After getting home from the national IBO last week, I didn't have much time to shoot my bow, but I did make time to look at some targets at my dad's place. I also took two evenings and shot marked yardage at the targets. I judged first, ranged them, then shot them. I wanted to make sure the arrows where hitting behind the pin. Shooting marked yardage really helps with my confidence, and I think a lot of people could benefit from doing this instead of always trying to shoot unmarked yardage. I use these practice sessions to help me judge to see how close I came with my estimation. I also use them to learn the targets better. I've definitely found that I tend to over judge the black panther and the snarling wolf. Knowing this, I took two yards off from my guesses this weekend when I encountered these targets.
Thursday night found me back on the pitcher's mound in my unlimited arc softball league. I haven't pitched in a month, and my team faced a doubleheader. I knew I would have to pitch both games, which would lead to shoulder and back issues. The games lasted much longer than most games, with the first one going into extra innings. At the end of the night I could barely pick my arm up.
On Friday morning, everything seemed okay. By the time I went to bed on Friday night, the pain was overwhelming in my shoulders, near my upper back and right on top of the shoulder cap. Although I shouldn't have done it, I shot about 15 targets at my dad's on Friday after work. I just wanted one last look at the targets to get a positive imprint for the next day.
The Shoot
Doug Vaughn met Dad at his house before picking me up, and we continued down the road to meet Jeff Wagoner in Saratoga. When we arrived at Nimrod in Massachusetts, many shooters were already on the course. I'd assume they were trying to beat the heat. We were trying to do the same but had a 3 1/2 hour drive. Anyhow, we were on the course shortly after 9:00.
Walking to the first target, I didn't know what to expect. I have always shot well at Nimrod when I've shot there over the years, whether it's a 3D shoot, the trail shoot or the annual indoor New Year's Day shoot. It's just one of those places that gives me a kind of comfort zone when I'm there. I feel like I can easily attain the zone. There aren't many places like this, but when we find those places, we need to enjoy how they make us feel. It breeds confidence, and success in archery is all about confidence. Before I even got to the first target, I knew I was going to shoot well.
We drew the cards at the first target, and I ended up second in line. I got a good marker and used it as a reference to hold where I thought the 11 was located. A few seconds later, my arrow found its way into the 11.... I was off to a good start. As we wandered to the next target, I could feel something on my leg when I got to the stake. Looking town, I spotted a large tick with a white back crawling up my leg. I grabbed it, smooshed it on my fingernail and flung it into the woods. Then, I glanced at the target, which was a razorback boar down a slight hill. I could see the crease behind the shoulder really well, and it gave me a great aiming spot. My pin locked on the spot, and the shot fired. I smoked the 11, and my shot was feeling good.
Wandering along the path to the third target, I didn't know what to expect. When we got to the top of a little hill, and I looked down to the bottom of the hill, I had an "Oh Shit" moment. Staring back at me from the depths of hell was an eenie weenie coyote, at least that's how big it looked. I didn't have to look at it very long to determine it was a long way away, and I would need to execute a good shot. Shooting last, I couldn't see the arrows in the target. It was probably due to the distance. I could see the black dots that connect with the 11, so I put my pin on them and pulled. I executed a great shot. The arrow landed inside out in the 11-ring. I was rolling. The zone from last week's national event was still on my back, and my shot felt exactly the same, even with the extreme pain I could feel in my back and shoulders from the pitching.
When I got to the next target, the number stuck out to me. As I stood there and took it in, I did something I very rarely do, but I am guilty of it. Instead of taking the average of my three guesses and shooting it for that number, I just slid the sight to the number the target looked like and ignored everything else. When I did it, I knew inside that I was going to hit the target high. A few seconds later, my arrow struck the bedded buck less than a half inch above the 10. This was an 8 that I earned. It should've been a 10, but I ignored the program and tried mouthing off to it instead of listening to the teacher, the teacher that has taught me many times not to do what I did.
As I walked to the next target, I was a little bit rattled. Stopping at the javelina, I knew I was going to have to lead it off. It was the first target of the day that my pin didn't hold very steady. I fought my way through an unsteady hold and executed a good shot. I stayed in the good columns and continued on my way. After shooting a few more great shots on a great set of a fallow deer up a long, gradual hill and then shooting a wolverine down and across and old overgrown logging road, I was back on track. My shot found its way into my back, and I was able to relax and become mind-numb again.
