Northeast ASA at Baypath

    This year has been a battle with my own mind. It seems that random thoughts come and go in my mind while at full draw, causing me to have to let down and regroup. Although I've encountered issues like that in the past, I'm battling them almost every time out this year. I'm convinced that it's because there's no rhythm to shooting this year. I've only attended a few shoots, and my mind is overloaded with other things that take priority over archery. It has been a challenging 3D year.

  On Saturday, I headed to Baypath Archers in Southbridge, Mass., to participate in the ASA federation tournament. I didn't expect much since I haven't shot at any lower 12s since the days I participated on the national ASA circuit with my dad and friends. Although it was so many years ago, the feeling came back quickly when I got on the course.

  When I took a glance at the first target of my day, I saw a brown bear in a dark hole. Jacob and Donny both had arrows close to the 12. I couldn't' tell if they were in it, but they gave me a good reference point. I put the pin between their arrows and executed a good shot. The arrow hit behind the pin, and I started my day with a 12. That's when I realized that it's hard not to aim at the highest scoring ring on the target, even when you're guessing the yardage. Although I haven't shot much this year, I have put the work in at home. I've practiced my shot and my yardage regularly. I need to spend more time on my mental training. I've let that slide this year due to the lack of tournaments.

  As we pulled our arrows and began the march to the next target, I felt like I was looking back in time. Rick Baker and Bill Romanchick were waiting in the group behind us, and Don Doherty was in my group. I've always loved shooting with these guys over the years, and I'm glad that they have all stayed in it over the years. I've had a lot of great laughs with all of them, and we have some good memories over the years. I can still remember shooting with Billy at the Vermont IBO State Championship in the mid '90s and again at the first leg of the Northeast IBO Triple Crown in Nashua, N.H., one year when he and Bryan Hunt shot with me and my dad. Billy has always been a fierce competitor, but he always keeps it light along the way. My dad nicknamed him the Mayor of Middleburgh many years ago and it stuck. I always like the Back-Brace Billy moniker we tagged him with. He has always been a good sport about it, too. I'm glad to call him a friend.

  Ricky and I have been at this as long as anyone in New England. We both started as kids and are still at it today. Archery is a part of our lives that has always been there and will stay with us until the end. Although I'm in the senior class now, where our heroes were when we were growing up, Rick will be with me in a few years. It doesn't seem possible that I've reached that class so quickly. Where does time go?

  It seems like just a few years ago when Pete Lucas was running the ASA Trifecta, a three series shoot, in New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, and I was in a group with Scott Tozier, Brett DuFour and Rick. We all gunned at the lower 12s and had a good time doing it. When the dust settled, I came out on top that day in Sturbridge, Mass. I'm thankful for having competition like that in the old days and still having it today.

  So as I walked to the next target, I thought about the experience surrounding me. Everyone in my group had won IBO National Triple Crowns and IBO World titles and everyone in the group behind me had made the cut at the IBO World. It's pretty impressive when you realize all of the people are your close friends. It makes you route for your friends and competitors. It's also pretty cool when you know you're shooting with one of the best shooters in the country.

  As we picked our way through the course, we tried adjusting to the McKenzie targets. I didn't have that many problems with them. My yardage judging went well, and I really only got fooled on one target. It was a medium buck with really big antlers. I thought it was a large deer, but Jacob warned me that the target was small. I shot at the 12 and still shot out the top of it, hitting the 8 line. If I had shot at the middle of the 10, I would have surely gotten a 5... the benefits of a misjudged target in ASA when you judge it as longer than it is.

  I felt like my judging carried me through the first half. I got a few 12s and missed a few, too. As an unmarked shooter, I try to play relatively safe and only aim directly at the ones that I think I'm absolutely sure I have the yardage pegged. I thought I had one pegged halfway through because it was long. I put the pin right on it and executed a good shot. The arrow landed pretty low and barely caught an 8. That's the disadvantage of a missed number on the low side in the ASA. You just have to stay in the game and have a plan as you continue through an ASA course, whether you're shooting known or unknown. You must have a plan and stick to it.

  As we headed onto the second half, the heat had turned up a notch, but I didn't sweat. It was nice with all of the canopy in the woods creating a lot of shade. My numbers stayed good throughout the day, but not quite good enough to get many 12s. I got the close ones that I aimed at, but there weren't many close ones as far as unmarked yardage goes.

  When I got to the chamois up near the solar panels, I had a hard time getting a number. The target was lit up in bright sunlight and looked really big, but the ground distance told me it was a lot farther than it looked. When I settled the pin down around the 12, I didn't feel comfortable with it and had a hard time committing to the shot. When the release finally fired, I watched the arrow hit about an inch over the 10 ring. I knew it was going to go there before I shot it. That's all part of the game.

  As our day was coming to an end, I had to lead off the last target, which I think was a warthog. I had a great aiming spot, as the 12 was lit up by a sunspot. I thought I had a perfect number, so I held right on it. The pin sat nicely but dropped right as the bow fired. My heart missed a beat when the bow fired, and I thought I had my first five of the day. Stepping away from the stake, I saw that the shot wasn't as bad as I had thought. The arrow was sitting just underneath the 12, putting me at 2 down for the tournament. I'll take that for not shooting at lower 12s in almost 20 years.



                                                    My Take on the Day

   I was happy with the way things went. I had adjusted the trigger on my release the night before the shoot. I made it stiffer and shortened the length of the strap on the release. These things allowed my shot to go off a little better, but I struggled holding the bow steady because the shot felt a little different. I think it will be much better as I get used to it.

  I enjoyed the course, as Baypath always puts on a good shoot. It's a good location because it's somewhat centrally located. It only takes me about 2 1/2 hours to get there. They have a lot of terrain, so you get everything you want to test your 3D shooting skills. There are downhills, side hills, uphills, flat shots, shots into tunnels and shots in the open. I thought it was one of the best IBO-type sets I've seen in a while. The yardage was really well hidden, and it was extremely tough to judge.

  Being an ASA shoot, I kind of wish it had more of an ASA feel. Now that we have the two organizations in the same region, it's a great opportunity to express the differences in each and show the people how both are run at the nationals.

  I've always enjoyed both types of tournaments. I enjoy the walk through the woods and never knowing what's coming next with the IBO shoots. I always feel like I'm hunting. I also always liked the ASA events because they were like a big social gathering while shooting. You could see everyone because you were all on the same road together and you would pass each other on the road. If someone was on the course, you would definitely see that person. I liked it because you never had to walk very far either. I'm hoping that we get something like that as time goes on. I don't mind it this way, but it would be cool to get that social gathering type of thing at one or two of them. I used to like the lazy-man tournament where all targets are side by side and you have to wait for shooters on each side of you to finish before going to the target to pull arrows.

  With all of the chaos going on about the IBO World being canceled, there's a possibility that I've shot my last 3D tournament of the summer. In all reality, it wouldn't bother me if that's the case.