Ribbons and bows

Not those kinds of bows... I mentioned in my last post that James bought me a bow for Christmas several years ago. Not only did he buy the bow, but he had it strung with pink and green string and had my arrows fletched with pink and green fletchings. His bow has red and black string. A little snazz, you know?

"So what do I do with this?" is what I asked myself quite often. We would practice shooting out at his parent's house every now and then the first year, but I didn't get much of a chance to fine-tune my archery skills. It was all so new to me, and, as we found out at the archery shop, it turns out I am left eye dominant, although I am right handed. This makes things a little more difficult. I have to switch everything to my left hand, which is tricky. Eventually I got the hang of it.

One summer James invited me along to a 3D archery shoot with him. He and his dad would go once or twice a summer. A 3D shoot is basically like playing a round of golf, kind of. You walk trails in your group - usually a two or foursome - and shoot at targets set strategically throughout the woods. Each target is marked for point values increasing in points the closer you hit to the main target, the heart. Sounds brutal, I know, but I promise the only thing I shoot is fake animals. During the shoot you come across 30 targets, usually. At the end of the trail you add up your score and see who wins.

Sorry, fake little deer, but thats in the kill-zone.

When I was new at this I would struggle with the final targets. Walking around in the woods all morning with a heavy bow is harder than it sounds! I finally got the hang of it. Last summer we visited several shoots, more than normal, and my score is slowly inching closer and closer to his. Nothing like some healthy competition to fuel a relationship, I just can't wait until the day I beat him at his own game.

Good form, but I'm biased.

Bringin' it.

Now I actually look forward to these shoots. We practice together at the park, since there are at least two local parks that have archery ranges, and out at his parents house. It gives us something to do together. I think James was a little surprised by how well I adjusted to my bow, and he better watch out because next summer I am bringing the heat. BOOM.