Mason's new toy and James' best shot

Shortly after James and I started dating he got into the house-flipping business. After having several of the houses broken into, as well as my own, James decided he needed an alarm system. After my house was broken into the police told me the best thing to do would be to get a dog. So we rescued Mason together.

A boy and his rescue.

Mason was a very special kind of dog, which I won't go into too much detail about just yet. He just recently passed, and we realize now how much we miss him, even his giant stinky doberman ass sleeping in between us in the bed every night. Mason had been abused since birth until he was rescued at age 2-3. He had scars around his neck from being chained up to a tree most of his life. He was terrified of thunderstorms, strangers, and electrical cords. We were not allowed to rearrange the furniture because he would refuse to enter the room if it looked different. He would act like he was standing on slick ice if he walked into a room with hardwood floors that were too shiny. For the first year that we had him, he would stand in the corner facing the wall. He wouldn't make eye contact until year two. But by year three he was sleeping in the bed with us, stealing food off the counter tops, jumping right into my car for trips to the pet store to pick up a new bone, and so on. It took a while, but eventually he turned into a somewhat normal dog.

Mason, guarding his yard.

As a doberman he was very intimidating. Once he realized that James' home was his forever home he protected it with everything he had. He loved his yard and he loved to keep strangers away from it.  He was very friendly, in his own way, to anyone we invited into the house, but if someone he didn't know reached their arms anywhere near his fence, they better hope their fingers could be sewn back on.

One day James received a call from his sister, from their house. James had just left the house for work when she called and she was frantic. Mason had caught something and blood was everywhere. James turned right around and drove straight home to figure out what the problem was and make sure Mason was ok.

When he got back home he saw it: the giant doberman dragging a huge groundhog around by the neck. Blood covered both of them as they bit and scratched at each other. Obviously the groundhog had walked through the wrong yard. James couldn't tell who was bleeding worse. He could tell mason had snapped the groundhog's back, but the groundhog was still fighting. He needed to get the groundhog out of Mason's mouth without being injured, himself. The groundhog was obviously in a bad position and was not going to make it through this fight.

James snapped into action. Without thinking (obviously... the next few things you read are undoubtedly illegal), he ran to the back room and grabbed his bow and an arrow. James threw open the sliding glass door of the kitchen and took aim. The noise of the door startled both animals just enough to freeze them for a few seconds and *thwack*! James took his shot.

From inside the house, through the kitchen sliding glass doors, across the yard, James shot the groundhog out of the dog's mouth, simultaneously putting the groundhog out of his misery and away from our dog. Mason approached the groundhog, and, without getting a response, had lost interest. James ran out to inspect the damage and found Mason with scratches all over his face. He immediately called the veterinarian.

We were told to bring Mason in, as well as the head of the groundhog for Rabies testing. Overall, he had a few new scars, but thankfully, no rabies. That groundhog had picked the wrong yard to walk through.

Archery education - the tater chip method

I love archery because it is a calming sport. Even when you are target shooting in a 3D competition you have to stay smooth and collected. Your heart may be racing but you can’t shake or flinch. You have to remain still even after the shot, so as not to drop your bow too early and deflect your arrows. It is a sport that is both gentle and strong, fast and slow, all at the same time.

Sometimes when I am shooting I get caught up in the moment and I clench my fist around the bow. This always messes with my accuracy. When you clench the bow handle you are rarely holding it straight. By holding it so tightly you can deflect your arrows and screw your target. If you have this grip on your bow, when you release the arrow, the bow will twerk in the direction you are gripping it. 

Enter, the potato chip method. I am not sure where James’ dad heard of this technique or if he came up with it himself, but it has helped me tons. Remember when you are holding your bow you are pretending to be standing and leaning against a wall with your outstretched arm? Well, now imagine, in that hand is a potato chip. It is between your thumb and fingers, which are curved around the bow. You can’t crush the chip! It is a light grasp, just enough to keep the chip in your hands, but not enough to smash the chip. Imagining this will keep you from death-gripping that bow handle. 

I have watched several professional archery competitions and one of the things that I have noticed is that the pros actually let their bows drop from their hands after a shot. This lets the arrow follow it’s path and the bow to follow through. This also ensures their grip is just right every time. They will shoot, and, while maintaining their posture, the bow will quickly spin up and around from out of their fingers.

While I have never tried this, and I don’t necessarily recommend it, there is one thing that may help in this area. James has a wrist strap on his bow. This is so that, if he does drop it, it doesn’t go very far. I think it is more the peace of mind that the bow will not fall, no matter how loose his grip, that helps.

For the love of God, don't try this at home...

Let me know if this helps! I know it has helped me, as I would have a hard time following through after releasing my arrows because I twerked the bow from the death-grip.

Archery education - posture

I hope these tips will be helping you along if you do choose to pursue archery or bowhunting (you little Katniss, you). Leave me some comments below and let me know if you are new to the sport and find these tips helpful, or if you are a seasoned pro and have some other good tips to share.

Another thing you will learn right away when you begin shooting is about posture. I say you will learn this right away because if you don’t have correct posture you will have a wicked bruise to prove it. There is nothing like the sting of a string scraping your arm to call attention to the problem. I have had many a badass bruise on my inner forearm from twisting my elbow just slightly inward when holding my bow. 

