Although it's the third week of March, I felt relatively prepared when we left for Fort Benning on Wednesday afternoon. Coming from the North, it's difficult to have any real practice for 3Ds. We shoot indoors to figure things out and hope we have our setups close to where they need to be. Well, I felt good until.....
that happened at 10:00 p.m. the night before we were leaving. The center serving popped in between the loop, and that was all she wrote. It didn't give me any sign it was going to happen, and the bow was pounding. I was ready. The scramble was on to get it fixed. Without any of my stuff on hand, I called my buddy Ryan to see if he could lend a hand in a pinch. I hit the hay around 1:30 that night. He did what he could do, and I got up at the crack of dawn to try to get marks and do a generic tune. Then, I left for the airport and had marks that I thought would work.
Practice Day
We didn't get to the hotel until 2:00 a.m., so we slept in to try to get a little rest for the day ahead. While we were getting ready, we received a phone call from home. My mom had fallen and was badly injured and on the way to the ER in the ambulance. When all was said and done, it was believed that she had broken her hand as well as her arm, where it connects to the shoulder socket. She also suffered a severe blow to the head. With that weighing on my mind the rest of the trip, it made it difficult at times to focus on shooting. Mom has suffered so much throughout her life, especially recently with the daily battles she faces. No matter what she's facing, she always finds a way to smile or joke. I wish I had 1/4 of the internal strength she possesses. I'd do anything to take her suffering away and lay it on my back. She's given so much to my life, I could never begin to repay it because no money, care or love could ever repay what she has given to me. She's my hero, and it hurts to see her suffering through so much pain every day. Now, with this added on top of her other struggles, it's impossible to think about without being affected.
After spending half the day on the practice range, we were exhausted from the lack of sleep. It didn't help matters that we were trudging through calf-deep water to retrieve arrows after every shot. It seems they would take a little more consideration into where they set the practice ranges (and regular ranges). Every year the ranges are flooded. Let's put the first three shoots right in high-risk flood areas. Kinda makes sense to me. I felt confident with the practice and was happy to see that my yardage guessing was going well. My shooting matched my guessing, and I wrapped the day up by looking forward to Day 1 of scoring.
Day 1
Although we got some practice arrows in without any rain, it was definitely lingering in the sky above. When we got to the head of the range where the pros meet before the day begins, Jacob and I sat with Eric Griggs and chatted for a bit. He's currently shooting the M2 cam on the PSE Supra X, so we discussed his feelings about that as well as some regular stuff considering life. It seems like it was just a few years ago when we were both shooting in New England when Eric was just a kid in the youth class. He would go on to battle back and forth with Nathan Brooks in Semi-pro before turning Pro, and the rest is history.
When we got the OK to head to our target assignments, I was happy to see I would be shooting with Jeff Hopkins and Allen Conner. I always seem to shoot well with those guys, and I really enjoy their company. It's relaxing to shoot with them, and we always have a good time. Can it really get any better than sharing a stake with two of the all-time greats? Scott Darnell would round out our foursome.
I got off to a good start and hovered around even for the first five targets. My shots broke crisp and clean, and I felt relaxed. A few weeks ago, I went to see Mike Price with my buddy Chris. We chatted back and forth about a few things I've encountered, and Mike offered advice to get over the hump with those things. I put a lot of work in over the last few weeks, and as Day 1 progressed, I had to remember that I was in the process of making a major change that will pay off as the year creeps forward. I had finally gotten help with an issue that I didn't know how to fix and this rainy, horrible day warmed me to the core. I'm on my way to fixing the unfixable. In a matter of 3 1/2 hours, I made strides I've been trying to make for a decade or more. The whole secret is to find the origin of the problem, then come up with a plan to get from point A to point B. I'm on my way to point B. The road may be slow and arduous, but I'm walking in the right direction, and the proof was easy to recognize throughout the day.
As the round progressed, I remained focused on just trying to limit the damage. The rain was steady the entire day, but there were times when it came down in buckets. Then, as we turned the corner and started heading down the homestretch, the heavens let loose. It was my turn to lead off, and I stared down the lane at a long black panther.
When I drew the bow, the rain pelted off my hat. A stream of water ran down my cheeks as I came to anchor and settled in. The shot went a little long, but I still felt solid when it broke. As the arrow began it's journey off the bowstring, I saw it separate the water in the air and leave a trail behind it. When it got halfway to the target, I could no longer see it, but I could see the trail it left behind. Suddenly, my decent day was briefly interrupted when the arrow struck barely on the wrong side of the 8 line on the low side.
After consulting with my peers, I realized it wasn't a bad number. Instead, it was just a little bad luck at the wrong time. That's the way it goes sometimes. You definitely need some luck along the way to keep you in it.
Creeping toward the end of the road, my hands started going numb, and the wrinkled skin on my fingers alerted me that I needed to be careful the rest of the way. I tried my best to hold on without letting any get away from me. Rumors had gotten around that the top 5 for the day would probably end up at a few down.
Heading off the range, I learned I was sitting in P7 going into Day 2, and I was only a few points out of P3. I felt really good about my day and couldn't wait for the next day. I've always done well in less-than-ideal conditions. I believe it makes me focus harder on my form. I tend to ignore all outside distractions when the weather wants to play nasty games. I welcome it.
Dad shot OK for the conditions, and Jacob shot well but had a really unfortunate incident happen. He ricocheted off an arrow and the arrow was unshootable. However, his arrow landed in the 5 after destroying the higher scoring arrow. I can relate to that. I missed the cut at the IBO World two years ago after destroying one of Darrin Christenberry's arrows that was in the 11, and I ended up in the 8-ring. He couldn't shoot that arrow either. It was split in half. It's a shitty rule that should be, in my opinion, readdressed. Shane got pummeled by the afternoon monsoon and paid the price. He probably had worse conditions than the rest of us.
