting a bow, but decided that he wanted to see if he could find someone to help him learn.
“I ended up starting with the Redvers Wildlife Archery Club,” Rolufs said. “They had me start on a long bow and I just progressed from there.”
Rolufs now shoots his Hoyt Charger Compound Bow both in competition and while hunting.
“I practiced in my backyard whenever I had a chance and with the archery club in Redvers. When I was preparing for competitions, Tricia Pickard allowed me to come in for extra time on weekends and with other archery groups in Redvers. So I would shoot at least twice a week.”
He competed in a total of three competitions throughout the year, including the Junior Olympic Program (JOP) under the Saskatchewan Archery Association (SAA) which includes youth between six-years-old and 21-years-old. Here he placed 5th overall with a score of 250 in March, having only shot one round. The competition was held in Prince Albert.
Rolufs competed in the SAA Indoor Provincial competition also held in Prince Albert as well. Within the Cadet Male age category, Rolufs earned 18th with a total score of 515 after two rounds of shooting.
Earlier in the year Rolufs also took part in a Canadian Regional Indoor Championship in Carnduff where after two rounds of shooting, he scored a 487, finishing in the middle of the pack, but happy to have placed rather well considering the depth of the competition.
While competing is something Rolufs thoroughly enjoys, he also makes time to enjoy bow hunting as well.
“I’ve used both rifle and bow for deer hunting. For me it’s easier with a bow. Archery I find I can hit my target more easily than with a gun. They’re very different from each other.”
Wanting to continue competing and simply enjoying archery, Rolufs is now saving up for a competition bow and will be practicing to hone his skills going into the 2016 competition season next year.