When you shoot you need to focus on straight lines and slightly bent joints. James’ dad taught me to hold my bow as if I were standing and leaning on a wall. My arm that holds the bow out is straight, with my elbow turned out. If you get tired that elbow has a tendency to twist in and that’s when you get the blood-drawing bruise of string slap right on the tenderest part of your inner arm. If you aren’t comfortable shooting like this right away I suggest an arm guard. I am a glutton for punishment and only use one when I need to avoid looking like a drug addict at work, so that I distinctly know when my posture isn’t correct. 

Eventually this will become a mechanical motion. when you practice over and over it is learned and your muscles will adapt. When you stand with your bow your shoulders should be back and your chest should be opened up. Ladies, I know this can lead to a problem for some of you. Unfortunately I don’t have an issue with anything getting in the way, but I have seen women archers wear chest guards if they have something to protect.

There are some tips on posture that I have picked up so far! I’ll be sharing some more tips throughout the next few weeks, and there will definitely be more posts about archery around spring time when Turkey season is in full effect and the bows come back out. 

Archery education - equipment

A lot of the hits I get on this blog come from Pinterest (win!). I love being able to see when people repin my stories and pass them around. One of the pins that has seen some of the action is my “Intro to archery”. Since this was more of a personal story than an informative article I thought I would use this post to give a little bit of instruction, just in case that is what people were seeking. You may notice I have also added “Archery” to my list of blog topics, so if you are a budding archer or bowhunter you can see all of the related articles with one click.

Now, let me be clear in saying that I am in no way a professional. I picked up archery a few years ago and practice as much as I can. The only "forma"l training I have is from James and his dad, who know certain tips and tricks of the trade from years and years of hunting. I wanted to share some of the tips they have passed along to me that have helped the most. 

They are both excellent teachers and I think they enjoy being able to train me, just as much as they enjoy shooting.  I am lucky to have such patient and enthusiastic instructors. In fact, I find archery even more rewarding when I shoot with them because they celebrate every improvement I make and cheer me on. I think this is a big part of why I enjoy archery so much. Also, a little healthy competition never hurt anyone, and one of these days I am going to outshoot them in a competition... so the pupil becomes the master... (I’m coming for you, Babe.)

One of the first things I learned when I was fitted for my bow is that equipment matters. I have seen several friends miss targets (at 7 yards... Phil!) because of faulty or old equipment. It doesn’t matter how sharp you are if your bow strings are shredding or if your draw length is off. So make sure when you decide that you want to be an archer you go to a specialty shop and get set up right. We usually go to Scott King’s archery shop on Bardstown road, for all of you locals. 

My little Matthew's bow.

They will measure you and set your draw weight (how hard you can pull the string back) and length (how far your arm pulls back the string) right there. They will also let you practice shoot as much as you need to in order to pick the right bow. I have a very light Matthew’s bow. It was in this shop that I found out I was left eye dominant. The simple fix for this is using a bow upside down, basically. Most of the tools out there are for right handed/right eyed shooters. My sights are attached upside down on the bow and it works just fine for me. 

Some of the things you might want to pay attention to are: the weight of the bow, the grips, the let-off.  The weight of the bow may not seem like much of a deal, but I promise if you plan on practice shooting or going on 3D shoots that having one that is light will make a huge difference. If you are struggling to hold up a heavy bow repeatedly your arms will get tired, your posture will slack, and your shots will be off. The grip on the bow is important, too. This is basically personal preference. I have small hands and my bow is a ladies/youth bow so it feels comfortable. When you pull the weight of the string on your bow back it "locks" once it reaches your full draw length - this is your let-off. The let-off takes the full stress of the draw weight off of your arm while you are fully drawn. Having a high let-off will help, especially if you have a lot of draw weight.

I definitely think it is worth the investment to purchase good, quality, equipment that you are comfortable with. It will make the experience that much better! I imagine there is nothing worse than hauling a too-heavy awkward bow around the woods, having sights that you can’t see or arrows that aren’t measured and cut correctly.

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.

Presents

After the holidays a lot of people often ask James and myself what we got each other for christmas. I usually just say that we aren't really present people and don't give gifts. If there is ever anything we need we don't hesitate to buy it. We have been very lucky so far in that we are able to do that.

But the truth is that sometimes we do give gifts to each other. It took me several years to catch on to what was happening.. but I think I get the idea now.

About four years ago I asked for a very specific pair of black diamond stud earrings. Up until this point we had played along with the whole Christmas thing. We would purchase small gifts for each other. Usually clothes or something small that we knew was needed. These earrings were on sale and I have a certain affinity for black diamonds. I told James exactly how much they were and where he could pick them up, in fact, I even volunteered to swing by and get them myself, he could pay me back later...

Christmas came and went and no earrings. After the holiday rush he told me he did actually have a gift for me, but we would have to go pick it out together. Exciting! A ring? Nope.

We pulled up in front of Scott King's archery shop and James explained to me, in his nicest, sweetest, most sincere "please don't hate me for this" tone, that he really enjoys spending time with me. Hunting is a big part of his life, in that it is both important to him and that it takes up quite a bit of his time. I never really understood it, since not too many people where I am from hunt. But, (continuing this explanation) if his hunting, and therefor his absence, bothered me, then I would have no excuse to complain if I had my own bow. So, with this gift I picked up the sport of archery. 

Last year I had some nice sweaters picked out, and probably another pair of earrings... I got a rifle. This year, I gave up on the request, and got a scope. If it is earrings I want, or any other thing, it is what I buy myself. 

By the time we turn 30 I will have a full fledged armory.