Total Archery Challenge Reality Check (Indiana/Kentucky Recap) | FRIDAY KILL NOTES

TAC doesn’t care how confident you feel in the parking lot. Once you’re on a steep hillside, shooting in the rain, trying to range a dark 3D target through brush with a group watching, you find out what’s real about your setup and your shot process. We’re fresh back from Total Archery Challenge in Indiana and Kentucky, and we’re unpacking the stuff you only learn by being there: the terrain that sneaks up on you, how fast weather can swing, and why even “normal” yardages feel different when the cone is on slick ground.

We talk through the gear that actually matters for 3D archery and bowhunting practice at TAC. That includes boots with real tread, rain gear you bring even when the forecast lies, and a rangefinder that can lock onto shadowed targets. We also get into the unsexy but critical details like third axis leveling on your bow sight for uphill and downhill shots, checking your setup after a long drive, and building a sight tape from solid distance data. If you’ve ever wondered whether a hunting setup can hang at TAC, we share what worked, what felt challenging, and why consistency beats chasing trends.

We also cover what we noticed across the event, from arrow choices and 4mm vs 5mm considerations in the wind to the bows we kept seeing on the line, plus why TAC is such a good community reset compared to the internet comment-section chaos. If you’re planning your first Total Archery Challenge, we share booking tips, event-day expectations, and why a little fitness prep makes the whole experience more fun and more accurate. Subscribe, share this with your shooting buddy, and leave a review with your best TAC lesson so far.

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Transcript

Back From TAC Weekend

Zakk Plocica 0:00

All right, the Archer Project. We are back, ladies and gentlemen. I'm your host, Zach Plasica, and we are fresh back from Total Archery Challenge, Indiana, Kentucky. It was quite an event. It was uh the first one of the year for Total Archery Challenge. As you guys know, we are big fans of TAC. Uh, just a great, it's probably honestly probably one of the best things for the archery community, in my opinion. And uh this event kicked it off this year. Um, typically, Indiana is not until later in the season, August, right? Which hard pass for me. I don't want to be in Indiana um through Kentucky in August. It is absolutely brutal. And that was one of the things that they they talked about is every year it's been in in August, and on the course, there's always like heat cases. It's so brutally hot and humid up there. So they moved it this year. Earlier in the year, it's in March, kick things off, and it was a good event, man. Um it was a typical TAC event, and as far as weather goes, we got in on Thursday to set up. We left at three o'clock in the morning, got there at three o'clock in the afternoon. It's a 12-hour commute. Get there, we set up. It's brutally hot. It's 87 degrees, just smoking hot. So I was a little worried. Then Friday comes right, day one of this thing kicks off because it's a three-day event, Friday through Sunday. And Friday is freezing cold, pouring down rain and high winds. And, you know, what else do you expect? It seems like every time we go to a total archery event, there's a black cloud that follows us around, and we end up wet and cold. And it started off that way um Friday. And you know, the weather got better as through the weekend. Saturday was fantastic, Sunday the weather was good. Um, but yes, definitely some interesting things I saw at Total Archery um at for this first one, some things that kind of surprised me. Um we'll kind of go through that and get into it. But again, it was a good event. We got to sit down and meet a lot of you know, talk to a lot of guys, a lot of you guys who happen to know who we are. And it was great to be able to pick your guys' brain and and you know hang out with you guys. Um, which this event was a little smaller than some of the ones that I've been to in the past. Um, it was probably the smallest one I've been to as far as overall turnout. Vendor Village was pretty small. Um, not a whole lot of vendors there. There were some good vendors, um, but definitely a little bit on the smaller side. Um lot of shops there, man. Like we were right on top of each other, which wasn't bad. It was cool to be able to get to talk to guys from other parts of the country, kind of pick their brains on how they run their shops. Um, so good stuff, man. Made sales a little tough, but you know, we're there for the people, man. It's it's more important for me that we get to get out and you know, meet, you know, people that follow along or have shopped with us and um supported our company. So always been an important thing to me. It's great to be able to do that and and interact with you guys. I always have a