It has been a while since my last post. Things have been crazy with family down from Wisconsin and work. To be honest, I have had time to post, but just haven’t made it a priority. Time to catch up.
Since my last post, I have attached a sight tape and am happy with the results. The Freak seems pretty much right on at 20 or 50 yards and anything in between.
04/16/14 – 50 yards, winds crossing 25 MPH, gusting to 45. A few fliers, but not too bad considering the windy conditions.
After adding the sight tape, I got together with a buddy who has been hitting the ASA 3D ranges and tournaments since he was a kid. We went to a local tournament so we could shoot a “fun round” as he has been out of the sport for a while and I, having never even seen a 3D range, felt dreadfully underprepared for a tournament.
It’s a good thing I did not participate in the tournament as I found myself very ill equipped for 3D archery. I jumped into the deep end though with this friend and we shot the furthest stakes at unknown distances, just like the pros do. This meant I had to estimate yardage. I have been a hunter my entire life, so I really thought this would be something that would come second nature to me…boy was I wrong!
In terms of distance estimation for a rifle shooter, a few yards is really no big deal. To an archer, it is the difference between scoring a 5 or a 12…or even missing the animal altogether. I specifically asked my friend not to help me with distance on this, my very first 3D experience. My first shot, I estimated the distance to be about 38 yards. I did not take into consideration target size or shadows. My first ever shot at a 3D animal soared just over the back of the 3D doe I was shooting at. It was a humbling experience. My friend nailed the doe in the 10 ring and asked me what I judged the yardage to be. I told him 38 yards. He estimated it at 28 yards and nailed it.
He then gave me some pointers in yardage estimation. He said to start with something familiar…like 20 yards. Most archers know very well what 20 yards looks like, so it’s a great starting point. Then simply double the yardage and ask yourself if it’s over or under. That gives you a better estimation, then let’s say we decide it is over the 20 yard doubled, so we know (think) it’s over 40 yards. Now we ask if it’s over 45. No…it’s not over 5 yards greater, so we ask if it’s over 42…so on and so on…until we get a good idea. It takes time and serious practice, but it helped me greatly. The remainder of the 30 targets, I at least hit foam.
I ended up scoring 133 out of a possible 360 points. Everyone I talked to said that isn’t too bad for my first time. I think they were just being nice. But it was enough to get me hooked on 3D archery. My dad and I are now proud members of the Brownwood Bowhunters Club and have our own key to the gate so we can go any time and practice.
We took my niece’s fiancée a couple of days ago and ran the course. There were only 22 targets up, so a perfect score would have been 264. I was shooting much better than my first experience with scores mostly above the 8 range and even a few 12s thrown in. No misses other than shooting the “dreaded” bedded buck in the hoof, which resulted in a goose egg.
I was on the 17th target…a standing bear that appears to be climbing a tree. There was a small, close window to shoot through and a branch hanging dreadfully close to the top limbs of my Freak. I estimated the yardage and was really watching the top of my bow in relation to the branch. My brain was fully on what I was doing rather than my firing engine. I drew, prepared to make a great shot on Mr bear. I anchored, breathed and started my release. POW! My Freak made a sound that I’ve never heard and will likely never forget. It was a gut wrenching sound, something akin to firing a small caliber pistol. My first thought was that my top limbs had hit the branch…until I noticed the broken bow string hanging in my face and felt a sting in my left arm. I had forgotten to load an arrow and dry fired my Freak.
To say I was sick to my stomach is an understatement. I had thoughts of warped cams, damaged limbs and who knows what else. The extra forces put upon a bow with a 32 inch draw length left me thinking my beloved Freak was toast. I finished the remaining targets using my Dad’s bow. I have always shot his bow left so my scores went to pot after the dry fire. I ended up shooting 137 out of 264 with several complete misses with my dad’s bow.
Afterward, we joined the ladies at a local Italian place for lunch, then made the pilgrimage to see my bow guy, Alan, at Pigeon Road so he could give me the news about my Freak. Alan was much more calm and forgiving than I was. At least he never called me an idiot, as I did several times since the dry fire. He said, “It’s OK. It happens to everyone sooner or later.” He was suffering from a messed up shoulder, so I got to assist him in the repair. Turned out, the only thing broken was the string. The cables were fine and the cams and limbs were fine. That’s a true testament to the quality of PSE bows these days. I lost the cable slide and my clarifier peep, so those had to be replaced. I shot 6 times through paper with six perfect bullet holes, then we went to the range to fine tune. After all is said and done, my Freak is shooting better now than it did before. That’s hard to beat. Kudos again to Alan and Pigeon Road for their help and expertise. Big lesson learned!!
