Target Practice

After a conversation with the in-laws the day before, I was left determined to prove that just because I come from the city, doesn’t mean I can’t do manly things. The consensus seemed to be that I wouldn’t be able to even pull back the string on a compound bow.

Little did they know that I have a very colorful history, in which I have gone through many different experiences, one of them being archery.

Granted, it was a very brief experience when I was 12-13 years old, with very cheap equipment, but nonetheless I knew I could handle it.

Pure Concentration

When I got my hands on the compound bow, a rush of memories flew through my head, while at the same time I was a little overwhelmed and nervous. I was nervous simply because my fiancé had been driving the point home for 24 hours to NOT let go of the string half-way through the pull back.

I was overwhelmed because I had never held such an advanced bow before, not to mention the trigger mechanism, which was very sensitive and awkward to hold on to.

It was now time to put up or shut up, I line up the arrow right side up, set the trigger, stand tall, and pull back. I was so focused on holding the trigger properly, that I hardly even noticed the resistance on the string, it was only on the let off that I realized I had already gotten through it.

I lined up my shot through the sight, took a deep breath… (click)… (thud).

I was so happy to see that I had hit the right bull’s-eye (I was aiming for the middle), but I hit the target. “Nice Shot” said my father-in-law “Wow, I’m impressed” he said.

I took a couple more shots with the same result, so the sight was obviously off. I was quickly reminded however, why I didn’t keep up with the sport. On the last shot, the string gave me a nice long kiss on the arm, and I now sport a nice long hickey as a reminder.

Overall, it was a great experience and I look forward to having some friendly competitions with the family in the future.

*No deer were harmed.