Zack and Seth Jacks needed to blow off a little steam last Thursday.

By that, the Stockton brothers brought their recurve-style bow or longbow, firing off arrows at Jerry’s Archery in Stockton.

“We started coming out here about a month ago,” said 19-year-old Seth. “We’ve known about (Jerry’s Archery) for years but we finally came by to try it out.”

Older brother Zack was home visiting from Montana. He was in the U.S. Air Force and stationed in Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls. Rather than re-up, he decided to stick around Big Sky country and attend college.

On this day, Zack fulfilled an archer’s dream by hitting a bull’s-eye from 20 yards out. “It was exciting,” he said.

For the brothers, this day (Aug. 28) was significant since this was also the one-year anniversary of the death of their best friend and father Doug.

In his memory, Zack sported a white T-shirt, reading “R.I.P. Douglas ‘Fresh’ Jacks.”

His next shot just missed the target.

This was Seth Jacks’ second time at the Jerry’s Archery. Located a bit out-of-the-way at 636 W. Fremont St., this place is near Banner Island Ball Park – home of the Oakland Athletics’ Class-A affiliate Stockton Ports – and shares a parking space with a nearby auto garage.

For $3, Seth and Zack can easily test their marksmanship by firing arrows in the indoor target range.

Close by are owners Jerry and Gary Coit. They’ve operated this business at this location for nearly 25 years.

Both are very helpful and offer great customer service. That certainly was the case for a patron from Lodi.

“Jerry and Gary took their time to answer my questions,” said Mike, who asked that his last name not be mentioned. “After talking to them and explaining my needs, I settled on the bow that I wanted.”

Jerry’s Archery also carries the compound bows commonly used for hunting.

“We will let people test a certain bow,” said Chris, who was filling in for Jerry and Gary.

Like most customers, Zack and Seth Jacks brought their longbow to the downtown business to test their marksmanship while blowing off steam.

The arrows were purchased at Jerry’s.

“We can shoot for hours or when (Jerry or Gary) tells us it’s time to leave,” said Seth, who isn’t quite ready to seriously take up the niche sport.

He’s still taking aim at his first bull’s-eye.

To learn more about Jerry’s Archery, call 209.941.4870 or log on to www.jerrysarcheryllc.com.