A short time later, I found myself looking at the black bear. It was set in a lowland area, and the stake was sitting in some pines. It was a gentle grade downhill to the target. Once again, I knew how far the target was, but I couldn't convince myself to shoot the target for that number because it looked farther away. I ignored my average and dialed it up to the higher number. Making the same mistake as I had a few targets earlier, my arrow found itself well above the 10-ring, landing in the area between the 10 and the 8.
As I made my way through the rest of the course, I allowed my conscious mind to speak to me. It tried its hardest to control me, but I stared at it on my left shoulder and said, "Get off my freaking shoulder." As it was being pest, I flicked it into the bushes when I got to the bedded ram. I had to lead the target, but the number stuck out to me, and I could see a nice spot to aim at. I centered the pin, let my subconscious mind activate my shot, and the arrow found its way into the donut hole. The bedded ram had been smoked, an inside out 11.
When we finally got to the last target of the course, I kept getting the same number. All three guesses were with a yard. I set my sight but felt really hesitant about doing so. I actually thought I had too much number on it. I had to let down the first time I drew because the pin was dancing a little more vibrantly than I liked. As the pin locked onto the blesbok the second time, I felt good about it when I started to activate the shot. The arrow landed less than 1/4 of and inch below the 8-ring. It just wasn't in a place I wanted it. I took the five on the chin and realized I had some serious work in front of me. I would need to climb out of the hole once again. I had shot really well but a few bad numbers (or should I say decisions) lent me a shovel to dig the hole.
I quickly raced through my memory and thought of last week. I had climbed out of a big hole, and this hole was of similar size. Could I do it again? In my mind, I never feel beaten, so I figured I would give it my best shot and throw the rope out of the hole. If I could get one of the knots to grab a tree root, I would begin the climb. I would scratch, claw, bite and foam at the mouth to get out.
Getting to target number one after an interesting walk, I realized I had a huge chore in front of me, like one of those chores your parents used to give you that you had no idea how to accomplish, and you definitely didn't like the chore. Although I wanted to swap chores with my siblings, my siblings were nowhere to be found. I would have to do it on my own. MY concentration would have to be amped up a few notches. I knew it was G0-TIME.
When my pin found its way onto the fallow deer, the shot broke. I caught the bottom of the 10 and felt good about it. The next two shots, the big 10 and the black panther, were two of my best shots of the day. Both of them found their way into the 11. I continued making strong shots, barely missing the 11. The antelope that was in the swamp and slightly downhill gave me some fits while trying to get the number. I just couldn't get it. I hemmed and hawed. Finally, I dialed the sight and shot. I just missed out the top of the 11.
The rest of the course treated my really well. I cleaned that course of 15 targets and got a few 11s along the way. I was extremely close to going "low" (as they call it in golf) or putting up a big number (as they call it in archery) Besides one arrow that hit at 12 o'clock 10 and one at 6'oclock, every other arrow was in the 11 or missed it my less than an inch (or two at the most). It was really close to being an 11 count like the one I shot last week at nationals. It felt good.
Here's my card for the day:
My Take on the Day
I need to stay focused throughout my round. I got sidetracked today when I saw Luke and Jake walking the course. This made me skip some steps in my process. If you lose focus for more than a second or two in any part of archery, you can and will pay the price. I missed some of my steps with my yardage judging, which caused me to shoot an 8 high. I need to pay attention to this in the future and talk after I'm done or before I shoot rather than when I'm standing on the stake. I know better than to do that, but I got a good reminder today.
I've shot many courses in my time over the years in the region. I've shot some dandies, too. This course is easily in my top 3 of all-time in New England. A few others in the top 5 are the NY State Championship at Mountain Trail Bowhunters about 20 years ago, the shoots at Merrimack, NH and the Firecracker 400 in Maine. I really think that this course might have been the best ever as far as target sets, variety of yardage, and testing all of the skills that are essential to being a good 3D shooter. If you shot well on this course, you can hang your hat not the rack today and be very proud.
Jason and Jake VanHillo have learned how to trick people. This course was a prime example that you don't need big yardage to fool people. You can trick people with a 27 yard shot just as easily as you can with a 42-yarder. These guys knocked it out of the park. Jake told me he set 1-15 and Jason set 16-30. Well, Jake, I cleaned your half, but I thought I had a harder time on your half. I think it's because I had to work especially hard to get numbers. After getting the number, I had to work even harder to make the shot. I think I struggled on the other half due to losing my concentration a few times.
