Book Early Adventures with Howard Hill

Step back in time to the classical era of archery with a story of Howard Hill and Don Carson, who worked for Howard Hill at the Opa-locka Archery Club in Opa-locka, Florida, USA. (If you are using Internet Explorer or Firefox as your browser, hover your cursor over the image to read the photo caption) Opa-locka, was originally called Opa-tisha-woka-locka, a Native American name, which was quickly shortened to Opa-locka.

The story takes place during the period of 1925 to 1935 and meanders through the swamps of Florida to the early years of archery in California, where Howard's career skyrocketed.

Read stories of chasing bobcats through the swamps and shooting alligators from a dugout canoe.

Howard Hill certainly had his share of the limelight, known by many as "the World's Greatest Archer" and "Ol' One Shot". Howard was born on 13th November 1899 in Wilsonville, Alabama. He won 196 consecutive field archery tournaments between 1926 and 1942 and also won the International Field meet in 1942.

Hill became a Hollywood stuntman and consultant, working with actors and on movie sets from the late 1930s through to the 1950s. His many credits included archery instructor and stuntman for the classic film "The Adventures of Robin Hood" starring Errol Flynn, where Hill performed the archery shots. Flynn and Hill were long time friends and often went fishing together aboard Flynn's yacht.

Howard Hill was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1971. Hill's citation states he "took more than 2,000 game animals and 1,000 reptiles and fish in 12 countries and was the first man to kill a bull elephant with a bow and arrow." Hill was not only an archery super star but also designed and made all of his own archery equipment.

There are 9 chapters

• The First Bow
• Opa-locka Archery Club
• The Longbow vs the Okefinokee Swamp
• Six months at an archery club
• The Everglades
• When an archer meets an archer
• Back to the old hunting grounds
• Hunting on the Mojave Desert
• Wild Hogs and Tame Turkeys

Early Adventures with Howard Hill by Don Carson - dedicated to Howard H. Hill, "The Great Chief One Shot" and to Ruth Carson - "Black Swan" who kept this book safe all those years. The text was related by Don Carson to his wife, Ruth who kept the manuscript in tact and passed it on to Ted Fry to publish in 2004. The preface is by Don Carson and has a Forward by Ted Fry. "Early Adventures with Howard Hill" - subtitled "The Evolution of an Archer" is 168 pages with 46 never-before-seen photos. Black, hard cover with no dust jacket.

A must for any archer who is interested in the early days of archery with a valuable insight into Howard Hill, an archery legend.