That pictures sums up my weekend. As I hemmed and hawed about what day to head to Pennsylvania to participate in the second leg of the national triple crown, I finally decided the rain wouldn't be too bad, and I would shoot all 40 targets on Saturday. Heck, I've always shot well in the rain, and the forecast called for intermittent showers. As the week wore on, the forecast changed multiple times, and I just gave up looking at it. I figured I would just go and shoot my arrows and come home. So that's what I did.
While Jeff and I were traveling to the shoot, the temperature climbed so high that I could feel its effects through the windshield in Buffalo. We watched the thermometer go from 94 to 100. It never got above 100, but that's where it topped off.
When we got out near Erie, Pa., the temperature started to drop, and by the time we arrived in Franklin, the thermometer hung steady at 80 degrees. We picked up our cards and headed to the motel for the night. After watching Vozzy trying to get some net on the hoop at the hotel, we went inside and got a good night's rest. Oh, the Vozz looked awesome on slow-mo video. He was only 16 inches short of touching the net. We are hoping he might break out his high-tops from the early '80s for his next try. Stuff like that is what makes the traveling to archery tournaments worth it. You can share memories with your friends that will last a lifetime. I'll be forever thankful for my ability to go to so many tournaments over the years.
Saturday Morning
When Jeff and I got out of the car and put our bows together at the target butt, we figured we were going to have a dismal morning to shoot. Although it wasn't raining, it was dark and dreary. Within minutes, all of that changed and the heavens let loose. The rain came down in buckets.
Walking to the tent for our range assignment, we readied ourselves for what was ahead of us. The rain has temporarily stopped, but the woods were so dark you could barely see 30 yards. Some of the Heritage Archery Academy shooters on the youth range said they could't even see some of the targets they were supposed to shoot.
Standing under the tent, I caught up with Brian DiBona and Dave Ferguson. They had shot 30 targets the day before and were looking to finish their last 10. Within a few minutes, any chance of that happening was washed away as the rain started coming down again and the woods became even darker. Dave said there was no way he was going out. I didn't blame him one bit. Unfortunately, Jeff and I didn't have a choice. I only had the hotel room for one night, and we had already used that night. We had planned on shooting all 40 on Saturday, and nothing was going to prevent that from happening.
The Tournament Begins
Finally, we found someone to accompany us onto the range. We shot with a crossbow guy named Joe. I had shot with him in the past, and he's a nice guy. He was from Kentucky but had moved there from New York. After walking a considerable distance to the first target, the rain started coming down again.
Looking down the hill, I could see a coyote on a log. What a way to start! I started it off and caught a 10 on the left side, perfect height. I made a good shot and it broke smoothly, even though I had a few shakes going on due to the adrenaline of the beginning of the tournament. I also had the shakes because my blood sugar level was at 49. I had walked a long way from the target butt to where I was at that point, and my blood sugar was plummeting. I sucked down a small bottle of apple juice and figured I would be good to go.
Unfortunately, we wandered our way through the range, and my blood sugar would not come up no matter what I did. A combination of everything finally caught up to me when we got to a long uphill white ram. The rain was coming down in sheets, and I could feel a steady stream of water running down my back, into the crack of my ass, down my legs, and into my boots. It was't a comforting feeling, but I ignored it. My aim quickly deteriorated on the white ram and my blood sugar could't keep up with my activities for the morning. Not being able to hold the bow or see the target due to the rain, the shot fired and I hit the target in the middle of the rear ham, about 13 inches from the back of the 8 line. My chances of doing anything at this tournament had faded with my blood sugar. When I got to the last target on the course, my level finally reached 92.
When we got to the bedded ram to start the next 10 targets, the rain was coming down in sheets. I couldn't see through my scope at all, so I held it in the area I thought might be okay and pulled. When the arrow came off the bowstring, water parted on both sides of the tube as it plowed toward the target. It looked like a vapor trail behind a jet, but it was a trail of water behind my SuperDrive 23. The arrow found its way into the 10 ring. I'm still amazed I even hit the target when I look back at the conditions at that moment in time.
The rain didn't let up, and we didn't stop marching through the course. When I walked up to the black panther at the next station, I just shook my head. It had a bit of an angle on it and it was anything but a chip shot. I made what I thought was a perfect shot, and I watched the water part on both sides of the arrow again as it made its way into the black foam. I hit it just barely out of the 10-ring on the top side. I'm fairly certain the arrow hit directly behind the pin. Standing at the stake, I thought I had pounded the center of the 10-ring. I was disappointed when I got to it and realized I had shot an 8.
I was beginning to feel my shot at this point. I stroked the next target, and impala, and felt good about my shot on a downhill bedded buck and a fallow deer in a swampy area. The fallow deer was almost impossible to shoot. The rain had made the area feel like ice. The mud was so greasy, I could barely stand up. I fought hard to make a good shot, and I did it well. It might have been one of my best shots of the day.
The rain didn't want to let up, and I began battling my blood sugar again. It had risen quickly when we finished the last course, so I took a dose of insulin to counteract the rise. Well, it started falling like a rock again due to the dosage. The first 20 targets gave me a battle unlike I've ever experienced while shooting. Although it was warm out, being soaked can make you get chilly quickly. As we neared the end of our second 10, my hands were shot. They felt and looked like raisins.
