That sculpture sits on top of my desk, and I stare at it often when I'm writing. It reminds me that if I shoot for the moon, there's no doubt that if I miss, I will end up someplace among the stars. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm stubborn when it comes to changing things on my bow. I might even be more stubborn than my buddy George, but I'm not totally convinced of that.
All season I've felt like my bow isn't forgiving. I feel like I've made some shots that should hang in the 10-ring, and they seem to find their way to the left or right of it. Lately, I've focused a lot of my time on long distance shooting. Although most people of my age and skill level might be satisfied with what I've been shooting for groups, I know I can shoot better. I've been getting a slightly horizontal group, and I can't find a solution to the problem. The groups have been good enough to shoot good scores on the 122cm target, but the issue shows up on field archery targets and FITA targets. Although I'm not missing my much, the misses are big enough to keep me from shooting good scores. I'd like to shoot well at the upcoming trail shoot and the CT marked team shoot, but I just don't feel like the bow and setup is forcing enough to help me out. Simply put, I haven't been able to get away with any remotely bad shot. I'm trying to fix that problem.
I spent a lot of time this week with the arrows I've been shooting all spring/summer. I'm almost to the point where I think I might be better off trying a different arrow combination. I'm going to try to give my shoulders and mind a break for a few days and try a new arrow when I get back at it. I've been using Gold Tip Platinum Pierces, but I'm going to break out my old reliable Easton Lightspeed 3Ds. I've had a lot of luck with Easton arrows, so I think that might be a good fit for my setup. I'll know more by the end of the week. I can always go back to where I'm at now with the GTs if they don't work. I feel it's time to give something different a whirl.
I've discussed some other issues with a lot of my friends, too. Many of them feel that my bow might just be tired, and I have to agree with them. I'm not sure if I've ever shot a bow as much as I've shot this one. The only I have that might compare is my old Martin Slayr. I shot that one so much I wore the anodization off the handle. I've only ever seen one other bow do that, and that is my buddy Aron Stevenson's Hoyt Ultra-Tec, which he is still shooting. I think that bow is about 15 years old .
I'm hoping to be ready for the Trail Shoot, but if I don't get there, I'll keep plugging. My shot is good right now...............I think. I need to get down to see Mark Myers in the near future. He let me borrow a set of arrows a month or two ago, and I need to get them back to him. It's good to have great friends who share equipment so freely. I feel very fortunate to have all of the incredible people in my archery circle.
This week I saw the Mathews archery profile that was done on Chris Reed. For as long as I can remember I've seen Reedy's Archery shirts on people across the region -- and country -- while shooting in different tournaments. I met Chris many years ago at the AMO show and the shop I was associated with at the time, John's Outdoor Sports, formed a great relationship with him. Chris' shop was always a go-to shop for us to call if we needed something ASAP, and more times than not Chris shipped us what we needed. It helped me out on a number of occasions because it was the stuff that I personally needed for tournament and 3D archery. It was good to see Mathews recognizing one of their best dealers, a guy that has gone out of his way to help people he doesn't even know. Kudos to him and everything he has done for the archers of Massachusetts and Mathews Inc.
Although I've done most of my business with John's Outdoor Sports over the years, John retired a few years ago. That's why I've always tried to keep an open line of communication with different shops in my region. I try to give all of them some support, and I feel like I've been treated more than fairly by all of them. Some of them have treated me far better than others, and it wouldn't be fair of me not to mention Jim Despart of Flying Arrow Sports. He has gone out of his way to give me opportunities to try things I never would have been able to try otherwise. I'll be forever appreciative of those opportunities. Jeff Frasier has always helped me out, too. Jeff is always available for conversations and input about different things. He loves working on things and tinkering to get better results. Between those two guys, I couldn't ask for better shops to help me out.
