The Ee Da How Bowhunters is an archery organization where hunters and archery enthusiasts can join together to improve on their skills and have fun.
This organization was established in 1947. The league has an outdoor range in Viola, Idaho, but during the winter months they host an indoor league.
Tawney Nelson, the secretary of the league, said they have 48 members in the indoor league but half as many are in the outdoor league.
Jeff Nelson, a member of the league, got into bowhunting after he purchased his son, Jeffrey, a bow for Christmas and his son wanted to join the league. Jeffrey Nelson is currently the president of the league.
“I got a bow myself because I didn’t want to come to the league and not shoot,” Jeff Nelson said.
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Ray Serrano, a member of the league, has been passionate about bow hunting since he got out of high school. He has shot in the Silver Valley, Coeur d’Alene, Spokane and Moscow and is always looking for more places to shoot. He got into bow hunting because he wanted a challenge while hunting.
“With archery you have to get close,” Serrano said. “That was my challenge, to see if I can get close to animals in order to harvest them with my bow.”
Serrano continues to hunt because of his dad.
“My dad got me into hunting when I was 12,” Serrano said. “I lost my dad when I was 14, but then I kept going with the hunting aspect of it because (of) his passion. And when he passed, I kept that passage on.”
However, not everyone is there for hunting. Some just enjoy the sport of it. Ian Tank, another member of the league, took an archery class at Texas A & M University and found out he was really good at the sport.
“Previously, I used to try archery and I was like, I’m not that great at this,” Tank said. “But when I took beginning archery, I was taught a little bit better about it.”
It’s also where he met his fiance, Andrea Zinger, a student at Washington State University. She got into archery after reading the “Hunger Games” series. She is trying to shoot for WSU’s team because she has one more year of college eligibility left.
Jeff Nelson said they get students from both the University of Idaho and WSU, but not many. Recruitment is a challenge. Jeffrey Nelson mostly recruits via Facebook or word of mouth. Tawney, Jeff and Jeffrey Nelson are trying to figure out how to recruit students from UI.
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Jon Hickey, a UI senior, joined the league and has tried to get his friends to come out. Bowhunting is one of his favorite pastimes and joining the league allowed him to stay in shape and continue practicing. He enjoys bowhunting because of the skill involved with it.
“I’d say in a lot of ways, it’s like golf,” Hickey said. “It’s kind of a slow game, but it’s one of those games (where) it’s about your form. It’s one of those things you have to be very meticulous with. There’s a lot of small pieces to your short and your anchor. Little things that really, you can only gain through practice and so for me, it’s more of a skill set than anything.”
Ee Da How Bowhunters has a youth archery league as well. Kids ages seven to 17 can join and improve their archery skills. McKenna Knot joined the league after her friend did a senior project on archery.
Knot is 13 years old and has won the Idaho Indoor State tournament twice. She started competing in 2016, the year she won her first championship.
“You just have a lot of different experiences,” Knot said. “You get to meet new people, and you can do indoor and outdoor. It’s not like soccer where you have to stay outside.”
The outdoor league begins June 1.
Anyone is welcome to join the league. Membership fees for adults 18 years and older are $50 and are $10 for youth 17 years and younger. A family membership fee is $60 for two adults and dependent children 17 years or younger. Full information on fees for the outdoor and indoor league can be found on their website.
Ryan Hill can be reached at [email protected]