Okay, folks, this is the final round of this shoot. I must say, this will be a doozy.
Let me paint a picture for you.
You're in Alaska, on Admiralty Island, to be exact. You're after Sitka Blacktails, but, as you well know, Admiralty Island has the highest density of brown bear in the world. You hope you don't get to meet one face to face, but the odds are that you will.
Your hunt begins early on a September morning. The sound of a loon crying in the dark wakes you from a deep sleep. You rise, wash your face, and begin to dress. Your guide is already up and moving in the galley. You eat your breakfast of scrambled eggs, fresh king crab, and a few cups of coffee out on the deck of the boat. The sky is beginning to lighten, and there is a dense fog blanketing the small bay you've anchored in. The water is as smooth as glass, and the silence is deafening. The slightest noise echoes off the nearby spruce and fir trees. You know that the island is a scant 100 yards from you, but you can't see it yet.
You finish your last cup and gather your gear. You double check your brace height and run your fingers over the limbs of your trusted longbow. You check each arrow as you snug it tight into your quiver. You grab your pack, heavy-laden with the items you've painstakingly stowed. You won't be unprepared.
Without a word, your guide steps into the inflatable skiff. He's got his well-worn Winchester slung over his shoulder. "Mrs. Fury", he calls her. A .458 Winchester. Admiralty is no place to fool around, and certainly no place to go unarmed. You feel a little naked, with only your bow, but you trust your guide. He's no greenhorn. You hand him your pack, as you step gingerly into the skiff. You untie the bow line, and the guide starts the quiet little four-stroke.
Within a few minutes, you've reached the landing area. After all is unloaded, the guide ties off the 100' anchor line and pushes the skiff back out in the bay. "Don't want to give ol' brownie a chew toy," he says.
You tighten your boots and put your pack. You pull a blunt-tipped arrow out of your quiver and make a few shots, just to get loosened up. It'll be a few hours before you're even close to a blacktail, but you're anxious to loose an arrow. You see a likely stump in a bank 15 yards in front of you.
PRACTICE SHOTS: 15yds, standing, shoot 4 arrows.
Satisfied with your accuracy, you give your guide the nod, and he leads you off into the thickest forest you've ever been in. As you walk, your guide talks, both to educate you and to let anything around know of your presence. Now is not the time to be sneaking along, that will come later. You notice that the path is well-defined, and about every 3 feet is a big round spot, a spot as big as a dinner plate. The guide notices your puzzled look. "We're on a well-used bear trail. They'll step in the same spot each time they use it." Gulp. You're in the thick of it now.
After an hour, with the trail steadily rising, you're legs are on fire. Your young guide must be half mountain goat. You sheepishly ask for a little break. Your guide, himself a little embarrassed for not paying closer attention to you, agrees. "We're almost to a little clearing. It'll be a good spot to stop." You trudge on.
It's getting lighter, but the cloud cover is hiding the sun. It's still foggy and the giant fir and spruce create any eerie mood. Soon you reach the clearing. You both pause and take an assessment. It's not big, maybe a 50 yards across. The devil's club covers the ground, but you can see two huge logs laying across the opening. Your guide slowly and quietly touches your elbow. "There, on that far log. Do you see it?" You stare and suddenly, you see some movement. What is it? After a second, you finally see. It's a huge male spruce grouse. "Can you shoot it from here?" asks your guide. "It'd make a fine lunch once we get to the top." It's a little too far out of your range, maybe 40 yards. You decide to creep a little closer. The root ball will hide you, but you'll have to stay low. If you can get to the other side of the roots, you'll be around 15 yards. "Wait here." you tell the guide.
SHOT #1: The grouse, 15yds, bending at the waist
"Nice shot! Let me go ahead and clean it while you rest." Soon, you're up and ready to go. After another hour or so, you're getting close to the tree line. You leave the huge firs and spruce behind, and soon your making your way through a dense alder thicket. The terrain is steep, rocky, and perpetually wet. This is no place to rush, so you take your time and make sure footing is secure. Another hour, and your guide motions for you to come to his side.
"Here we are." He lays out a plan. You'll set up down down the ridge from him among some large rocks. He'll stay above you and blow the call. "They'll be coming up out of the alder. With any luck, you should have a shot within 20 yards. Good luck."
