great job at bedford. White River Bowhunters did another fine job with the course just wish they could do something with the rain. we got lucky and got em all in on friday.

I'll add my thanks for another fine job done at Bedford. Really enjoyed the shoot.

There were a couple of things that came to mind as needing some improvement when it came to the storms and the safety measures taken, however. I understand that in such a situation, the best place for everyone to be is back at the fairgrounds or in their cars and off the property. It needs to be considered, though, that people won't be instantly transported back to safety. In the case of the layout at Bedford, the shooters have to slog up a muddy trail in the woods to get off the course and to the top of the ridge, then down another muddy trail to the fairgrounds and that place of increased safety. We were at the ABCD range tent when the command was given to shoo us all off the course to the fairgrounds. The staff at the tent responded promptly to that command and sent us up the hill. That put most of us at the top of the ridge when the worst of the storm, including the impressive lightning display, got to the same place. At that point, there were no good options left....we could bunch up in the tent at the ridgetop, as most of us did, despite the fact that it was on a ridge, with the metal tent poles stuck in the ground, and right next to an aging hickory that had several limbs massive enough to wipe out most of the shivering refugees in the tent if they were to be broken by the winds or the tree hit by lightning. Or, we could have been shooed out of that refuge as well, and sent onto the trail to the fairgrounds in the worst of the weather, which would have made the trip slower and more hazardous, and would have given the lightning a much greater target area as we would have been strung out along that trail for quite a while. I'm sure that option would have met with lots of resistance and some very ticked off extremely wet shooters afterwards, as well.

I believe serious consideration should be given to the idea of allowing shooters to take refuge in the range tents at the lower altitudes on the hillsides, as that option at least reduces the chance of a lightning strike hitting them. That option would also allow the shooters to get back into action more quickly to finish their range when a break between storms occurs.

I don't think there's a workable solution to be found in cancelling the shooting earlier in the effort to get all the shooters to safety before the storms get there. The nature of spring thunderstorms make them pretty unpredictable and any attempt to clear the ranges early enough to avoid the storms altogether would have had the staff finding great resistance among shooters who want to finish their shooting while no apparent storms are very near.

That brings up the other thing I thought could have been improved upon. The communications seem to be lacking between the person making the decision to close for the day and the shooters. We shooters were largely wandering about for an hour or so, asking anyone we thought might be connected to the club or the IBO, whether the shoot would continue after the storm had gone. Noone was very eager to slip and slither all the way to the range tents to find out, but there seemed to be no official answer available at the fairgrounds. Just as a suggestion, if someone with a walkie-talkie could be assigned to the IBO booth during a time such as that, when many questions are likely, it would sure help in clearing things up for the shooters who didn't know whether to hang around and try to get in some more shooting or head for their lodging.

The call that was made on Friday to cancel the remainder of the day's shooting was the right call, and I heard no comments otherwise. It's just that there was a good deal of confusion while we waited to hear it made official. A procedure for getting the decision to the public would be appreciated greatly.

As I said, I enjoyed the shoot very much, and will be back, rainsuit and tall boots and all, next year. Almost everything was very well done, and the IBO and White River people I had occasion to deal with were helpful and friendly.

Thanks again to all who were involved in bringing the shoot to us.

I am wondering why the PA system was not being used at the fair grounds? It would'nt help the people on the ranges, but it would help everyone at the fair grounds hear the anouncments. I think everything else was handled well.

I thought the weather was fine (I shot all my rounds fri. in the sunshine)!

Judy, Pat, and Lynn, all need to be thanked for all the extra work they did this weekend. Without them, none of the scores would have been posted.