BEE SPRING – Ask any archery enthusiast who frequents Sanders’ Archery in Bee Spring, and they’ll tell you they come for the camaraderie and family atmosphere, the great practice and the friendliness of husband and wife owners Hulen and Ronna Sanders.

“I just enjoy making sure everybody thinks they’re special,” said Ronna, a retired principal of H.W. Wilkey Elementary School in Leitchfield.

For just $5.50, archery enthusiasts can line up shots from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday to Tuesday at the couple’s range at 1000 Sunfish-Bee Spring Road. For beginners, the range also features a shop offering compound and recurve bows and other equipment.

While Ronna runs the business and archery leagues, Hulen passes on his knowledge and expertise to beginners looking to get into the sport. Finding the right bow, Hulen said, is personal and requires the right adjustments. The biggest mistake he sees beginners make is buying a cheap bow at a big box store and picking up bad habits without an expert’s supervision.

“It’s so much easier if people will go to an archery pro shop,” he said, adding the community has appreciated having a place to shoot.

Hulen, a retired barber, got into archery in the 1990s, “when you couldn’t find anybody to help you” learn, he said. After the business began in their garage in 1994, the couple moved it into its own building in 2000. With about 20 people in its recurve league and about 30 in its compound league, the business has been successful.

But for Hulen, the biggest reward is helping beginners get better, especially kids. Nothing’s more rewarding than seeing a kid get his or her first shot, he said.

“That’s what it’s all about for me,” he said.

That was the case for Zachary Jacobs, a seventh-grader who’s in an archery in the schools program in Edmonson County.

“You’re kind of setting personal goals,” Zachary said of the sport while waiting for a group of men to finish shooting at the range so he could get in some practice with his father. Zachary described Sanders’ Archery as a place to relax and “let some steam out.”

His dad, Jeff Jacobs, is hoping the sport will take his son through college on a scholarship. In the meantime, Jacobs said Zachary is learning important values.

“There’s a lot of discipline, repetition,” in the sport, he said. Jacobs, an archery enthusiast, said he’s been coming to the store for 15 years. He sees the range’s frequent patrons as potential role models for his son.

Among them is Kurtis Swift of Fordsville, who shoots as a sponsored pro and competes in tournaments across the country.

“It’s good practice, camaraderie (and) good people,” Swift said between shots.

Nick Logsdon, an enthusiast from Sunfish who’s been into archery for one and a half years, said the sport is more about competing against yourself. He also appreciates the family atmosphere.

“Everybody wants to see everybody do good,” he said.