The summer has arrived, you’ve been shooting great and feel confident in your setup. Back in January, you registered for a Total Archery Challenge event and the time has come to go shoot it! This article will cover what to expect, what to bring, and how to leave the event with confidence and (hopefully) the same amount of arrows you showed up with!
These ski resort style events, such as Total Archery Challenge and Mountain Archery Fest, are a great opportunity to test your abilities and equipment in real-world conditions. The terrain is similar to that in which you will likely be hunting on, and the shots are typically very difficult. Most events have several different courses to shoot, ranging from short shots and flat terrain, up to extremely long shots and incredibly rugged terrain. Last year at a TAC event in South Dakota (the official launch of Cutter), we shot for one day, and hiked 11 miles. The miles add up quickly and if you aren’t prepared, your feet will be very upset.
Bringing the correct gear and clothing can make all the difference. Sturdy hiking boots or mountain shoes are great, especially if they’re broken in. This is a good time to test new boots, but bring your old faithfuls as well. A small day pack or hydration pack is nice to have for water and snacks, along with a light rain jacket. There are typically water stations throughout the mountain, but having your own is better. The added weight in your pack will help with training also, and believe it or not, shooting your bow with a full pack can feel remarkably different than shooting without one. Capitalize on the practice and shoot with your bino harness and hunting pack. Shorts are totally fine, but lightweight, breathable pants are better as there are areas where the lack of trail paired with thick brush can be a pain on your shins.
Along with a good clothing setup, there are certain gear items that will make your shooting experience a lot more enjoyable. A range finder that has angle compensation is imperative to hitting the target. Last year at the Terry Peak TAC event, there was a 31 yard mule deer target, at a 48 degree angle! Line of sight distance was 61 yards, so without angle compensation, your shot would fly way over the target. Arrow lube and an arrow puller also make for nice additions to your kit as some arrows are very difficult to remove from foam targets. A pair of 8-10x binoculars are nice to have as well, giving you the ability to look at the target and visualize where you’d like your arrow to impact.
Your bow setup is the most obvious consideration at a specialized event like this. The number one, most important thing to check before hitting the course is the 2nd and 3rd axis of your sight! If they are not set correctly, you will run out of arrows in a hurry. A few years ago there was an 82 yard side hill shot on a javelina target, I got to full draw, looked at my bubble, and was shocked to see it jammed all the way to one side. The terrain and your equilibrium make it terribly hard to judge what is level and what is not. Trusting your bubble is imperative. I like to shoot my exact hunting setup to really test it in adverse conditions and terrain. Typically I will build a set of lower grade arrows of the same type as my hunting arrows. For example, I hunt with a 455g gold tip pierce platinum. My target arrows are the regular grade pierce shafts, at roughly $60 cheaper per dozen, it isn’t as sad watching one explode against a rock down range. Bring at least a dozen arrows with you.
There are a few mental challenges that you will face while shooting these challenging courses, and if you let them get into your head, you’ll have a bad day and likely lose more arrows than you should. Be honest with yourself as far as your ability level goes, if a shot seems too far, there is no harm in walking up a few yards and shooting it from there. These events are for fun, and losing or breaking multiple $15 arrows is not fun. After a bad shot or miss, regroup, stick to your shot process, ensure your anchor position is correct, and be aware of all of the fundamentals. If you are thinking about proper execution, you’ll be less likely to think about that last arrow you stuck in a tree. Shooting well on a challenging course will have you headed into hunting season with confidence to spare, so practice perfect execution, shoot smart and HAVE FUN! Don’t forget, we will be at Mountain Archery Fest in Beaver, UT 6/26-6/28. We hope to see you there!