I batted the evil monkey on my shoulder. I whacked it with my arrow a few times, but it wouldn't go away. It kept pulling my years and hissing into my eardrum. It kept saying, "Do this, do that. Move your elbow, hold it in your back, uh, don't miss this time." When this got out of control no the blesbok and the little bastard stayed on my shoulder as I walked through the blazing sun to the next range, I took an arrow out and stabbed the furry beast in the chest. It fell to the ground, and I kicked it into the bushes. I said, "See you later, you dirty little pest."
And that was it. The monkey was gone. My subconscious mind took the monkey's place, and we were harmonious with each other for the rest of the day. I aimed and my release fired.....repeat process.
I could never say enough about this shoot. Everyone should thank Jason, Jake, Luke and all others who helped. This was first-class, and if you have never been to a national or world championship, this was a very good taste of what those shoots are like, but this one was probably a tad more difficult. Well, maybe a bit more than a tad because he could really hide the yardage well. If you need advice on setting a course, these guys are people you can ask. Thank you for your hard work. You wrecked my brain and made it really tired for the rest of the day. It mentally destroyed me.
New Hampshire Senior Games
Dad registered me for the NH Senior Games a few weeks ago. After shooting the Mass. Games, I took the bow apart and put the rest on another bow. On Tuesday night, I began scrambling to get a bow together for the event. I put a drop away rest on my bow and tried to rough it in behind my house. I got marks out to 60 and hung it up. I had no idea how well the bow would shoot just because I didn't have any time behind it. On Friday night, I shot a few arrows and everything hit behind the pin for the most part. I also found out that we would be shooting the 900 round on an 80cm target. An 80cm target that was designed to be shot at 50 meters, not 60yards. Although it's only five more yards, it seems like a long ways while aiming at it, especially since I have zero experience on that target. I've always shot the 122cm target. I really didn't expect much from the tournament due to those facts.
During the first few practice ends, I only shot there 10s....two regular practice ends and the two ends before official scoring. When the round started, I felt pretty good. My shots broke nicely. As this round progressed, it got to the point that it wasn't fun. The wind was howling and it was impossible to even hold on the 6-ring target. At times my dot was entirely off the bale, and I just hoped the release didn't fire. It was a bear to shoot, and it made it difficult to execute good shots.
When we got to 40 yards, the wind was so bad that I just hoped I would land somewhere in the target face. I tried grinding through it and did the best I could do. You can't ask for more than that during these type of events. A lot of luck is involved, but good form also helps shooters get through these things. I tried to trust my form to carry me through it.
Since I have know experience in that target, I was highly disappointed that I didn't get any type of feel for how well I shot it. In the end, I shot the highest score of any actual Senior Games competitors (50 and up). Rick Baker shot in the tournament but isn't old enough yet to qualify as a "senior." I'm sure he's glad about that. He shot the highest score of any shooter, so I guess that's the reason I'm a senior now. All jokes aside, we both shot okay for the conditions and ended up a few points apart. The wind wreaked havoc on both of us. I shot more 7s and 8s than I would have liked, but I guess they were better than what they could have been.
I'm in the market for a bow to set up for next year to use only for these events and outdoor target archery stuff. I need to stop pulling bows of the rack and setting them up the week of these shoots. That will be my goal for this stuff going into next year. Here's my card for the day. Remember to just stay the path when it isn't going well. I always figure if I'm shooting poorly, it's probably that other shooters are shooting poorly too. My dad won his class, too. He had a good day.
Although there are too many people to congratulate for the weekend, I just want to extend my congratulations to all of you who were able to take home some hardware this weekend. Great job. A special one goes out to this guy, ol' Jorge Connors. He always goes out of his way to help me when I ask and never asks for anything in return. He also is a great guy to bounce things off from when I'm struggling. He drives me to be better.........but I don't get in the damn bus. He doesn't drive me in the Ford, if you know what I'm talking about. If more people surrounded themselves with people like George, they would definitely get better.
I also can't forget Rob LeLacheur on his shooter of the year award. Rob, this is all I have to say to you, buddy. Good on you. I'm proud of you.