good joke, a good time talking uh with everyone and you know, kind of picking your guys' brains on things. Um, but yeah, you know, if you've never been to Total Archery Challenge, it is the best thing you will ever do with a bow, aside from bow hunting, man. It's just TAC, the guys there do such a good job as far as like venues and course selection and setup. And, you know, these places are always at incredible locations, right? Like kind of off the beaten path, these resorts, um, which really allows the guys to set up these killer courses. And TAC is there to challenge you. And boy, does it challenge you. Every time you go to one of these events, you will learn something new about yourself and about your equipment. And um, they just do a good job, man. The I think there was, uh I want to say there was like six courses at this one. Uh, it kind of caught me off guard, too, was the terrain. It was a lot steeper than I anticipated. Um, I guess that's just my lack of knowledge of where we were in the country. But um, it was it was tough, man. And that was one of the things a lot of people who'd never been there said. Some of the courses were like the terrain was steep, in particular the Lancaster uh course and the knock-on course, which knock-on is known for being technical um at all of the events, and um those courses stood true. It was just the one, the shots were technical, but two, the terrain was technical. It was steep, it was it was rough according to a lot of people. We didn't get to shoot those, but I did hear a lot of things about it. Those were kind of the talks of the ones that you know, the main talking points of out of courses. Um and it was especially for like Friday, because it rains so much and the elevation was so steep. It was, I mean, the course that we did, um, there were some spots that were pretty steep, but I couldn't imagine shooting Friday. Like first knock time was like 7 or 7:30. It was still dark and it was raining and just disgusting, and there was dudes out there shooting and getting after it. So I can imagine uh we saw some we saw some people come back a little bit muddy, but uh yeah, I can imagine it was a very challenging uh courses to shoot at that time and incredibly slow. I mean, these courses, anyways, take anywhere from like three to five hours out in rain and mud and steep elevation. You you're stretching it out a little bit. Um, but it's cool though, man. You're out in the wilderness with your bow. What else are you gonna do? It's the best thing ever. Um again, back to total archery event. The the the event itself is, like I said, probably one of my favorite things that goes on within the archery community. And just because it invites, it's so inviting, right? There's so many different people that come together of this thing. We've got target archers who, believe it or not, some of them happen to show up, bow hunters, families, kids. You know, we had there was people that were incredibly young, people that were incredibly old still getting after it on these courses, and it just draws everyone together. It's a good environment, it's a lot of fun. Um, but the thing that about it is, I mean, it's it's one of those things, it's it's run what you brung, right? We talk about all the time. You can take your bow hunting setup to these things and have at it. Um, you know, obviously some courses are more challenging than the others, some of the courses have greater distances than than others, but there was a lot of dudes there who were running exactly what they hunt with, which is cool, kind of refreshing to see. Um, you know, guys, they run one bow all year and they bring it out for these events and um get it done. I mean, and successfully get it done. There was a lot of guys who, you know, didn't change anything for this event that I talked to, and you know, they had no issues whatsoever. Uh, I know whenever I went to this event itself, it was I ran my hunting setup completely. I was supposed to have a different bow built and different arrows, and I just didn't get to it in time. Um, so I took my Mach 33 and I took my FMJ Maxes and I shot the course. I fletched arrows uh because I only took two good arrows. I think I fletched a couple more uh the night before we um Thursday night, I think. Fletched a couple more up, and uh I ran exactly what I hunted with this past season, and it worked out good, man. Um, I was a little worried about it because it was a heavier arrow, but I'll tell you what, man, that FMJ Max, if you want an arrow that pulls out of targets easy, that is the move. That is the easiest pulling arrow out of any of the arrows I've ever shot. And you know, whatever the guys had to pull arrows, whoever was pulling whenever we were shooting together, um, you know, that was the thing. They're like, your arrow pulls out so much easier because a 5-0, um oh, what in the four mils, some of the axis four mills, they were just a