SE Sectional Field/Hunter/Animal 2011

As always, click on the title for the full set of pictures.

I had the precision even if my accuracy was a bit iffy!

First shot was a kill! The animal round was pretty darned difficult but I shot a personal best.

That poor buck just got an eye put out and an ear-piercing from my string-walker buddies. I got him on the second shot.

This little guy is so darned lucky when I was practicing. I'm surprised we didn't have any lizard casualties at the shoot.

My group from Saturday. These guys were all in the Master Senior Barebow division, which allows string-walking (multiple places to put the fingers on the string) and/or face-walking (multiple anchor points).

My group from Sunday. The guy in orange is the FAA VP for the northwestern section of the state and is in the bowhunter free-style limited division (compound fingers with fixed pin sights and short stabilizer). The other two guys are in the Master Senior Bowhunter division, which is compound without anything on it except maybe a short stabilizer and no string-walking or face-walking (single anchor and nocking point). Effectively, the Bowhunter division is shooting a compound like a traditional bow with either instinctive shooting or gap-shooting.

The face of true courage. He's shooting a Genesis bow, which most people would consider to be something for little kids or people who can't pull anything else back. There were a handful of people who thought he was crazier than I was, but he held his own and had a great time. He also out-shot me on the field and hunter rounds, but I did get him on the animal round!

Apparently I mis-extrapolated on an 80 yard shot. At least I know where the arrow went. We had quite a few of these actually when I shot with the Master Senior Bowhunter division, wasn't as much of an issue with the Barebow guys.

Potential Piece of the Side Project

There's two things that really amaze me of late...
1) What it takes for me to actually get to sleep at night these days -- namely a bit of time scribbling away in a notebook... and
2) How much a certain character who used to be at my gym really inspired me in my workouts (most of the exercises I do on my own I learned from him), archery (by helping me tune my workouts to help me handle the rigors of the KSL shooting technique taught to me at Newberry), and creepily enough, my non-academic writing.

That being said, here's a small piece of what may or may not get put into my current insomnia relief project, tentatively titled The Archer and the Swordsman... it all depends on which ending I ultimately choose to that one based on how I want to arc this story-line involving the Eternal Huntress and the Clawed Fury.

Two wolves haunt my dreams each night:
One lone grey from desert to the west,
Seeking perfection in moonlight.
The other, brown with a scar on his chest,
From sun- and rain-soaked lands in the east.
Who is this mysterious beast?

And what's this voice calling to me?
Can I accept my dim reflection?
Endless paths, unknown identity,
This search for strength and perfection.
The roads all look the same by day,
To what I journey to, I can't say.

I trek endlessly on my crusade
Though they say perfection doesn't exist,
Only mediocrity's dull blade.
But why does that voice in me insist
That I must pursue it ever onward,
That my road only goes forward?

Then I met you, fearsome and bold,
I wanted to run and hide from you,
A brutal beast enchanting to behold.
You woke the dormant grey wolf anew,
A spark from a frozen ember
Burning brighter than I remember.

You destroyed the soft human in me,
Though it hurt, I return for more,
Knowing that it'll finally set me free.
Last of my strength tapped to the core,
Though with your guidance I grow stronger,
Wolf awakened, human no longer.

Now bold and fearless I stand
As master archer and grey wolf knight.
Fires raging from embers you fanned
With your smile in the pale moonlight
And lending me your gentle aid
When my muscles' strength ebb and fade.

Grey wolf and brown wolf's paths must diverge:
Archer and doctor bonded through steel,
Separated by quests unlikely to re-converge
Fates that only their choices and time reveal
Though many fond memories endure ever on
Far past piercing lights of scarlet dawn.

Random Funny Moment

Ragnar's arrow up a tree. I think we need a ladder...

And Baron Rurik provides the ladder!

Almost Forgot to Post This

Gander Mountain indoor range, 20 yards. Trying to get Robert to work on his form so he can also get this type of precision at 20 yards but he's steadfastly refusing to incorporate anything I learned from Coach R unless he sees another hunter using it successfully.

Taste of Long Hammock

Someone requested some pictures of stuff that happens at Long Hammock, so I took pictures for them. I'm not the world's biggest fan of these shoots and it's a bit weird not having whistles or beeps to call people to the line and let us know when to start and stop shooting. I think I've gotten to be more of a FITA type shooter -- there's certainly far fewer bugs to munch on me! In any event, click either here or the title for the pictures of the funny critters that make up the Long Hammock Bowhunters.