I used to be much more serious with shooting and wanting to become better... It seems anymore I am content with practicing a small fraction of what I used to and just show up to shoot. I enjoy this much more. How serious are you?
I'm kind of in the same boat as you. I used to shoot almost everyday. And when I didn't I would lose my touch. But now I can go periods of time without practicing, and still be as accurate as I'd like to be with hunting. I used to shoot 3D tournaments almost every Sunday, but don't anymore. Now when I practice, I might shoot 1/2 as much as I could. The other 1/2 of the time, I'm watching my wife and helping her in any way possible to learn the sport better.
I know the feeling except for the "used to be much more serious" part. I am a good shot. I know I could be better with time and work. I am happy to shoot a few times a week and show up on Sunday for the 3D shoot. I am still improving without much added effort, but it's not a huge priority to me like hunting is.
I am sort of the same way... I have no pre-shot routiene and I never use an umbrella. I do however use binos. I walk to the stake, hit the glass then shoot. On the shooting steak I am in and out :d
Honestly, I don't know where I am. I'm new to all of this, really. For most of my young bowhunting career, I got the bow out in September and put it away in November (I'm not proud of that fact, either). Now I shoot year round. I started really digging the target aspect last year, but never shot much outside of my home range. Then, I decided this winter, I would enter this online league, and try to get to as many shoots as possible. Well, a couple things happened. One, I'm getting married and bought a house, so I'm going to be pretty busy all summer. Secondly, I surprised myself with the league this year. I shot better than I thought I would, but I didn't really get "better" over the 7 weeks. In fact, there were times where I got frustrated. I have to step back and ask if I'm going to get frustrated over a dang online league, what's archery going to become if I go full bore in the outdoor scene? I think I'm alright at shooting, but I'm not great. I doubt I would ever really hit the ranks of some on here or others who are shooting great at the top of their game. I think I will focus more on the fun aspect of it all. Hit shoots when I can, etc. I feel like I do spread myself too thin with hobbies and interests (post in the Water Cooler soon to follow). Hunting is really the ONLY thing I will always, and have always had a driven passion for. I tend to dabble in too much. Just right now, I'm trying to get into target archery, photography, wood working, and fly fishing. Once I have a kid (hopefully a little while), or even once I'm married, there's NO WAY I can balance all of those. I suppose, Scott, in short. I would like to be very competitive, but I'm content with knowing I'm an average shot. I'll admit it...I would have been really proud to beat just one of your scores in the online contest, because I know you can shoot extremely well. However, if that becomes my only focus, then I feel it's not worth it. Know what I mean?
I'm still serious about it. I know I won't always be that way though. I would have been going to worlds and a few other national events this year, but between the honeymoon and my week of hunting in Nov, I don't have the vacation. I won't cut hunting time short for target archery. I do plan on attending the same local and northeast regional events I did last year, including our state IBO event and the Tupper Lake Mountain Challenge (400+ shooters from all over the NE and Canada). I will go to these events fully prepared and will work hard to bring my A game. I'm still getting better even though I'm only able to shoot 2-3x a week (mostly in my basement @ 10 yards). I do think that in 2010 I will really give it a go at the national level. I won't have many years where I can dedicate the time to do it, but I really want to see where I stack up. I've beaten on the local level people that have multiple top ten finishes at the national level (Open/Semi-Pro) so I know I can hang, I just want to do it to see where I stack up. I suspect that once I get that out of my system I'll still shoot indoor leagues for as long as I can, and will likely let 3D take the back burner, only attending a few events a year. Lisa and I both love to fish, and I think we will probably spend more time doing this, as it's something we both enjoy.
I wish you the best of luck bro If you ever want to shoot cleveland let me know. It is less than an hour from my house to the expo center.
Thanks! I doubt I'll take the vacation time to get to Indoor Worlds, but I would really like to make the 2nd, and 3rd legs of the triple crown (Nelsonville, and Erie), and hopefully they still have Worlds as scheduled in NY too. That's the plan.
I'm totally new to target archery. Kind of like MGH_PA's situation, I would begin practicing in late August and hunt a couple of months out of the season, but only a dozen sits or so on the weekends. It's tough when you live in the city and your dad's back yard is the local range (25 yards max) Last year I decided to give 3D a try and WOW!, what a blast! Working, going to school and raising 2 daughters makes it pretty difficult to shoot during the week, but I do plan on shooting as much as I can on Sundays. I hope to be able to make guys like buckeye and Rob/PA (best I've shot with, to date) at least a little nervous, some day