You waste no time getting to your spot. The ground is covered in a deep, luscious grass, and huge granite outcropping and boulders are every where. You can see clearly the paths where deer are coming into the alpine. You find yourself a good spot to sit. Some small rocks in front of you and a large boulder behind. Your camo matches up well with the granite, so you'll be well hidden. You take your pack off and set it within reach. You sit cross-legged, with you back to the boulder, your bow on your lap, an arrow knocked.
After a few minutes, behind and to the left of you, you hear your guide blow his call. It's an unusual call, more like a loud whistle. He blows a couple of more times, then falls silent. You wait. All of your senses are on high alert. Without moving your head, you scan the terrain before you. You think you see something to your left. You slowly move your head in that direction. You see an alder branch move. Your pulse quickens, and you catch your breath. You see a white spot that wasn't there before. You stare intently. You blink a few times to moisten your eyes, and refocus on the spot. Suddenly, you see it. A buck! The white spot was his throat patch. He's staring up in the direction of your guide. He slowly makes his way out of the alder, bobbing his head, trying to find the source of that call. Two more steps and you'll have a clear view of his chest. You need to get your bow up. Slowly now. He's moving...
SHOT #2: Sitka Blacktail buck, 20yds, sitting cross-legged
"WHOO-HOOO! He's down!" your guide yells as he leaps down the hill toward you. You got him right through the lungs and he went less than 30 yards! Good shooting!" You still haven't caught your breath. A lifelong dream has just been realized.
As you rub your hands over the chocolate rack, your guide pipes up, "You know, you've got another tag. A big front is moving in, so we might need to hunt while we can. Let's go see if we can get another one. I saw a couple of bucks on the next ridge over, and I'm sure they'll still be there." He quickly field dresses the buck and drags him up the hill away from the gut pile. Soon, you're back hunting.
Sure enough, through your binos, you spot a couple of bucks feeding less than two hundred yards away. They are feeding towards a little saddle in the top of a ridge. If you stay low, you should be able to crawl within shooting distance. Your guide opts to stay back and give you hand signals to guide you. You start off. You quickly cover the first 100 yards. You look back to your guide. Through your binos you see he has raised 10 fingers. One hundred yards to go. You also see him move his palm downward. You'll need to stay low. It's slow going now. You can move crouched over for about 50 yards, but soon you're on your hands and knees. A glance back at your guide reveals you're close.
You're on your belly now, inching your way up behind some large clumps of grass. You slowly raise your head and see two bucks feeding directly in front of you less than 20 yards away. If they move forward, you'll be in plain view. You need to get ready for a shot.
SHOT#3: Sitka Blacktail buck, 17yds, on your stomach.
Again, with a whoop and a holler, your guide comes bounding down the hill. "You're a hunting machine!" Within a couple of hours, you have both deer boned and loaded in your packs. You're glad you brought a good pack, as it now weighs 80 lbs. You just hope your knees hold up on the way to the beach.
Two hours later and you've reached the spot you've been looking for. Your legs are shaking, and even though dark is fast approaching, you've got to rest. You take off your pack and lie on your back on the sand, your bow at your side. She's been good to you, so you don't let her get too far away. Your guide begins to pull the boat in. You doze off.
You suddenly get a sense that something isn't right. You catch a whiff of an awful stench. Something akin to a wet dog that has rolled in a dead fish carcass. You open your eyes and there before you is the one thing you hoped you wouldn't see today. A huge brown bear is stalking toward your guide, like a cat about to pounce on it's prey. Your guide is oblivious, hauling the anchor line hand over hand. His rifle is far out of reach. The only thing close is your bow. "This is a bad idea..." you think as you knock an arrow.
SHOT #4: Save your guide, 15 yards, on your back
Good luck.
Short version:
Practice shots: 4 standing from 15 yds
Shot #1: 15yds, bending at waist
Shot #2: 20yds, sitting cross-legged
Shot #3: 17yds, on your stomach
Shot #4: 15yds, on your back
In Master's of the Bare Bow, Fred Eichler shoots lying on his back. You don't see the shot be he evidently made a good hit.
You're right, this is a doozy! I can't shoot lying on my stomache but I'll give it a try when I can.
I got a 10, 6, 4, 8, for a 28.
this week was a good one, the stomach shot was hard, I just barely got it. I haven't practiced that one in a long time.
Wow, AMAZING scenario looper! Yikes, HARD!
