JOAD this week 12-26,27- 2017

Well after six week I am no longer the invisible archer. Tuesday at JOAD while I was practicing John spoke to me tell me I was looking good but needed to get my right elbow back a bit more, he said it would help me hold the center better.I was so surprised I almost messed up my shot but instead made an effort to pull my elbow back more and he said that looks much better and it did seem at least slightly easier to hold the center, I shot a ten. I kept shooting and did try to incorporate this elbow position ot be part of my shoot routine and two other times that evening he said I looked like I was doing it well. I must admit that after getting nothing from any of them for six weeks it was a bit of a surprise but it was welcome. The coaching we are suppose to get from JOAD is the main reason I am in JOAD and it has been annoying to not be getting it. Then on Thursday night at JOAD while I was practicing with my Olympic bow John again spoke to me - he told me my form looked good but again I needed to keep my right elbow back while pulling through the shot. This was harder to do because I felt like I had my elbow back but I made an effort and he said it looked better and just keep it like that as I pulled through the shoot. This was even more of a surprise I am only suppose to get coaching on Tuesday nights. Next month I will start paying for two JOAD memberships so that I can get coaching each night and shoot for pins both nights. The $150 per month is less than what I would pay for three privat lessons and I should get some coaching 8 times a month. It is the coaching that is most important to me and I intend to make sure they know that and that I expect some comment about my shooting each week even if it is just that I am looking good because one cannot always know one it doing it correctly one my feel like they are and be incorrect where a coach can see the errors.

Top tear is after adjusting the rest and plunger to the right

After much trial and tribulation I believe I have solved my arrow path problems with my Olympic bow. I will never try to be arrows of the wrong spine to work with a bow just because I all ready own them. Arrows can be sold and I will be selling the one I cannot use. I called Easton and talked to a helpful person the Zack I believe. He advised me the cutting of the rear of the X10 ProTour arrows would reduce the spine but he and the engineers there did not believe it would be enough to make them fly well with my Olympic bow. They advised me to buy X10 arrows at 500 spine. They said the X10s were designed for Olympic bows and would always work better the X10 Pro Tours would on an Olympic. So even though I have been trying to reduce my spending on archery as well as spending in general I spent the $500 plus dollars it costs to purchase what is needed to build a set of X10s. I got them Tuesday when I got home from the range and built them that night. Cutting those X10 arrow shaft at $40+ per shaft is always a nervous event. But I did it hot glued in the 120 grain points and four fletched with 2 & 3/4 inch Spider vanes in white and blue. The look good. and fly even better they have almost no waggle and hit the target straight in. I was able to shoot a much better group with them than I have before. their paper test still has a right tear but it is much smaller than the 730 spine X10 Pro Tours I was trying to shoot. Adjusting the plunger and rest a bit right removed another 3/4 of an inch from the tear. I am getting 150 grain tungsten points for them to hopefully reduce the right tear more. They are about $150 a dozen which increase the cost of the arrows to $54.16 each but if they clean up the tear I will be happy. I shot a 203 and 235 my to highest on my Olympic, If I can do this next Wednesday, pin night, the 235 will get me my 4 star pin which I have been trying to get for two months.

Video of Clicker and Arrow rest/Plunger on my Olympic
https://youtu.be/WGG1N4TtXyU

Raleigh Revolutions Virtual Tournament and JOAD this week

Last Saturday First Flight/Raleigh Revolution had their 4th quarter Virtual Tournament. I asked specifically if I could shoot for my Bronze Olympic pin and was told I could so I shot my compound bow.  The tournament was not well attended mostly due to them only announcing about four days before the shoot. There were about eight of use shooting. I did well and shot a 283 which would qualify me for my Bronze JOAD Olympic pin. But when I asked what I needed to do to get it I was told they were not sure this tournament was qualified because there was not a Judge there. But that they would check and let me know. So I far I have heard nothing for them about it. This makes me pretty angry because I asked and was told I could shot for it. If I was told I could not shoot for it I would have shot my recurve olympic bow which I could have earn my next regular pin. I really feel like the invisible archer - I go there and shoot the JOAD classes which I do pay for and they never talk to me or coach me. I stand there and shoot and watch them go up and down the line working with other archers and never looking at me or talk to me. When I asked why they did not tell me they did not know if I could shoot for my Olympic pin they said they did not realize I was asking about the Olympic pin, yet they know I have been trying to earn it for two months and have asked me when I return to the shop after a tournament somewhere else if I got it, knowing I did not just to rub it in.

