West Virginia Wildlife from Eyewitness News

Longbow Master

Trick shot artist, with an ancient bow, meet Byron Ferguson.

October 17, 2007
Reporter: Patrick McMurtry
Videographer: Brad Rice

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Byron ferguson is living the dream. He makes a pretty good living travelling around the world with his wife shooting a bow, impressing everyone that sees his mastery.

Byron Ferguson/Master of the Longbow says:
I couldn't do what I do if I didn't love it. I've got friends in rock and roll and I tell them I don't know how you can do it, they tell me if I didn't love it, I couldn't do it.

"Sweden is my favorite place I've ever done a show because it was so laid back. It was an outdoor event like this one and I told the guy I couldn't do more than two shows a day. He told me I'd only have to do one.

What else could you ask for, go work an hour and go home? Patrick does that now."

Byron is a purist. He uses a longbow with uncanny accuracy. Watch him bust this.

But he also has a great sense of humor that keeps the folks watching in stitches.
This is his take on the old william tell apple on the head trick. He pulls a kid up to put an apple on his head...You can see byron has a real eye for the target.

Oops

"I'm gonna give you a chance to back out."

Byron Ferguson/Master of the Longbow says:
Archery is such a fun sport that once you get involved in it, you can't help but do it. For me, I was 15 years old, I'd come home from school and shoot until cark and I couldn't see to shoot any more.

Traditional archery today is the same as it was 1,000 years ago. I think and airline pilot put it best when he told me traditional longbow is to archery what soaring is to flying-it's the purest form."

But byron puts a new spin on this ancient sport that has generation after generation coming back for more. For west virginia wildlife, i'm patrick mcmurtry, eyewitness news.