The club’s roots go back to around 1986 when a few guys began to get together to shoot at what was then known as Quick Creek Reservoir (now Hardy Lake). In the beginning, 3D targets were unheard of; the guys cut 2D silhouettes and set them out in real life hunting type situations. By 1989, the Quick Creek Archers numbered some half dozen members. Recruiting became a club objective; fliers were printed up and distributed at local archery shops and shoots. This had an immediate effect on the number of shooters participating in the shoots.

 

In 1998, the club moved to the Scottsburg Conservation Club and became the Indiana Traditional Bowhunters Association.

 

The ITBA’s main activity is the traditional-only 3D shoots that are held at the Scottsburg Conservation Club. This year we will hold two shoots per month in January, February, and March; then one shoot per month April through September (we take October, November and December off to hunt). The course is set with twenty targets, two stakes at each, you shoot one arrow from each stake making it a forty arrow day. We pride ourselves in quality targets and real life hunting situation traditional equipment sets.

 

We also get together occasionally to make a run to other traditional shoots like the Traditional Nationals in Cloverdale, IN and the Kentucky Klassic in Nancy, KY. A few hunting trips per year, some bow building get togethers and our ever popular winter indoor league round off year long activities.

 

In May, we will hold our annual Indiana Traditional Bowhunters State Championship, a two day shoot. We set thirty targets and encourage everyone to shoot it as many times as possible. Many chose to shoot it with their recurve, longbow and self bow. We also have a few novelty type shoots such as a long range target, a coon (night) shoot, a smoker round, aerial targets and whatever we may come up with. Awards are given to the top shooters in each class and there is a table full of door prizes given out. We usually have half-dozen vendors set up to take care of all your re-stocking needs. Camping is allowed on the conservation club grounds.

 

Our April shoot is the annual blanket shoot, where all participants donate a hunting related item to the "blanket" prior to shooting the course that day. At the end we tally up the scores and the first place shooter gets first choice of the items on the blanket, second place goes next and so on. The format means everyone gets to take something home. The items range from bows, custom knives, tanned hides, tree stands, arrows and just about everything hunting you can imagine. We have one rule - No Junk. This is always a real popular shoot.

 

The September shoot is our end-of-year deer season tune-up, where all of the targets are deer and elk, and we utilize "real wolrd" scoring. Afterwards we present the trophies for the years top shooters, give away some door prizes, and auction off the 3D targets that have outlived their usefulness (most of which are still in pretty good shape for back yard shooting, they just have worn scoring lines).