Beast of the East: The Highs and Lows of Shooting Well

   Since I had to give two seminars at the show, I signed up for the shoot in case I could get away from my booth for a few minutes. I figured it would give me a little bit of practice before next weekend's NY State NFAA Indoor Championship. I know how hard it is to focus on more than one thing during a weekend like this one, but I decided I would give it a whirl.

  I had a really good week of shooting my bow. I was able to get outside for a bit to try to dial in a 3D bow. It definitely wasn't an easy task due to the substantial amount of snow I still have at my house, but I got some numbers roughed in and the bow shot relatively well for having no time behind it. I sighted in my PerformX 3D and will be shooting that bow at the first IBO shoot in NY in a few weeks. I definitely am going to need some time behind it before I can make any solid judgments.

  After talking to Jacob about holding weight and a few other things, I decided to up the holding weight on the bow since I will only be shooting one arrow out of it at a time. After two days of shooting it, I think I might be better suited to drop it a few pounds. I'm currently holding 16 1/2 pounds on it, and I'm holding 11 1/2 pounds on my indoor bow. I'm fairly certain that 14 pounds would be a perfect number. I'll need to experiment with this as it gets nicer outside.

  So I showed up to the club for our final league night of the 450 league. In my practice on Monday night, I felt really solid. My shots have been breaking better than they have in 20 years, and I owe all of that to changing to the best caliper release I have ever shot, the TruBall Execute. After a major release malfunction at a national ASA event many years ago with a TruBall Extreme, I said I would never use a TruBall release again. The release malfunction cost me a national title, and I was highly disappointed because it was through no fault of my own. However, after getting this caliper in my hand, I have decided to go back on my word. This release just seems to work for me right now.

  When my last indoor league scoring round of this year began, my shots broke cleanly, and I felt like I couldn't miss. I've felt this way since changing to this release. It's no longer a struggle when I'm at full draw to do the things I'm supposed to do. I've had many problems over the last decade with trying to relax my hand on every shot. It creates a variety of other issues when I can't relax. Although people have seen me shoot for a long time, they think shooting is easy for me. They would never imagine the struggles I go  through on a daily basis. I basically have shot under the "fake it until you make it" mentality." For now, I have made it out the other end, and it feels incredibly awesome. If you're working at it, just keep plowing forward. Eventually, if there is a will, there is a way.

  As I got near the end of my round, my hold loosened up a little bit, but I really focused on my bow arm. If I keep a solid bow arm and pay attention to it, the arrows usually find their way to the center, even if I'm a little bit nervous and moving around more than normal. Although I was a little jittery near the end of the round, I didn't have any tension..............what an incredible feeling. I finished the round off with my second 450 of the year in the league. It was a great way to put a decent year behind me.



  Being so busy at work, I didn't have a lot of time to practice before the weekend. I went to the club on Thursday evening to make sure my shots were still breaking good. I shot for two hours without keeping score and never missed the 10-ring. I finally got my sight picture with the caliper release to equal my sight picture with a handheld. It took a little bit of adjusting on the length of the strap on the release, but I feel that I have an identical picture now, and it gives me confidence that I can shoot every arrow in the 10-ring.

  I signed up for the 4 o'clock Saturday day line for Beast of the East. I figured my main rush of people would be calmed down by then. I had to give an hourlong seminar at 11, and crowds usually subside at outdoor shows by late afternoon.

  There weren't a lot of people on my line, so it was fairly easy to get in a groove right from the beginning. I knew going into this tournament that it would be difficult to land near the top because of the setup I chose to shoot. There were no classes at this shoot, and all shooters were in one class. The awards were figured out according to the flighting system, which gives all sorts of people a chance to win. I like competing in events like this. There are no classes for men, women, youth, seniors, and there's no differentiation for equipment used, whether it's compounds, recurves, short bars, long bars, scopes, pins, or whatever else you might have for equipment.  In tournaments like this, you figure out in a hurry where you stand against everyone..............shoot what you bring. I knew I should've put a long bar and scope on my bow for the tournament, but I just stuck with what I have shot all year this year, the short bars and a big ol' black pin.

  When my round started, I realized the lighting was going to create problems. The lighting was great, but it cast huge shadows on the targets after the arrows hit. I also shoot the targets in the same order: bottom right, bottom left, top. Unfortunately, the shadows went from bottom to top. I should've changed the order I shot the targets, but I have done it the same way for so long, I chose to stick with my system. I ended up dropping three points total and two of them in the beginning came as complete surprises. I thought both arrows hit behind the pin. After retrieving the arrows, I came to believe that the shadow that showed up on my third target caused me to lose focus of where the pin needed to be. When I realized that was the problem, I quickly made a mental note of it and didn't let it happen again.

