I realize I have missed sending an account of what happened at our Flight Nationals, so here it is:
US Nationals, August 31, 2013
Two of us were equipped to shoot foot bows using Alavekiu's bow limbs at the Bonneville Salt flats 2013 Flight Nationals. James Sanchez had his beautifully made Drake-inspired foot-bow, and I had my contraption. For the first day's rounds, we disconnected the mechanical release and crossbow-like barrels to make the bows legal to shoot in the regular footbow division. Unfortunately, nerves, and technical issues kept our distances disappointingly short. It is not as easy as it may look.
The second
day of competition had a rough start with a mishap on the shooting line. The well-being of our friends are much more important than seeing how far we can shoot arrows. The nearest hospital is two hours away and James packed up to look after our friend.
The event continued. There was one last chance to shoot a single round of six arrows in the afternoon rounds. I decided I should at least give it a try. At the shooting line, I was extremely nervous and drew the first arrow a few inches short of full draw (about 13" draw on a 14" arrow) just to see if everything was working as expected. The string shattered the little Mylar arrow rest, but it fired nice and clean, better than my best expectations.
I started to feel a little more confident. With
five arrows left, I figured there was little to lose. it was time to push it to the limits to find
out what the bow could do. I replaced the broken arrow rest and took a
little more care to line up the arrow and bow string. For shot two, I
adjusted the trigger to release at a 16" draw, and pulled back hard. But the bow
unexpectedly released at about 12-13" draw again. The loop on the string that
the release trigger hooks into suddenly gave way, releasing before it
hit full draw.
I fixed the release loop issue, reset the trigger for about a 15-1/2" draw and pulled hard again. This time everything worked perfect and the bow shot felt absolutely clean. I felt a rush of adrenaline as I knew it was going to be a long time before that arrow would find the ground. I cranked back the trigger for a 16" draw with arrow #4 and pulled hard again. I am certain arrow #4 left the bow just as cleanly as arrow #3 but the bow let out a nasty sound and the string came to rest at an awkward angle on the limbs. The high string forces of slamming the arrow down range blew the nocks off the ends of the bow limb, tore right down the right limb, and split the limb into a three pronged fork.
There were two arrows remaining to shoot, but there was no time to re-limb and re-string the bow. The remainder of the day was dedicated to searching where those four arrows ended up.
My daughters and I hopped on the ATV and headed downrange perpendicular to the shooting line. Slow at first, then faster. Scanning at 400, 500, 600 yards. Sometimes, depending on light conditions, it is relatively easy to spot the little black arrows against the white salt from as far as 150 yards. Sometimes it is almost impossible to see it 2 yards away. We continued on: 7, 8, 900 yards and no sign. 1000 yards, 1100, then I felt a rush of excitement as I spotted my first arrow. I marked it in my GPS then continued past 1200 yards where I spotted a second arrow and marked it in my GPS. We slowly continued outward past 1800 yards with no sign of the other two arrows. For the next three hours, we searched the area, working our way back to the shooting line with no sign. The sun was setting and we were out of time. An official measurement was taken of the longest found arrow at 1217 yards. It was short of a mile and not a new record but I was ecstatic with the results!
Verification of the serial number on the longest arrow measured revealed it was from my first shot. The second, closer-in arrow, was my second shot. It was my last two shots taken at full draw that were not found. I am certain that the last two arrows must be either farther out or they buried themselves below ground. Regardless, these results were very encouraging that these 45 year old bow limbs are capable of mile+ shots after all. James, the ghost of George, and I will just need to return to prove it!
The next day, the broadhead events were held and we returned to the shooting area to continue the search but quickly conceded. At the conclusion of the broadhead event the awards handed out, the ATV was packed up and competitors began leaving for home. It was time we left too. Overall, it was a great success. Our girls broke three records in their classes and we had a fantastic time together as a family. Steve Gardner broke long held records in the 50# primitive flight and broadhead classes. Amy Haile smashed her prior 50# record. I came away with a personal best, GPS map of the search area, and motivation to come back in 2014 to do it again!
By the way, our injured friend set a new record of her own immediately before her incident. She is doing well and plans to shoot again this year.
US Nationals, August 31, 2013
Two of us were equipped to shoot foot bows using Alavekiu's bow limbs at the Bonneville Salt flats 2013 Flight Nationals. James Sanchez had his beautifully made Drake-inspired foot-bow, and I had my contraption. For the first day's rounds, we disconnected the mechanical release and crossbow-like barrels to make the bows legal to shoot in the regular footbow division. Unfortunately, nerves, and technical issues kept our distances disappointingly short. It is not as easy as it may look.
 |
| James Sanchez, Foot Bow 2013 |
The event continued. There was one last chance to shoot a single round of six arrows in the afternoon rounds. I decided I should at least give it a try. At the shooting line, I was extremely nervous and drew the first arrow a few inches short of full draw (about 13" draw on a 14" arrow) just to see if everything was working as expected. The string shattered the little Mylar arrow rest, but it fired nice and clean, better than my best expectations.
 |
| Last shot at 2013 Nationals |
I fixed the release loop issue, reset the trigger for about a 15-1/2" draw and pulled hard again. This time everything worked perfect and the bow shot felt absolutely clean. I felt a rush of adrenaline as I knew it was going to be a long time before that arrow would find the ground. I cranked back the trigger for a 16" draw with arrow #4 and pulled hard again. I am certain arrow #4 left the bow just as cleanly as arrow #3 but the bow let out a nasty sound and the string came to rest at an awkward angle on the limbs. The high string forces of slamming the arrow down range blew the nocks off the ends of the bow limb, tore right down the right limb, and split the limb into a three pronged fork.
There were two arrows remaining to shoot, but there was no time to re-limb and re-string the bow. The remainder of the day was dedicated to searching where those four arrows ended up.
| GPS Trail Showing Arrow Search Pattern |
My daughters and I hopped on the ATV and headed downrange perpendicular to the shooting line. Slow at first, then faster. Scanning at 400, 500, 600 yards. Sometimes, depending on light conditions, it is relatively easy to spot the little black arrows against the white salt from as far as 150 yards. Sometimes it is almost impossible to see it 2 yards away. We continued on: 7, 8, 900 yards and no sign. 1000 yards, 1100, then I felt a rush of excitement as I spotted my first arrow. I marked it in my GPS then continued past 1200 yards where I spotted a second arrow and marked it in my GPS. We slowly continued outward past 1800 yards with no sign of the other two arrows. For the next three hours, we searched the area, working our way back to the shooting line with no sign. The sun was setting and we were out of time. An official measurement was taken of the longest found arrow at 1217 yards. It was short of a mile and not a new record but I was ecstatic with the results!
Verification of the serial number on the longest arrow measured revealed it was from my first shot. The second, closer-in arrow, was my second shot. It was my last two shots taken at full draw that were not found. I am certain that the last two arrows must be either farther out or they buried themselves below ground. Regardless, these results were very encouraging that these 45 year old bow limbs are capable of mile+ shots after all. James, the ghost of George, and I will just need to return to prove it!
The next day, the broadhead events were held and we returned to the shooting area to continue the search but quickly conceded. At the conclusion of the broadhead event the awards handed out, the ATV was packed up and competitors began leaving for home. It was time we left too. Overall, it was a great success. Our girls broke three records in their classes and we had a fantastic time together as a family. Steve Gardner broke long held records in the 50# primitive flight and broadhead classes. Amy Haile smashed her prior 50# record. I came away with a personal best, GPS map of the search area, and motivation to come back in 2014 to do it again!
By the way, our injured friend set a new record of her own immediately before her incident. She is doing well and plans to shoot again this year.
