A Profile of Scott Dault
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SCWA Chapter Local Volunteer Conservation Carp in Lake Murray |
by Henry Brabham
You might have heard someone say, “I’d like to leave something for my children and their children.” Scott Dault is a long-time archer who has done his part in the unselfish effort to remind our youth of the value and fun in the outdoors.
He has expanded his interests from running his Crossroads Archery store and repair shop to annual contributions to Camp Woodie’s archery education program. Dault also works with Camp Woodie Director Brad Jones each spring on tips and teaching strategies that may help spread the positive influence of outdoor sports on today’s youth.
Dault believes that our fast-paced technology may become a serious problem in the future. He feels that today’s youth is gradually becoming more dependent on instant gratification from video games, movies, toys, etc. Dault says, “Outdoor sports are fun, but they also instill patience, safety, dedication and personal achievement through hard work.”
According to Dault, bowhunting is certainly not fast-paced. Like flyfishing, archery is a skill that needs practice, patience and concentration. However, one of the necessary aspects of teaching archery to younger people is keeping it fun and interesting and sort-of fast-paced at first to draw the interest. This is one of the things he has discussed with Brad Jones this spring before camp started up again. Dault applauds Camp Woodie’s approach to teaching archery. He says, “They make it fun. They have a realistic trail through the woods with different animal targets set up.” Dault goes on to say, “Some of those targets are pretty tough too. The 3-D targets are set up in real situations that a hunter may face, such as a wild boar target in a swampy and heavily wooded area. They also have tournament targets set up for the practicing archer. I’ve discussed moving targets with Brad. Moving targets are a good idea for keeping up the interest and are about as realistic as you can get.”
Dault does not only appeal to a young audience. Even in his remote location within the backcountry roads outside of Summerton, S.C. archers have had no trouble in finding him. Outside of the southeast, Dault has customers in Alaska, Colorado, Utah, Pennsylvania and even England. From Camp Woodie, the camp counselors seek him out for bow repairs or their first bow, and even some campers get their first bows from him.
Crossroads Archery carries a full line of archery and hunting supplies in addition to the shop’s ability to have bows/arrows made or customized. Most of the bows in Dault’s shop are compound bows. These are a far cry from Robin Hood’s wooden bow and arrow. These modern bows consist of pulleys, wheels, cams and cables. The cams are a feature of the newer bows, which provide the archer with what is known as let-off. Let-off allows the shooter to pull back much more weight at a fraction of the effort. Some of Dault’s newest bows have 80 to 90 percent let-off. What that means is that with a bow set at 70 pounds you are only holding 12 or so pounds at full draw. Crossroads Archery also carries recurve bows. A recurve bow is much simpler in function than the compound bow. Without all the pullies and wheels, the recurve has a direct relationship between how far the bow is pulled back and the speed of the arrow. A recurve is not as advanced as a compound, but it can also be very effective in the field. Scott Dault uses both kinds of bows, but he is particularly fond of his recurve of 25 years, “It shoots like a dream.”
Dault also makes arrows. There are many kinds of arrows of many kinds of uses. The shafts may be cedar, aluminum or carbon with different weights and stiffness. The fletchings may be feathers or plastic varying in length and direction. The point used on the arrow also depends on the purpose. There are many different kinds of points including: specialty points (like fishpoints for bowfishing), rubber bludgeon points (small game), judo points (stumpshooting), mechanical points (opens on impact), field point (small game), target tips, replaceable razor blade broadheads, and many more. Dault warned, “If you want to be a successful archer, you just can’t walk into a hardware store and grab a handful of arrows. You have to get the right arrow for the job.”
These are just some of the things that Scott Dault wants to pass on to the Camp Woodie campers as well as anyone who passes through the doors of his shop. He wants to provide archers with quality bows and arrows and if he can help them with tips or instruction on being a better archer he feels that his business has lived up to it’s responsibility.
Crossroads Archery is open from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Scott Dault can be reached at (803) 478-8529.
Thank you Mr. Dault for what you have done and continue to do for Camp Woodie.
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