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Bemus Point Man Claims World Title

Kiendl Adds IBO Crown To Long List Of Accomplishments

Leading up to this past season, Bemus Point native Bill Kiendl had already achieved success in the world of competitive bowhunting that many archers will never have a chance to experience.

In 2013 he shot his way to victory through three separate legs of the Triple Crown, a three-part championship tournament hosted in a trio of stages by the International Bowhunting Organization.

Not too shabby.

In 2014 he did it once more, again shooting his way bast a bevy of the country’s top shots while competing in the Senior Hunter Class, which runs from age 50-60.

“I’ve been shooting competitively for about 12 years, primarily in the IBO,” said Kiendl. “They actually have a series of national shoots throughout the year, the main one being the national triple crown.”

While Kiendl was ecstatic to etch his name into the IBO history books in consecutive years, outshooting the field in six total matches, there was still something that had eluded him.

Every summer shooting season comes to an end with a winner-take-all match — the IBO World Championship.

While the Triple Crown tends to reward consistency over a greater series of matches, the World Championship is sudden-death overtime.

In other words, win or go home.

“The World Championship has been kind of a tougher get. You really have to bring your A-game for that one,” said Kiendl. “Your shooting, your yardage estimates (and) you have to have a little bit of luck, too. I’ve been trying to win that for the past few years. I came pretty close last year, (but) came up a little short with one shot in the final.”

After coming so close a year ago, shooting 505 at Seven Springs Resort in West Virginia, Kiendl was ready to add another coveted trophy to his collection in 2018.

Moving up to the Master Hunter Class, in the 60-70 age group, Kiendl finished with a 509 to upset longtime frontrunner Lee Woods of Ellery, Illinois.

“I actually went into the finals with an 11-point lead on second place, which was (Woods), who has owned the class for the last few years,” said Kiendl.

The shooting schedule that carried Kiendl to his first World Championship consisted of 20 targets on Day 1 and 20 on Day 2.

“Then, if you place in the top five scorers of your class, you move on to the finals in the third day for 10 more targets,” said Kiendl.

Keep in mind that shooters are looking to score points on 3D targets of different animals, and must take into account yardage estimation, windage and visibility changes for each shot.

“It’s quite a challenge, actually. You have unknown yardage, and have to estimate within a yard or two. If you misjudge your yardage you’re not going to do so well. You shoot uphill, downhill, in sunlight and low-light conditions, in rain and in fog. There are quite a few things that Mother Nature throws at you.”

While Kiendl’s home archery club is His Way Archers of Jamestown, there is no substitute for the experience of shooting in all-weather conditions outside.

“On a tournament week, I’ll shoot everyday and try to hit as many local 3D shoots as I can. On non-tournament weeks, I’ll practice three or four days a week,” said Kiendl. “It’s a sport where you have to practice a lot to do well it. If you don’t play it a lot, you’re not going to be very good.”

Now that the main IBO season has come to a close many competitive shooters will spend the coming weeks transitioning to hunting season.

The next 3D season will begin in March, where the Winter Nationals will be hosted in Park City, Kentucky.

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