  I've shot many rounds over the last 20 years, but none have felt as good as this one. Everything was effortless, and my shots broke better than I an ever remember. I was finally in the zone again during an indoor round. Of course, I did experience a little bit of bad luck with the shadows, but I pay no attention to that when looking back on the performance. I had a winning performance but didn't win. I executed 44 perfect shots. I over-held one shot and barely missed it out the bottom. When I pulled the arrows out of the target after the last end, I smiled to myself and talked to Old Todd. I said, "Welcome back ol' Todd. I'm glad that tension that has kept you away is gone, and I couldn't be happier to have you back."



  This round felt like the year that I competed in the second leg of the NY Vegas Triple Crown about 20 years ago. I shot next to Dave Badgley at Sara Spa Rod and Gun. I shot a 446 with 41Xs at that tournament. Yup, all 4 xs I missed were 9s. This tournament was very similar to that. If the Beast of the East had Lancaster scoring this year, I would have been tied for first at the end. I still ended up okay, and the placement is insignificant. If you have a winning performance and don't win, you can't do anything about that. I've been piling those types of performances up this winter. It's just a matter of sticking to the programming and allowing things to happen rather than making them happen. When all was said and done, I finished with a 447 36xs, but I executed my shots at a 449 42X pace. I feel that with a scope on my bow, that's the type of round I would've shot. Sometimes the real score doesn't equal your execution score. I always take my execution score to figure out how well I shot. I also have to give a shoutout to Jon Scott, Chris Wegner and Jeff Wagoner. All of those guys are stout shooters. If I were able to pull off a miracle and beat those guys with a short bar and a pin, I would have been very lucky. For all of you pin guys, I gave it my best shot.  Here's my last end of scoring. In the number 2 bullseye, I missed the one that's high and a hair to the right during the first practice end, oh so close but oh so far away from a 450.



  I shot my PSE Supra Focus for this tournament. The bow has been shooting incredibly well. This is quickly turning into one of the favorite bows that I have shot indoors. It aims really well, and I like the feedback it gives me while shooting. The Evolve cam system is one of the best cam systems I've ever shot and it's extremely easy to draw. The adjustments within the modular system to get it where you want it is definitely top-notch. It's pretty much a target shooter's dream. The more I shoot the bow, the more impressed I am with it.



  Although I can't express to you guys how happy I am about all of the progress I've made in the last year, the star of this show was my buddy Chris Hall. Chris showed up at my club this year and was interested in target archery. He asked a lot of questions and seemed like one of those guys who really wanted to get better at the craft. Having a lot of bad habits and no competitive experience, I figured I might have my hands full when he asked for help. I'm the furtherest thing from a coach, but I do have a lot of experience to draw from to help people avoid a few pitfalls here and there. If I can save someone some time, I do my best to help him if he asks for the help.

  When Chris asked me for help, I decided I would do my best to help him. We quickly identified that he was slapping the crap out of his trigger. He was hitting that thing like an adult playing whack-a-mole at the amusement park. We made quick work of that problem and got him to execute a shot that surprised him when the release fired. Since that time, we have concentrated solely on working at 10 yards. Chris's average went from under a 400 on a 450 Vegas round to about 420. We also improved his average on a 5-spot 300 round from the 270s to mid to high 290s, and he's knocking on the door of shooting his first 300. He will definitely pull that feat off in the near future.

  I convinced Chris to go to the Beast of the East. He was really nervous because he had never attended a tournament and didn't think he was good enough to go. I told him tournaments aren't about how well you shoot, they're more about making friends, having a good time and gaining experience that can't be gained anywhere else. If you want to be a good tournament archer, you need to attend tournaments.

  Chris got in a groove at the beginning of the tournament and stayed in it until the end. I'm proud of him for his ability to stay focused with the chore at hand and not sway in another direction. It was very impressive to watch. When the dust settled and all arrows had been shot, Chris had surpassed his personal best by 11 points and ended up with a 432. He simply rocked it.

      



  I've heard a lot of people beat themselves up and say they can't do something in archery. Some people make the game so frustrating that it's not even fun to compete. A lot of that comes from trying so hard to be perfect. I'm also guilty of it. Until I recently went back to a wrist strap release, I hadn't realized how much fun had gone out of shooting for me over the years. Although I shot well, every tournament was a struggle. The last few I have shot with this wrist strap have been fun. Of course, it's hard to have fun when you're struggling and don't reach your goals, but ultimately, you shoot a bow because you like to launch arrows toward a target. Don't lose sight of that in your travels around the tournament trail.

  Great job, Chris. You make me proud. A lot of people have welcomed Chris into the archery circle, and he made even more friends at the shoot last weekend. Jon Purdy, Jeff Frasier and Chuck Weeden have all given things to Chris, including their time, to make sure he enjoys himself. Encourage other people along the way and welcome them into our circle. It's our responsibility to grow our sport so do your part.

 I have one more indoor shoot left this year, and I can't wait to get done with it and get outside. Until next week ------------------------> shoot straight and have fun.