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Jesse's Hunting > Hunting Articles > Hunting Articles Archives > JHO ProStaffer Shoots it out at NFAA Shoot
JHO ProStaffer Shoots it out at NFAA Shoot
Brian Kirksey - JHO ProStaff
- Bay Area, CA
March 07, 2006
Editor's note - this is a follow-up to Brian's January preview of the NFAA Convention and Shoot.
How do I sum up the Las Vegas National NFAA shoot? The words colossal, suspenseful, exciting, impressive and fun all come to mind.
I attended the event to shoot in the Bowhunter Freestyle “A” class. This year was my first year attending the annual indoor National Field Archery Association (NFAA) shoot and I was unsure how I would perform under the magnitude of pressure that goes hand in hand with a shoot of this caliber.
Concentration
The author draws down on the 10-ring in Las Vegas. |
The rooms were designated “non-smoking rooms, but we had to move ash trays into the closets, and open all the windows to get the stale smoke-scented air out of the room. I was less than excited about our accommodations.
Later during a practice session downstairs, I was told by a referee to remove my STS limb dampener system, since it had been deemed a counter balance which was illegal in my classification. Normally I frown on last minute gear changes, but after practicing for a bit, it didn’t seem to change the impact of my arrows.
The next morning I awoke with a sore throat thanks to the smoky air in the room, but I was ready for the competition to begin. I met and mingled with the three other shooters assigned to my target. There was a feeling of pressure mixed with anticipation as we started the shoot. Each 3-arrow round lasts 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
Each round has a maximum possible score of 30 points, and there are 10 rounds total for a potential perfect score of 300. I scored 293 for my first day. This score was about 5 points less than my average in a controlled, relaxed atmosphere. Studying my target after the shoot, I noticed the arrows that scored nines instead of tens were all consistently low. During practice, I made a slight adjustment to my sight.
On day two, everyone reassembled at their assigned target site. Sweaty palms were common. The sound of archers exhaling loudly was commonplace as they tried to keep their composure under the strain. After completing my round with a score of 296, I was relieved to be improving and felt like I was settling in.
After my shoot was complete, I visited the NFAA Trade show. The PSE truck was parked on the conference room floor. Mathews, Hoyt, Easton, Carter, Stanislawski, Copper John, and Spot Hogg were just a few of the many vendors there. I stopped and talked with most of them as I made my way through.
That night I was awakened at 3:30 a.m. by a smoke detector in my room on the 52nd floor. It turned out to be a false alarm, but I did not feel comfortable about this one bit. As a matter of fact I did not sleep another wink that night and my nerves were frayed by the time morning opened on the third, and final, day of shooting.
Fortunately, when it was time for my shoot my fatigued eyes could focus again on the target. New shooting groups were formed based on scores, and all four of us in my group had a tied score of 589.
I felt good thought positive thoughts, focused on one arrow at a time. When the scores were tallied, I scored 295 for the day, and placed 18th out of 175 shooters.
This shoot is definitely a mental test, but the most important thing to remember while competing in an event like this is to have fun… I did just that.
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