| Bledsoe's
ARE Archery In South Dakota
By Roger W. Janssen
When you think of archery in South Dakota, one man
comes to the forefront. That man is Charles Bledsoe, the owner and
operator of Bledsoe’s Archery Den in Sioux Falls, SD. If you
spend an afternoon with this man, you can only start to understand
the commitment that he really has to the sport.
A World War II vet, he is actually considered “disabled”
and thus would never have had to work at a job if he thought that
was the way he wanted to live his life, but that isn’t the way
he wanted to do things. After the war, he worked at Morrells in Sioux
Falls for over 20 years, as did his wife, and business partner, and
soul mate, Marian. She logged 31 years at the meat processing plant.
After his time at Morrells, he found a way to make his passion his
full time endeavor and Bledsoe’s Archery Den came into existence.
Fred and Marian take a moment for the camera in their
basement store,,, The best friends have worked from this business
for years and whether Charlie will let on or not, Marian seems to
be the boss of the operation!!
As you might expect, things in the archery field
have changed just like everything else, but Charlie has a pace and
a style that doesn’t let him be swayed very easily. You’ll
not find a computer in his shop, but what you will find are all the
tools of a true archery craftsman.
On the afternoon I visited, he was in the process of manufacturing
custom arrows for a customer, a job that looked very tedious to me,
but a job Charlie obviously enjoys doing. His attention to detail
and his uncompromising work ethic are keys to his longevity in the
business. Customers of Bledsoe’s don’t seem to come and
go. They come the first time and they remain loyal customers for as
long as they stay active in archery. And I’m inclined to believe
that even after they end their archery career, they will continue
to come to the little basement shop, if for no other reason than to
visit with a friend.
For the past 50 years, Bledsoe has been measuring, cutting, gluing
and building arrows and bows for the who’s who in archery from
all around the area and region. The archery business is quite seasonal
so Charlie worked hard for a long time to come up with ways to keep
customers needing his services for more than just a month or two every
fall. With that in mind, you could say he helped push along the idea
of league shooting and 3-D tournaments, thus making shooting a bow
a year round sport. By doing so, he helped make a two month a year
business pretty much a full year round business.
He has been instrumental in the development of many aspects of the
sport of archery in South Dakota and beyond. Charlie spent untold
hours with a handful of like-minded archers in meetings with the Game,
Fish and Parks Commission in an effort to convince the group that
archery was a creditable method to hunt and take deer in the state
of South Dakota. Through tireless effort and persistence, he and the
others did convince the group that a trained shooter could take a
big game animal ethically. So if you like archery deer hunting, you
owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Bledsoe!
In an effort to assure archers were held to an ethical standard, he
worked closely with the State of South Dakota in developing the South
Dakota Archery Association (SDAA). This group is responsible for the
education and promotion of archery in the state.
He has also been active in dozens of sporting clubs and groups, which
promote archery and the outdoor sports in general. Other groups that
he enthusiastically supports are the Shriners and the Masons, in which
he has been very active, even holding various officer positions over
the years.
Charlie is involved in another program at the present time, which
is obviously dear to him, is a project though the Masons where they
work directly with “at risk” youth in an effort to curb
the problem of teen suicide. Their tactic and his goal is to show
troubled youth that there are ways to find something to belong to,
and not having to feel they are alone with their problems with no
way out. He says, “Even if our efforts can help one individual,
it’s time well spent”. He believes, perhaps hundreds of
kids will be helped through the effort.
Bledsoe has once again, been named “South Dakota Wildlife Conservationist
of the Year” for 2006 as awarded by the South Dakota Wildlife
Federation and the National Wildlife Federation. We say again because
Charlie has won this honor on five different occasions over the years!
He has also and has been recognized for his crucial role in the development
of the SDAA as well as the SDBI, an organization that works with GF&P
on setting seasons and hunting ethics.
Bledsoe and archery legend Fred Bear just happened to be very good
friends..
