By: Ted Nugent
Well my SpiritWild BloodBrothers across the American hinterland, how goes these very special 2020 pandemic hunkerdown times for you all?
We certainly hope everyone is doing OK, healthy, happy, safe, secure, cocky, defiant and hopeful.
Allgood here at NugeRanch as we throttle on with daily proceedings basically unchanged.
Allow me to repeat that I am confident that my fellow outdoors families are doing fairly well, to just fine during this unprecedented quarantine as our very hunting lifestyle taught us long ago to be prepared and remain responsibly in touch with the world around us as rugged individuals utilizing our nature partnership lifestyle as the ultimate healer that it is.
Communicating with literally millions of people around the world daily on social media keeps me tuned in nicely with the pulses, good, bad and ugly, that people are experiencing during these unique, trying times.
Of course, when people around the world share feelings with their old Uncle Ted, we delve into pretty much everything there is about the human experience, but it never fails that the topics inevitably swing back to killer rock-and-roll, the great outdoors, hunting, fishing, shooting and archery.
Though many of my gang are already deep into these activities, we discover nonetheless that the things that turn the hunting world on are very attractive to the non-participant, and their inquiries are passionate and far reaching.
On many occasions I have prodded people to make the plunge into archery, get some easy to draw, graceful bows with the proper matched arrows and necessary accessories, and even if it’s just in the living room, discover the magic of archery hand-eye coordination and cultivate that Samurai archer that lives inside every human being.
What the heck, everybody is locked down at home as it is, so why not try something new that I virtually guarantee will turn them on, intrigue them and light a powerful fire down below!
Such simple archery direction not only inspires newcomers to give it a try, but many current archers just needed that extra little nudge to take advantage of this downtime to work on becoming the deadly archer they know they can be.
At first some people flinch at the idea of shooting arrows in the house, but with a modicum of logical thought, they come to realize that archery is still genuine archery practice even at a mere 10 feet to the target.
I emphasize the importance of having an adequate arrow stopping target, even if it is just a large box filled with newspapers, old pillows, blankets, rags or towels.
Afterall, rudimentary archery practice is all about archery form, and once those muscle memories are discovered, honed, practiced and repeated, those ten-foot living room shots will translate into some very consistent pumpstation disconnects at the range and in the deerwoods.
Same exciting fun goes for BB guns as well. I trained all my kids with Daisy Red Ryders in the living room shooting small targets like clothes-pins with a proper bullet trap background.
Close-range target and sight acquisition, breathing, steadiness and trigger control is as real marksmanship training and fun at 10 feet as it is at 100 yards.
And don’t underestimate another great use of hometime; learning to play guitar!
Step out of the box during the quarantine and toss a grenade into the standard operating procedure paradigm.
These strange times won’t last much longer, and just think of the fun and adventure that awaits us if we pursue uncharted territory and new accomplishments while we can.
Whether it’s a bow and arrow, a firearm or a guitar, the aim small miss small mantra will serve you well.
Goodluck, remain positive and try something new and different to whilst away the remaining time of lockdown. Future rewards will be yours.