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Kevin Wilkey: Shooting to Live and Living to Shoot!

From the office, to the range, and into the outdoors. Get a glimpse into Pro Staffer, Kevin Wilkey's life of archery.

HOYT: What is your nickname?
KEVIN: My friends call me K-Dub.

HOYT: Where do you live?
KEVIN: Tooele, Utah

HOYT: What class or division do you compete in?
KEVIN: Compound, Open Pro

HOYT: What’s your favorite archery discipline?
KEVIN: I love FITA field. The challenging terrain, varying distances and a mix of marked and unmarked distances is all right up my alley. I also enjoy the “Redding” style marked 3-D shoots. It doesn’t get any better than being outdoors in the woods and shooting through a course. As long as I know or can figure out how far the target is and there’s a dot to aim at, I’m all in.

HOYT: How long have you been shooting?
KEVIN: I shot my first bow when I was about five and I’ve been shooting ever since. My first bow was a camo spray-painted, fiberglass recurve and it had been through all four of my older brothers. And yes of course, the string was made from hay-bail twine. It’s the same bow I used to take down the family station wagon…

HOYT: Who introduced you to archery?
KEVIN: My older brother, Andy. He’d let me tag along with him and his friends to league-night and the local archery shoots. He kept me stocked up on arrows, some new but mostly ones that he’d find or even his old “hand-me-downs”.  Once I was old enough to hunt, he was nice enough to drag me all over Utah, helping me tag my first deer. After thousands of miles in his Toyota pick-up and 25+ missed shots, I eventually tagged one. I’ve been avid ever since.

HOYT: What are some of your top finishes?

2010
Easton/Utah Open, Salt Lake City, UT. 600/600 3rd
World Field Championships, Visegrad Hungary, Silver Medal
US World Field Team Trials, Spokane, WA, 2nd
US Field Nationals, Spokane, WA, 2nd
NFAA Marked 3-D Nationals, Redding CA, 1534/1540, 3rd
ASA K-50, FT. Benning, GA, 2nd

2009
VIII World Games, Kaohsiung Taiwan, Gold Medal
US Field Nationals, Tippecanoe, OH, 2nd

2008
NFAA Marked 3-D Nationals, Redding CA, 1st Team
US Field Nationals, Spokane WA, 3rd

2007
Tournament of Europe, Nimes France, 3rd

2006
NFAA Marked 3-D Nationals, Redding CA, 2nd

HOYT: What are some of your goals?
KEVIN: My current archery goals are kind of up in the air. My wife and three kids are my #1 focus right now.  I want to win Redding, I’ve been really close a few times, and it’s time to put it in the bag. I plan on keeping my field skills sharp and making the US field team for the 2012 World Field Championships. And if I’m going to defend my World Games title in 2013, I need to start gearing up for the new 50 meter outdoor round. 

HOYT: What’s a typical day in the life of Kevin Wilkey?
KEVIN: Up early and headed on my way to Hoyt! Yes, I work at HOYT!  Indeed, I have my dream job. I work in the Marketing Department as the Pro Staff Manager. I oversee the hunting staff, domestic and international compound shooters. It’s a busy job, but I get to work directly with the sport’s finest. And hopefully some of it rubs off on me. As often as occasion will permit, I practice on my lunch break at the Easton Archery Park or at the Hoyt employee indoor range. This is usually the only practice I get. Once my work-day is complete, I rush home to see my wife and kids. Depending on the time of year, weekends are spent at tournaments, trade shows, working around the house, hunting or just hanging out with the family. 

HOYT: When you’re not competing, what do you do for fun?
KEVIN: I love the outdoors. I enjoy hunting, hiking, riding ATV’s and mountain biking. Most of all, I enjoy spending time with my family. We don’t do anything extraordinary, but it’s fun to take our kids out and have them experience things for the first time.

HOYT: What bow do you compete with?
KEVIN: Currently I’m shooting the ContenderElite, XT 3000 with Spiral-X cams. This geometry of bow has been my main staple for the last ten or so years. I have been shooting the all new AlphaElite on the sly, and this bow really intrigues me. I’ve never had a bow aim as well as this one, but I’ll have to make a few form changes to fully commit to the different geometry and style. Who knows? Maybe you’ll see me shooting it at the next tournament. And currently I’m really busy with work and family so I don’t have the time to commit to changing a lot of things. And since I made the podium at every outdoor event I shot in 2010, my gut tells me to keep the ContenderElite handy.

HOYT: Do you bowhunt?
KEVIN: Yes indeed. That is really what got me started into archery. I practiced and honed my skills so I could be an effective and ethical hunter. Once I realized how much fun it was to compete, I switched focus to the competitive side of the sport. And since I don’t have the luxury of hunting year-round, competitive archery helps feed my instinct to hunt. You can count on this, every fall I’ll be somewhere in the mountains of Utah trying to outsmart the elusive mule deer. 

HOYT: Who are your other sponsors?
KEVIN: With my work and family responsibilities, I don’t have time to deal with inferior products and I’ll never shoot a product that I don’t feel is the best. I try to make it as easy on myself as possible, considering I’m competing against some guys that just shoot bows full-time and we all know archery is hard enough as it is. I’m totally in this to shoot the very best I can, and my product choices reflect that. The products and brands you see listed below are here because I‘ve shot their products before I was ever sponsored by them. And I’m sponsored by them because I’ve done well with them in competition.

www.eastonarchery.com : Arrows and Accessories
www.fusearchery.com : Carbon Blade stabilizers and stabilizer connectors
www.shibuya-archery.com  : Target Sights and Scopes
www.competitionarcheryproducts.com : Arrow points
www.scottarchery.com : Releases
www.custommadewraps.com : Arrow Wraps
www.angel-japan.net : Quivers
www.bcyfibers.com : Bow String Materials
www.specialtyarch.com : Peep Sights
www.badlandspacks.com : Hunting Backpacks
www.grimreaperbroadheads.com : Hunting Broadheads
www.firstlite.com : Hunting Apparel 
www.nikon.com : Rangefinders
www.swarovskioptik.us : Binoculars and Spotting Scopes
 

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