Lots of Bugs and a Cool Shot

This ain't the first time, nor will this be the last as long as I continue to strive for ever greater heights of accuracy and precision, but behold:

I'll let you guess what happened and which arrow did that. Suffice to say I lost both arrows. Had this been an actual field shoot, I would've lost a point from this, but as a 20 yard warm-up, I think that was pretty darned cool. This is why we use a 5-spot target in a 300 instead of the uni-spot target!

And now to the specimens of bugs I've been encountering on a regular basis of late. Well, technically insects and arachnids.

Some Shots from TBoF Practice

#1 Went for the 14 after deciding it was a lot safer to go for that than the 10/12 area thanks to the tree. This time I didn't quite get it, but then again, I usually miss this target, so hitting anything on this guy is good!



#2 For some reason, I usually have a hard time with this one, but the tables turned this time!



#3 I actually hit this one the first try, even if it was a throat shot, which would kill it almost instantly. I usually over-shoot this one, so I took a relatively safe shot and it paid off.

When I'm Really On...

Now all I have to do is shoot like this (or better yet, better than this) more consistently! This was from 30 yards back -- and if I can also do this at longer distances too!


And then there's the days where I'm just hoping that I can hit the broad-side of a barn at 5 yards without losing any arrows! No pictures of those but just visualize those bales without any arrows in them and that's when I'm having a seriously off-day.

I've Always Wanted To Do This...

1: Nice 8-point chest-shot. Compare to one of the later pictures of this guy :)



2: Finally hit this guy after who knows how many lost and broken arrows!



3: Big target, fairly close. Guess what I went for...



4: Had a nice chest shot earlier, couldn't resist the challenge to try something a bit more amusing.



5: He was really asking for it... What's an archer to do when such an opportunity presents itself like that?



6: That tree right there really makes that 14 VERY inviting and it was such a darn close line-cutter too!



7: I think someone got their degree from FSU to have this target. First time I ever hit one of these guys on the first try. Just don't let anyone from UF witness this nearly unspeakable act ;)

Just for the Heck of It...

I attempted a 100 meter shot at Gator Bowmen just for the fun of it. Very interesting considering that my dial-up sight only goes to 100 yards. For those of ya'll who aren't familiar with metric, that's 109.36 yards at the 100 meter mark. I took my standard 4 shots at the target and I actually did pretty well -- the 4th shot actually hit the X after doing a sensitivity analysis and remembering that I tend to aim a bit low when tired.

Super Piggy: 99 Me: 1

Remember that little javelina I had a picture of in my last post? Well, it took out one of my arrows yesterday at 3D practice. Right now Sorondil-Telcontar and I seem to be having a bit of a spat (darn, what did I do wrong? I waxed the string and watched my form and spined the arrows right!) but anyway, I took a shot at Super-Pig with my friends from behind the bushes to simulate TBoF conditions. Super-Pig is hard enough to hit from the green (and even the yellow stake) but from behind the bushes somewhere between the green and blue stakes was even harder. I had trouble identifying a good spot to hit and finally settled on a safe, reliable butt-shot. Only problem was, I forgot that I was a lot further out than usual and hit Super-Pig in the leg. In the blink of an eye, I saw sparks and aluminum shrapnel flying about and my arrow flew into the air and into the thicket behind. A few minutes later after my friends and I searched for my arrow, the following returned to me: an 1816 I lost at the tournament, a pair of 1814s I lost at another tournament, and most of the 1814 that shattered on Super-Pig's leg. Suffice to say, that shot provided my buddies with some serious entertainment!

3-D Exploits

Yesterday was the Central FL 3-D Circuit Championships. Shooter of the Year had already been determined but there was still a big pot of money to be distributed and a lot of fun. Because of rather uncooperative weather, they decided to to the known yardage targets first. Over time, I've learned to make good use of this data in traditional shooting, but I forgot to take one thing into consideration. I had three targets in a row that I took the distance on and shot under. I was already having other issues to deal with, including some things that wanted me to remove certain internal organs. I got my butt handed to me on a bed of rusty nails to say the least, but I had tons of fun with fellow traditional shooters and being in the woods instead of being in the city.


