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Editor's note: This is the 10th story in a weekly series featuring outdoor adventure opportunities through SIUC and in the southern Illinois region.
The archer raises his bow slowly, adjusting his position until the arrow is aligned to strike the small circle several meters away. He takes his time to block everything but the target from his mind, taking a slow, deep breath before gently releasing the arrow. In the time it takes to blink, the arrow has struck the target and sunk deeply into the foam.
SIUC is home to numerous outdoor clubs, two of which focus on shooting. The Saluki Shooters are an archery club, and the trap and skeet club specializes in shotgun shooting. Members of both clubs store their respective weapons and firearms in lockers at the SIUC Department of Public Safety. The lockers are free for students.
Kasey Minor, president of the Saluki Shooters, said he enjoys archery because he likes being outside. Minor, a graduate student from Waltonville in accounting, began bow hunting with his father when he was younger.
"When I came down to Carbondale, there really wasn't anything for me to shoot," Minor said.
"I just like shooting. I joined the club, and we're able to shoot two times a week. It just give me practice and something to do to get away from school," Minor said.
Lee Stewart, vice president of the club, also became involved with archery through bow hunting when he was younger. He said he became involved with the sport of target shooting when he was 13 years old in order to extend his shooting season.
Stewart, a freshman from Dowell studying political science and philosophy, said it wasn't long before he was recruited by a local archery coach, became sponsored and began training for the Junior Olympic team. He said he trained at an Olympic training center in California his junior year of high school and competed internationally with the U.S. archery team.
"I ended up seventh in the U.S. rankings for the men's division and was four spots off the 2008 Olympic team," Stewart said.
When he didn't make the team, Stewart decided to come back to Illinois and finish school. Now that he is at SIUC, he is training for intercollegiate competitions and the 2012 Olympics.
The Saluki Shooters practice target shooting together on Monday and Thursday evenings in Davies Gymnasium. They set up a foam target and practice their accuracy from various distances.
Shooting a bow is more than pulling a string back to fire an arrow at a target, Minor said.
"It takes practice more than strength - practice and concentration," Minor said.
Another target-shooting club is available for students looking for an excuse to get outdoors and release some tension.
The trap and skeet club meets once a week to shoot clay pigeons on farmland near Murphysboro, said Brandon Rurik, vice president of the club.
Rurik, a senior from Lisle studying technical resource management, said he and a few of his friends resurrected the club three years ago after learning the original club had not worked out. The group has its own clay pigeon thrower, but members are required to supply their own shotguns.
Shooting experience is not necessary to be a member of the trap and skeet club. Rurik said many of the members had never shot a shotgun before joining.
"Probably a quarter of the team didn't know how. We show them how and teach them safety ... teach them all the different parts of the gun, where the safety is located and to treat it like it's loaded all the time," Rurik said.
He said they've never had any accidents, though they do all realize that there is risk involved with shooting a firearm.
Because of the shared interest in shooting and the respect the members have for the danger in what they do, Rurik said there is a great deal of camaraderie within the group.
"It's a cool place to go and hang out with people you don't get to see through the week," Rurik said.
Audra Ord can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 275 or at amarie06@siu.edu.
