The HB foray!

A while back I was fortunate to get hold of an HBX large release. This release fit my hand like a glove but after a few shots with it (less than 4 days), I realised this is not working for me, my groupings got worse, the release felt inconsistent. This after spending some time on a few forums I realised was the majority of everyone's feelings about the release. Some time passed and I switched back to my BT Gold and Fang 4. Now things were okay again until my wife tried the HBC and HBX medium releases. The releases felt a bit cramped for my liking and I realised I prefer a larger release. 

  One afternoon I started shooting a bit with the HBC, even though this was a medium release my groups tightened up and the release shot really well. This happens just as I placed an order for 2 releases from the US. Now as that feeling of dread starts to set in and realising how much you spent on 2 releases where this is fitting your requirements perfectly was not easy.

What I liked about the HBX and HBC was the weight. The shape and grip. My requirements for my releases were ready. It needed to be a brass release, about the same size and just not as inconsistent as the HBX.

After going through my requirements I decided on the Fulkrum Flex and Abyss Flex. The fact that it can be customised that much was appealing to me, I would not have to commit to either 3 or 4 finger variant.

So the great wait started...

My initial target releases

This is how I ended up going from one release to another in a matter of months! Some releases worked well for a week or two, others were worse.

When I started with target archery I used a Tru Ball BT Gold Ultra 4, this release was my first one I started using on my PSE Dominator 3D Max, it did not take me too long to get comfortable with the release. I loved the grip of the release and for a first release it was perfect. Price was not too much of an issue either. Eventually as I started doing more and more types of comepetitions I realised that the hinge release was going to be a problem with a bit of wind. So I started looking around for a thumb activated release that would work for me. Looking at countless releases I eventually decided to get a Tru Ball Fang 4, this had a very similair point in anchoring and was a good choice for a first thumb release. However it did not occur to me when I got the release that even though it is very comfortable with a few shots, after numerous shots it would eventually end up eating into my hand since the release was just not wide enough. After a day of shooting field or 720 it would cause you to have callouses on a few fingers. So the quest was on to find a replacement release.

Eventually I removed my clicker with my BT Gold and since then it really helped with my indoor. Since with the BT Gold whenever that clicked kicked in it caused quite a tremor on my bow causing my stabiliser to shake from side to side. Removing the click solved that perfectly. The fact that the release was aluminum had it hardly weighing anything but still had an amazing grip. BT Gold for indoor is probably one of my favourite releases.

On the other hand I had the Fang 4, which had a comfortable grip for 20 to 40 arrows, but the skinny release would eventually creep into your flesh. This release I would definately recommend to someone with smaller hands. My wife shot with it and liked it. When I used the Fang 4 in eliminations it treated me well enough, but after enough arrows your hand ends up hurting enough to affect your consentration.

My Next foray in the world of releases I decided I wanted something that is a heavier release with a similair feel to my BT Gold, this I found out was not the easiest task, so since the middle of 2017 this has started.

My first 1440 (FITA) with 720

My first 1440 was quite an experience, not really being able to see your own arrows at 90 meters makes it quite difficult to adjust your sight. Especially since we are 3 on the butt. The fact that one of the guys also shot Carbon Core Blackbirds was good to see more people on the line using these arrows for competition. Nic Weber really made it look easy at the range with his current setup although his arrows were also mostly dark carbon, also with black and white fletches.

A few rounds in I found out a cap touching your string can be quite catastrophic, as I was a full draw on 70m I was not aware my cap was pushing on my string. As I released the arrow went about 2 meters high over the target into the safety wall. I can at least say after retrieving my arrow the tip was fine, the shaft was fine and everything was still in perfect condition. Lesson learned. No more caps that can touch my string no matter what I do! When we finally approached 50 meters I was much more comfortable and at 30 after 108 arrows I was ready to abuse the gold! Thankfully that saved me quite a bit. My first 1440 went okay managing 1280/1440 with an arrow gone AWOL, fletch fleeing mid shot also ending right beside the target.

The next day was the 720 which saw quite a few more archers on the line. Things did not go too bad during the ranking round, unfortunately, the eliminations were a bit harsh with the tired arms of the previous day.

Markspark is one of those ranges that sporadically get the wild winds. As I finished my 720 I did find a pleasant surprise that I got Bronze for 1440.

Another event done and dusted.

Elgro IFAA Field

Addiction comes in many forms, but the one thing I do enjoy is the challenge field offers. You can know every distance you will shoot by heart but there are so many elements affecting it. You have to take your footing, the wind, the angle of the sun, the constantly changing angle of the sun and so many other factors into account.

