The road back...........

[The Arrow Guru]

I just thought I'd use this Forum to document a little bit of a journey for me. I started shooting 3-D around 2002. As my career grew in the industry I found myself participating less and less. However in the last little while I took a position with another company, one that encourages us to participate. So I am climbing back into shooting 3-D. I turn 49 in 2 days which means that I qualify for SR next year.

So Camp Mendin was the first tournament I shot in 2 years. 1st round was just very single mistake you could make. 30 points to mis-set or not set sight. Finished 34 down, but I got all my punches, mistakes and goofy stuff out of my system. Came back the second day and shot even.

Went to KY. The lighting is as bad as they say. You deal with glare and side hills and back light. But I went in deciding to take each target one at a time and wasn't surprised when the sight picture wasn't good. My goal is +10 a round. Friday I got to the last target +8, thought, "If I get this one that will be 10 up". Prompt 8 from the archery gods. Saturday, last target +10. 43.5 yards and there were 2 arrows in the bottom of the 12. Set the yardage, added 4 clicks and thought, "grab the top or worse case center 10". Aimed at the nocks AND...... 4" left, prompt 8. however for only the second tournament in 2 years and that one being KY, I will take a 414 any day. I'll check in. Broke down my bow and replaced the string and cables and changed scopes. Looking forward to Metropolis

 

[watermedic]

Stay with it! Hopefully one day I will be able to travel and shoot again.

 

[bfriendly]

Sounds like a passion to me…….I too encourage you to participate!

 

[The Arrow Guru]

Alright, after some equipment issues in Metropolis I have ben working pretty hard and think everything is ready for the classic. Anybody that is going, stop by the Blackeagle trailer and say hello!

 

[The Arrow Guru]

Well. I did what I wanted. In the Sr Known Pro didvision, 24 up would have made every shootdown. I had some ups and downs but I knew I would going in. So I never got frustrated. Just kept working to get me and my equipment right. Went to the ASA Classic in Cullman Al and shot 25 up for the weekend on a long couple of courses. Only 3 mistakes. 1 x 5 and 2 x 8’s. Clean that up and I’m +34. Had some left and right missing on the practice range Thursday that I couldn’t really explain so I started playing very safe on my 1 at round. However I was literally just out of 3 of those and didn’t hit my first 12 until target 7. So I see on a good weekend I could have been +40. So, I will be moving up the the SR Known Pro next year and fulfilling 1 of 4 dreams I have all a little harder than the next. 1. Shoot in the Pro Division
2. Make a Pro Shootdown
3.win a pro tournament
4.a Shooter of the year title.

Might fall flat on my face, but I’m going to see just how far I can go.

 

[ddd-shooter]

Well. I did what I wanted. In the Sr Known Pro didvision, 24 up would have made every shootdown. I had some ups and downs but I knew I would going in. So I never got frustrated. Just kept working to get me and my equipment right. Went to the ASA Classic in Cullman Al and shot 25 up for the weekend on a long couple of courses. Only 3 mistakes. 1 x 5 and 2 x 8’s. Clean that up and I’m +34. Had some left and right missing on the practice range Thursday that I couldn’t really explain so I started playing very safe on my 1 at round. However I was literally just out of 3 of those and didn’t hit my first 12 until target 7. So I see on a good weekend I could have been +40. So, I will be moving up the the SR Known Pro next year and fulfilling 1 of 4 dreams I have all a little harder than the next. 1. Shoot in the Pro Division
2. Make a Pro Shootdown
3.win a pro tournament
4.a Shooter of the year title.

Might fall flat on my face, but I’m going to see just how far I can go.

