The gemsbok strolls across the plain, yellow-gold in the early morning light. The shooter waits until the gemsbok hesitates for just a moment. Then she shoots.
The gemsbok freezes. On its body, a large white dot appears. Below the dot and behind the animal's shoulder a heart-lung vital zone appears as well, superimposed on the image of the gemsbok.
The setting is not the African plains at all, but is a video shooting system created by Dart International. For the past several years, Dart's video archery systems have provided bow shooters with both entertainment and training; at the 1995 SHOT Show the company introduced its firearms version. I've shot both incarnations of the system, and can attest to both its entertainment value--it's just plain fun to shoot--and its ability to teach novice hunters when to recognize "shoot" and "no-shoot" situations.
The Dart system is the result of the logical marriage of several modern technologies. In the late 1980s, company president Peter J. Dart was working in the cable television industry, where part of his responsibility was the development of training materials using a combination of video and computer technologies.
A long-time bowhunter, Dart realized that these technologies could be used to create a shooting range which would be fun and instructive at the same time. In 1990 he and his two partners began working on an interactive system which would allow archers to shoot at a variety of animals at simulated distances in an area no larger than four shooting lanes.
"We put together a prototype," Dart said. "Then I invited my archery friends over. I had a laser display with a remote control, and as soon as they'd shoot I'd push 'pause' and an indentation on the screen would show them where their arrow hit. They loved it."
Dart installed the prototype in an archery shop in Fort Collins, Colorado. Still keeping their project low-profile, he and his partners worked on their system until they had a product they could introduce to the general public.
The result is a series of detailed visual scenarios, each of which gives the shooter a realistic target and provides immediate information on where the shooter hit the animal and where he or she should have hit it. Laser disks contain a library of images from all parts of the U.S. and from Africa, and a computer scores each shot and tells the shooter when he has fired in a no-shoot situation.
Dart is proud of the system's ability to teach hunters when not to shoot.
"A lot of people don't realize it," he said, "but subconsciously a hunter is training every time he shoots the system. There's instant feedback on where he shot, whether he should have shot. The whole foundation of this product is giving the shooter information on his or her performance."
When the shooter approaches the firing line, he sees an animal or animals on the video screen. An audio track, complete with bird song, wind noise, and the animals' footsteps, enhances the reality of the scenario.
In the archery version of the Dart system, the shooter fires an arrow fitted with a blunt tip at the screen. Highly accurate and calibrated sensors provide information to the Dart computer, which flashes feedback about the shot onto the screen.
The firearms version of the system uses modified guns equipped with lasers. The gun "fires" a burst of light when the trigger is pulled, activating a second set of sensors imbedded in the screen. In this version of the system, shooters take a series of test shots prior to beginning the scoring round, to "sight in" the guns they are using.
Since their introduction several years ago, Dart target systems have been installed in more than 200 locations, and the company expects the firearms application to make them even more popular. So no matter where you live, you should be able to find a Dart system to shoot.
To find out where your nearest Dart system is located, check with the company; Dart maintains a complete list of archery and gun shops which have installed the system. Write to Dart at 1390 South Potomac Street, Suite 100, Aurora, CO 80012 or call them at 1-800-745-7501.
Copyright (c) 1996 Carolee Boyles-Sprenkel. All rights reserved.
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