little bit harder to pull out. It's like they get bury in there and they just you know, it takes a lot more effort. And those FMJ maxes, perfect, come right out. So my sight only went out to a little over a hundred yards, I think. Um with this arrow setup. Yeah, but the course we shot it was all within a hundred yards. So it worked out good, man. Um, you know, one arrow, all I needed, didn't lose one. So it was a good time. And those shots, man, on that course were challenging. Um mainly the thing that was so challenging about this place was the footing. That was the hardest thing for me at this event was getting my footing. You know, I would step up, and where the cone is, you know, you got to walk up. You walk up to a cone, that's where you shoot from. Unless you want to move up, that's they set a cone out, and that's where you go, and that's where you typically shoot from. Unless you're not comfortable with it and you need to move up, you absolutely can. Um, but where these cones were, man, the guys did a good job setting these courses up and just making it very, very hard. Even easy shots were difficult because of where they had the cones and how your footing was. Um, so that was what I kind of struggled with uh was getting set up and getting my footing and having a sturdy base in order to shoot my bow. Because whenever you're kind of swaying or your feet are close together in awkward positions, it's really hard to stay steady and you know consistent. And we all know with accurate with archery, consistency is key uh in order to be accurate. And um that made it a little bit challenge for me, or a little bit challenging for me, and I think for a lot of people, um, you know, good set of boots is I think critical for these events, mainly something good with uh good tread on them because it was again, it was muddy uh on some of the courses, uh, even the day after it rained. And um, you know, on some of these different slopes, you kind of slide a little bit. So you need to be able to get in there, grip, and um not um be slipping and sliding while you're trying to shoot that bow. So one of the more challenging things, one of the other things I noticed with some people was range finders. Ranging targets was kind of difficult for some people, and for particularly at Brian, right? Like dark targets in the shadows, he was having a hard time getting a range on him. So a good range finder is critical. I mean, some of these shots, I mean, you got uh vegetation you're shooting through, and it's hard to get an accurate range on it. And if you're shooting 70, 80, 90 yards and you're off by however many yards, you know, you're not gonna hit what you're aiming at, you're gonna be chasing arrows down. So it was uh another thing that I think that maybe is a piece of gear that kind of gets overlooked is uh a good range finder, you know, just making sure that you've invested in one and and you've tested it prior to going to these events on dark targets because that's where we seem to see most of the issues show up is on these dark targets that are further out in the shadows. You just can't get an accurate range on them. Uh so definitely something to consider. Make sure you're, you know, you're double checking your equipment uh while you are out there. Uh one of the other things you'll notice at Total Archery events is there's a lot of broken arrows, right? That's one of the big things at Toll at TAC. You have this big bucket uh up by registration, and it's just full and full of arrows, just tons of arrows, lots of broken arrows, right? People missing targets, um shooting trees, whatever it is. Um there's a lot. And I think one of the things that happens to a lot of people, which I kind of observed, is people, people's shot process falling apart. And I think it has to do, it's almost there's almost a little press of pressure that comes along with shooting these attack events. And we say it's all for fun, but when you're surrounded by a lot of people and you've never shot around a lot of people, it's easy to get nervous, you know, and to get that performance anxiety. And uh you, you know, you don't follow that shot process fully, or you kind of um skip steps. And we saw that with a lot of people missing arrows. I mean, there was a group in front of us, I swear, every target that they shot at, there was at least one arrow clanging and banging through the woods that did not find its mark. And um, you know, it's very easy to get distracted when you're with all your buddies and you're walking around and talking and shooting. We see blown up bows every year at these things too, and just simply by not paying attention. But it goes back to, you know, spending time behind your bow and building those habits into where it's almost subconscious, to where they just you just naturally go through them. But it's easy to miss steps whenever you're shooting in groups like this and kind of fall apart, man. And