Well I woke up early and after a short 1.5 hour unplanned navigational detour ([8D]), Dan and I finally arrived at Turnpike Rod and Gun today justabit south of Albany. When we got there, it was so sunny you could barely see without sunglasses, 7"+ of snow on the ground, and a balmy 25 degrees. As we registered we were told they only put out 14 targetsinstead of the normal 28 because they only had one snowmobile to use for setting up the entire course. That probably gives you an idea of how cold it still is up here right now and the terrain we shot in today...lol.

It was a fairly average course for us, and considering this was my first time outdoors this season, and I've done nothing for yardage guessing since Harrisburg (and August before that), I feel I did pretty good. I ended up shooting (2) eights on that course, but only 2 X's leaving me at 2 points down (IBO center 11 scoring) from the open stakes. I was pretty happy with the lack of 8's but for some reason my yardage guessing was just not on well enough to pound the X's. After Dan and I finished up, weheard from some others thatthere was another 3D shoot about an hour away.We packed up immediately andwe started the commute to Tri Village Bowhunters in Nassau, NY for shoot #2.

On the way to Tri Village between courses we happened to pass this awesome piece of redneck sculpture. No, those aren't tires.......they are round bales. I thought I'd take a pic to share w/ HNI. We have some creativehill billys around here.





Today Tri Village Bowhunters had their30 target course, and wild game dinner as well. They have always been a great course here locally, probably one ofthe most challenging 3D courses I've been to. They don't have the nicest targets, but always use the land features to create really great and challenging shots. This course is alsoknownfor stretching the target distances out, I bet we only had maybe 4-5 targets today at less than 32ish yards, most everything was 35-45 yards.Today was no different than normal, maybe even a bit tougher than usual because of the5 rock critter targets (all at 27-38ish yards), and 4 turkeys as well (3 of them between 33-41ish yards including a 41 yard standing jake). They also have a lot of pretty extreme up/down and side hill shots, and quite a fewareas they create tunnel vision shots that don't allow you to see the ground for a good distance between you and the target. When you can't see all the ground between you and the target, it really messes with your yardage guessing and depth perception forcing you to look at detail on the target, overall size, and surrounding objects to come up with a number. Overall it was a good day and despite the tough course I shot well considering it was thefirst time this year. I ended up with an IBO scored (center 11) 284 on this course, and I'm pretty happy with that considering I only picked up 4 x-rings (no 5's). I know this score doesn't sound impressive, but trust me when I say it's a reflection of the course. 2 of our local Mathews pro's thatboth havetop5Open Pro finishes in the ASA/IBOand shoot thiscourse quite a bitare averaging 300-305ish from the same stakes.

I shot a lot of great shots today (only 2 bad shots out of 44 targets) but my yardage really needs some polishing.....I'm picking numbers good enough for tens but just not hitting enough X's at this point to balance things out. Dan and I actually tied overall for the day when combining the two courses. He got me by 2 points on the first course, and I got him by 2 points on the second course. [8D]

Next time I'll bring the stool and camera so that I can share some pictures of our local courses. We tried to take a few today with Dan's camera but with the glare off the snow they were all way too washed out. I hope to shoot another 3D next weekend, and will share more then.

Whoa looks chilly up there still! We had a nice sunny 50 degrees today when I was in Wilkes-Barre. Sounds like a great time nonetheless. Shooting in the cold like that can be brutal. There were a few times this winter when I was shooting outside where I could barely get 10 shots off before I became noticably stiff.

LOL at the picture Matt.

Good shooting too bud. We've been wimps down here in PA. We still hit the indoor today even though the outdoor shoots have started. Yeah, we're puss's. Next weekend is a great outdoor range opening up. We're headed there and looking forward to it.

I really enjoyed Catawissa again today though because yesterday they had their final shoot offs and the course was very challenging with many fun shots. We had a great time but looking forward to getting outside as well.

You may have responded to my other question, when you getting down to camp? Can you shoot?

Again, Matt, great shooting and good post buddy.

I remember the days.I have shot in this kind of weather in January when I was younger but now I am older and wiser.[8D]

I haven't even picked up my bow in atleast 2 weeks,heck,it has been raining forever it seems like here.

Good shooting!!

Thanks guys, it was a fun day. I can't wait for it to warm up though...........

Rob: I'm not sure when I can get down. I've got to head to Dan's camp next weekend to help him and his Dad drop some hemlocks for new porch lumber, and we also have some firewood to cut there. I'm thinking maybe the weekend of the 12th? I'll let you know when I come down next for sure and we can plan to get together. Any 3D shoots on Sunday the weekend of opening day?

Sure Matt, if not outside we'll introduce you to the Catawissa indoor one. It's limited yardage but tough as hell and loads of fun.