Well, rumor has it that No 10 Todd Team has beaten Triple J Team once again. My teammates Gary Jones on the far left and Chuck Weeden on the far right helped to nail down the win. The three clown in the middle have more work to do. I mean, look at them: Mark Smith with all that crap on his shirt, and Todd and George surrounding that God-awful home of Bernie license plate. I feel their pain.
All jokes aside, if it hadn't been for these guys, I probably never would have gotten back into competitive archery after getting away from it about a decade ago. After I met these guys, they pushed me to get back out there and compete with them and against them. Each one of them has played his part in making me better. We all spend a lot of time together in the winter and in the summer. There's not one guy in the bunch who doesn't want to see the others have success, even if it means a win might put the others a few slots down. I'm glad I can call all of these guys friends. The guys from Massachusetts remind me of this bunch. They all push each other to get better, and I've seen their progress this year. They have all gotten better: Joe Ricard, Pete Goyette, Rob LeLacheur, Ron Sargent, Matt Defeudis and Jeremy Flagg. In turn, these guys make all of us better because they push us to keep up with their progress.
A Frustrating Week
I shot way too many arrows this week. I tried my hardest to get a bow to aim well and shoot well. I simply tried too hard. In the process, I became extremely frustrated and didn't know enough to put the bow(s) down. I started making piss-poor shots, and the result wasn't good. A lot of the issues came from being unable to shoot a good group.
Throughout the course of the week, I shot three different bows. On Wednesday night, I decided to head to my weekly league with my Elite Ritual 35. I haven't been able to get this bow to hold well, but it feels incredible in my hand. The handle allows me to be repeatable, and the bow feels like it fits like a glove. When I headed to league, I was excited to see how it would stand up against some of my other bows. I shot knitting needle arrows out of it, too. This league has been the best one I've been a part of in all of the years I've shot competitive archery. The targets are changed every week, and nothing ever looks the same. It's fantastic practice.
When the evening came to a close, I looked at the card and saw that I had shot a 157. I had nine 11s and one 8 on 15 targets. Although the score seems good, there was no pressure, and the bow didn't aim that well. With the feeling it gave me, I knew I could get in some real trouble if I shot it somewhere and felt some nerves.
Thursday night I stripped my sight off from my PSE Evoke 35 and screwed it on my old faithful Energy 35... my go-to bow when all else fails. After putting it in the draw board in my basement, I saw that it was out of time. I quickly fixed that and headed outside. The first four arrows stacked side by side at 40 yards, four Xs on a five-spot target. The next group gave me the same result. I was ready. This bow was going to go with me to Connecticut. As I shot a few more groups, I glanced at the loop and saw that the loop was fraying and had minimal life left in it. Since darkness was quickly approaching, I didn't have time to fix it and shoot it. So I tied a new loop and figured I would shoot it on Friday after work.
When I got out of work, I began shooting the bow. It didn't shoot as well as it did the night before, but it was still ok. The loop came out a hair longer than it was when I needed to replace it. I think the difference is what attributed to the groups opening up. Instead of putting the bow up, I continued shooting it and started becoming frustrated.
At 7:00, I ran inside and put the scope back on the Evoke 35 and decided to run with it. It took a few minutes to get the bow sighted in, but after getting that done, I shot a group of 11 arrows at a five spot from 45 yards... yes, nobody ever accused me of being smart. Since the bow wasn't shooting to the level I wanted it to shoot, I wasn't worried about destroying arrows. I also had six arrows with G-nocks and five arrows with GTO nocks. I wanted to see which ones grouped better.
As I shot one arrow after another, I began seeing a dark spot. The dark spot got darker.......and darker.....and darker, but I never heard any clanking. When I walked to the target to pull my arrows, I couldn't believe the result of my shots. Gazing at the target, all 11 arrows were stacked in the white, and they were all touching each other. I will never understand how I didn't destroy an arrow. I didn't shoot another arrow. I packed the bow and figured I would see what happened in the morning.
