Frank Erceg Project: Frank Erceg's 1960 Hunting Bow

Christchurch May 2017 and Carl strings the 57 year old bow

Ben Pearson
Cat No 337

Strato Jet

Hunting Bow

May 14^th, and my younger brother, Carl, demonstrates with Frank’s 57 year-old bow.

“It’s a Ben Pearson Srato Jet Hunting Bow. Made in 1960. With a high velocity speed of about 150mph. And a 50-55 pound draw weight.”

Frank died in 1965, and the bow sat in fellow ex deer culler, Bill Henderson’s garage for over fifty years. I knew Bill had it, as I’ve stayed with Bill and Annette while down south doing research on Frank and the government shooters. Bill said to me last year, do you want it, it should eventually go back to the family. Well, at the start of this year, Carl expressed an interest in taking up archery and remembered about Frank's bow. As it transpired, I contacted Bill, and that same week, our older brother Peter, just happened to be passing through Central Otago, so he picked it up and brought to ChCh. Carl adds “Since then I’ve been practising with it, and to be honest, it’s a little beast. It’s a very good bow.”

Carl’s had it restrung and new arrows made by Paddy Long from Archery & Bow Hunting New Zealand:

http://www.bowhunt.co.nz

And keeps the original arrows for posterity, would hate to lose them if he fired them off and couldn’t retrieve them.

He practises in his backyard, on his custom made target range. The range is complete with a permanent punching bag, and an ever changing collection of found objects that sometimes include a few polystyrene cups, some balloons for fun and variety of other items. The day I took these photos he’d found a plastic corrugated advertisement for a Harley Davidson, but he told me it’s a bugger to get the arrows out of. Personally, I love the Red Pooh Bear Bag and laughing ball. Carl's wife Sharon, got out the spray cans and had some fun painting the back drop.

Carls’ taken to archery like the proverbial duck to water. He’s exceptionally good considering he’s only been doing it a few months. I spoke to him this morn, he’d been to the Full Draw Archery Range just yesterday, to practise:

http://fulldrawarchery.co.nz

Everyone there was impressed with the bow and its story. He handed it to someone to try, like me, they struggled to draw it back.

Carl’s joining a club, his goal is to win a cup, and I’d say the best place for it would be next to the old arrows. The other amazing thing is, as a child Carl was left handed, and made to write with his right hand on starting school, and has done ever since. He says that his left eye is the better eye for archery, so recently he’s started practising with his left hand, as he did the day I was there. I couldn’t see any difference with his ability to draw the bow and hit the target.

It’s a wonderful story how the bow came to be in the family again, and that its being used with such passion and enthusiasm. I’m looking forward to holding that cup myself, and that day will include a nice drop of whisky and a hi-ho-here-we-go salute to our Uncle Frank.