Figure: My first 12 of the day after deciding to not use the range-finder again for the rest of the day.

Today, after lunch (venison!) with some more traditional shooters and practicing for TBoF, which is coming up soon, I decided to do an experiment with my compound. I stood at the red stake, which I think is used by Open C, Super Seniors, and Hunter classes, but with the equipment on my Equalizer, I pretended to be shooting in Open C. I did the first round at Forest Archers without my range-finder and generally got decent results... Then I was using the range-finder and kept shooting a bit low. Then I realized what happened -- I was getting measurements in meters, not yards, so I was consistently shooting under!

There was one target that was propped up against the tree such that the 14 was lined up with the tree but the 10/12 region was not. It was a long shot (later measured to be 40 yards) and I wasn't too confident in my estimate so I decided to go for the 14 -- I figure even if my estimate is off, I'll at get the arrow in the tree instead of in the huge patch of Serenoa repens unless my form really gets thrown off. I got a line-cutter 14. One major problem I noticed with shooting compound in this kind of climate is that I have a nightmare of a time seeing the target because my glasses fog up.


Figure: The line-cutter 14... just barely. This was from 40 yards but I under-estimated it to about 38.


Figure: Kinda what it looks like when I try to shoot except I should be looking through the scope through the peep-sight and it's darned hard to both hold the bow and get the camera to behave itself!


Figure: This is what it looks like when I'm trying to judge distance. I'm standing right in front of the white stake (the REALLY big fish stake)

And below are pictures of what I think is the most difficult shot at Forest Archers for any class. Javelina targets are tough enough for me, but I've missed this target 90% of the time with trusty little Sorondil-Telcontar and even once with the Equalizer.


Figure: Itty-bitty javelina at 36 yards. This is what it looks like from the red stake that I'd be competing from with the Equalizer.


Figure: This is what it looks like from the white stake. Kinda far, isn't it?


Figure: 10-point shot. Not too bad considering I couldn't see the rings even with binoculars and my glasses got completely fogged up!


Figure: Here's what it looks like for a traditional shooter. I didn't measure this one but my Ranger instinct tells me that it's between 20 and 25 yards, probably 23-24 yards.


Figure: Here's what it looks like from the blue stake, which is the stake for bow-hunter intermediate, bow-hunter novice, youth, and pretty much everyone else who isn't in traditional, little kiddies (yellow), or one of the big-fish classes. Gut-instinct tells me that this is probably a 27-28 yard shot from the blue. This is where I'd be shooting from if I put my fixed-pin sight on my bow and put a short stabilizer on it.

Killer Parakeet is Back!

Click on the above link to view the absolute first draft of "Family Secrets" (tentative title for the story). What trouble will Killer Parakeet and his friends get into this time?

KP is Almost Back

I just finished writing my latest Killer Parakeet story. I'll post it as soon as I clean it up a bit and make sure everything's in good shape to share with the world. All I can say is hang on to your d20 dice!

A Beautiful ASA 12 at 34 yards

One of these days, perhaps not too far in the future, I'll have a picture of a pinwheeled 14 from 30+ yards on the Equalizer or any distance with Sorondil-Telcontar.

Return from New Jersey

I recently got back from a friend's wedding and had a nice little reunion with many of the quirky critters I survived Caltech with. I also survived 2.5 days of being stuffed non-stop with either spicy or painfully sweet vegetarian Indian food. Good food, but much more than my digestive system can handle and I went through an entire package of Pepto-Bismol. I also had my eardrums blasted out by people who didn't quite understand that some of us do have sensitive ears. And this is coming from someone who still enjoys the occasional concert, although not so much now that the Ranger is the dominant force in me now. Anyway, here's a few of the pictures that actually did come out on my camera. Contrary to what other people may say, I don't feel at all normal wearing anything that won't let me either run a few miles, go through the dense underbrush, or be able to carry everything on my person. Having to use a purse-like instead of large cargo-pants pockets, hip-quiver, or fanny pack object is also inherently wrong.