Last Leg of the IBO Northeast Triple Crown

   I apologize for taking so long to do the recap for this shoot. I've received some emails and messages from people who have been wondering why it hasn't been posted yet. I've had a lot going on, and tidying up after the event took a little longer than expected. I'll start by saying I hope everyone had a good time. 

  This year, I decided to step back from being involved in the setup of the course. Instead, I knew Karl and his team would do well with it since Karl has attended so many events over the years. Although I walked through the grounds with him a month before the shoot and gave him a few ideas for setting targets, he took it upon himself to set all the targets and stakes. Without having many tournaments in our region that have Rinehart targets, I wanted to get in as much practice as possible before the Third Leg of the National Triple Crown in Ohio next week, and I knew Karl's creativity would give that to me.

  I met Travis Williams and Jacob on Saturday morning, and we decided to hit the course. Since the half with the wolverine had more traffic, we started on the elk. The wind was whipping around pretty good when we shot at it, but I started off with a strong shot and solid 11. After shooting the next three targets and finding myself sitting at +3, I was feeling good. My shots felt good, and my yardage estimations where obviously accurate. 

  That's when my day took a turn unlike any turn I've experienced in recent memory. The fifth target was a brown bear, and the number was tricky, but I felt confident with my guess due to the size of it. Having two of them on my personal range, I felt comfortable with its look. After averaging my three guesses and setting my sight on 46 yards, I executed my shot. When the shot broke, I expected the arrow to land just under the 11, as that's where the pin was when the shot broke. 

  Stepping away from the stake and glassing the target, I saw my arrow in its leg. Luckily, the 10-ring on the bear is directly above the leg. If the target had been a deer, I would have missed it. Instantly, I knew what had happened. I knew I never could've been that low unless I had set my sight on the wrong number, and that is what I did. My sight was set for 36 yards. In as many years as I've shot unmarked yardage, that's the first time I've ever done that. I've done it on marked yardage or in field rounds, but I've never done it during unmarked yardage. I'm still not sure how I did it. I didn't feel overly distracted, but I was talking quite a bit at the time. 

  Although the shot only put me at 2 down, it somehow rattled my confidence. I knew exactly what happened, but I had a hard time regaining my confidence. I let it affect my yardage judging and my shot execution. I sputtered through the rest of that first half and never felt like I made another good shot. I changed releases a few times to get a better feel on the back end, but that didn't give me the answers to the questions I was asking. When I got off the course at 5 down, I was more irritated because I knew that I should've been even. That five was sitting contently on my card and smiling at me, giving me a wink to antagonize me. I gave it a simple head nod and moved to the second half. 

  The wind had really picked up since the start of the round, and it was flat-out hammering when we got to the wolverine to start the second half. Jacob centered it and gave me a good marker. After fighting the wind, I felt lucky to walk to the next target with a 10 under my belt. I thought that my victory over the wind and the wolverine should be celebrated. 

  Moving to the next target, I felt confident. After shooting a solid 10 and just missing the 11, I followed that up with 10s on the next three targets. I wasn't missing the 11s by much, but I was still missing them. When we turned the corner, and I saw a spike buck down a long, narrow path and set into the high grass in a winter wheat field, I knew it was a tough shot. Jacob made quick work of it and smoked the 11. When I drew, the wind was gusting, but I felt OK. When my shot broke, the arrow went low and to the right, just missing the 10. I earned the 8, so I moved on. 

  When I got to the next target, it took me a minute to locate it. A perfectly set standing grizzly was between two trees and blended in like another tree. I had a feeling the wind was going to take the arrow to the left -- and it did. There didn't appear to be a lot of wind, but it was just enough to carry the arrow to the left. The arrow struck the 8-line and Jacob just caught the 10 on the left side. As we joked about our sub-par shots, Travis shot and I informed him that he had hit the bear in the nuts -- a nutcracker of a shot. We all laughed and moved on. 

  As I made my way to the next target, I readjusted some thoughts in my head and tried to figure out a plan. I was bleeding points, and I wasn't feeling it. I decided to change releases again to see if I could get through my shot a little better. I escaped from the lynx with a solid 10 and followed that up with an inside-out 11 on the scraping buck. Then I got two of the next four 11s and felt like I had found my groove again. My shots were breaking cleanly once again, and my pin was sitting and patiently waiting for the shots to break. 