Bledsoe acknowledges that all the awards and recognition
from many different groups are nice. He says the awards come only
as a result of the real love he has for the sport of archery in its
most basic form. There are others who have held a similar passion
for the sport of archery over the years. A photo of Charles and Fred
Bear taken on Fred’s last hunt in Michigan, hangs over one of
his workbenches. Fred was another person with a similar kind of passion
that Charlie has for the sport of archery, and as it turns out, Fred
was a personal friend of Charles Bledsoe! It would have been difficult
for these two to feel as strongly as they do about their sport and
not have met and become friends!!
If you have been involved in archery in South Dakota for any length
of time, you have likely been introduced to Charlie and Marian Bledsoe!
You may have met them at a 3-D shoot that they ramrodded or perhaps
it was at one of the national shoots that he has helped bring to the
Sioux Empire area. Possibly you participated or have a child that
took one of the annual archery courses the two have put on for the
last several decades. Yes we said decades!
If you haven’t met Charles Bledsoe it’s about time you
took a trip to the little basement shop that has everything to do
with archery. By the way, the address of the little basement shop
is 1701 West 39th Street in Sioux Falls. We’re pretty sure you’ll
enjoy the visit!
Choosing
A Pup...
By Jim Enlow
There is no exact science to choosing a pup. The truth is, it’s
really a roll of the dice. Whether purchasing your pup through a local
newspaper ad or from a breeder, the more information you gather the
easier your decision will be. You can end up with an ideal hunting
dog from a newspaper ad. You can also end up with a dog that’s
not worth a darn as a hunter from a breeder. I don’t believe
that bloodlines are as important as gathering as much information
as you can about the pups, parents and breeders. The questions you
ask should be the same no matter whom you are buying the pup from.
Ask to see the parents and any other dogs of the same bloodlines.
Request references from previous buyers of pups from this owner. This
is especially important if you cannot see the parents of the pups.
Make arrangements to see the kennels where the pup was, or will be
born. Check the cleanliness. Also watch to see how the owner interacts
with the dogs and how the dogs interact with each other.
Find out if the parents have had their hips OFA certified. OFA stands
for the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. OFA certification determines
the degree of hip dysphasia. All breeding stock should be OFA certified.
The only way I would breed to a dog whose hips are certified fair
is if I have knowledge of the background of the dog. I don’t
believe in breeding any dogs whose hips have been certified less than
fair. If the owner doesn’t know what OFA certified means, you
should reconsider whether you want to purchase a pup from that owner.
Also find out if the parent’s eyes have been certified or at
least checked by a vet. Try to find out if there are any other health
issues with the parents or other offspring.
Find out if the parents hunt. If they do, what do the hunt and how
often? So they hunt waterfowl or land hunt only? Is the owner a casual
hunter or does he/she hunt more that thirty days during the hunting
season? Ask if you can see the parents work. By witnessing the obedience
of the parents, you may get an idea of the ability of the pup to be
trained and handled. Verify the height and weight of each of the parents.
What kind of dog food does the owner feed the parents and the pups?
What shots have the pups been given? Have they been wormed? Have the
dew claws been removed? Removing the dew claws at a later date can
be a major surgery, leading to major expense.
If I am interested in pups from a litter, I want to see them often.
I like to see the pups at three weeks and again at five weeks. If
I am looking for a male, I concentrate only on the males. This enables
me to concentrate on fewer pups. When I see them at five weeks, I
like to use a pheasant feather to see how many pups show and interest
in it and if they use their nose to find it. I do the same when the
pups are ready to go home.
If the owner of the pups seems hesitant to share information with
you, you may want to consider why. Legitimate breeders/owners will
be happy to share as much information as they can with you, as they
also want to ensure that their pup is going to a good home. The pup
you choose will hopefully be with you for many years to come. It may
be the gun dog you never had. It will almost certainly become a member
of the family. The foot work you do when choosing your pup will help
in determining your pup’s worth as a hunting dog, a family dog
and mostly as a companion.
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