TBoF Summer 2010

Click on the title for the full suite of pictures.

I don't know exactly where I placed in the three different divisions but my best guess is 4th in traditional, 4th in longbow, and 4th or 5th in primitive. I know I placed 3rd in overall total though for the women. I survived the trifecta, which included crazy high humidity and hordes of bugs just waiting in line to munch on me despite my heavy armor of DEET and permetherin. I even had a sapling wanting to get very frisky with me and another tree wanting to give me a rectal exam if I wanted a clear shot and avoid the risk of hitting my limb against a tree branch. I'm just glad that my core is a lot stronger than it was back in January or I don't think I would've survived some of those shots!

Chek-Mate Fun

This was 30 yards un-timed during the IKAC round. Aside from one stray arrow, I did extremely well, finishing that round with a 27/30. My timed rounds were a little anemic, but I was extremely pleased with all of my un-timed rounds this time around. I shot this group with the Chek-Mate Crusader T/D longbow, by the way.

I shot an indoor round with the Chek-Mate Hunter 1 recurve recently and finished with a score of 250/300 with 7/60 X. My last best was in the low 220s with the walnut longbow that Robert built me. Aside from 2 stray shots during initial calibration, my grouping was quite impressive with the little shorty. I still prefer longbows but I can't completely discount the little take-down as a very solid target bow.

small Surprise in the Mail

I checked my snail mail and lo and behold! This showed up from when I did the NFAA SE Sectional Field event back in May. Never expected this one to pop up either.

Still Alive!

I shot my first IKAC in a while and shot extremely well for someone who has been sick for nearly two weeks, stressed out, and short on sleep because of the stress and sickness. I shot a 236 (Royal Round of 91) and had a really, really nice group during the 20 yard timed round (30 seconds). First two shots were a little low but the rest fell into place perfectly.


And now... finish drinking my kefir, let my hair dry, and call it for the night so I can get a desperately-needed full-blown workout.

Cute Snake

This little fellow was just hanging out by the rental office in my apartment complex. I'm guessing he was about a meter plus change long and pretty laid-back despite me staring at him and taking pictures. There's just something really cute about these little snakes around here.

Crunch Goes the Arrow!

The Chek-Mate Crusader T/D is still my "baby" even if I now shoot the bow that my other half built for me most of the time. I also, to my delight, found out that I could shoot it reasonably well using the style I learned from Coach Bob over at the Easton-Newberry facility. I guess between the workouts and the training, I'm getting stronger!

Trimarian Olympics 2010

A view from the target to where we shot from, about 100 yards away. This was great practice for a FITA round, at least if you're a male between 18 and 49 years old. Mar even set up a target significantly smaller than a FITA target, adding to the challenge factor. I think if we could get this group to shoot a FITA round in August or in the June Sunshine Games, we'd show them that traditional archery is alive, well, and deadly!

Nothing like the speed round at 20 yards in the Royal Round!

I finally got a hit on the target! Aesa got 2, Rurik got 1. I think we could have a deadly contingent of longbows at this rate if we can even hit this little bugger!

Bit of Progress

My workouts are paying off visually as well as constitutionally. Still got a long way to go elsewhere but I'm really liking what I'm seeing recently. It's definitely making archery practice a lot easier, especially when I'm working with the mirrors and/or camera to check my form!

Courtesy of the Range-Master

There may be a few more trickling in... still got a long way to go in shrinking the gut but things are looking a lot better than they were this time last year!

Sunshine State Games FITA

As usual, click the title for the rest of the pictures. Pictures from 900 will come later as I juggle around my online spaces.

I shot my personal best in both the FITA and the 900 round. I finished the FITA with an 853/1440 and the 900 with a 620/900. I was extremely impressed with the FITA, especially considering that my last FITA was a 515/1440 and I hadn't shot one since. The 900 was just as cool because I was pretty depleted after the FITA round and I felt nature calling to me towards the end of the shoot, especially in the final end. Apparently I am capable of holding my form and shooting reasonably well with a very full bladder!


Final round, 30 meters.

Me and the two older gentlemen in my group during the FITA round, 30 meters.

70 meters... doesn't look *too* bad!

Almost at full draw, ready to expand.

Also almost at full draw, just before expansion.

Courtesy of a Fellow Archer at the FAA Field

One of my fellow archers handed me a very nice photograph on the second day of the shoot that I forgot to post. I guess he caught me while I was in deep concentration on one of the shots.

Critters

Grey tree-frog that narrowly escaped being impaled by one of my arrows while calibrating at 70 meters.

Beautiful dragonfly at archery practice. Can you find it?

Truly beautiful dragonfly that really liked Aesa's longbow for some reason.

One of the many "black snakes" in the area at Fred Bear.

Ooh! Another one! They did get into a bit of a scuffle for a bit. I think it was two males fighting over territory and access to a nearby female... don't think they were fighting over the big bugs or small rodents they usually eat.

FAA Field Championship 2010

As always, click on the title for the full set of pictures. I shot an extremely solid round this weekend: 275 (2x) field, 180 animal, 297 (4x) hunter.

Rhinehart 100

As usual, click either the title or here for the rest of the Rhinehart 100.

I actually resisted the temptation to shoot him elsewhere *and* ranged correctly. I decided that having two gentlemen in the party didn't warrant my favorite shot on a standing bear.

Yes, we were supposed to shoot the tree stump as well as the little bear.

A giraffe and a demon of some sort. R insists it's a gargoyle of some sort. Whatever it was, I certainly don't want it alive around me!

This target absolutely made my day! And yes, we were supposed to shoot both the bear and the toilet. Except... where *would* be an appropriate kill on a toilet?

Did I mention that I really enjoyed this target? Toilets are just inherently cool!

Great Group at 40 Yards

Moments like these are truly rare. I shot this round at 40 yards onto a 60 cm target face with wood arrows. The odd 3-fletched arrow in the red belongs to a fellow archer who's still starting off and shows a lot of promise both as an archer and as a veterinary researcher. I shot my highest score of the season as well: 214 IKAC and a 94 Royal Round -- but the season is still early and there's still tons of room for improvement.

Will this year be the year I make Grandmaster Bowman (100+ average of top 3 Royal Rounds of the season, last year averaged around 94) or break 250 in IKAC? Stay tuned!

Forgot I Had These Too...

Caught at about 80% draw prior to full expansion, still need to tense the left arm muscles especially triceps and forearm and tighten up the scapulae.


Happened during a calibration round at 20 yards.

Mostly Sacrificial Weekend...

Sacrificing about half of the weekend to see if I can get a semester write-up out of the way but still got some good outdoor workouts in... plus the weekend sacrifice is going into either helping me train for the NFAA Southeastern Sectional field/hunter championship at the end of May or the Sunshine State Games in June. I don't know which event(s) I'll be entering for the Sunshine State Games but here's the breakdown: 60% FITA target, 40% 900 round. I think I'm a stronger contender for the 900 round and they're my favorite event but FITA target shoots are extremely hard to come by aside from the FAA state championships in August. I'll find out once I figure out the logistics behind the two events. There's also field and 3D but the opportunities for FITA and 900 are much more limited so I like to jump on any of those I can.

Die, Vile Pink Marshmallow!

Can you deep fry one of those Peeps marshmallow monstrosities? The answer is... yes. Was it edible? Well, click on the title and see!