  When I got to the gator, the number stuck out to me. I set my sight and executed my shot. When the arrow it, I knew it wasn't good. I had missed the gator high and to the right. That's not what you want to do on the target before a turkey. Unfortunately, I second-guessed the yardage on the turkey and used my second guess instead of my first one. When the arrow struck the target at the bottom of the 8-ring, I knew it wasn't the way I wanted to end the day. I shot the gator and the turkey for the right yardage, but my tired body let me down on the last two targets. I walked off the course at 10 down -- a 290. While I'd like to complain, I guess I can't say much. That's the same score I've shot the last few times out. I need to find my way back to where I was during the beginning of the season. 

My Final Thoughts on the Weekend

  Overall, I'm satisfied with how I shot. The bow I shot, Evoke 35, hadn't been on one IBO course this year before Saturday. It performed well for having limited mileage on it this year. I feel confident enough to walk into the ring of gladiators with it if need be. The chariot will not let me down. While it's a little harder to shoot, it hits behind the pin when I do my part. I'll probably end up in Nelsonville, Ohio, with the Supra Focus, but it wouldn't bother me if I have to shoot this bow. Hopefully, once my strings settle in on my Focus, things will go back to normal. 

  Digging a hole by accidentally setting your sight incorrectly is inexcusable. I need to amp up my concentration level and keep that from happening again. I pride myself in not beating myself. Today, I beat myself. That will not happen again. So I should've walked off the course at 4 or 5 down. Anything around even on these courses is good shooting, but I need to get over the hump again. I will be changing my practice routine to address a few minor issues that have hindered my scores.

  Jacob and I shot with Travis and Melanie. We had a good time. Travis was amazed that we weren't dead serious. He said he expected it to be really quiet and not much talking. Well, he had the surprise of his life. If I gained anything from this, it is probably that you need to have fun while shooting. Why do it if it isn't fun? That's what we do. We take it seriously when we are at full draw, but other than that, we just have a good time, crack jokes and keep things light. If you're too serious, you will create a lot of unwanted tension, and tension won't lead you to any pots of gold at the end of the rainbow. I'm serious when I put my work in. I work in silence alone. When I go to a shoot, I go there to practice what I've been working on. So be serious in your practice sessions and try to relax while on the course. It might just benefit you in the long run.  

  I really enjoyed working behind the computer on Saturday after I had finished and all day on Sunday. I enjoyed listening to the feedback in hopes of making things better for people in the future. If I did come away with anything, I learned that people love to shoot with their peers, especially when a title is on the line. I've had the pleasure of shooting in peer groups since 1991. The first time I actually felt like I was competing for a legitimate title in a peer group as in 1995 in the IBO Northeast Triple Crown when she stayed in Fall River, Mass., and shot in Pine Hill Archery Festival in Rhode Island. Roger Thibault was the leader and Al Lane was in second. I wasn't far behind in third place, and I knew I had a chance to make a name for myself. Of all of my archery adventures, that one stands out as the one that catapulted me to where I am today. It made me realize that I could shoot with the best of the best and beat them. Any one person can beat any other person on any given day. I also learned a lot over the course of that weekend. Can you imagine shooting a 341 at a tournament that was bigger than our present-day national tournaments and still finishing in the top 10? Well, there were only two amateur adult classes, MBO and MBR, so classes had all sorts of phenomenal shooters in them. I'l be forever thankful for those crowds and the small number of classes. They made me work harder and realize what I needed to work on to be competitive week in and week out. If you want to be the best, you must beat the best. I was a youngster at the time, and I slayed a few dragons that were legends in my region. I can only hope that  there are a few youngsters out there now whose victories over me catapult them to eventful archery careers. While I'm no legend in our region, I have been lucky enough to find success at every level, so I hope that motivates others to know they can do it too. 

  It has been extremely difficult to practice lately due to the severe weather every afternoon/evening and the amount of pain my shoulders have been feeling. I'm hoping my mental game will carry me through the time that I'm unable to do things as I would like to be doing them. Sometimes, visualization works just as well for me as actually practicing. The next time I check in will be after the final leg of the National Triple Crown. There are a lot of guys in the hunt in my class and many within striking distance. I'll be in the second group with the hottest shooter on the tournament trail right now, Jeff Hopkins, and I'm looking forward to the challenge. Practice hard, shoot straight and have fun. As always, if anyone has any questions, feel free to send me a message.