36 youth archers and 6 adults came to Victoria for a break in the monsoon weather and a very rare May north wind for a fabulous weekend of archery. It was an international event again with an encore appearance by our Villareal friends from Monterey, Mexico. The lunch break on Saturday was highlighted by Mr. Rick being the house dealer for several rounds of Archery Blackjack. Rick's three consecutive rounds of 20 meant only the very best archers, which there were quit a few, were able to wrestle any winning tickets from the house.

"It doesn’t take long to master the basics and an accelerated learning period that is quite exciting follows this first plateau. It’s during this phase of rapid improvement that we become hooked on archery. We discover that shooting a bow is fun and fairly easy to do. Then, one day, we find that we aren’t progressing as rapidly as we had been or we are experiencing a problem of some sort. It seems to take a lot of practice sessions to make the same advances we had earlier realized in a single shooting session. Even worse, some of us discover that with each practice session we seem to shoot more poorly than before.

While this book does initially address the fundamentals, the primary focus is to provide you with new and unique information designed to get you beyond the second plateau and back into an accelerated learning mode." (Instinctive Archery Insights, 2004)

Second, the book contains information that is not available anywhere else and finally, the insights and techniques are based on solid psychological principles and interventions that really work.

A new chapter (Revised Edition) is dedicated to the development and treatment of target panic:
"There are two primary symptoms of target panic. Both of these symptoms have one thing in common: There is a premature "something" going on. Some archers experience a premature release of the arrow while others experience a premature hold that prevents them from bringing the arrow fully onto the bullseye. The specific symptom an archer experiences is dictated by his or her shooting style." (Instinctive Archery Insights, 2004)

Many times the tournament will have four archers shooting at a single target (two archers at a time), so the target can get pretty cluttered, making the identifying of arrows even more difficult.

Most of the time the arrows' vanes or fletchings are lined up so that the archer can't see their colors nor distinguish them easily. That leaves the nock of the arrow as the most common way to pick out your arrows. Fortunately nocks come in a variety of colors, and most experienced archers will carry several differently colored sets of nocks so that they can change to a unique color on their target.

There is probably not a single archer that truthfully say that she or he has never mistaken an opponent's arrow for theirs, and as a result made a wrong sight adjustment (or failed to make an adjustment at all).

So the choice of a spotting scope is a very important one, especially as the archer gets better and better. A quick side note is in order, though - a scope should not be used after each shot during a tournament - the archer is focusing on the wrong thing if he has to peek each time. Some feedback, especially at the beginning of an event and during adverse conditions, is certainly a good thing but if you watch the world class archers, they only rarely check their work, because they have learned to rely on their form, technique, and mental confidence to achieve results. And they also take care with their equipment to insure it is the same every time they use it, and is properly maintained and tuned.

If you have poor eyesight, you might want to pay more attention to the light gathering ability of the scope, which is the diameter of the lens closest to the target (aka aperture) and is usually expressed in mm (millimeters). The bigger the number the brighter the picture through the scope will be. Generally the higher the aperture number the more expensive it will be. Lens quality also is a big, big determinant of how bright and clear the picture will be and the price as well. Also, dimmer pictures make it much more difficult to see nock colors. A scope with a great zoom but a low aperture number is unlikely to help you much at the long distances.

If you do decide to get a scope, you should budget properly for the tripod. Tripods are just as important as the scope in the "big picture" of scoping your arrows. A flimsy tripod will fail at just the wrong point when you need it. The leg might come off, for example, and bipods don't work well. Flimsy also will make it harder to aim the scope and "set" it on the target. Juggling your bow during an end while you try to adjust the scope and still get good shots off will be very frustrating and likely costly in terms of points. If your budget is limited, it is wiser to invest in the tripod first, and get a less expensive scope instead of the other way around. An expensive scope on an cheapo tripod is kinda like shooting boy scout camp fiberglass arrows during the gold medal match of the US Open.

In order to be properly prepared for a tournament you should expect winds that can blow your tripod and scope over. It happens at every event I've been to, it seems. Scrounging duct tape to put the scope back on the tripod, or looking through a cracked lens, when you should be focusing on your executions, is not fun. So plan to either have a string and a stake or water jug deadweight so that you can anchor your scope. This helps prevent disasters like someone tripping over the tripod as well.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Inspired by the workings of a tape measure, an engineer says he has found a way to improve the bow used by hunters and warriors since antiquity without radically changing its form.

Dave Jenkins, a mechanical and aerospace engineer at the University of Florida with a longtime interest in archery, has redesigned the classic bow so it is easier to pull and shoots farther. Unlike the compound bow, a popular 30-year-old design that relies on a complicated system of pulleys and cables for its enhancements, Jenkins’ adaptation is not easy to distinguish from the familiar model still used by traditionalist hunters and indigenous people worldwide.

“My bow has many of the performance characteristics of the compound bow but without all the cables and gizmos,” said Jenkins. “It doesn’t weigh much, and it’s simple and easy to carry. With these compound bows, you feel like ‘Rambo the Commando’ or something.”

The bow, patented by UF last year, may be of interest to bow hunters and target archers. Nationwide, there are roughly 3.5 million licensed bow hunters, said Mary Beth Voerwerk, spokesman for USA Archery. The total number of target and hunter archers nationwide is unknown, but the National Sporting Goods Association estimates the figure at 6 million.