you know, we we saw that um, we see that at all the events, but I think that's one of the things that really sticks out is how critical it is to make sure you stay in tune with what you're doing, right? When it's your turn to shoot, step up there, stay focused on what it is you're doing. Because there's guys joking and having a good time, picking on each other, and it's easy to get distracted. And, you know, you pull a shot, you punch a trigger, you don't grip the bow correctly. On top of battling your footing, um, there's a lot of variables that are kind of working against you. And this is really does a good job of, you know, helping you work through those and kind of dissect where you're weak and where you need to work on. You know, it's it with with Archery, I don't care who you are. As soon as you put the bow down uh and you take a break, your your fundamentals and form of technique really deteriorate and break down fast, and you really have to rebuild them. That's why I'm so big on shooting all year round. And I enjoy shooting a bow enough where it's pretty easy for me to shoot all year. But we see people who don't spend a lot of time shooting to where they do start to kind of fall up, fall apart in those high pressure moments. And I'm not saying these are super high pressure moments, but it is pressure when you got a lot of people around you. There's people waiting on you, there's people in front of you, um, and the and you know, everyone's focused on you shooting that bow at this one target, it's a little bit of you know, a little bit of stress, and it's easy to fall apart and miss shots, and then you become frustrated with yourself, and then it just you know gets exacerbated and then it builds, and you know, before you know it, you lost 12 arrows on you know on a course, which we did see for uh each year. We did see actually this year somebody came to us, they were looking for arrows, they blew up 12. So it does happen, but it's one of those things I think when it why I preach it, and we've talked about in the other podcasts is building that shot sequence that is just you can it's just built in your memory. It's just you subconsciously do it, and that's all done through repetition, and that's how you build that, and you don't fall apart in um these more stressful or um you know busy situations like attack event. Uh uh TAC does a really good job of exposing all of your flaws. It does a good job for me at least. I always figure out where I'm weak, where I'm struggling, uh, what gear is not set up uh correctly. But I felt really good at this one. I mean, we only got to shoot one course, we shot Jack Lynx, and um it went really good. I mean, I shot, I needed shot one arrow the entire time, and uh no arrows were lost. We found a lot of uh center 12s, so it was good, man. I had a lot of fun. I felt like I shot decently well. Um, and it was definitely challenging, man. Some of those those shots, man, was just you know, straight up, straight back down. Some of them I felt like I almost was like leaning, like laying against the side of the hill because a terrain was so steep in order to try to level my site. Um, a lot of times I would notice after a shot would break, I didn't level it. And you know, you miss a little left or miss a little bit right. Uh that's why it's definitely critical that you level that third axis on your site. If you go to attack event, you better make sure that site is leveled. And whenever you get there on the practice course, you need to site, you know, confirm everything is still shooting true before you head out on a course because you know, as you as you know, in transit the things get bumped and you need things leveled or reconfirmed. Um, so thought it was interesting, uh, interesting enough. You know, um, I put out something about sighting your bow in and sight tapes, and I do it kind of the old school way, right? I true my sight tape. I walk back from 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 yards. However far back I need to go back, I walk back and mark those distances on my sight tape. I match that sight tape up to a sight tape that comes with the sight, and that's what I run on my bow. And I get it. It's not for everybody, it's the old school way of doing it. There's definitely great technology and um software out there that you can do it easier. But I just wanted to run it that way and see. And I can assure you, my sight tape was incredibly accurate out to all of those distances based off my shooting. Um, so I was happy about that because a lot of people jumped down my throat, told me it was terrible advice. Um, but you know, as we all know, sight tapes is all about data. And in order to get a sight tape, it's just good data. And, you know, I'm was pretty confident in my shooting. I've been doing this long time and so I've always done it, is walk back and shrewing all those different yardages and confirming, and