I quickly got a mark at 40 and hoped the other distanced would fall into the same place on my #14 tape on my TruBall Axcel sight. Amazingly, the tape seemed to match... I was in luck -- or so I thought. I didn't get a warm fuzzy feeling with the groups, but I was also trying to rush to get the bow dialed in. You might ask why I decided to shoot this bow? Well, I had nothing to lose, and I figured it would be a good place to try it. If the bow performed at a certain level, I would head to Louisiana with it next weekend. If it didn't live up to the reputation it had been acquiring in my hands while shooting at spots outdoors with the other arrows, I would head to Louisiana with the bow I shot at the last two. At least this would give me a good chance to feel it out and make an educated choice.
After looking at the directions, I saw that it would take 3:20 to get to the shoot, so I told Jacob that Dad and I would get him at about 5:40. Well as we got going, I noticed I must've read the time wrong, as the ETA said we would be there at 7:20. Upon arriving, we warmed up, and I felt good about it, but my 40 and 50 both his near the bottom of the dot. Instead of moving the indicator, I headed onto the range. We had to shoot through the chronograph before heading out and the chronograph read 292. My graph at home read 289, so the graph was a few fps ahead of mine. The only advice I can give to anyone concerning that is to always run their bow about 10fps under the maximum allowed. I've never had a graph read more than 8 fps different than my own. The 10 fps rule will most likely save you a lot of aggravation over time.
First Half
We started on the black buck next to the clubhouse and shot that range first. I was drawn as the last shooter, and my dad and Bill Romanchick both had arrows a hair above the 12. The arrows gave me a good marker, and I felt confident with my number. I held just below them, and the shot fired. It was a perfect shot, and I was rewarded with a 12 to start the day.
Moving to the second target, which I believe was a deer if my memory is correct. I made another great shot on it and barely missed the 12. I had good numbers on the first two. When I got to the third target, I realized we were probably going to be shooting a relatively boring round, with most of the targets in field archery lanes and the bales behind the targets. Although it shows a lack of effort to set a challenging course to judge, you still have to make the shot and judge the yardage. It also would give me a look at McKenzie targets, which I only see at national pro-am events. I believe the fourth target was a javelina, and I had to lead it off. A quick glance at it gave me a number, so I called the upper because I could clearly see a white dot I could use as an aiming reference. My shot broke perfectly, and I knew I would 12 it. When I saw the arrow strike the target really low, I was beside myself. I couldn't believe I could've hit that low. Well, I did. I had misjudged the target by about 4 or 5 yards. It was a horrible mistake but aiming at the upper saved me from any catastrophe. I actually caught the outside of the 8 line. I felt fortunate to walk away with little damage.
I made my way through the rest of the first half and felt good about my shooting. The trial run with the Veracity 35 was going well, but a few things concerned me, and they were just created from a lack of time behind that particular bow. I made one bad shot on the first half, and that was on the turkey. When I hit full draw, the stop hit the cable too hard and bounced it off the back well. Instead of letting down, I decided I'd stay with it and muscle my way through the shot -- something I would never do at a national event. So don't ask me why I did it. I guess I did what I preach against. I won't let that happen again. I paid the price, as I shot an ugly 5. The turkey also has a scoring 8 line on one side and just the core on the other side. Unfortunately we were shooting the side with just the core as the 8. I barely hit out of the core, but it surely would've been in had we been shooting the other side of the target. That's how it goes sometimes. I got off the first half at 5 down, and the 5 came on one of, what I would consider, easier shots of the half. Do not be lazy in your process or preparation of every single shot. This is proof of that. Do as I say, not as a I do.
Second Half
We breezed through the first half, but we ran into backups on the second half. The way the course winds through the hills probably led to that, but it easier to lose focus and get distracted. I started off well and barely missed the 12, shooting just over it, on the first target. I got the second one, as Jacob had an arrow in it, and I found it easy to aim at it. When we got to the long deer across the creek, dad led it off and called upper. He barely missed the upper to the left, but it had a perfect line. Although it was a bomb, I decided to go for the upper too. After all, I had a good marker and was pretty certain with my number. I never felt comfortable with my aim on that target, as it was leaning hard toward us. When the shot broke, I saw the arrow land just above the 12 and in the 8. That was simply poor course management for an ASA shoot. I should've stuck it in the center and let it eat. I lost two easy points by getting greedy.
If I didn't learn from that mistake, I felt confident on the next target, a hyena. The hyena is always easy to aim at too. It has a black dot right next to the 12. Well, I decided to go for it again and shot another 8, just under it this time. My number wasn't up to snuff, and I paid the price. Back-to-back 8s is never a good thing. Then a few targets later, I barely missed the 12 on the black panther. I don't think I could've gotten any closer to it, and it was really one of those shots you have to capitalize on. Picking our way through the course, I felt good about the bow and how it performed for its test run, especially with having sighted the arrows in the night before in the 20 minutes I had before it got dark outside.