Invented in 1969, the compound bow uses pulleys known as eccentric cams to make the string easier to pull as an archer draws the bow. This draw gets harder with traditional bows, which is one of the reasons it was revised. Compound bows are also easier to hold cocked at full draw, which improves shooters’ accuracy because it makes aiming more comfortable.

With a traditional bow the string travels at maximum acceleration the moment it is released, tending to wobble the arrow as it clears the bow. This has the effect of slowing and shortening its travel distance, Jenkins said. With a compound bow, the string hits peak acceleration near the end of its movement, which sends arrows on a straighter and thus faster path.

Compound bows comprise the vast share of the archery market. They are so popular, Jenkins said, because they allow hunters and archers who might otherwise not have the necessary strength to shoot arrows forcefully and accurately.

But Jenkins, an experienced hunter, said the bows leave much to be desired aesthetically because they are so machine-like.

He was casting around for ways to improve traditional bows when he was inspired by a tape measure on his desk.

Tape measures have a slight curl in their horizontal surface, which gives them considerable strength when they are extended in a straight line. As soon as gravity or some other force straightens the curl, however, they bend easily, which is how these seemingly straight objects retract into a circular coil in the case.

Like a tape measure, Jenkins’ bow has a slight horizontal curl everywhere but the handle. As the archer pulls the string, the curl gradually straightens, making the bow progressively easier to pull. When the archer releases the arrow the bow’s curl returns, adding power to the arrow’s flight. As with the compound bow, the moment of maximum power occurs as the arrow clears the bow, when the bow reaches its full curl, which also improves accuracy.

Jenkins said his bow isn’t as effective as a compound bow, but it is superior to the traditional type. Although he said he hasn’t done enough testing to peg the amount of improvement with certainty, he estimates it makes arrows fly about 10 percent faster than traditional bows.

As an engineering student at UF in the early 1960s, Jenkins, then active in target archery, said he toyed with the idea of improving the classic bow using the concepts he was learning in his classes. But, he never followed through, leaving the compound bow to be invented by someone else, he said.

“I kept thinking, there has got to be a way making a better bow with pulleys and cables,” he said. “But I never did it; I dropped it. This time I’m going to finish it.”

If you patronize one of these stores, or eat at any of more than 10,000 restaurants throughout both A and the US, and use a credit or debit card to pay for it, the Archival Archery could receive up to 10% of the money the store charges as a tax-exempt donation to the AA. The price you pay is what you would have paid, anyway, it doesn't cost you anything more. Not * a * dime * more! You don't have to wave a coupon or harass someone to "remember".

You register your cards with eScrip on behalf of the AA, and they see to the rest.

A small group of JOAD archers and Boy Scouts in California at Saddleback Archery have been doing this for more than a year and they have had great success in getting funds for their operations. Escrip is strongest in California but growing fast in other states including A. My sincere thanks goes to Archery Coach Gary Holstein of Saddleback archery who first told me about this great fund-raising service.

And for all you other 501(c)3 Archery organizations throughout the US - this can help you as well, in your missions to promote archery, support archers, and bring more of the public to this great sport.

Wet, wild, and wonderful! Sounds like a day at Splashtown or some other water park. But it was just another exciting day on the field course. The weatherman predicted rain the weekend of May 1-2 and they were right on. The weekend before was actually worse as the field crew waited patiently all day long, looking for a break in the weather to set up the field course. It took a full two days to do what it normally takes in one day but fun was had by all. Preliminary work was done the previous weekends to help alleviate predicted weather.

On Friday, the field crew had a good day to set up the matts and do final preparation for the opening round on Saturday. The unmarked round on Saturday morning was cancelled due to the storm. Those who came for the unmarked and those who came early for the marked round, huddled together in the ranch house and watched the weather reports and satellite predictions. Others sat around playing cards and enjoying the camaraderie that only archers can do. A tornado touched down 20 miles north but you would have thought it set down closer as two of the tent canopies were destroyed.

The BBQ was moved from the ranch house to the new barn where there was plenty of room. The cooks did a great job with the elk roast this year. Those who mingled and ate in the barn had a great time just waiting out the weather. Starting time of 1:30 was delayed until 2:30 and the rain stopped. Only a few sprinkles for awhile but the weather held for the first day while everyone braved the winds and the pools of water at the lower level targets. TD Stonebraker sent multiple warnings during the week to bring rubber boots so those who heeded, bravely sloshed through the water to score and remove arrows. Those in shoes and sneakers waited for others to score or waded through the water but no one complained. The amazing part was the resiliency of archers who brave the elements and still have a good time shooting field. Several groups did not finish until 8 pm Saturday evening.

Sunday was met with a beautiful blue sky and mild temperatures but the winds never subsided. Stonebraker exclaimed in all the years he has shot archery (there have been a few), this was the windiest field shoot he could recall. This is the third consecutive year that the event was held at the Blaschke Exotic Deer Ranch and it was also the most exciting. A record 73 registered this year and only 10 no-shows so the attendance of 63 was still a record, topping the 59 from the year before. Which means – next year should be even better!