We decided early in the winter to head to Foley, Ala., this year and give the ASA a whirl. Although we knew we wouldn’t be able to get any practice in on a 3D, we figured we would go with no expectations and see what happened when the dust settled.
I’ve had a rough winter shooting. My shoulders and arms have been aching considerably worse than normal, and there are nights when I can’t sleep due to the pain. However, I’m not smart enough to stop shooting my bow. I guess that’s the problem with loving archery too much. I simply love to shoot my bow. It settles my mind and allows me to go to a calm, peaceful place that most others will never understand.
Besides the pain in my shoulders, my indoor scores have been well below average. On the bright side, I’ve been executing great shots, but with more pin float that normal, it has been hard to keep it in a quarter-sized 10-ring. It’s like I have been trying to shoot the star out with the pellet gun at the county fair.
The Trip Down and Practice Day
Luckily, we got out of Dodge before the Northeast got hammered with bad weather. As we caught our connector flight in Chicago, we looked at the radar and saw we barely escaped the mess in the Windy City, too. When we finally arrived in Atlanta, we got our rental car and headed to Foley.
The next day, we headed to the practice range early and fired some arrows at the practice bags before heading out to shoot our first 3D targets since August. With the snow at home, I decided not to practice judging before we left. There would be no sense in looking at anything that wouldn’t resemble what I would be seeing.
When we arrived at the practice 3D range, it was obvious that everyone who brags about the organization and smoothness of ASA shoots doesn’t see the forest through the trees. When you try stacking 2,000 people into two straight lines of targets, there’s no way to avoid problems and huge waiting times. That’s a discussion for another time, but I’ll be the first to tell you that every organization has its flaws.
Jacob and I chit-chatted with Braden and Tanja at the start of the practice range for a while as we waited to start. When it was finally time to shoot, Jacob and I opted to shoot by ourselves since we were judging yardage and Braden and Tanja were not.
The wind was flat-out howling, making it almost impossible to commit and get off good shots. However, we stuck with it and continued down the path. A short time later, a miserable range official who had a bad attitude started getting short with a lot of people. That’s when two young guys filtered in with us. They were great guys and we learned they were from Utah and were traveling with Kyle Douglas and Tim Gillingham. They were both good shooters and we had an enjoyable time with them.
After grabbing a bite to eat, we went back to the range before going back to the hotel. We shot a round with our friends Hugo and Dar from Wisconsin. They are good guys, and we enjoy their company. It’s always nice to meet good people, especially people who share the same passion and route you on.
Day 1 of Scoring
Although we planned on getting a few targets in before our official round, the backup on the practice range was unimaginable. The clustered mess on the range was out of control. Although we waited for about a half hour, we finally gave up and strolled down the road to the safety meeting.
After wishing Jacob luck and continuing toward my range, I arrived at my stake to see I would be shooting with Darrin Christenberry, Brian LuAllen and Joe Pitt. Instantly, I knew I would have a nice, relaxing day, as all those guys are easy to shoot with, and I’ve shot with all of them in the past.
When “Shoot’m up” was heard across the range, I was the first shooter in my group. I had dialed my sight in after being drawn to shoot first, so I was ready to go. When I hit anchor, the pin settled nicely, and I executed a good shot. The arrow struck the foam just outside of the 10-ring above the upper 12. It wasn’t exactly how I wanted to start, but I felt good about executing a good shot.
As I plodded my way though the first 10 targets, my shot was a little choppy, but the bow was doing its part and helping me out on less-than-stellar shots. I found myself a few off the pace after 10 and sitting on the leaderboard.
All the lanes were freshly cut, and the tunnels created from the cutting made it a challenge to see yardage well. The course was on the long side, and it made it even more difficult since I hadn’t shot a 3D range since last August.
After shooting target 15, I felt good about where I stood and saw that I was still on the leaderboard. My shooting had steadied out a little bit, and my shots were strong. With a few targets left, I hit a bump in the road when we finally came upon a close target. I saw it for more than it was. I’m thankful I aimed at the lower 12 on the large deer because my arrow struck the 8-line above the 10-ring. I was probably off on my guess by about five yards. That’s the kind of luck that most people forget to tell you about when they shoot a good-scoring round. I lucked out on that one.
I barely missed the 12 on the last two targets of the day, as I played it safe and tried to aim on the lower side of the IBO 11. Unfortunately, both arrows struck the IBO 11, and I missed the 12 by about an inch. I was still satisfied with the day’s work. I got off the course at -1 and found myself sitting in seventh place. I knew I had a good shot going into Day 2, and I felt good about my shooting and yardage estimations. You can’t win on the first day, but you sure can lose. I gave myself a chance.
