Archery is a family affair for Penngrove’s McLoughlin family

Whether target practicing or hunting, archery is a way of life for instructor and Mom Diann McLoughlin.|

Diann McLoughlin, the Penngrove 4-H Archery Leader is a USA Level Two Archery Instructor, and is raising a family of young archers.

McLoughlin and her family like to target practice and her kids look forward to being able to hunt. For now, they like to follow along behind their father, Daniel, when he hunts.

McLoughlin hasn’t hunted with her bow yet. “I took a turkey this spring with a shotgun -- in my pajamas no less,” she said. “It was thrilling to have my kids watching and cheering me on.”

McLoughlin didn’t use her bow to kill the turkey because she wasn’t sure she could get a clean shot with her bow yet. Hunting ethics call for precision in your shot so that the animal doesn’t needlessly suffer. She’s practicing with a turkey target everyday so that she’ll be ready when turkey season opens up.

McLoughlin said they always process and prepare their own game, noting that it’s both the ethical thing to do, and the law requires that you utilize the game that you take. “We’ve taught our kids early on to be respectful and thankful of the animals and to understand that there are other ways to provide for yourself than the grocery store,” she said.

Abbygayle, age 9, got her first bow when she was 3. She loves competing with her brother, and she’s looking forward to formally competing when restrictions are lifted. She’s applying for her hunting license, looks forward to hunting and appreciates the fresh game it will provide her family.

Elyas, age 7, said, “My mom makes up fun archery games, and we get to pop balloons and it’s a ton of fun.” He looks forward to being old enough to take game as an archer and likes how tasty the fresh game is. He likes to be in competition with himself to see how he can get better every time he shoots.

Arlo, just 3 years old started using a bow this year with assistance for safety. He can hit the target and loves it.

They shoot long bows and recurve. They have a crossbow, but haven’t used that for hunting. McLoughlin said they shoot their bows bare and off the shelf, which means that there is no sight or arrow hold on the bow, it’s just bare. “We really like to keep it traditional,” she said. “I even have a black powder rifle I’m hoping to hunt with someday.”

They hunt on their land. McLoughlin said it’s a 60-acre paradise and an ideal spot for a lot of deer and turkey to come wandering through. “Our kids are the 6th generation of this family to help work this land,” she said. “We are so lucky to be here and so lucky it still stands.”

Diann McLoughlin shows 3-year-ol Arlo the basics of archery.
Diann McLoughlin shows 3-year-ol Arlo the basics of archery.

McLoughlin said this latest fire scare was all too familiar. The Nuns and Tubbs fires of 2017 came through their property three times. They lost their fencing, greenhouse, pump house, a small orchard and their chicken coop. “Three times the fire department had an engine nearby and saved the house and barn,” she said.

Since 2017, the McLoughlins have been on an evacuation warning every year. It’s daunting, but she knows they’ll stay and, if necessary, they will rebuild. “I know the five generations that preceded us would feel the same way,” she said. “It’s not just property, it’s our history, it’s our future, it’s our family, it’s our home.”

They had to evacuate during the Glass fire. McLoughlin wished there had been enough room in the car to take her 58-inch bow, but there wasn’t room. They had squeezed in three kids, two dogs, five guinea pigs and a goat.

“I was thinking about the targets on our range, how they are made of straw and would be lost if the fire came through as it had in 2017,” McLoughlin said. The day they came home from evacuation, they grabbed their bows and took to their range. “Archery is such a fantastic way to focus the mind, relax the body and be a part of a single moment,” she said.

When pandemic restrictions were eased a bit, McLoughlin created a plan that would ensure the CDC and 4-H safety guidelines could easily be met and she could finally invite students back to her 4H archery classes.

“I color coded everything,” McLoughlin said. From the young archer, to the bow, to the target. Each archer chooses a colored target lane. They place that color’s sticker on their shirt, on their bow and stand in front of that color target with their arrows in a ground quiver of the same color.

The archers are required to have their own safety equipment, and McLoughlin said it was seamless to implement the new color-coded method. Her outdoor archery range targets are 12-feet apart, allowing for ample social distancing. There are also handwashing stations and the equipment is sanitized.

In late September, 4H meetings around the county were put on hold until leaders did a COVID training. McLoughlin has now completed her COVID training and has resumed archery classes.

“Archery is safe,” McLoughin said. “I mean I know we hunt with bows and arrows, so it is a weapon, but because it is a weapon means we always have the utmost thought on safety.”

McLoughlin’s classes are popular among both younger students and teens, and her group has tripled in size since the year before. She’s added more class times so she can fit everyone in. “I feel a responsibility to these kids to let them experience a touch of normal in the chaos, and it gives me focus,” she said.

“I didn’t want the pandemic to affect the program,” McLoughlin said. “I wanted the kids to get outside with friends and throw arrows.”

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