It is doubtful if there are many hunters in Vernon Parish that do not know Alvin and Calvin Cooley.
They have a unique way of mounting deer antlers which has become extremely popular among the local hunting fraternity. The antlers are mounted on a special plaque and then hand-painted and adorned with feathers that makes your trophy look like something out of the old west with a Native American flare.
It is very popular with the young hunters, because it is a trophy worthy of any kids personal room, boy or girl. Alvin and Calvin will mount your trophy any way you want it and some of their examples are out of this world.
Okay, so how do you tell these guys apart? Well this is the trick that took me a while to learn. Alvin wears glasses and shoots the crossbow.
A long time before we got the crossbow legalized for all hunters in Louisiana, only those with handicaps and those over age 60 could use one. This gave Alvin the opportunity to become a crossbow master, no real thanks to a serious shoulder injury that keeps him from pulling a vertical bow.
Nevertheless, it made him the only person in the area I consider a true expert in the field of crossbow hunting.
It is pretty cool to see Alvin and Calvin shooting their horizontal and vertical bows side by side. This photo instantly became the standard icon for the unification of the crossbow and compound bow in Louisiana.
So who wins when Alvin and Calvin square off to see who is best?
I got to see that first hand and just as I suspected, it was a “Dead Heat” between the compound and the crossbow. Both of the twins are deadly archers with Alvin, who has racked up 38 crossbow kills on deer over the years and Calvin who is haunted by the little “Bambi” spirits in his dreams just before opening day of bow season.
The only way this can be cured is to chow down on some jalapeno deer sausage they always seem to have plenty of.
Of course, I got to shoot the crossbow too. In this case, it was a Bear/Jennings Devastator 150 pound draw weight, with a Red Dot scope. Now this is the way to go! No doubt with my skill as a competitive rifle shooter, I was able to shoot the crossbow with good accuracy.
However, you quickly find out the speed of the arrow is about the same as the compound bow, noting a match between a skillful archer, horizontal or vertical, will usually tie out.
Beware of the myths and old wives tales about crossbows. They are not long range weapons, only ethically good to about 40 yards. One other thing, watch you fingers when you grip the crossbow up front and don’t let your fingers get in front of the string moving forward, that could hurt.
If you will recall, they told you this about semi-automatic rifles and shotgun, but somebody always slams their fingers in the chamber when the bolt slams forward.
Well, looks like I get a new crossbow myself.
Dan Hendricks, publisher of Horizontal Bowhunter Magazine and the President of the American Crossbow Federation, made a phone call about the special efforts that Uncle John was making in Louisiana promoting the crossbow and proper training.
Well, you can’t write crossbow articles without a crossbow. So Rick Szekelyi, the President of Horton Crossbows, e-mailed me and said, “Congratulations, Uncle John, your new crossbow is on the way."
Pass it on.
Leesville, La. —