that's good data. I can use essentially use that calibration tape that I've marked up as a site tape, or if I want a prettier one, I can run the book, the one out of the book that comes with your site. That's what I did. I matched up and it was dude, it was accurate out to whatever distances we shot in those completely different state, 12 hours away, different elevation, no issues whatsoever. Um, it was solid, man. Um, so I was very happy, happy with how I shot and how my bow performed. The Mach 33 shot exceptionally well, and um, you know, through travel, I didn't bump anything like I had in the past when it comes to my sight. So it worked out good, man. 530 seconds peep that um I ran a HHA Tetra on there with that little bit smaller housing, that double pin, and it was good, man. No peep alignment issues. Um, my shot process felt really good for the most part, except for the ones where I felt like I was about to fall, you know, because just because footing wasn't well. But it was good, man. I felt like my bow setup was really good. Even shooting those heavier arrows out there, man, was fantastic, dude. Like 465 grains, the bows shooting like 280 some feet per second. So not smoking fast. It's what I shoot hunting wise, and it just performed at this event, too. So, you know, there was some wind in some areas, some high winds. Um, no issues. Five mil arrow performed flawlessly. Uh, I did notice I felt like five mil was the dominant arrow out there based off what I saw with a lot of people. Um, a lot of five O's, a lot of HLRs um were what people were running out there. Uh, there was also five mil, I felt like was number one, and then I think pretty closely was the four mils, a lot of VAP, TKOs, and um axis four mils. But five mil, I felt like I saw more of those than anything, which is what I gravitate towards. A five mil arrow, I think, is a fantastic do-all diameter. Um, whether hunting, shooting long distance, it just they're a little bit more durable. Component options that you get are really good, and they've just performed flawlessly for me. So I like them a lot. Um, but I do think there is some advantage to going to that four mil, especially with those long bomber shots through open terrain where there's wind. Um, I definitely don't think you can deny the fact that they cut through wind a little bit better. I mean, look at any of the studies, a little bit less drag, they carry energy longer, less service area, less swim drift. Um, but they they're a little bit more of a premium, in my opinion. You just don't have the component selection. But regardless, there was a lot out there and a lot of dudes shooting really well with them. So it was good, man. Um what else do we have? Oh, one thing that was really surprising to me when I was out there was the bows that I sought or sought. I don't know, what am I saying? The bows that I saw. I've heard a lot about them online, right? The Darton Bows, right? There's a lot of people ranting and raving about them. There's not a huge demand that walked in our shop, and unfortunately, we can't carry them. So I can't do I'm not doing any reviews on them because we can't carry them. Um, so if anybody wants us to review Dart and Bows, tell Darton to open us up as a dealer. Fortunately, there's a shop down the road, so it's not happening. Uh, but we saw a ton of those, man, and uh a lot of people had a lot of really good things to say about them. Um, and uh they were they were incredibly popular, along with which really surprised me, the amount of PSE Mach 33s I saw was ridiculous. I was not anticipating seeing that many. I know it's a popular bow, but I I just didn't anticipate seeing the amount that I did, and I saw a ton of these things from custom custom color options that PSE had done for people. I mean, they were out there heavy. I feel like it was, in what I observed, the most popular carbon bow out there. I really anticipated seeing more Sicarios, even more Mach 35s, and I didn't, man. The Mach 33 was the carbon bow out there. And and of course the R34, those are like the three bows that really stuck out to me that were I just felt like I saw on the regular every time somebody would walk by, it was one of those three bows. And um a little surprising, man. I didn't expect to see as many Dartons and PSCs as I did. Uh so I I anticipated seeing a whole boatload of Matthews R34s, and and I did. Uh, we were right across from Matthews, actually, and um, you know, super cool guys, and that booth stayed pretty busy, man. The R34 has been incredibly popular, Bo. But yeah, very, very uh interesting. Um, just bow selections, man. I and and the I think the dominant platform like ATA length is like 33, 34, and some 35s, man. Like, and and I'm on board with that as a hybrid build or attack build or you know, target build, the longer the ATA, the easier the bow it is to shoot, the more stable, the more forgiving the platform. 