300

I survived my first 300 today. Basically the 300 is 12 rounds of 5 arrows each for a maximum of 300 points with the inner white ring as 5 points, first black ring as 4 points, and second black ring as 3 points, and of course, anything in that inner white circle is an X. I didn't do too well, but then again, considering I haven't shot compound for 2 weeks and I went in slightly tenderized from what might've been a bit too aggressive practice yesterday. Overall, my score was 261 with 17 X's, which makes for a decent baseline but one where I know I can do much better.

Why did I attempt the 300? It's another common style of archery competition and it's a good one for accuracy/precision drills, whether I do the single target or the five spot version. It's also great for building up stamina, which I'm still a bit short on with the compound. Sixty shots in bursts of five are very easy physically with my short recurve, but the real challenge is remaining mentally focused. With the compound, I also have the added physical challenge of actually holding the bow steady in my hand on top of focusing on those little dots. I personally like the single target myself because I'm still working on consistency, but my coach had me shoot the five spot to get me used to the more aggressive competition. He completely destroyed the centre on the single target... I aspire to do that too soon!