When I got to the antelope, I was confident in my number and broke a good shot. It wasn't a great shot, but it was a good one. I couldn't believe when I saw the arrow on the outside of the 8 line, barely touching it. The arrow probably hit six inches below where I had aimed. There was no reason for the arrow to be there, and it ate at my conscience. I just could't figure it out. I usually have no problem letting things go, but when I can't explain something, it does tend to eat at me.
Nearing the end, I picked up a few 12s and knew I was probably going to finish up for the day. Then, on my second to last target, an average shot on a medium deer, I knew I had a good number. I held good and executed a good shot. Once again, like the shot on the antelope, the arrow hit extremely low, and I had the right number. Unfortunately, this one didn't come close to the 8 line, and I had to write another 5 on my card. Now, fuming, I made my way to the last target and 12d it. I got off the course at 6 down and only misjudged one target badly, which was the javelina on my first half.
My Last Thoughts
I'm glad I gave the Veracity 35 a test run at this event. The bow shoots well. I just need to figure out the couple of phantom arrows. I'm thinking I might've lost the peep and not noticed it. If that wasn't the case, I could've crept off the back wall and not noticed it, or as Jacob mentioned, the timing could be slightly out. I'll focus on all of that stuff and figure it out when I return from Louisiana. Until then, I'll be running the Tempest E 3D. I'm thinking the draw length could even be a few cable twists too short. When I used to shoot my Evoke 35 really well, I would get phantom low arrows like the ones this weekend when the draw was a tad too short, and that bow is very similar to this one as far as geometry goes. I can't wait to get back at it after getting home next weekend. When I figure it out, I feel like this bow is going to do great things for me the rest of the summer.
Although I'm thankful for having people want to run these events in our region, I also wish just one of the events could be done like a national pro-am to give people a true idea what the real ASA is like. I think it would only increase numbers and possible make many more shooters come to the events. A lot of people don't like wandering through the woods, and a normal ASA is a huge social gathering. It also allows all peers to shoot together. I"m not complaining about the event in any way, shape or form, I just wish they were set up in the same manner as the national events. I think it would be an eye-opening experience for a lot of people.
I have to say that I'm impressed with the way many people shot this weekend. I'd like to give a shout-out to a few people. Chris Hartley recently had a baby and has had limited time to shoot, as he now has many new priorities. Halfway through the day he realized he had a crack in his cam, but he kept shooting it and came out with a win.
I had the pleasure of shooting with Cole Bromely last weekend, and I always root for Cole. He's a great guy and X-Spot is lucky to have him representing their shop. Cole brought his A-game and almost broke par. Hopefully, he continues on the path he's on and keeps improving. It's a pleasure to watch his progress the last few years. Unfortunately, his traveling partner, Jake LaFontaine didn't fare as well this weekend, but Jake's score is a reason why we should never look at a score and put any significance into it. Jake's bow was not set up for this event and he was shooting an arrow that was going as fast as an arrow shot out of a longbow or recurve. He did the best he could, but you can only do so well when you're shooting unknown with a turtle-speed arrow.
Lastly, I've been mentoring Justin and Aiden Pfitze, a father and son, and they have been working really hard. They both had the pleasure of shooting with Payson Reindhardt, so I know they got to witness some great shooting by a great kid. He will be a role model for many people in the future. He's a good kid from a great family. Justin and Aiden both won their respective classes. Good job, guys! Way to persevere in some atrocious weather.
Jacob also did Jacob. When you're shooting unknown yardage and lay it down on everyone shooting known yardage, it says volumes about your ability. Jacob makes it look easy, but he works as hard as anyone. I challenge all of you to put in 1/4 of the work he puts in and see if it makes you any better. He's working while others are sleeping, and I'm looking forward to watching out things play out in the coming months.
If you're not shooting in a pro class in ASA, K-50 classes seem to bring out the best shooters at national events. The same seems to hold true in the Northeast ASA. I always enjoy seeing the competition in these classes because they sometime bring out some amazing performances. While this particular tournament didn't appear to have done that, I still had to take notice that they winner and runner-up, Craig Dunnels and Alex Taylor, laid down some big names. Their performances should be noticed, as they took down some titans of New England. The next three guys behind them have all won national events on the biggest stages. If anyone can lay down three of the best the region has to offer, they should be applauded. Hopefully, we can all watch them and cheer them on as they head to the big events and join the others who have made our region proud. If anyone wants to get better, I'll tell you what I was told when I was a much younger person, "Seek out the best shooters in your region and shoot with them. They will drive you to get better, and you can learn a lot from them."
Trust me when I say it works. Seek out the good guys and see what you can learn. Good luck to everyone at the next one. Jacob, Dad and I are headed to Louisiana this week to try our hand at the next ASA Pro-Am. We are all feeling confident about this one and hope to make all of you proud. There are our three arrows on a target from the weekend. Ol' Billy broke up the happy family, but boy did it feel great to shoot with Bill again. My dad and I have shared many great memories with Bill Romanchick over the years, and it felt good to share a day with the two of them. I think the last time we shot together was in Nashua, N.H., back in the '90s and Bryan Hunt was in our group too. I believe I might've won that shoot.
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