33s, 34s were dominant out there, they were everywhere. So I was hoping to have my 35 built, but you know, I didn't get to it in time. Um, I'm really looking forward to getting that thing set up and taking it to the next event that we'll be at, which will be Tennessee. Uh, so I should have that thing up and running by then. So the other thing, too, a lot of heavy poundage bows, man. A lot of 80 pounders out there, which I can dig, man. I'm my Mach 35 is 80 pounds, my 33 is 80 pounds. Um, I like it. A lot of dudes out there shooting it. So uh good stuff. We also, my the guys, um, Brian and Kevin, who were with me, they went over and shot the new Hoyt AX90. I didn't get a chance to shoot it. They said that thing was buttery smooth, man. 90 pound bow, and they're ripping it back like it was no problem. So I'm interested to get them in. We got some coming. Um, I haven't still have not shot one, but they said they were super easy to shoot uh and drew really, really well. Brian actually, interesting enough, he shot the divide 31, which I did not see any hardly any primes out there. Like I was a little bummed about it because Prime did such a good job, I think, this year with the Divide series, the 31 and the 33 in particular, that six-inch brace height, and I saw like one. So a little bummed, man. I was hoping to see more primes out there. Same thing with Expedition. I saw one Expedition Next Light out there. Um it's just they don't have the presence that I was hoping that they do. We've we carry them in the shop and they're just not moving like I had hoped they would. Um hopefully, as hunting season gets closer, there'll be more people to pick them up because they're good shooting bows, man. Um, really good shooting bows. But dude, those three PSC Mach 33, that Darton, the that 33, and then that uh Matthews, the Arc, the 34, those were dominant. They were out there heavy, and everybody was ranting and raving about them. So it was good, man. Lots of good stuff. Um, I don't know if I said it or not. Vendor Village was a little bit smaller, uh, but it was still good, man. We got to meet a lot of cool people, a lot of vendors. There's always someone new to meet every time we go to these when we talk about manufacturers. Um so very, very cool interacting with everybody. And the other thing, too, um, you know, when big for me is going on to out to these events and just being able to interact with the public and talk to people. It's always, I enjoy that. I enjoy being able to, you know, talk to and pick the brains of you guys out there and you know what you see and your inputs and what works for you. And I was really impressed. Normally, when you go online and you talk to archery guys, it's a nightmare, dude. Like my comment sections are it's a war zone. You're out there and it ain't good, right? People get married to these ideas or a product or a brand or a tuning tech, you know, tactic, or or um, or whatnot, and you can't talk to them otherwise, right? There's no going in, this is the best, this is how to do it, this is the only way to do it. But it's not like that in real life. That was it's always refreshing to go out and actually talk with you guys in person and uh being able to have good conversations with you guys and people being open-minded and listening and you know, putting their two cents in, but it's not in a this is the only way. Um, this is what works for me, this is why it's worked for me. But you know, that's a cool concept. Maybe I'll try that later. I like the back and forth with that and just the the down-to-earth personalities that I met when I was there. Um, because I like to consider myself a pretty low-key dude, um, pretty reserved uh and very open-minded when it comes to um this thing, right? I think there's a lot of different ways that you can approach this. I've always said I think there's a lot of different ways you can solve these problems that we have, right? Um, and different different approach approaches and different way of looking at them. And uh there's not a right answer. There's, you know, there's a lot of different ways to do this. And this, I feel like this reinforces that when I talk to people in person, people are just a lot more receptive and willing to talk to you and share their experiences, and there's no animosity or like ego involved. Even some of the techie guys, I'm not a techie guy, man. Like, I'm not. Like, I don't over like I don't over-build things, I don't overthink things. I get it up, I set it, I let it, I make sure it works, and then that's what I run. And I've always had good experiences that way, right? And some dudes like to take it to that really next level and really consider to the grain and you know, to the nth degree. And, you know, I was able to talk to those guys too, and you know, a lot of great insight from a lot of experience out there, and it was just refreshing and fun. And I enjoyed talking to you