Wade, Jacob, Dad and I headed to Baypath in Massachusetts on Saturday to shoot in the tournament. Although I primarily focus on IBO and Rinehart targets, I welcome the opportunity to try different things and hone my yardage- judging skills. I knew Baypath would set a course that resembled some of the toughest IBO shoots I've ever attended.
My warmups before the tournament were good. I did most of my shooting at 40 yards and never shot an arrow out of the dot. However, I drank a bottle of diet Mt. Dew when I left my house, and I had a case of shakes. My pin was darting all over the bullseye and the erratic aiming followed me onto the course.
Jacob and I got paired up with Travis Williams and Scott Norton, so I knew we would have a good time. Scott is always a calming influence, and I enjoy shooting next to him. He has helped me a few times while shooting our NFAA Indoor State Championship. He's calm, cool and collected while shooting arrows. Travis is always loose and relaxed, and he makes it easy to enjoy the day. Jacob and I knew we would have a good time when we headed out.
First Half
Unlike the two previous ASA tournaments I attended in New England, I decided I would change my strategy for this one. Going into it, I knew my Evoke 35 aims extremely well, so I decided I would be a hero or zero and shoot at the 12s. In the first two events, I shot at a few of them, but I stayed away from the gambling aspect for the vast majority of the shoot. I paid the price by shooting one 12 in the first event and only a few in the second one. You can't get them if you don't shoot at them.
The first target we shot was a long, uphill deer. I broke a good shot and walked away feeling good about the 10 on my scorecard. With the way the bow held and the way I executed my shot, I felt a good day coming. Moving to the second target, I knew it was going to be a tough shot. It was an uphill lynx that was set at a little bit of an angle. The lynx has a nice black spot on it that allows a comfortable place to aim. When my pin hit the target, I couldn't get it to settle down and struggled mightily to shoot a good shot. In the end, the arrow struck just outside the 10 to the right, and I assumed it was because of the slight angle on the target. I accepted it and moved along.
After shooting a 10 on target 3, I went into a downward spiral, shooting 8s on my next four targets. Between a really shaky sight picture and yardage estimations that were a little off, I knew I had to somehow find a way to get back on track. At target 7, I was already 10 down, and my day had barely begun. With most targets being long distances, I knew I was going to have to bear down to find a way to stay somewhat level. My goal was to stay plus or minus four points of where I was when I drew my bow at target 8. The long yardages were going to make that a big ask, but I felt like I could buckle down and find a way to attain my goal. I ended up getting off the first half at 10 down, so I remained even after setting my goal. I felt really good about the turnaround.
Second Half
We stopped for a few minutes at the halfway point. As we headed to the first target of our second half, the heat seemed to ramp up a few degrees and the humidity followed. I began feeling sticky and tired. As a standing bear looked at me through a few trees down a lane, a number stuck out and I felt confident about it. When Jacob hit the target high, I couldn't back any numbers off my sight. Although the sound of his arrow in flight didn't seem like it took long to hit the target, I never readjusted and paid the price, as my arrow landed outside of the 10 ring, right next to Jacob's arrow.
I continued making good shots and felt good about that part of my game. When we got to a wolverine that was set up on a log, I felt good about my guess. When Scott shot at it, his arrow gave us a great marker. I drew, put my pin on Scott's nock and executed a great shot. When my nock appeared next to Scott's, I knew I had smoked the 12. I felt great about the shot and the outcome. Well, when I approached the target, I saw that my arrow had gone into the target right next to Scott's arrow and was almost touching his nock. However, Scott shot from a closer stake and shot up at the target. I had shot from a more level position. I never picked up on that and hit exactly where I wanted to aim.
As we meandered through the rest of the course, I just couldn't get anything going. I felt good about my shots and my yardages, but the results weren't adding up on my card. I ended up shooting 12s on my last two targets of the day and walked off the course at 16 down. Although I wasn't too happy with the score, I couldn't complain about it. It was a very difficult course, and it had a lot of terrain features and big yardage for an ASA. It also had a lot of hidden yardage, and I'm just not familiar with ASA targets. I felt good to get off the course without shooting a five. I'm basically a target judger so judging targets that I'm unfamiliar with is difficult.