Here are the groups I battled all week. The first two are from 40 yards. The last one is from 50 meters........it was a rough week. I simply shot too much and had nothing left. My shoulders were shot, my back hurt, my old was gone, and my execution suffered. Make sure you don't get into a habit of doing what I did this week. I will not be doing that again. I learned a lot of lessons. I think I'm going to take a week or two off from archery right now just to give both my mind and body a break. I'll have a really hard time not picking my bow up, but I'll do the best I can.
The Shoot
I haven't gone into a shoot with a lot of confidence since the Rhode Island State Championship. I was firing on all cylinders at that point, and my bow was 100% on point. I felt like I couldn't miss. I could stand on my head with one arm and knew I wouldn't miss. I would have to do something horrendous to find my way out of the 10-ring. It's not often that people get these feelings, but that was me, and I loved every second of it. Since that time, my days have been like a yo-yo, except more often than not, they yo yo doesn't return to the top. It bobs up and down at the bottom of its dip and does't want to return to my hand. I've had it close a few times, but it definitely has been more than elusive since those days late in April. It is beyond frustrating.
When I got to the site, I signed in and shot some arrows. I used three releases and couldn't decide which one to use on the range. They all shot well, but two of them were deadly. Finally, I decided to go with the one I've been using all year. Although the handheld tempted me, I stuffed it back in my pouch.
I got to shoot with Tyler Thygesen and his dad, Tom. We had a great day and had a lot of laughs and fun. We shared some stories of past and present, and everyone made the most out of a gorgeous day. They even followed us for a bit when we were lost and Dad was racing down dirt roads and doing U-turns. Eventually, we got there, and Tom and Tyler were already there. They smartened up and decided to quit following the New York truck that bashes through toll gates. They made the right choice.
We started on 21-30. On the first target, the bear, I hit six inches high. That is the reason I wasn't going to shoot the Evoke. I keep getting random high arrows, and they go really high. I haven't figured out what's causing it. I'm not sure if I'm creeping or if I'm pulling too hard into the wall. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does happen, there's no saving it. Luckily, the arrow stayed in the 8-ring, but when you start off on a target that is in your face and blow it out the top by that much, it can really get under your skin. Trust me, I was frothing at the mouth after that. I had to deal with some sever internal rage, but like any other time, I just ignored it and moved on to the next target.
Jeff Wagoner led off the second target, a strutting turkey, and put an arrow in the lower half of the 10-ring. When I drew, anchored and settled in, the pin locked on the spot above his arrow. I felt my back engage and elbow rotate.... and pow! The arrow landed in the center of the center of the 11-ring. It was the best shot I've made in as long as I can remember. The pin sat steady, and the shot was executed perfectly. It was one to write home about. I won't be forgetting it right away.
The rest of the course went well. When we got to the Big 10 buck in the cutoff, Jeff led it off. When he shot a five in the back, I knew what it wasn't. I cut some yardage and figured I was good to go. When my shot broke, I also hit it high, just above the 10-ring. Tyler and Tom joined Jeff in the area above the 8-ring. Since the target got everyone in our group, I'd say that must have been a great set since it fooled all of us.
When we got to the 10th target of the course, the wind wasn't too terribly bad when Jeff led it off. Although you could hear it in the trees, it wasn't bad on ground level. When I drew my bow on the target, I couldn't keep the pin on foam. It went from one end of the spike buck to the other. It also went over his back and under his belly. I let down a few times before deciding it had to go because the wind wasn't getting any better. I rushed the shot off and got what I expected: a low 8. I was not too happy about it. I hate getting eaten up by the elements. I usually get the best of them, but I didn't on this occasion.
I progressed through the rest of the course, and my shot and hold both were decent. I got fooled on the downhill howling wolf. I'm not sure if I got fooled by the number or where I aimed. I thought I should have centered the 10, but I also thought Jeff's arrow was in the bottom of the 8-ring, so I aimed considerably over it. When we got to the target, we saw that Jeff's arrow was just under the 11. I guess that happens from time to time, but I didn't like it when it happened to me.
