PERFECT SCORES ARE NOT AUTOMATIC ON A “MARKED” DISTANCE COURSE. WHAT BETTER PLACE IS THERE TO LEARN HOW TO BE READY FOR ANYTHING. Somewhere over the last several years a misconception was born inferring that “shooting at targets with the distance posted is easy.” I wonder who dreamed that one up? They might at least have said “EASIER” than if the faces were used at unmarked distances but saying only “easy” implies that everyone can just cruise around and end with a near perfect score with little effort. HA! Don’t forget that whatever advance information you might get, such as the distance to the target, understand that YOUR COMPETITION ALSO HAS THE SAME ADVANTAGE INFORMATION so everyone is still starting out equal. Take note that I did not say “EXACT DISTANCE INFORMATION” because, as you will find out in a few moments, sometimes the advance information you are given will cause you to fall further behind the leaders rather than to be able to stay with them. If, for example, marked courses are so much easier then why did it take so long for anyone to post the first ever perfect 560 score? There have been only two Official 560 perfect Field or Hunter scores ever posted at the NFAA Field Nationals and maybe anywhere else, since the more difficult 5-4-3 scoring face came into use in 1978. Plenty of 558’s and 559’s that were only a few thousandths of an inch from a 560, and plenty of 280 perfect half scores but those 560’s are REALLY hard to come by. Maybe the thoughts that follow will enlighten you as to the many factors involved, and why. MORE DIFFICULT TARGET FACES IN 1978. The NFAA Field faces before 1978 had a big white 5 point scoring center that contained a small black aiming reference spot. An outer black ring completed the entire target face and it scored a 3. By 1977 it had become so disproportionate and generous that even I had progressed enough to turn in scores in the 550’s out of a possible 560. But then in 1978 when the small black aiming spot was slightly enlarged to become the entire 5 ring and then basically the white area was scored as a 4 and the outer black ring area still a 3, my scores took a nosedive. Which is exactly the idea. Digging out my old 1978 handicap card I found my first score dropped me to a 494 and later on April 2, 1978 I was
32 Archery Magazine August/September ‘05
down to a 489. On April 15th I recorded a 514 which was about my average for the rest of that year, including the Nationals. With the DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY NOW RAISED on the 5-4-3 Field and Hunter faces, like everyone else I had to work much harder if I wanted to earn a more respectable score. It was well into 1979 before I achieved some 530’s and occasional 540’s which of course was the whole idea of making the round harder. With the 5-4 scoring faces it had gotten to the point that so many perfects and near perfects were being posted it was becoming impossible to indisputably recognize and then acknowledge those who truly were excelling and more deserving of being called a champion. PROVING MY POINT. It was while shooting Pro at the 1977 Field Nationals using the old 5-3 face when I was struck with the fact that the scoring truly needed to be made more difficult. Jim Quarles was in my group and I still remember a 30 yard target with his 4 arrows packed tightly in the little black aiming spot in the middle of the large white 5 area. After we recorded everyone’s score, I commented on how ridiculous it was for me to have the same score as he did when my 4 shots WERE SCATTERED ALL OVER THE WHITE in about a 6 inch group. COMPROMISING CONDITIONS. To me, Field rounds have always been SO challenging and SO much fun. The way most courses are laid out they may not be as SPECTATOR ORIENTED and the SOCIAL EVENT they could be when everyone is standing on one long shooting-line but they are much more difficult, more challenging and a heck of a lot more beneficial for those preparing for hunting. As I’ve stated so many times before, I judge all my unknown distances by comparing them to one of the zillions of 10 through 80 yard targets I’ve shot over the years and I can’t imagine what could possibly make it easier than that. As I see it, a roving course Field Round is considerably more difficult that the single shooting line target games, because the LITTLE THINGS injected by the use of so many more different distances and the rough terrain. If we all stood on a level surface when shooting each Field target we’d only need to be alert to WIND conditions since all the rest is a constant. It’s not just the up-slope and down-slope angles to the target, a roving Field course is subject to all sorts of variations most people have never realized or even dreamed of. If all Field courses were shot under such conditions I’d venture to say that it would not have taken 18 years for the first ever 560 perfect to reappear on the more difficult 5-4-3 faces (Terry Ragsdale-1995) and then 9 more years before only one more by another pro (Dave Cousins-2004). My favorite example of encountering some of the things most people probably never expect during a Field or Hunter round was just after making my decision on how much to “tweak” my