Overall Thoughts
I'm still searching for the best way for me to play the ASA game. It's just not the same as it was when I did it 20-25 years ago. I was a much younger person then and definition on targets was much easier to pick up. I felt like I did OK with it in London because there were shots in the yardage ranges where you could say you were going all in. However, there just weren't many of those yardages at this shoot. I should have been smarter in the beginning and just tried to stay in the 10 like I did as the tournament wore on. My shoulders were extremely sore this week, as I put in too much time trying to get the Focus back on track. It destroyed my shoulders. I wish I could still shoot countless arrows like I used to be able to. That was a lot of fun. Now, my body just can't handle it. I need to be smarter about how many arrows I shoot. I learned my lesson about drinking caffeine before shooting, too. I just can't do that and have a steady sight picture. I paid the price in the early going. I'm really not sure if I had bad numbers or if I missed everything because my sight picture was way too unsteady to hit behind the pin. I'll never truly know, but I won't do the caffeine thing again. I'm sure that didn't help.
I had a good time at the ASA events I was able to attend this year. My heart is with IBO, as that's where I cut my teeth. I've always considered ASA to be a lot of luck, and I'll always stand behind that. I might look at it differently if that's all I ever shot, but being from the Northeast, it's hard to believe that many people up here know exactly where they are holding the pin when they're executing, especially on the ranges we shot this year. Very few people, if any, can shoot quarter-sized groups beyond 30 yards, especially 40-50 yards. When you don't have a defined aiming spot, I'm guessing many arrows from many shooters randomly land in the 10-ring. If all you shoot is ASA, then I would be willing to change my stance on the luck thing, but only shooting three shoots a year with lower 12-ring scoring, I can't go with the skill thing. I believe you need to own targets and shoot them regularly to be efficiently accurate with ASA scoring.
I also learned that changing equipment and sight tapes is trying. I haven't shot through any two chronographs this year that read the same. It would be cool if just two of them had the same reading come up after the arrow flew between the bars. I shot through chronographs at the national events, at shops in my area, at friends' houses, at my house, and at these events, and no two ever gave me the same reading. I guess that's why they allow the variance. When I set a bow up, I like to shoot that setup for everything. Unfortunately, I set my bow up for IBO this year and getting arrows to fly for ASA was more than a challenge. If I do it next year, I may just set up two bows. I'm still undecided if I'll try to go to the first ASA Pro-Am of the year next year. I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't seriously considering it.
If ASA continues in our area over the years, I'd like to see it gradually mold into the same format used in the South and at the Pro-Ams. I think shotgun starts are the best thing that can be done. They can be shotgunned on both days. It gets everyone there at the same time and done at the same time. It's just like shooting indoor tournaments. All volunteers know exactly what time they will start and finish. It just runs a lot smoother. It helps with the kitchen, vendors, scoring, splitting groups by class and peers, and creates a much better social atmosphere that allows people to shoot with different people. People can meet their peers and they can shoot with different people every time they go out. It truly raises the level of shooting when people shoot with their peers.
I'd also like to see the shoots take the same format as Pro-Ams. I'd like to see all targets set down two sides of a road and with the targets a few yards apart, just like it's done at the Pro-Ams. Everything is on flat ground for the most part and it makes it much easier for older people, people with kids ,and people who have physical ailments that limit their ability to get around in the woods on footpaths. It also allows wheelchair users to attend the events. It creates a great social environment and allows competitors to all be within a few targets of each other where they can see each other. It drives the level of competition up, especially when consecutive groups know who's shooting what for scores. I just like that style of shooting.
At the same time, I'm thankful for the people who run the shoots in my region. Running any shoot is harder work than most people can comprehend. It takes a lot to dedicate yourself to something and give people what they're looking for. I've done my part in that, and I'm always glad to give back. If you enjoy archery and competing, maybe you should try giving back in this manner. It's all about working together and giving back. Good luck to all of you who are still competing this summer. Have fun and shoot straight. I wish all of you the best.
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