I posted this on Facebook and wanted to put it here as well.
Folks, I appreciate the heart felt congratulatory remarks. Thank you very much! The record was previously 340 yards and my shot took it to 350 yards. I cant claim it as a singular accomplishment however and owe many people thanks as I progressed through my bow making experience.
Ironically, I hadn't been specifically eyeing this record to compete against, but rather the broad head shoot and have been designing, building, and progressively modifying this design towards that endeavor. I asked Steve Gardner what speeds he thought I needed to achieve to be competitive and aimed for the 180s fps he mentioned. When I hit 180 fps with my 54 inch long bow at 26 inch draw at the required 50 pounds I knew I had done it. All that was left was a good heat treat and I would be in business. With having worked day and night for 2 weeks on end, building prototype after prototype, to ensure i didnt mess up my best piece of wood to build the real bow, i had a week left and none too soon. I was exhausted. So much so in fact, that during my final heat treat I fell asleep with the heat gun in my hand and destroyed my perfect bow.
I was quite cross at the limitations my own body imposed upon my ability to function. Id like to stand here and tell you I took it like a man, grabbed another piece of wood and got to work. But hey, I'm not that tough. I stomped my feet on the floor and contemplated quiting. I looked out at the pre dawn grey skies from the loft in my barn and thought I want to go to sleep. Then I considered the weeks of prep I have put into this. How awesome it would be to be able to say, "I went and was competitive" plus, the airline tickets were non refundable. So, only one thing to do.
I picked out my best piece of wood, and sawed off the sapwood with the bandsaw, then chased a ring. I had 4 days left and all the knowledge on design and tiller fresh in my mind. I I finished it and shot 184 fps with one day left to pack. Success! Id like to thank my wife right here for keeping me fed and forcing me to take a nap during those 3 days of work. I dont think I could have been successful without her constant nagging, I mean, reminding me to eat and forcing me to take a nap. I love you babe!
Stephen was nice enough to host me while I was there and with his coaching I was able to practice shooting before the event. I shot until my fingers blistered so bad I couldn't make strings anymore. Thats important because the linen strings broke easily with these light weight arrows. Fortunately for me, Stephen is a patient host and made my strings as I broke them in search of good arrow flight. It wasn't until Arvin was given an arrow made by Ivar Malde that he gave me did I find an arrow that flew well. And boy howdy, that arrow was perfect! That is, until I shot it so much in practice ( against aound advice ) that I wore out the paper fletching. Now I had to strip the fletch off, use these little things as templates ( they were only about an inch long and 3/4 tall ) and cut some more from calf hide Arvin gave me. Calf hide by the way is amazing for this purpose. However, in the desert, super glue doesn't hold well when freshly applied. The air is so dry, it doesn't have the required moisture content to cook off the ca glue properly.
I got the arrow refletched and was ready to stand up to test it for clean flight when they opened up the line for the event. Great, now I cant do a practice shot, I have one arrow that I just had to basically rebuild with no jig, no clue how it flies, and I only get one shot at it this round. Oh well, time to get the bow weighed in and register my arrow. As I hand in my paperwork a few people noted my single arrow followed with, "Good luck, it only takes one arrow to break the record." I smiled and thanked them of course, with no hope of breaking any record, I just hoped I could put the arrow in the field with the rest of them. I stepped up to the line, remembering the advice to keep as close to it as you can without touching, or you sacrifice distance. I pulled the string back, feeling the blisters on my finger complain greatly, ( im a wus ) concentration on the tip of that arrow as I drew it to the max my rest would allow. Any mistake now would send the arrow through my wrist and I didn't want to break that arrow, its my only one you know... I cant say I recall the release. It was subconscious, and probably motivated by the synaptic firings of the pain receptors in my brain.
As suddenly as the string was released it broke and a single fletch floated to my feet. I checked the ground for my arrow, but itwas not to be found. Nobody knew where it went. I had to wait an hour until all shooting was complete. After much stress and dispare, I found my damaged arrow, somewhat defeathered, in a straight line from the firing line, sticking at about a 40° angle into the crusty salt desert floor. A perfect shot! I stood very impatiently by until the officials measured my shot. 350 yards, the record was 340! I couldn't believe it. As I walked back I had to laugh out loud from my own disbelief and excitement and I thanked God for allowing me to perform to the best of my ability. I received quite the welcoming when I got back to camp, word had spreading quickly.
I'm very honored to have been able to make that shot, and thank those who helped me. Its really an honor to be in the record books where the well known and respected Dan Perry has stood.
As for the broadhead shoot I designed the bow for, it did well in as well. one shot went 233 yards in practice, almost 190 in contest, giving me a solid 3rd place, behind the record being held by Mr. Arvin at the moment, at 239 yards. Next year, id like to see if that can be bested and I think this same design can do it.