25 up is ridiculous. Well done

 

[The Arrow Guru]

I have touched my bow since the classic. Being old, I seem to hurt more than I used to. Little shoulder ailment getting some rest. Got a hunting bow all set up but did not schedule any out of state trips. As soon as the new bows get here I will be 100% practicing for Foley in Feb. I am fully intending to go there and not just shoot, but have a good showing. I will keep up with this thread if anyone is actually interested

 

[SupermanPeacock]

I just thought I'd use this Forum to document a little bit of a journey for me. I started shooting 3-D around 2002. As my career grew in the industry I found myself participating less and less. However in the last little while I took a position with another company, one that encourages us to participate. So I am climbing back into shooting 3-D. I turn 49 in 2 days which means that I qualify for SR next year.

So Camp Mendin was the first tournament I shot in 2 years. 1st round was just very single mistake you could make. 30 points to mis-set or not set sight. Finished 34 down, but I got all my punches, mistakes and goofy stuff out of my system. Came back the second day and shot even.

Went to KY. The lighting is as bad as they say. You deal with glare and side hills and back light. But I went in deciding to take each target one at a time and wasn't surprised when the sight picture wasn't good. My goal is +10 a round. Friday I got to the last target +8, thought, "If I get this one that will be 10 up". Prompt 8 from the archery gods. Saturday, last target +10. 43.5 yards and there were 2 arrows in the bottom of the 12. Set the yardage, added 4 clicks and thought, "grab the top or worse case center 10". Aimed at the nocks AND...... 4" left, prompt 8. however for only the second tournament in 2 years and that one being KY, I will take a 414 any day. I'll check in. Broke down my bow and replaced the string and cables and changed scopes. Looking forward to Metropolis

Well, you've always been my hero and you very well know it. My little girl has taken an interest in shooting, so who knows where I'll end up.

Much love

 

[The Arrow Guru]

So here is a little update since Foley ASA. IT all started about 3 weeks prior. Just before the Vegas shoot. I was experiencing some left and right arrows and didn't have an explanation for it. Over the next few weeks the bow just lost it's ability to aim and my groups had gotten so bad at 40 yards I didn't know what to do. Long story short my bearings were going out and because they slowly deteriorate its a mentally stressing process if you have never gone through it. So I had to do what no one wants to do 4 days before a tournament, tear my bow apart. It was great because all my aiming and grouping issues were solved but it was bad because I didn't have time to really make sure my sight marks were 100%. So I went into the tournament without a lot of confidence.

Up to this point I had not had any issues with being nervous or anxious however after the cards were shuffled I was the 1st shooter on the 1st target and the second I stepped to the stake I felt the anxiety roll up into my chest. I was pretty uncomfortable. I do not build in pressure in my show with my bow arm. Its basically a prop. I larned that under pressure if I do not pay attention I will build tension my bow arm and will blow arrows out the top. Which happened. So any way, it took about 10 targets to get that anxiousness gone and I made the turn with only 3 wheels on the cart and with about 6-7 to go those fell off too.

I finish my first 20 targets in the SR Pro K class with a 181. I went back Sat and didn't feel any of the anxiety from the day before but shot very safe. I needed to improve over Friday but I couldn't really make any real moves on the leader board. I still didn't have 100% confidence in my marks so there would be a upper 12 that I could see and instead of being able to hold the pin there and just hit it, I would aim safe just under it and low and behold thats where I would hit. So, 3 X 12's, 3 X 8's and 1 stupid 5 and finished with a 195 on Saturday.

Not the result I was hoping for and definitely will not cut it in the SR Pro class. But I believe you take 2 things from each tournament weekend that you know you can fix and will facilitate the most improvement. So, I feel like I was shooting well but I didn't have confidence in my sight marks which in turn made me shoot without confidence. Confidence is the #1 tool in an archers tool bag in my opinion. So 2 things which are really one thing.

1.Shoot with confidence
2.Make sure your sight marks are established before the tournament

I did have a feather crack show up in one of my limbs. Totally cosmetic but I did take the opportunity to change the limbs out and install a new set of strings and cables. The ones I was shooting now have about 4000 shots through them.

So the bow is rigged up and tuned. I will need to shoot it a couple hundred times, finalized the set up and tune, then verify sight marks before 3 weeks