I'm going to try to take the next couple of days off from shooting. I shot a local course today, Hudson Falls, and once again they had an entirely new course. Gary Wood has gone out of his way to create awesome courses since the took over the archery program at the club. If you haven't been shooting their shoots, you've been missing out. Every event that they put on is like a national event. Sometimes change is good, and this club has really turned a corner. It feels awesome to be involved and have my feedback heard. We have some new and exciting things coming up in December and early January to prepare people for Lancaster. I look forward to it. I need to take a few days off to let my body recuperate and get my mind back on track. I've been overdoing it lately. I shot pretty good today, shooting a 148 on the first 15 and a 143 on the second 15 for a total of 291. Last year, I shot over 300 in 3/4 of the shoots I shot, so I know I have a ways to go to get back there. I'm thinking of trying one particular bow that has a cam that feels really good to me. I'd like to see if a different model has different results. Here's how I spent Saturday. We went into the Adirondacks and had a fantastic day to celebrate Karen's son's birthday, who too the picture of me, Karen, Jerry and Cheryl. it was good to get out and enjoy what my region has to offer.
Every week when I pick the shooter profile, I try to do it randomly. I usually do it based on something that happens to the person during that week. Sometimes it's from a conversation and other times I might have shot with the person that week. Well, this week's profile goes to Jacob Slusarz. I've been waiting for this one, and this is the week. He just won the second leg of the IBO National Triple Crown in the Semi-pro class by a landslide.
Jacob has been around since he's been old enough to go to the bathroom alone. He decided when he was little that he wanted to shoot a bow, and he decided early on that he wanted to be the best at it that he could possibly be. Anyone who has shot with him can see that he is driven to succeed. Great is never good enough, and he always pushes himself to eliminate mistakes. I've enjoyed getting to know Jacob and shooting with him a lot over the last few years. I've always been a quiet person, a person whose accomplishments have often been overlooked or gone unnoticed. That's because I quietly did the work behind the scenes, put my time in, and never drew attention to myself for the accomplishments along the way. Jacob has followed that same type of path. He goes about his business and does his own thing his own way. He's driven to succeed, and he puts his time in. He has a plan, too.
Watching Jacob shoot is a pleasure. He never talks down to anyone, and he can quietly stand in the back as someone struggles and never mention it. I shot three phenomenal rounds with him last year, rounds that even impressed me for the difficulty level of the courses.We still talk about the strutting turkey that got both of us in Massachusetts. It still bothers me, and I know it bothers me. I think it was a 46 yard bomb over a hump. I'm not sure if that was the number, but I do know it was long. That target was the only one that got me..........with three left. Although I shot the 5 I still shot up. Jacob sat in the background and had his "normal" day, shooting about 12-15 up.
I told everyone that he would be dominating the following year, and many people gave me the, "No he won't. That 50-yard max will get him." I politely responded with, "I'll bet you all of the money in my pocket that it won't. I bet he continues his winning ways and shoot the same scores once he gets a few shoots under his belt and feels comfortable on the courses."
Well, that just happened this weekend and he pounded, clearing the field by 10 points and shooting the same scores as the top pros on the same course. I could go on and on about Jacob's ability because it is second to none.
Although dot shooting bores him, I've told him over and over that he could probably make a living by shooting a bow if the made a concentrated effort to focus on the United States Archery team and FITA tournaments. He has that ability. His accomplishments for this year have been overlooked because he dropped one X at the indoor nationals..........not even a fingernail width out of the X, and he shot one of the highest qualifying pro scores at Lancaster and made his way through the elimination bracket before eventually losing to the guy who won the tournament.
Last year I talked Jacob into being my teammate at Shawn Couture's shoot, and we had a great time. I actually played my part in the team that day, and we got lucky and secured our first ever team event win. I'm looking forward to our two team events this year, the CT marked yardage one and Shawn's shoot at the end of the summer. I'm just hoping I don't hold him back at these shoots.
Well, I could go on and on about Jacob, but I'll end by telling you that I'm proud of him He listens to people and takes what he can from them. He's a winner. He knows how to win, and he's only going to get better. I like telling people that he comes from my area and I've had the ability to shoot with him many times. Great job this weekend, Jacob. Big Angry and me were pulling for you. It's always good to have Little Angry fall in line and get a big win like that on the big state, especially in that class.
Until next week ----------------------> shoot straight. Hopefully, I'll have good news about the bow tuning and arrow selection.
No comments:
Post a Comment