I just posted updated scoresheet to Week 11 thread! Aw heck, I should post it here too--
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6196/6051654102_0e6e966671_b.jpg)
Well, there's some good news and some bad news.
Good news: I killed the grouse and the two blacktails.
Bad news: My guide is now bear poop.
Shot 1: a little right, but a 6
Shot 2: a little low, only a 4. I can't reach full draw in that position with a 69" bow.
Shot 3: a little high, a 6. My wife said I looked like a Harbor Seal.
Shot 4: on my back, a big fat 0. You can see the arrow in the pic below the target. I do have a nice string burn on my elbow, though.
Total: 16
(http://i934.photobucket.com/albums/ad183/wclooper/DSC_0205.jpg)
Just so everyone's rage is not totally directed at me for these shot choices, XBMedic picked the sitting cross-legged shot. Giff picked the on your back shot. I chose the belly shot.
I've never shot laying on my stomach.
Any pointers or "how to's"???
Can't wait to get to this tomorrow!!!
Great finish guys!!!
Brian
It's much easier than shooting on your back. The key is to still maintain your anchor points. I raise my head and chest up a little. It's really not too difficult. You might need to adjust where you aim, though.
looper, you must be a young, thin, athletic type of guy. Old, fat people can't do that. :)
Looper your post count seems to have stuck on 666...lol
You have posted at least twice in this thread and it shows up with the same number for your postings count.
I hope it gets you caught upon your post count soon...lol
I am going to try this later today.
It's almost as big of a challenge for me to remember what shots and distances I'm to shoot as it is to shoot them...lol
God bless,Mudd
PS: I'm kind of glad this is the last round as my shooting seems to have dropped down the last two rounds.
Bona, I'm not exactly young (41), definitely not thin, and not near as athletic as I used to be. I did base this scenario on a hunt I did back in 1995. It happened pretty close to the way I described it, minus the last shot, of course. I was young, really thin, and very athletic back then.
Mudd, that is kinda weird about my post count. I'm ready for deer season to start. I think most of my shooting from here on is going to be in the woods, shooting at stumps and such.
Talk about ending a series with a trick.
It will be a trick for this fat boy to get up off the ground.
The pictures of me rolling in the grass will be better than the pictures of the target,
Larry
I don't need a camera for this round..lol
No paper was harmed in the shooting of this last round and I wasn't about to take embarrassing pictures of my shots.
Lopper I'm glad to see your post count did finally change with your last post.
It's been fun.
God bless,Mudd
PS:I can only hope that I don't drop out of the top 10....lol
Ok I wanted to get caught up before I went out of town tonight.So here goes.Round 10 for a 28
(http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s241/john7821/165577116_photobucket_43554_.jpg)
Round 11 another 28
(http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s241/john7821/165577116_photobucket_43553_.jpg)
and finally round 12 for another 28 3 in a row.I`ve never shot cross legged or from my stomach before but it wasn`t as hard as I thought.For on my stomach I came to anchor and rested my elbow on the ground then released my fingers and hit a 8
(http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s241/john7821/165577116_photobucket_43552_.jpg)
This had been a blast guys.I hope we do another.
I've been waiting to shoot this ultra challenge for 2 days while we have had nonstop rain. The rain let up this morning and I went out and took my 4 practice shots, then put up the plate. First shot was an 8. Second shot was low for a line cutting 6. Third shot was another 6. Fourth shot was a line cutting 8. Giving me a 28 for the final round. T shirt and shorts are soaked from the wet grass, so I took a picture and came inside to upload and change into dry clothes.
(http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc494/xbmedic/photobucket-4512-1313617217036.jpg)
This has been really fun, and I have started to incorporate many of the more unusual shots into my practice. Thanks to all of you!
Adam and I are hunting so we'll be taking a break from the shoot-this has been really great thanks!
My final round
8+0+0+0=8
thanks
ttt
For ROUND 10 .... a 6!
For ROUND 11 .... a 12!
And for ROUND 12 .... an 8!
If they were combined that wouldn't be a bad score! :help:
I'm having trouble with photobucket. I don't know if I'll get pics up or not. The eight in round 12 was the grouse. At least I had a little something to eat!
This has really been fun and an eye opener. I knew I had trouble with shots past 18 yds but this was rediculous. And that face down shot wasn't so bad. I tried it a couple more times and hit the plate.
