Published September 23, 2016 in Archery TipsBy P.J. Reilly

Trad Life: Chris Hurt Trick Shooting

Chris Hurt wearing a Gold Tip jersey draws his longbow.
Chris Hurt remembers being a young kid watching the great Byron Ferguson do some trick shooting with his longbow. Ferguson shot behind his back and hit flying and tiny targets - all of which blew Hurt away.Fifteen years later, Hurt, of York County, Pa., now entertains others with his own trick-shooting act."A lady down the street got me into trick shooting," Hurt said. "That's where I did my first show, at my local senior center. And from there it just kind of blossomed doing shows all over the East Coast."Hurt shoots upside down, he holds his bow with his feet, he shoots blind-folded and he shoots all kinds of flying targets, from a frisbee to a BB.He says it's equal parts hand-eye coordination and timing."What goes up, must come down," he said. "My goal is to try to shoot the target as it starts to fall."This video of Hurt was shot at the Eastern Traditional Archery Rendezvous held in Potter County, Pa., in July 2016. Hurt has performed at this annual event every year for about five years.He drew big crowds of adults and children for every performance, but there's no question his biggest fans were kids - kids like he was when he was inspired by Byron Ferguson so many years ago.