When we finally finished the first 20, I wasn't too terribly happy. I was down 16 points, and every lost point except two were due to poorly executed shots. I felt like I held my own under the conditions and made a vow to somehow try to minimize the damage the rest of the way. I figured I would be somewhat ok if I kept my score around 380. I knew most people had shot on Friday because we didn't see hardly any people on the course. I would just have to do the best I could and accept the results. I made sure to never cave in and become defeated. When you do that, you are done. I always fight and claw until the end. I always look at it with the mindset that if I'm struggling, the other good shooters will probably struggle too. We parted ways with Joe at the end of 20 and waited for two hours to find someone else to shoot another range. I highly recommend the bow umbrella. It helped keep my bow dry one year during the IBO World, allowing me to win, and it also helped me this time. It's important to keep your strings as dry as possible. Unfortunately, I watched Jeff's strings become waterlogged, and he lost about 4-5 yards off his sight. It made for a very unfortunate situation.
The Last 20
After waiting two hours, we finally got paired up with a young lad who was shooting in the MBR class. He was a good shooter, and it finally gave Jeff and I some arrows to aim at. Unlike our first 20, we could now use this kid's arrows for markers. It made my life a lot easier.
I changed releases for this 20 targets. The release I shot on the first 20 wasn't breaking cleanly, and I felt like I was getting hung up on it and my aiming was suffering. The attachment is a hair longer on that release. With the hills and the rain, I changed to a shorter release. I could see the change on the first target, as my shot broke perfectly. I was excited to get it rolling. When I got to a javelina that was straight up the hill near the end of the course, the rain was pounding off the trees -- and us. I just looked at everyone in the group and laughed. Somehow, I smoked the 11 on it and continued to the end. I'm still not sure how I got the 11 on it. I guess it's true when Mark Meyers tells me that a lot of my success comes from my ability to concentrate far more than most people. When we added the scores for the 10 targets, I had a 101........I was holding on to a miserable day. I had saved the light from fading into nothingness, but I still had 10 to go, and the rain wasn't helping matters.
After waiting another two hours for someone to go out with us, a group finally approached the tent. There were five people in the group, and one of them was Mike Guraly, a great shooter. I was happy when he decided to go out with us. I knew I would have good arrows to look at, and he's a nice guy who is as passionate about archery as me. He has a list of accomplishments in archery as long as anyone I know, and you would never know it by talking to him. That's my kind of person. He just shoots his bow and lets the rest speak for itself. The few times I've been around him, it has been a pleasure.
Dealing with the day we had, my nerves and body were about shot when we headed onto the course. I knew I would have to dig deep to stay in the game. I started off with a few good shots and managed to pick up an 11 or two along the way. I was a little perturbed when I made a perfect shot on a leopard and a strutting turkey and shot out the top of both of them, barely missing the 10-ring. The arrow on the turkey slapped Mike's arrow, which was nicely placed in the 10-ring. The arrow on the leopard was no more than 1/4 of an inch out.
When I pulled my bow back on the gator, the last target of tournament for me, I was happy when I executed a shaky shot and the arrow found it's way into the 10-ring. I couldn't have been happier. Somehow, I had survived the day after getting walloped in the beginning. I held on with everything I had and refused to quit. Although my score wasn't great, I was proud that I stuck it out through the entire day and made a slight comeback. When all was said and done I finished in fifth place. I guess I'll take that since I'd imagine most others in the class didn't shoot in torrential rain. I've always done well in inclement weather. I never let it bother me. I just shoot my bow. Mike moved on to shoot another 10 targets, and I knew I had done ok on that loop. Mike and I finished within a point of each other, and whenever I finish close to him, I consider it a success.
When I got back to the car, my boots were filled with water and my clothes felt like they weighed about 10 pounds. I rung out my shirt and shorts and changed in the parking lot. I didn't give a hoot about standing bare-assed in the field to change. It felt incredibly refreshing to put on dry clothes and get into the car to begin our eight-hour trip home.
I'd like to give a shout out to Rob LeLacheur. He shot all 40 in the same conditions I shot in, and he brought home the bacon, getting his best finish ever at a national event. Way to go, Rob!! I'd also like to congratulate Sara Kay. She's on a roll this year. She notched her second victory of the year. I sure bet she and Ted are glad they decided at the last minute to attend the triple crown. Sometimes that's the way it works. Things just have a way of coming together. And last but not least are the Thygesen boys, father and son, as they flat-out pounded and made a statement for New England. Thank you guys for holding our place on the map as good shooters. There's a longstanding tradition in the IBO for great shooters out of New England. I'm glad you guys did your part in keeping us relevant. These guys attend their first-ever IBO national and Tyler brought home a win, crushing the rest of the competitors in the class.
I'm sure that was a good feeling, as I can remember my first trip to a national many many moons ago. There were 1,250 shooters in MBO that weekend and somehow I was lucky enough to come home with some hardware. It's still one of my most memorable tournaments of all time. I shot a zero on the second to last target due to a spring breaking in my Carter Big Kid 3D during the draw, but I still finished near the top. Great job to everyone who shot. Here's the damage. It wasn't pretty, but I'll take solace in the fact that I got the train back on the tracks when it started careening out of control along the riverbank.
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