When I packed my bags and headed to West Virginia last week, I didn't leave with an abundance of confidence. After spending a lot of time preparing for the National Senior Games with a different bow, my 3D bow felt foreign when I got home and had one day to practice before leaving for the first leg of the IBO National Triple Crown. Then, the last shot I took at home allowed me to watch my arrow glance off the back of my impala and zip into the woods behind the target... not exactly how you want to end your day before you head to a national event.
Practice Day
When we got to the event, I was agitated when Wade and Dad signed up for the field event and headed to that range to participate. I knew my dad's eyes would't allow him to stand a chance at having any fun, as thy have been getting worse by the day. Jeff, Rob and I dilly dallied around until we finally made our way to the practice range, and there were people all over the place waiting to shoot.
When we finally got going, I didn't feel that great, but most of the arrows hit behind the pin and I shot well considering the travel day and getting there in the early morning hours. My hold wasn't that great, but my shot felt decent, and I centered some tough shots.
As we were getting done, I saw Dad and Wade heading onto the practice range. They had just finished the field round, and Dad was not in a good mood. He lost arrows and broke a few too. He couldn't see the targets well enough to shoot them, and he wore himself out in the process... mentally and physically. I felt bad for him and thought he and Wade should've just headed to the 3D range to get in 20 targets rather than spending the day on the field range.
While I was on the practice range, Bill McCall called me and asked if I would be interested in being on his team that TruBall was sponsoring, so I accepted the invitation and joined the team. The team is made up of Bill, Digger Cogar, Loren Robinson and me. I'm honored that those guys considered me to join them. I could never ask to be associated with better people, and I firmly believe that being surrounded by good people helps others grow and succeed. I hope I do my part on the team and represent TruBall to the best of my ability and make my teammates proud.
First Day
After the pro meeting at 9 a.m., we learned that we had to hike a ways to get to the range where we would be shooting. So Jacob, Jeff and I began marching up the road. We discussed a few things, and we all felt ready for what was ahead of us. When I checked the table to see who I would be shooting with, I saw that I would start on target 16, and Jeff Hopkins, Jim Livak, and Ralph Burkett would be in my group. I shot with Jeff at the IBO World last year, and we had a good time shooting, so I didn't expect anything different for this one.
As we waited for the horn to start, I glanced at the targets around me. I was relieved to see that I would be starting on a Corsican ram and ending with a bedded elk. Finally, when the go-ahead was given to shoot, I waited my turn. When it was my turn, I felt confident with my number and had a good aiming spot with a few arrows in the 11. My pin quickly settled on the arrows and the shot fired instantly. The arrow appeared in the 11. After a fist bump from Jeff, we moved to the next target, which was an antelope.
When I drew the bow and settled into my aim, the shot quickly fired and the arrow found its way into the 11-ring again. My shot felt great, and my aim was steady. I knew I was ready to have a good day, and my confidence was high. The next few shots were pretty tough, as I stayed steady and 10d both of them, a fallow deer and a long rubbing buck, which many people fived. That was target number 20.
When I turned the corner and a saw leopard with a pretty good angle to it at target 1, I knew it was going to be a tough shot. When I drew the bow on it, the pin never settled good, and I tried to muscle through the shot. It created a lot of tension and pin movement, and I knew the result was going to be ugly when the shot fired. Although I had the right yardage, the arrow smashed the plastic tubing holding the core in place, and a 5 found its way onto my card. I was not happy about it because I earned it and, it was nobody's fault but my own. I made a piss-poor shot and paid the price for it. The shot became weak and I let it live instead of killing it on the spot. I will not allow that to happen the next time.
I quickly made up for the bad shot on the next target, a bedded doe, and made a great shot. The arrow struck less than an inch from the 11, and I felt really good about the recovery. I continued making good shots as we made our way through the course, which meandered down a hill.
When I got to a target that was set amongst a bunch of low pine saplings, I couldn't identify the target. Finally, I realized it was a large black bear. It was clearly under 40 yards, but it was deceiving. The first guy led it off and smoked the 11-ring. I quickly glanced at the nock and knew I could slide my arrow down the right side of it. I held good and made a decent shot. When the arrow struck the target, I knew I had missed my mark by a hair. I figured it was a right-side 10. However, when I sat down and looked at it through my binoculars, I realized the slight miscalculation had resulted in an unnecessary 8. The arrow was in the 11, but the nock was well to the right of the 11. I hadn't paid close enough attention and paid the price for my lack of focus.
Continuing from there, my shot remained strong, and I shot a few inside-out 11s on a Dahl sheep and a snarling wolf. While waiting to shoot the snarling wolf there was a little backup in the area and three groups were in close proximity. Everyone began talking and joking back and forth, and we busted Gillingham's balls about shooting the black bear a few targets earlier for 44 yards. Then he laughed and said, "Yup, unknown yardage, the only place where two wrongs make a right."
The joking escalated from there, and before I knew it I couldn't stop laughing. It went from target sets, to other tournament to turkey hunting and everything in between. When we finally had our turn at a long, downhill brown bear, the number stuck out to me. As I was holding on it, my sight picture bobbled a little bit and the shot fired when the pin was low and left. When the arrow struck the target, I knew it wasn't where it needed it to be. Upon walking to the target, I wasn't pleased to see that I had missed the 10-ring about an inch to the right.