Day 2
I headed into Day 2 with 100% confidence I would be in the shootdown round. The things I had worked on with Mike led to 75% of my shots being effortless on Day 1, and I was going to keep riding that same train throughout Day 2.
Like Day 1, I had a great group on Day 2. I shot with Tony Tazza, Keith Ahlstrom and Shawn Greathouse. The weather was much better than the previous day. Although I had wished for crappy weather again, I wasn't too terribly disappointed to see we would be shooting in ideal conditions.
Although I got off to a rough start, I wasn't disappointed. I shot a few 8s that barely missed the 12s. In all reality, it was just a little bit of bad luck, and trust me when I tell you there's a whole lot of luck involved in ASA. I often think that's why so many people like it. I'll go to my grave saying that the vast majority of competitors luck into more 12s than 12s they actually had their pin on when the shot fired. I think it would add an entirely different dimension if they added the 11-ring into scoring and you couldn't hit any rings by mistake. Imagine if you had to call lowers, uppers and middles? No more mistake rings. I'm sure that would drastically change things, although it might not because many people luck into the ones they get even when they call them. I guess I need to start praying to the 12 gods to get a few more lucky ones. It seems the only ones I get are the ones I'm aiming at. I'm usually in the vicinity of them, but the breaks need to turn in another direction at one of these shoots, and I'm sure they will.
As the day progressed, I just never got going. My shot was a little choppy due to an unsteady sight picture are times, but it still kept me in the game. I fought and clawed until the end, but I just couldn't hit any 12s. I was all around them, but being all around them doesn't get you anything other than a few too many 8s. When the day finally ended, I was irritated while walking off the range. I got more irritated while sitting in the truck afterward.
Then, I took a step back and realized I was only lacking seven points from being in the shootdown round, and I wasn't remotely close to being at my best. All it came down to was the 5 I shot in the pounding rain and a few of those 8s in which I barely missed the 12s. Had the rain not come down in buckets at that particular time, I might have picked up 5, but at least 3 points, and two of the handful of 8s I shot could have been 4-point swings. It shows you how close things can really be when it seems like you were miles away. So after sitting there stewing for a bit, I accepted it and realized I did the best I could do under the circumstances. It's just the way it goes. It can be difficult to find peace in anything when you have a zillion things on your mind, including your mother's health, losing your job after 34 years at the same place, and thoughts of being able to continue doing the things you love in the future.
Final Thoughts
I went to Benning with one goal: I wanted to set up every shot perfectly. While I might not have gotten an A+, I did really well. On Day 1, I realized this new outlook is going to be a game changer once I have it totally driven into my system. When I set the shot up correctly, everything is effortless and easy. I'm looking forward to the days, weeks and months ahead as I continue working on this.
I had a good time on both days, as I shared the stake with good people. I don't know why certain people shoot better with others, but I can say that when I shoot with Allen and Jeff, I tend to shoot well. That made the first day easy and stress free.
The ASA needs to do something about the card situation on crappy days. The cards were a disaster. They need some type of laminated card to punch for extreme weather conditions. Thank God for Destini. She helped me transfer the cards two different times before they were totally unreadable. I'm sure she probably isn't on the ASA or CAM's payroll, but the work she does should be compensated just like all the others' work that is being compensated by CAM and the ASA. She does a great job, and I'm thankful for her work. Thank you, Destini
Although you can't control the weather, I'm not sure why these venues are set up on flood plains during flood season. It does tend to get old after a while. At this shoot and the next one, we will probably experience the same type of thing. Better bring your waders and be prepared to be in standing water the entire day on the practice range and regular ranges. These places cannot handle any type of rainfall mixed with people walking in the areas where the ranges are set up. If nobody had been to one of these national ASAs, I probably wouldn't recommend it, but then again, that's just me opinion. Well, if you like standing in water nonstop and being covered from head to toe in mud, I guess I would recommend it. It all depends on what you like. Personally, if I were running the show, I'd probably look into a few options to avoid these recurring problems. It's not like it happens one time... it happens regularly. Aren't there other areas in the area where the ranges could be moved? I'm not complaining. I'm just imagining what I would do for my customers if I owned the business.
Should every other target on a range be propped up by plastic pipes and sticks? Well, if you answered yes, you are in the right spot. At every event, the targets are propped up with things to keep them from falling over. Is it because the stakes can't be pounded into the ground? Is it because the stakes don't go far enough into the legs to hold the target up? Is it from laziness while setting up the targets? I'm not really sure, but I'd probably try to do a better job with this. It's just a bad look at every single tournament. It gets old. Some groups leave the pipes and sticks on the ground after pulling arrows, and other groups put them back. Therefore, not two groups shoot the target in the same position. I wouldn't think it would be too hard to fix those problems. It's something you would expect to see at my house or a local range, not at a national event, especially at every single event with multiple targets.
I'm done with the little soapbox, but "C'mon man. You can do better than that."
I'm satisfied with this tournament. Coming from the North, it's pretty difficult to compete with guys who are shooting 3ds regularly. This was my second 3d shoot since the IBO World last August. My other one was Foley last month. I improved from last month and look forward to improving at the next one. However, when I got home, I was greeted with the two feet of snow we got during my absence. Doesn't look like I'll have any practice before my third 3D shoot since the IBO World last year, but I'll give it my best. There's just nothing that can be done when you live where we live.
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