Thank you organizers, let's do it again next summer!
Bona
Well I changed that guide's mind real fast...I didn't hit a dang thing all day until I saved his arse from the bear...didn't have the heart to photograph, but I finished with a six. On the bright side, I did complete my heavier cedar arrows for hunting and am having an interesting time getting to know them (they average 515 grains which is about 120 grains more than my carbon 3D/field set).
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6199/6066292517_855b0e30cd_z.jpg)
And here we are at 04:30 pm, Sunday Aug 21, 2011. gto_guy has overtaken looper by an outer-ring, and I don't think anyone is going to catch him! Proclaiming gto_guy overall winner unless anyone proves otherwise (I guess canshooter could give him a run after his daughter's wedding, or Imabowman could start shooting again and crush everyone, but I don't know if anyone will still be paying attention). I'll update and replace as new scores come in--feel free to keep shooting and posting! Great shooting everyone!
Cheers, Brett (spread-sheeter AND spread-shooter!)
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6205/6066374173_6e3678c06d_b.jpg)
Congratulations gto_guy!!
Thank you to all who participated and for all the spread sheet work too.
God bless,Mudd
Looper, are you a professional writer? If not you could be. I didn't read the scenarios before but wanted to make sure I did before the thread got lost.
Very entertaining! Thanks!
Bona
Well I hate to see this end. Its been fun
Week 12 I scored......10,8,4,4,for a total of 26
Guys I had a ball hope to do it again.
Larry
QuoteOriginally posted by b.glass:
Looper, are you a professional writer? If not you could be. I didn't read the scenarios before but wanted to make sure I did before the thread got lost.
Very entertaining! Thanks!
Bona
No, not a professional writer. I do enjoy it, though.
Congrats, gto-guy! I knew I should have tried a little harder on that last round. Not to make excuses, but I did have a peanut gallery (my wife) making fun of me. Shooting from the ground is hard enough without someone calling you a "floundering seal" and asking me "Do I need to call the neighbor to help get you up?" and "You look like a Buddha." Not helpful at all.
Could have been a beached white whale, like me......
Ya gotta love that girl she's got a sense of humor....
Just got back from vac.Looper I know what u mean.It`s a lot easier when you don`t have anyone around laughing at you.I can`t believe I won this thing.I know I`m not that great of a shot and canshooter would definitely be the winner if he started with us at the beginning.Whats everyone think about doing another?
I don't think I'm going to get a chance to catch up but here's my weeks 11 and 12 offerings.
Week 11, 30 points
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/Dryfly1958/Bow%20stuff/IMG_0272.jpg?t=1314060208)
Week 12, didnt have any plates, but Id call this 18,
I missed badly off my back and belly!
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/Dryfly1958/Bow%20stuff/IMG_0275.jpg?t=1314060208)
Yeah, a 3 under grip makes those shots a little tougher, doesn't it?
Gto-guy, I guess you can start one anytime you're ready to. Do you plan on keeping the same format, or doing something different?
You guys can count me in on another shoot. I'll post the scoring updates in a bit--
Alright dive me a few days and I`ll come up with something.Brett does that mean that you would be kind enough to do the scoring for the next shoot too?
This is posted as an after thought, knowing how some struggled from shooting on their backs, having to get a deep hook on the string to hold the arrow to the bow prior to release.
Fast forward to the Trad Bowhunter Mag, picture of Ishi on the front cover (Nov 2011 issue) check out his bow hand and which side of the bow his arrow is on. Looks like he wouldn't have an issue from his back shooting said deer..... :archer2:
Regards
I tried shooting off the other side of the bow and promptly launched an arrow over my target, through the woods, without touching a thing, I might add, and very nearly hit my neighbor's truck. A deep hook works for me, but I'm not near accurate enough to try a shot at anything. On, my belly, yes. Last year, I shot a big ground hog after stalking up to him on my hands and knees. I nailed him while laying on my stomach.
I honestly don't recall ever, in 30 years of hunting, having to shoot something from my back. Not that it's not fun to shoot that way, but I just don't see the point in it, other than for novelty.
Years ago I read an article on a sheep hunt and if I recall it was Jim Brackenbury that had to lay on his back in a small crevice waiting for the ram to pass him then he slightly elevated himself and made the shot.
God bless, Mudd