The Think Tank

Shannon and I went shooting this afternoon, the second day in a row I had gone out.  I shot yesterday for about 3.5 hours, so my shoulder was a bit tired to start out today, though nothing too bad.

I had spent most of yesterday working on my new Freak Show rest, and after about 30 minutes today I found that I felt it was not quite right yet.  (I should mention that I am shooting my 328’s again, thanks to the Freak Show which mounts behind the TEC on my Contender Elite, allowing me to shoot a shorter arrow.  I was shooting FF 200 vanes and 100g points.)

I rummaged around in the cook shack and found some paper I could use to papertune, and found that I had a very small low-left tear.  (The nock-end was low-left). I made some minor corrections, which got me shooting bullet holes and seemed to make a difference in the grouping, though I still sort of think there might be a slight right-ward drift as I go to longer distances.  Its sort of hard to tell: I shot several ends that grouped pretty much on target at 10 and 80 yards, but as has been the case since returning, pretty much every miss is right, and more often than not, high-right.  I really don’t know what causes that, but it is very frustrating.

I quickly got some sight marks and we set out for a field course.  I felt I was holding pretty well, but I had much the same experience as I did the last time I shot: it felt like my sight marks were not quite right.

The first target (15) was a 36 fan, which should be easy since it is a slightly oversized target for the distance.  My first arrow was well executed, though I was having a lot of trouble seeing due to standing in the bright sun and shooting into the shadow. It hit about one inch high at 1:30.  I adjusted my sight up three clicks and the second arrow was a 5/X liner at 11:30.  Number three was in the same basic spot, but it was a five.  The fourth shooting stake was in the shade, so I could actually see well.  I aimed solidly, executed well, coming to rest with my bow arm forward, extended at the target and my release on my shoulder.  The arrow drilled the X.

The next couple of shots are close ones, a 15 and 28 fan, which I cleaned.  (Barely on the 28 fan, a poor shot that was aimed left barley caught at 11 o’clock).  On target 18 (44 yards) My first shot was slightly right and about 1/4 out of the spot.  The other day when I shot that target, I put all four arrows into a quarter-sized group in the same spot.  I adjusted my sight and shot two nice 5’s touching each other a little high in the spot, then a couple more clicks and I shot a five at the bottom.

Next up is the 70 walk-up.  I set my sight, adjusted for the down angle, and it at 5 o’clock 1 inch out of the spot.  65 went in the X, and 61 and 58 went right beside the first one, so that all three were in a group the size of a quarter.  The exact same thing happened the last time I shot this course also.

After that I was getting a little frustrated.  It feels like the only times I ever shoot really consistent groups on a field course, they are outside of the bullseye.

The next target is a 40 yarder, and my first shot was mid-four at 1 o’clock.  I held well and felt like I executed OK, but the bow rocked backward (top limb toward me) like happens sometimes, so I wasn’t all that surprised to see the highness.  The next shot I made a effort to extend my arm after the shot, and it drilled the X at 11.  Next shot was next to it.  The last shot I was really thinking about pulling through with my right shoulder and back, and pushing with my left arm, and it went off very fast while I was on the left edge at 9 o’clock.  It missed by about 1/8th of an inch.  That was frustrating too.  Now it felt like I was having trouble shooting well and coupled with the grouped misses I was disappointed that I was not going to wind up with a score in the range I want to be in.  I know I can average around a 275 in my head, I just can’t seem to prove it to myself when practicing.  The only pair of 275’s that I have ever shot were both in tournaments, one at the Sectionals and one at the State Field.

Pretty soon I was down 9 points and coming up to the uphill shot that always seems to have my number.  I remembered that for whatever reason I needed to be about one half bubble to the left to hit the spot on the up hill, so I bubbled over, pulled through well and hit a five at 1 o’clock.  Two clicks up and I drilled three X’s to finish with my first ever 20 on that target.  I felt pretty good about that.

The next target is uphill as well, and I did not check the angle on my phone.  I just shot it for the same 10 degrees as the previous target, which I think is incorrect.  I think it is more like 7-8 degrees, which is probably why my first shot was out the bottom.  It probably would have caught, but I dipped down just as I shot and missed the spot by about 1/4 inch.  I adjusted my sight, drilled two X’s, and I was thinking that I was going to come out of these two targets down only one point, and blam0: a poor shoot, juked to the left with a funky release and a miss at 7.

The next target is a 32 fan which has also caused my trouble in the past, mainly with level issues.  I paid special attention to my level, shot two nice X’s and an outer-edge 5 on the left side, then a weak-ass dip-and-collapse shot at 5:30.  Just for self satisfaction, I shot another arrow, which held OK and felt OK but did the bounce-back thing and went to 1 o’clock on the pro-line.

The next two are a 19-17 and an 11 which I aced, then it was on to a 64 walk-up to finish up.  My first shot was a little left when it fired and was a jar-licker at 9.  The target was very shot out so it was hard to tell if it caught or not, but it looked about 1/4 of a shaft in to me so I counted it.  The next three were pretty solid shots and were all X’s, ranging from 9 to 3 in a straight line.

The final score was a 268.  Going over the targets again, I fell safe in saying that 5 points can be chalked up to sight issues, on ends 1, 4 and 5.  The rest are mostly all my own.   Still, if I had not had those unexplained misses, that would have been a 273.  I also had a couple of pop-back misses high, which were otherwise well executed shots.  Thinking about that makes me feel a bit better and closer to my goal, but I don’t like having to do fancy math after the fact to translate what my score “Should/could have been.”  I need to get to the point where it is just where I want it to be, no if’s and’s or but’s.  Until then, I just have delusions of grandeur that don’t quite match the reality.

After that I went to the practice range again for a little bit.  I shot a few arrows at 80, pulling a pretty decent 24 out of my ass with two bob-left-and-release-funny shots which touched each other at 9 on the 5/4.  My last shot was actually well aimed and executed and landed at 11 on the 5/X line.  I had one miss at 11 also, which is exactly where it was when I released it.

Then I moved up to 50.  My first shot did the pop-back thing and hit a pro-line at 5.  Then it was an X off a nice shot, a five at 3 barely in and two crappy shots, both of which felt like they popped back and went at 12 and 1 o’clock respectively, about 1/2 inch out.

I adjusted my stabilizer weights so that the front two are almost touching, leaving the other two where they had been: one around the middle, and the other one at the very back.  I honestly don’t remember the next end for arrow placement, but I do remember that it felt like I held a little better.  The bow definitely was not popping-back any more: it fell just slightly forward after the shot of its own volition, but did not swing quickly down like it has in the past.

My last end was a pretty decent group.  The first shot between the upper X legs, and the second was a bit of a struggle and was a 5/4 liner, clearly in.  The next two shots were both a little slow to release as well, but they were inside-out on-the-cross X’s.

Hopefully the greater weight distribution out front will keep the bow from popping back like it has been.  I just hope it doesn’t put undo stress on my shoulder having the weight out so far.

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Start date: Sep 5, 2011 3:24 PM Target: NFAA/IFAA Field Total score: 268 29 X’s.

— Sent from my iPhone