A passion for archery

Having grown up in an environment of hunters and fishermen, I was introduced to these 2 activities at a very young age. I remember like it was yesterday when my father taught me to fly fish at the cottage, on the sandy road in front of the camp. From the first time I caught a fish, I didn't want to fish with anything else but a fly rod. 

Since the soccer season takes place in the fall and training is intense during the summer, I stopped fishing for several years, much to my regret, due to lack of availability. When I stopped playing, I went back to my childhood passion. That passion that I felt at the very beginning grew and became a way of life. Having watched my uncle Bernard tie flies throughout my childhood, I decided to take it a step further and start creating my own flies. The satisfaction of catching a fish with a self-made fly is indescribable! 

Then I got the urge to hunt. After thinking about it, the bow seemed to be the only option I could think of to take an animal. So I took my course, practiced, did my shooting test and off I went to a new adventure.

Fly fishing and bow hunting are two disciplines that are similar in their technicality and difficulty. In both cases, the challenge of catching a fish or game is accentuated. It is the practice and also a good analysis of the environment, which will determine the success or failure of the individual. How much time did I spend just castering on the grass to improve my technique and accuracy using hoops at different distances as targets? Every time I passed by a river, I analyzed the currents to identify where the fish might be. I realized that I had the same sense of calm and control when I started archery. I knew I had found the right hunting gear for me.

The beauty of fishing is that catch and release is possible. Of course, one must employ proper practices to promote the survival of the released fish, but it is still a possibility. On the hunting side, it is not an option. The only choice we have to make, as responsible hunters, is to follow the rules and above all, to shoot responsibly according to our own abilities. 

With bowhunting, I feel that I am hunting responsibly and with the utmost respect for nature. When a game is harvested with a bow, it means that the hunter has outwitted the target animal in his own territory. The hunter will have made a perfect analysis of the environment, the conditions, practiced his shot according to what he wants to take and he will have set up a precise strategy to achieve his goals. 

Lately, I have been trying to popularize archery here in Quebec. Without any pretension, Broadhers was created in order to give an additional showcase to this discipline and to make people want to try archery, whether it is for shooting or hunting. The bigger the community, the more fun we will have sharing our stories and shooting together. 

You can follow us on social networks under the name Broadhers.

François-Xavier Cloutier.