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SPORTING EVENTS

Eighteen-year-old Erika Anschutz of Grand Island, Nebraska, one of the top women archers in the world.

Question: Why are you using an Alpen spotting scope?

Anschutz: They're great optics. I mainly use the Alpen Model 788 spotting scope for my FITA competitions, because we're often shooting out to 70 meters. I like this Alpen 80 mm spotting scope because of the quality of the optics. I can see my little competition arrows in the target clearer and better than I can with any other optics. I've tried other optics, but I've never seen a reason to change from Alpen. In my opinion, Alpen provides everything I need in a spotting scope.

Question: How important is the spotting scope to your competition shooting?

Anschutz: It's critical, because if you can't see where your arrows are laying in a target, you don't know how to adjust your sights and compensate for wind movement. I'm convinced that Alpen Optics help me shoot better. Seventy meters is about 78 yards, and our center ring is about the size of a grapefruit. I usually can put nine out of 10 arrows in the target at that distance.

Question: What other Alpen Optics are you using?

Anschutz: I use my Alpen Shasta Ridge 10x42 mm binoculars in field competition because they're handier than the spotting scope. By using them, I can distinguish my arrows from the other arrows in the target.

Scott Staats from Prineville, Oregon, is a widely published and award-winning outdoor writer and TV and radio host for outdoor programs.

The real challenge is to get close enough to the butterflies to identify and photograph them. The summer is the best time to observe butterflies, but you'll start seeing them in the spring and continue seeing them through the fall. I like to go into the mountains when I'm birding and search for wildflowers and butterflies. I like the Alpen Apex 492 for observing birds and butterflies because more often than not, a butterfly will land just far-enough away to prevent identification with your eyes and too close for most binoculars. Only a few companies have developed binoculars that focus down to only a few feet, specifically for butterfly watching. However, Alpen's new Apex 492 Super Close Focus binoculars are definitely the right tool for the hobbies of butterflying and birding.

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.

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.