By Jan Wahl

So you think a compound has much more penetration power than a longbow? This may be true, or it may not.

It was April 2002 and I was competing in an archery competition. About halfway through one of the archers received a phone call from a local game rancher, who invited him to shoot a black wildebeest on his ranch that had injured one of its hind legs.

Of course, the archer promised to go directly after the competition. During the prize giving he invited another bowhunter and me to join him on the black wildebeest hunt. I had not yet hunted anything with my longbow and saw this as a perfect opportunity to "break the ice". Should I miss or wound the animal the other archers would be sure to hit the target with their compound bows.

As soon as the competition ended we set off for the ranch. On arrival we took a couple of test shots on a butt to make sure our equipment was functioning correctly, before accompanying the rancher to the injured animal.

As our vehicle moved closer to the wildebeest it walked away to a rugged area, forcing us to leave the vehicle and walk. As we got closer the animal stood still for a moment. This was our chance. We took aim, counted to three and shot at the kill area. All three arrows hit the kill zone.

The wildebeest ran for about 15 metres and then fell. The joy I felt was overwhelming. I had just shot my first animal with a bow and arrow. When we got to where the wildebeest had fallen, we noticed something interesting. My 50-pound longbow had almost penetrated right through the animal and only the arrow flethes were still lodged in it. Not one of the arrows shot by the 70-pound compounds had penetrated through to the other side.

During the slaughtering process I was amazed to see that my arrow had entered through a rip, gone through a carbon arrow and exited through another rip.
My respect for a longbow has increased. It certainly has some magic qualities.