STRIKER
BOWS
Rick Luttmer
At around age nine I got my first bow. It was a yellow glass
longbow with a red handle and three arrows, blue suction cups, white shafts
and red fletching. I shot that little bow a lot.
When I was twelve I got a new Green Bear glass bow set. It came with three green
arrows, a hip quiver, a tab, and a booklet called "The ABC's of Archery".
I still own the bow and booklet today. Whenever I would lose or break an arrow
my dad would let me pick one up anywhere I could get one. My quiver must have
had five different arrows in it at anyone time.
I took my first game with the Green Bear. Back then rabbits were quite plentiful.
I shot a rabbit out of the creek behind my parent's house. With my new proven
confidence in the bow I went on the big opening day rabbit hunt the next season,
with my dad and his buddies. My dad had just had an eye for seeing them sitting
and it wasn't long until I had a shot. The four men watched in anticipation
as I took my shot. I hit the rabbit mid body and it took off with the arrow
running into everything. I chased that rabbit and finally caught it. Those four
men were laughing so hard that they were crying. My dad and I still chuckle
about the hunt today some thirty odd years later.
I came from a very small town where everybody knew your business. In the late
1970's a family moved into town with some kids. One of them was the same age
as me and was also named Rick. For some reason I couldn't get along with him.
We were around each other daily, but didn't associate at all. Then one night,
several years later, my new girl friend invited one of her other friends over.
She brought her boy friend along and yes you guessed it, it was Rick. You could
feel the tension in the room, but was soon OK after we all got talking. We grew
to be friends and now are the best of friends.
In 1983 I was talking to a friend of mine one night about hunting deer. There
weren't many of them around at the time and gun season was only three days long.
We knew, however, that archery season was months long. My girlfriend, who is
now my wife for nearly twenty years, bought me a bow for Christmas. I didn't
shoot any animals the first season, but took a button buck the following year.
In 1990 I was interested in buying one of those bow kits that
are nearly completed. I tried to convince Rick and another friend to go in with
me and buy three of these kits. It didn't happen, but it was the "seed"
for Rick's business. Several years later he took an idea and made it happen.
He's a great bowyer today with several models of bow styles available. We've
gone on many hunts together and have good success with his bows.
Over the years I've tried many hunting and shooting devices. In 1993 I locked
into Traditional Archery for a second time in my life. Oh, I still enjoy shooting
shotguns and rifles, but Traditional Archery is what I enjoy the most.
You'll have to agree, there's just something about seeing that arrow fly….
I've even went back to using red fletching, but those blue suction cups have
been replaced with sharp broad heads.
Enjoy yourself* Rick Luttmer
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