Tournament Archery with Braden Gellenthien and Alpen Optics
E ditor's Note: Twenty-one-year-old Braden Gellenthien of Hudson, Massachusetts, one of the hottest young tournament archers on the national scene, has shot tournament archery since he was only 12-years-old. He's placed third in the Senior World Championships, and at 18 he won the Junior World Championships. He's won: the 2007 Indoor National Field Archery Association Championship; in 2006 the Indoor World Championship in Turkey; the second leg of the FITA World Cup; and the 2006 Collegiate World Championship.
Question: How are you using Alpen Optics?
Gellenthien: I use the Alpen Model 788 spotting scope to see my arrows in the target when I'm shooting at long distances. We shoot up to 90 meters, and the elimination tournament is at 70 meters.
Question: How far is 90 meters in yards?
Gellenthien: That's 100 yards.
Question: Why type of bow are you shooting?
Gellenthien: I shoot a Hoyt ProElite compound bow and X10 Easton arrows.
Question: How did you get into tournament archery?
 Gellenthien: I started off shooting some local 3D tournaments with my father. Then I also started shooting some local target competitions. At 16, I got a coach, and he enabled me to compete on the world level. The biggest title I've ever won is the Indoor World Championship that was held in March, 2007, and had 330 archers there from many different countries.
Question: When do you use your Alpen binoculars?
Gellenthien: I use them for the indoor shoots to look at my arrows in the target. I like the Alpen binoculars and spotting scopes because they're really durable. I particularly like the spotting scope when I'm shooting an outdoor competition because it's very lightweight, yet very durable. Too, I can see very clearly where my arrow is hitting the target with my Alpen products.
Question: How accurately can you shoot the bow at 100 yards?
Gellenthien: At 90 meters (100 yards), the center of the target is about the size of a softball. Out of 36 arrows, which is considered a round, my best score was 345. That's hitting the bull's-eye 21 times out of the 36 shots.
 Question: How does the wind affect your arrow when you're shooting at that distance?
Gellenthien: That's when having a spotting scope really pays off. You've got to see where that first arrow heads to determine how much wind drift you're getting with your shot. I look at where my first arrow lands, and then I aim off of that first arrow, depending on where it's hit, to try and shoot more accurately. When the wind's blowing, depending on its strength, I may have to aim two or three scoring rings over on the target from the bull's-eye for my arrow to hit where I want it to hit because of the way the wind pushes the arrow.
Question: How long have you been using Alpen optics?
Gellenthien: Since I was 15. I started off using the Alpen Model 777 spotting scopes and now I'm using the Model 788. I use the Alpen Shasta Ridge 10x42 mm binoculars.
Question: Do you bowhunt?
Gellenthien: No, I don't, but I'm starting to get into it. I went out bear hunting in the fall of 2006 for the first time, and it wasn't one of the better experiences I've had.
Question: Did you miss? What happened?
Gellenthien: No, I didn't miss. I never had the opportunity for a shot. But I had three bears come within 13 yards of me. I was sitting at the top of a game trail, and at first I thought they were three dogs coming down the game trail. But when they were 40-yards away, I realized it was a mother bear with two cubs. And the situation got a little nerve-wracking, especially for my first time out in the woods.
Question: When those bears were at 13 yards, did you get as excited as you had to have been at the Indoor World Championship that you won?
Gellenthien: The bears created a different type of excitement than competition archery did. None of the people in the stands watching us shoot tournament archery had the potential to bite me. I think I like the non-living target environment a little better.
Question: What's in the future for you?
Gellenthien: I'll be leaving on July 4, 2007, to travel to the Senior Outdoor World Championship in Leipzig, Germany, with 550 archers there representing 85 countries. I'll be a member of the American Compound Bow Team, with three of us from the United States entered in the competition. A qualifying tournament was held in Chula Vista, California, earlier in 2007, and I placed first in the tournament. Then two weeks after I return from Germany, I'll be leaving to go to Dover in the United Kingdom for the final leg of the World Cup. The second leg of the tournament I won, the third leg of the tournament, I finished second, and right now I'm sitting in third place in the points standing.
 Question: Are you in college?
Gellenthien: Yes, I am. I attend James Madison University in Virginia where I'm majoring in marketing.
Question: What do you plan to do after you graduate?
Gellenthien: I plan to take a year off after graduation and compete on the World Professional Archery circuit. Then I hope to get a job in the archery industry and continue to shoot competitively.
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