I was quite eager to shoot here in Potchefstroom since in 2018 the world fields will be held in the same area.

Beautiful Elgo River Lodge

The Lodge is about 30km outside of Potchefstroom, the morning we arrived there was nerve wracking. There are mountains all around you, a strong wind and the temperature was quite low. Getting out to the practice range the freezing winds were strong and already I could feel the control in my hands were slipping away. Getting to the range from the lodge was done with a few game cruisers, everywhere I looked I could see so many terrifying possible spots for shots.

Arriving at the range was a strange sight, there was a large tent in the middle of an open, rather flat field. Standing from one spot you could pretty much see all 28 targets around you in a circular shape. It looked somewhat boring, but the wind had a role to play with no trees or hills really breaking the wind on this open field.

Luckily I started on the bunnies, so I had an opportunity to adjust my sight. Shooting with a few archers that knew the finer things of archery. My thumb release was difficult to let off, I considered moving over to my backtension, but the wind did not calm down. A few great rounds and a few rounds that left a bit to be desired.

2 great examples of archery

Even though the course looked easy, the wind was a factor no one expected to be that influential. The cold wind affected my knee more than what I hoped for, so moving was a tedious task.

After our 112 arrows I ended the day less than what I was aiming for, but acceptable.

The next day the cold was still the bit the wind much more under control. A enjoy the hunter round a tend to do quite a bit better when shooting it. My black dot tends to do better on the black targets.

Everything started off much better, my score was looking better and my arrows tended to hit their targets much better. 

A windy day, in the open

All went well that was until about halfway through, now the wind came back with a vengeance. Our long shots were all lined up and I saw the issues we were about to encounter.

This is what happens if your sight is right

On our 60 yards shot the wind came with a strong gust just as was about to release and it pushed me off the target just enough to score a 0... Just as my arrow hit the target I knew that things are about to get harder, and I was right. A few other guys in our group also hit a 0. 

Eventually, as we neared the end the wind died down again, but the damage was already done. Now it came to fighting hard enough to try and match the score of the previous day. Thankfully I managed to match the previous day's score.

The open spaces field in Potchefstroom offers

 Overall I did learn a few new things again, but as I shoot more and more in the wind I slowly learn the tricks of this fine art.

1 Point

I enjoy all forms of archery, I really enjoy eliminations in World Archery but for some reason I tend to miss the World Archery events. Thankfully this weekend I got to shoot a 720 at Tukkies after a very late registration.

So on Thursday I decided to try out a 10 degree offset on my bow. I saw a few guys with it, a few international archers and wanted to try it out. Off to Magnum to get it sorted.

Saturday morning was the first time I arrived almost early for the 720. That was until a fun run was taking place, and by the looks of it, it was more a gentle, casual stroll. It took quite some time to finally get to the range. Once I finally stopped there everything looked good, mother nature was kind enough not to have the winds interrupt early morning shooting.

Elimination done RIGHT!

Our ranking session went quite well, I kept it mostly in the gold with the occasional shot in the red due to either creeping, or jerking. When all was done 72 arrows behind us. I ended up tied with Sean Nel, a staff shooter for Archer's Edge.

First round I got a BYE. Second round I got Mr. Nel, he was ready for the day and started off very strong! In the end we both ended with a 139. This is where I got to shoot another shoot off, I got my shot off and hit the 10, Sean hit the 9! A good tough round.

Third round I ended up against Folkers Heroldt, an archer who has been shooting for quite a couple of years entrenched in archery. The previous time we ended up against each other I lost the round. So now we were ready to shoot again. Folkers showing that experience trumps almost everything else opened with a perfect round. It was a long hard round but I finished on a 141. Folkers did a great 142.

As I got ready to pack up, I heard I somehow ended up the Bronze medal match. Somewhat caught off guard I did what I do, I shot. The match was hard and my opponent was fierce! I just managed to get a 140 and he got a 141. A hard match, but a fun match. I lost with a single point.

So this is how you learn.

De Voetpadkloof IFAA Field

This was my first trip to Mpumalanga, the rumours about the course were partially true. I decided I want to shoot this course for a few reasons.

Isiyala Lodge

1. I want a challenging course to see if I can handle the angles. 
2. I wanted to explore a bit more of our country. 
3. I also wanted to get out of the city for a while.