Day 2
Going into Day 2, I felt confident about my chances. Although I hadn’t judged yardage since last summer, I felt like I saw things well the day before. My shooting felt great at the target butt, and all the arrows hit behind the pin. The shots fired effortlessly, and the pin sat down quickly on every shot. When I got to the range, I saw the target assignments and realized I would be in the second peer group with Tony Tazza, Larry Goza and Randy Duren. I looked forward to shooting with Tony because I hadn’t shot with him since deciding to shoot in the Senior Pro class three years ago.
When we began shooting, I started like I did the previous day and shot an arrow out the top of the 10-ing. I was a little miffed when the arrow hit where it did, as I thought I had a good number. As we progressed through the first 10 targets, I began getting aggravated. I racked the 8s up on my card, and by the time we got to the 10th target of the day, I had seven 8s on my card. Finally, I got pushed over the edge when I shot a no-doubt 50-yard target for 50 yards and broke a perfect shot when the pin was sitting on an arrow in the IBO 11-ring and my arrow landed at 12 o’clock outside the 10-ring.
Although I was trying to blame myself for all the 8s, I also knew I was shooting great shots and the pin was sitting down nicely on every target but one. That’s when I reached down to my sight and grabbed the scope housing. The scope wiggled up and down wildly, and I instantly figured out the issue with which I was dealing: the disconnect knob had loosened up and I didn’t have a clue it was loose until it was too late.
After tightening the knob, I continued through the next 10 targets and called four uppers. I barely missed two and got the other two and shot +4 on the last 10 after shooting -14 on the first 10 before I figured out what was causing the inconsistent high and low misses when I had the same numbers as my peers.
My tournament ended on a 50-yard turkey. With a few arrows in the IBO 11, I decided to hold on them and hope for a drop. Unfortunately, the arrow hit the cluster of arrows and landed in the bottom part of the 11 but not far enough to catch a 12. It was a perfectly executed shot, and I was happy to end things on that note.
My father also encountered some horrible luck. His rest broke right before his round started, and he had buy a rest and screw it on and do the best he could under the circumstances. He did well and ended up finishing in the top 20, but I'm sure he would've finished better if the issue with the rest didn't pop up. It's no longer Murphy's Law. It's now Mead's Law.
A Few Last Thoughts
I’m honestly not sure how to feel about this tournament. I guess I feel like I have an open cut, and someone is rubbing salt in the wound and refusing to stop because they think it’s entertaining to watch me squirm. Although we didn’t have the ability to practice 3D shooting before heading south, I felt confident about my chances. I’m not sure if that was false hope or the ability to trust that judging yardage is like riding a bike, and you never forget how to do it. I knew my equipment was working well, and I knew my bow, Darton Tempest E 3D, could hold up its end of the bargain.
I was a little shaky on the first day and could feel a little more adrenaline than normal. I think the rush kept me where I needed to be and allowed me to make good shots throughout the day. Since I chose not to shoot any indoor tournaments with the bow, I didn’t know how it was going to react under pressure, and I found out it worked well. The bow saved me a few times, and I was fortunate for that.
Throughout most of the round the second day, I felt like I made great shots, especially during the second half of the round after discovering the issue that was hindering my performance. What did I learn from the entire ordeal? I learned that it wasn’t my equipment’s fault. Instead, it was my fault for not checking things that need to be checked regularly. I could’ve cut the problem off at the pass had I recognized it earlier. It’s hard telling where I would have ended up, but I know I would have had a much clearer mind while shooting, and I know that tends to relax me. I ended up in 14th place, nine points out of the shootdown round.
Over the last few years, I’ve been trying to teach myself how to play the ASA game again. Although I did a fair amount of it back in the day, it’s relatively new to me again. I feel like I’ve gained ground every time I’ve played. I’m thinking it will all come together before the end of the year. I do enjoy the IBO style of tournament a little bit better, but that’s the style in which I was brought up shooting. I like shooting in different terrain, and I like the walk through the woods in anticipation of the next target.
We spotted a bus for George Connors to get and drive us around. These guys had it going on. It’s the Darton bus – or at least that’s what Jacob and I called it. Check out the sticker in the back window. If I could’ve found the keys, I would’ve driven Jacob over to the Foley Event Center to shoot in the Shootdown round. We could’ve gone in style and hopped out of the Darton bus and gotten back into it with the Happy Gilmore checks.
It’s always a pleasure to watch him shoot and to travel with him. It’s also nice to watch all the work paying off. I’ve spent a lot of time in his range this winter while he has helped me iron out some things with the new equipment, and I’m thankful for the guidance. Hopefully, we will both get into a shootdown round or two this year like we have in the past. There’s nothing better than getting support from our region. I know I fully welcome all of it and am thankful for all your comments and messages.
I’m looking forward to breaking the bad luck curse that seems to have taken hold again. It once held on to me for many years before I broke free from it. I’m thinking I will do the same thing this time. The last three events have presented me with things that I’m sure others can’t begin to imagine. I’m flicking the red-faced man off my shoulder before I head to the next one. He is not welcome any longer, and I will not allow him to travel with me. I’m done with happenstance bad luck.