As we walked up to the next target, it was a downhill black panther that was set in some dark pines, making it look a mile away. I felt confident with my number when it was my turn to shoot, and I was excited to get after it. Almost every photo that has been taken of me while shooting in a national event has been taken when I shot 11s, so my confidence was booming. Well, the streak was finally broken. I shot out the top of it and got an 8. Here's the shot.
After the black panther, I struggled through my last four targets and somehow was able to come out of the day at 11 down. What had started as a great day turned into something that reminded me of driving on a clean highway and instantly hitting an unknown snow squall at 75 mph. After day one, I sat in 12th place. It wasn't exactly where I had planned on being or where I wanted to be, but I knew I couldn't do much worse the following day.
Day 2
When I walked to the table to get my target assignment for Day 2, I learned that I would be in the third peer group with Loren Lohr, Tom Pierce and Scott Price. I was actually surprised to see how far down I was after Day 1. I thought I would've been a little higher, and I knew I had my work cut out for me on Day 2. It's hard to make up any ground while shooting against the best of the best, especially enough ground to get into the shootoff. I would have to pass seven people to get there. Although it's not an unheard of task, it is pretty difficult at that level with only 20 targets to go.
As we picked our way through the course, I didn't capitalize on a few 11s that were there to be had, but I stayed in the 10 and didn't go backward. When we got to target 20, I couldn't see the target. We had to look all over to find it. Then... we found it. There was a lynx nestled into a spot in front of a big log on a side hill, and it wasn't exactly what I would call close.
I made a sub-par shot on it and hit the 8-line low. I was disappointed because I made a weak shot, and I should've gotten a 10 because I had the right number. Those are the points you can't afford to give away. Unfortunately, Tim's statement did't work on that one. One wrong didn't make a right. Maybe if I had misjudged it long by about three yards, I would've fallen into his statement of two wrongs making a right. It just wasn't meant to be on that target, so I packed up my stuff and moved to the next one.
I picked through the course and shot strong shots. When we got near the end, I saw a long, downhill grazing doe that was set below an overhanging tree. I knew it was between 45-50 yards, and I felt confident I could get it. When I anchored and settled in, the pin moved a tad more than normal but not too terribly bad. When the shot fired, the arrow landed just below the 10-ring. I was disappointed because I was convinced I had the right number, and after reviewing it with the other guys, I did.
The next target was a chip-shot strutting turkey, and the first shooter put an arrow in the middle of the 11. I briefly looked at it before drawing my bow. The pin settled on the white nock and I broke a good shot. I glanced off the nock and felt good about it. Then, I sat down and looked through my binoculars to see my arrow splitting the 8-line high. Once again, I did the same thing I did the previous day. The arrow was in the 11, but the nock was high due to the arrow being kicked. I hit my spot, but that spot wasn't the place I needed to be. I sat there dumbfounded, irritated, and asking myself what the heck I was doing.
Walking to the next target, I knew I had to get back on track. Getting to the top of a small hill, I saw a wolverine at the end of a downhill lane, and it was in between a bunch of low pine saplings. I couldn't see much of anything except the target, and I was hesitant about setting my sight. Finally, I decided on a number and locked the sight in place. Upon drawing my bow and the pin coming to rest in the 10-ring, I instantly knew I had the wrong number. However, I couldn't force myself to hold any higher in fear of possibly being wrong and sending one over the wolverine's back. It's amazing how many things can go through the mind in a matter of seconds.
Seconds later, my shot broke and my heart went into my throat. I wanted my arrow go grow wings to keep it high enough to hit the target. Then, I saw it appear in the belly, hanging by a thread. Like the previous day, I had a short stretch of targets that pummeled me.
After the three-target disaster, I made my way through the rest of the course and shot two 11s and two 10s, barely missing the 11 on the two 10s. I was done... and I knew I gave away a spot in the shootoff. I finished with a 385. I shot far too many 8s and the two fives did me in. I had to settle for a 7th place finish, but my consistency showed up again, as I seem to always give myself a chance. I've always told people that the best thing you can strive for is consistency because consistency will always have you within reach to strike.
My Final Thoughts
Having only gone to two 3D events before heading to this one, I feel good about my performance. While I left a lot of points out there, I think I did alright. It was a new experience for me shooting low letoff, and I think it worked well. I let down very few times over the two days, and my shots broke much cleaner than normal. However, I did identify a few things I need to work on with the lower letoff. I need to pay better attention to shots that begin deteriorating and get out of them as soon as possible.
Looking back on the weekend, I didn't know how I got off the tracks both days, but I figured it out over the last few days. I got distracted both days and lost my focus for a short period of time. I missed the little things that you need to pay attention to and let my attention to detail slip away when I needed it the most. I"m thinking it probably happened because I don't have many shoots under my belt this year, so I know that will improve going forward.
I'd like to congratulate all of the people from my region who represented our region and landed on the podium. Congratulations to all of you. Hopefully, we can all work together and continue representing our fellow archers from back home. Until then ---------------------> see you at the next one. The Angry Archer is signing out.
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