this green pig is much more than it seems

We shot our indoor 3D league last night. After failing so abjectly last week without my stabilizer, I put it back on my bow, in spite of the awkwardness it adds to close quarters lineups. And I did much better, scoring 189 out of a possible 300.

I have to tell you, shooting 3D targets is way more fun and interesting than regular target practice. I don’t even really know how to talk about it, because almost everything about this club is outside my range of experience. There are easily like a hundred short stories, probably even novels, and I’m only beginning to catch their drift. I wonder if it’s my extreme outsider perspective, like those first two weeks of a new job, before you’re sucked in to the interpersonal dynamics of the organization. Since this is completely voluntary, well, I don’t know. I think I have to participate a whole lot more before I can begin to understand. And most of these people shoot 300s, every time, with no sights, no stabilizers, and no fanfare.

Thus far, I am so impressed with the general level of craftsmanship, from the very fine and hotly debated techniques of arrow making, to the individual expression and creation of quivers. Not to mention the home-brewed limoncello and wines, which make an appearance after the shoot proper.

And yet. I’m shooting arrows at the sides of things that look like this:

You really don’t see the face when you’re aiming for the clean kill zone

Actually, I’m not all that conflicted. As a meat eater, how could I be? I still doubt I will become a hunter, but pursuing this sport, this art of archery, is landing me on the edge of… potential? crossover? reconsideration? Nah. Truth is, I like shooting arrows and hitting precisely what I’m aiming at. And as long as I have the opportunity, I’ll continue to leave meat-making to the pros, with appreciation and gratitude.