Well enough venting. I did at least prove to myself that I can shoot the score needed and during the next two JOAD classes where I was the invisible archer again I shot well enough to earn the pin so I am hopeful I will earn it at Boneyard this Saturday. I had originally planned to go to Lancaster this weekend but when Boneyard put up a shoot I decided to cancel Lancaster and shoot here in NC also it is a much shorter drive. I like shooting at Lancaster but that 6 hour drive is rough.

I emailed USA Archery because I had heard nothing from the folks at First Flight. I was expecting the worse but got back a nice surprise. Here is the email I received.

So it appears I have earned my JOAD Bronze Olympic pin.
I am very pleased about this, now on to Silver this Saturday.

Brad Fiala                                                                              11:20 AM (4 hours ago)
to me

Ashby, Please don't be annoyed.  That event would indeed qualify as an indoor pin shoot.  I have attached the form to fill out for Adult Olympian Awards.

Thanks-

BRAD FIALA

USA ARCHERY  |  MEMBERSHIP SERVICES MANAGER

Office: 719.866.4621  |  Fax: 719.632.4733

4065 Sinton Road, Suite 110  |  Colorado Springs, CO 80907  |  www.usarchery.org

http://www.teamusa.org/~/media/USA_Archery/Documents/ARY_2012_JOAD%20Olympian%20Request%20Form_Nov%2029.doc

HNS Archery Championship Series #2 - Dec 3rd.

Sunday I shot the HNS Archery Championship Series #2 at 11250 Patterson Ave, Henrico, VA. They have a very nice shop and ranges. I found out that HNS stands for Huntin - N - Shack. It was a sort of small shoot with just five of us in the Master 60plus division. I like having folks to compete against just wish there were more. I shot the early 11AM line with two other Master 60plus archers, Rex and John. I was shooting well. I did make two mistakes well one was not so much as a mistake just something I had to do. In spite of the best practices knowledge about not changing any thing close to a tournament I replaced my scope lens going from one with a center dot and halo ring at 4x to a completely clean lens at 6x. I am shooting so often there was just not a good time to do it so I figured get her done. This did significantly change my sight picture. But I do like it I can easily see the center 10 ring and the X. Sight movement is also amplified but that was expected. I am not sure how much this may have hurt my archery and it may not have hurt it much. I was having some trouble with holding center at the beginning but this seemed to get easier as the tournament progressed. I replaced the Sight Wednesday at JOAD and shot a round with it before going to my Olympic for the second half of the evening - I am trying to get comfortable and proficient with the Factor and seems to make some progress Wednesday at 10 yard anyway. I have to shoot at 20 yards for pin night. The other this I did or did not do which was a major mistake on my part was to never practice to three spot vertical targets with only the inter ten ten ring. That is what we were shooting and I have almost never shot them in spite of the fact that First Flight Archery does have them available. I found them disconcerting to aim at they just looked wrong somehow. This is a problem that I will start fixing this week after I get my Olympic indoor 4 star pin.

I am really annoyed with myself. I had the Olympic Bronze Pin until my last arrow where I shot an 8. I have no idea why and I know everyone is going to say nerves but I felt no nerves I was just doing again what I had done all day and shoot for a 10. The shot felt normal and I had not idea it was not until I sat down and looked at my target trough my monocular scope. I almost fell off my chair. I was one up starting the end meaning I only need 27 to score 280 and I shot a 26. I will not let this bug me if I can get to that place once I can do it again and finish without the error. I shot a 278 and a 279 for a 557 not bad but not great either. I really believe the 6X lens will help me score more tens and I will master it over the next two weeks when I can shoot again for the Bronze.

This coming week I could not find anywhere to shoot so I am going to Frostbite JOAD Tournament at Bull Run Public Shooting Center, 7700 Bull Run Dr., Centreville, Virginia, 20121 to help Judge the event as a shadow judge of the main judge. I am looking forward to doing this and excited for my dayview as a judge. As far as I know no one at First Flight knows that I am a certified Judge but if any of our JOAD archery show up they will find out.

We had a good crowd - 9 compound archers, 3 bowhunter and about 5 single string. I took third place and won $5 - I shot pretty well but still had to poor ends. 

My bow is performing well and I am very pleased with it. I am planning to to try Spider Vanes on my Easton 2315 arrows. I messaged them at Spider Vanes and asked about do this and was told it worked well and the Braddy used them. So I have ordered some from Lancaster but the purple are out of stock so I am waiting again. I have ordered more Wraps and should have them soon.