Isiyala at a distance

Objectives achieved! We drove to Isiyala Lodge the Friday morning, about 200kms East of Johannesburg. As we arrived at the lodge it was really a tranquil site. The same day we decided to explore the surrounding area and ended up at the outdoor expo, they were not officially open but we could still get a few snacks and drinks.

Saturday morning we arrived at the range, there were quite a few people at the event and the course looked quite intimidating. So I headed to the practice range and after 3 shots I heard the awful sound of a nock being destroyed. As I approached the target I saw it was not one of my arrows, but that of a fellow archer who had his arrow destroyed. After this, I decided to get ready for the first day.

The unfortunate arrow that wanted to share the same spot as mine

The morning was not too chilly and the course had 14 targets. As I received my card I was quite happy seeing I was starting at target 15. After the announcements, a few groups were not complete so a slight reshuffle was in order and I got moved to target 9 at my dismay.

Target 9 was one of the last targets in the mountain, this was a long walk with short legs. After I eventually reached my target it was a bit of a shock since my first target was 55 yards away further up the mountain .having seen how difficult it could be when it came to angles I decided to replace my Nikon Prostaff 5 with an i3 with the angle calculations. Ranging the target was about 2 yards less. Starting the competition with my backtension was okay.

The bunny at a bit of an angle

Our second target was the short range bunny. I still don't know why it is referred to as the bunny. This target gets shot at 35, 30, 25 and 20 feet. The first two pegs were at a high angle while the second two was about eye level. Half shot okay we moved on.

The rock; the 1st time round

Now the 80-yard shot arrives, everything is perfect, on full draw dot hovering perfectly over the target's centre and as I released it hit me! My sight was at 24 yards! My first fatal mistake, also my first arrow that got destroyed due to a bad shot. My carbon arrow hit the first rock and shattered... Eventually, I decide to switch to my thumb release die a bit more control with the wind and difficult shooting positions. This helped.

We went around and started ascending the mountain again. Shooting a few targets as we head up the mountain. Once we finally got on the mountain the wind started a gentle tease. It progressively just blew harder and harder.

My last shot for the day was a 60 yard shot on a rock with the wind blowing like the lost Capetonian wind. At the end of the first day, I can honestly say I enjoyed the course even with the ups and downs, we had a strong group and it was a great group to get some pointers from.

So after 112 scoring arrows, we went our separate ways to come back the next day with the Hunter round.

The day started quite well since I ended up in the same group as a fellow PSE archer, another lefty and massive Jan. I adjusted a few sight settings the previous day and moved my pin ever so slightly. This seemed to have made a positive change to everything.

The course as you can see is quite rocky, so the recurve archers had a hard time when they missed, with the strong occasional winds and the angles of the targets it was really one group I felt sorry for.

A tight field grouping

This is why I trust my Carbon Core arrows, if my sight is correct they hit the centre, every time! I had quite a few perfect rounds as we went around on the Hunter day and felt quite positive.

After the second day and a few changes, I can honestly say things went much better due to 3 changes that I made the after the 1st day.

1. Sight adjustment
2. Only using my Fang4 thumb release
3. Using proper glue for fletching!

I used Gorilla glue which worked well for the first few days, but after that, it just did not stick anymore. I switched that out for Glue Meister which I found at the Rand Show in Johannesburg, but I cannot find much of it online. That seems to be keeping my fletches in place even after severe punishment. 

PSE Dominator 3D Max & Evolve 35

A 65Y shot

So with all those changes, I went up 15 points from the previous day. A good, yet difficult shoot.

Sedibeng IFAA - Bittersweet almost!

Well today I got to take my ID arrows for the first outing, after some practice over the last week I was hoping to finally get my 300. Having shot IFAA 5 spot four times before my highest 3 scores was 297/36; 295/34; 288/36.

Initially I had some issues with my indoor setup, for some reason after a few shots I tended to lose a fletch mid flight and my arrow tended to hit far to the one side missing the target completely. After a miss or two it tends to get you very, VERY negative.

After a few of these I made a few changes, went from my HHA optimizer to a Shibuya CPX520, my arrow rest was moved (the cause of the stripping fletches). Was playing around with different arrows (Gold Tip, Easton, Black Eagle) until I finally settled on the Carbon Core arrows. My blackbirds did not really have the diameter to cut a line when a shot was less than perfect, but the ID arrows did significantly better. Overall everything went quite well I had a 48x count, which is my personal best. All went well until my 3rd last round, where I shot 4X and then as I crept forward I slipped and plonked my last arrow into a solid 4. My mistake...

So after all was shot and done I got a 299/48.

Shoot casual.