Checking off one more step on his path to his Eagle Scout rank, Bristol resident Logan Eckel completed his service project construction and ceremoniously turned over a new outdoor archery range to the Samoset Fish and Game Club on Sunday, Oct. 19.
Eckel is both a member of the club and a life scout with Bristol Boy Scout Troop 228.
The project took 11 months to complete and while Logan is extremely pleased with the result of his hard work, he will quickly point out that he could not have completed it without the support of his family, the Samoset Fish and Game Club members, and many, many supportive area businesses and community members.
The new target range saw its first action after Sunday’s turkey shoot competition. Several club members brought their compound bows and eagerly gave the professional-size targets a workout at the conclusion of the morning’s shotgun competition.
The service project is a very involved and important step on the path to the ultimate rank of Eagle Scout. Eckel’s project began nearly a year ago when he approached the club and proposed constructing a five station archery range.
After much discussion, research, design and planning his project was finally approved by the club, the troop and the Boy Scouts of America in late January. At the completion of several more months of planning, Logan orchestrated a shooting sports field day fundraising event for his archery range in May 2014. The event was widely supported by club members, local businesses, and the community in general, generating the funds necessary to begin construction in July.
The construction phase lasted into mid October as Eckel juggled the demands of summer lobstering on his own boat while sterning part time for another fisherman, fall sports schedules, and attending to his studies at Lincoln Academy, where he is currently a freshman.
The end result is five independent archery target structures. Each structure measuring 8 feet wide and nearly 8 feet tall holds two commercial sized Morrell outdoor competition target bags. The uniquely designed units are heavy duty, but built on skids with tow bolts so they can easily be towed by tractor or four wheeler to position in any desired formation.
Five units allow the range to set up at a 10, 20 30, 40 and 50 yard distances for practice, for example, or line all five up at a common distance to provide 10 target bags for competition. The flexibility in the design is a true asset to the club.
Most importantly the facility will provide a convenient and safe location for practice to the club’s members and future opportunities for new and exciting events, open to the public.
For more information about Bristol scouting contact Clyde Pendleton at coachp@tidewater.net or, for the Samoset Fish and Game Club, contact president Nathan Hanna at nhanna@midcoast.com.