As we shot the last few targets of the day, the thunder began to bang, and we knew the storm was coming........quickly. When we got to the bedded doe, the sky darkened and claps of thunder could be heard out in front of us. With all of the commotion going on, I believe I lost my concentration for a few seconds and didn't do what I normally do. I saw that Jeff's arrow was a little under the 11, so I added yardage and shot at his nock. The nock was even lower than the point of the arrow. When the shot broke, it was a good one. Unfortunately, the arrow struck about 8 inches high and ended up just barely over the 8-ring. That one shot will probably eat at my craw the rest of the year and even into next year. I'm not sure if it landed up there because I added a yard or two, like I never do, or if it landed there because it was my second phantom high arrow of the day, the first one coming on the in your face bear on my first target of the day. I guess that would make sense. The first target of the day and the last target of the day were the only real bad ones. I can't say anything about my shooting except those two shots made a pretty good day taste really sour in my mouth. I'm still sour about it as I sit here typing this. Both targets were in the 11-ring distance. I should have gotten both of them. Instead of walking away with 22 points on them, I walked away with 13 points, which is totally unacceptable for those targets. The rest of the day was really good considering the sight hadn't been on the bow for 14 hours when I got to the practice range.
Here's the damage.
My Take on the Day
This course was the best course I've shot this year. My hat goes off to Mark Dyer and the people who helped him. I know how hard it is to get good help, especially for events like this. This course had everything. People always think the difficulty level comes from bombs. Well, I dropped 13 points on two shots that were in your face.
Courses like this make people feel good, too. I can't tell you how many people took pictures of their cards and sent them to me. They were all excited about their performances. People love shooting well, but they also love a challenge. This course gave people a really good challenge, or should I say plenty of challenges, and it also gave people and opportunity to shoot well if they conquered the challenges. This course gets and A-plus. Mark, you could set a national level course. I appreciated all of you work last year, but you outdid that this year. Great job. Oh, looks like it's a good thing I wasn't bear hunting with you because we would have been chasing my bear around for a bit. I didn't hit him quite where I wanted to.
My performance was far from perfect. Lately, I've struggled in the week leading up to the shoots, but I've shot well at them. I'm not shooting anywhere near my potential, but I'm thinking I might get there at the right time -- you know... the right place at the right time. I'm hoping that's the way this year is going to go for me. I'm on the edge. It's just a matter of getting everything to line up for me.
The entire day, I shot two arrows more than an inch to the left or right of center. If I were to guess, I would say that I missed 10 11s by no more than an inch high or low, mostly high. I'm thinking if I had 30-year-old eyes, I might be getting them. I haven't blasted out a high x-count in a long time, but this shoot was really close to having that happen. I have to take that as a bonus. It felt awesome to be that close the entire time.
I'm not sure if I lost my concentration on the last shot and didn't follow my steps or if I had one of the phantom high arrows I've been experiencing. Normally, I have no problem trusting myself but right now I'm caught between the slow lane and the middle lane. I need to get back in the passing lane and mash the pedal to the floor. I'll keep working at it and see what happens.
I got got follow Ben Lambert through most of the day. I noticed two things when I watched him shoot: he holds like a rock, and he loads his back unlike anyone I've ever seen. He was wearing a black shirt, and I could easily see the shot transfer into his back. His back looked overdeveloped, and his shot transferred easily into it. It was pretty cool to watch. I only got to see it a few times, but it was really noticeable. I wanted to video it on the fallow deer, but I didn't want to get too close and distract him or the people in his group. If you ever watch him shoot, check it out. It's what a good shot is all about.
Since I've had so many bow issues lately, I haven't put in enough time judging yardage. Although I didn't pay the price for it on this course, I need to spend more time at it in the coming weeks. I'm not the only one who had a rough day. Although Jacob and I shot on different days this week, he had a rough time, like me. He ran into a few equipment issues that made his day miserable. Sometimes we have to take the lumps with the good times. It can't always be roses at the end of the day. We all encounter issues and must deal with them as they come. It's on those days that we learn the most about ourselves and our ability to overcome any obstacles that we encounter. While we might not be able to overcome the obstacle on that day, we can learn from what happened and be more prepared the next time we encounter a situation of the same sort. I'm sure Jacob will repair his equipment, and I'm sure I'll figure the grouping and aiming out. We will both be back on our horses in the near future, so gather your horses up inside the corral and get ready to ride with us.
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