guys. So, all you guys that I got to interact with, thank you. I appreciate it. Um, you know, it was uh it was a good time, man. That's my favorite thing to do, is actually be able to go out and interact with the archery community. So I think that's what Total Archery is so great for, man, because whenever you go out and shoot these things, but like you gotta get you got to choose your knock times, right? If you go as a shooter, you gotta select your knock knock time, and you might be shooting with different groups and different people, and there's so many different experiences out there, and you get to talk to all these different people, and everyone is super cool. It's weird, it's not like social media, it's honestly mind-blowing. Uh, and it gives me hope. But it was, man. We shot um uh dude, we shot the Jack Lynx course, like I said. Um, and we were the last guys to go on the course. We got on there right at four. We didn't get done until like uh till dark. It took almost four hours, I think. Um, but you know, there was a lot of people in front. We ended up catching up to a group, a couple groups in front of us, and you know, just watching everybody, everybody's having a good time, man. It's just uh a really, really great event. And I I think there's always people get a reality check when they go to these things too, right? Every there's a lot of people that are kind of you know overconfident with overconfident with their capability. And I think tack will shut you down real quick. It does me all the time, at least. You know, I feel going there pretty confident, and then, you know, you're like, oh wow, this is a little bit um more challenging than I anticipated. Yeah, I need to really make sure I'm focused on what I'm doing. And it just always brings you back and kind of has a way of humbling you uh and making sure that um, you know, you're going through and and and doing and approaching everything right and sticking to your shot process and you know, making sure you inspect all your gear and your equipment. Uh, that's a big one, man. Um, another thing I saw a lot of, you know, I this is the first year I've ever run was a hip quiver. I everybody had a hip quiver, I felt like. Maybe I just didn't see in the past because I've always wore a pack, but I sh I wore the East End pack mule field quiver. Best thing ever. Um, I don't have to wear a pack anymore. I had carried all my arrows in there, which was nice. They didn't rattle around with the little retention strap. Was able to carry my rangefinder in there, bottle of water releases. And uh I wore it the whole course, man, and no hot spots. It was quiet, it was secure, it did a good job of retaining everything. I see why people run them. I've never liked a hip quiver. I ran that one for the first time, absolutely enjoyed it. Um, you know, Easton's clearly sold a pile of them because they were everywhere. So if you haven't got into the hip quiver game, check out the Easton Pac-Mule, man. Uh or you know, any of the other brands that are out there. We sell the Easton Pac Mule mule specifically. If you head over to the website, extremeAfters.com, you can pick one up there. Um, they're comfortable, man. And it actually was nice not to have something on my pack. I didn't even wear a um a bino harness. I didn't take binos with me. Uh, I didn't need to see the rings. I'm shooting for I'm shooting for vitals. I'm not shooting for 12 rings or whatever else. I'm shooting for vitals on all these things. That's how I go and approach it. Um, and so I just took a rangefinder, didn't take binos, but dude, that thing worked good, man. It was nice not to have anything on my back or my chest. It was kind of cool. So if you haven't uh used one, maybe consider it in the future. Uh that was definitely a piece of gear that really stood out to me um while we were out there. The other thing, man, dude, when we talk about like footing, a good set of boots for tack is like uh non-negotiable. The the elevation in the terrain was so technical, I think is the best way to describe it. It was so slick, it was so steep. Like a good set of boots with good tread on them is critical uh just to get good footing. And and then climbing the hills and the steep, um, the steep terrain because you're slipping and sliding, there's always wet spots, there's always gonna be mud. Every tack event you go to, there's gonna be rain, it seems like. So a good set of boots, man, you just can't overlook it. Um, I think it's another um critical piece of gear that you really need to have for tack, and that's why you'll see so many set of boots being sold at TAC events. You you walk around and there's an orange crispy box everywhere you go because people are constantly buying new boots. Um, so don't overlook the footwear side of things too, and then your rain gear, dude. Make sure you take rain gear because it is gonna rain, and then it's gonna be the extremes, hot or cold. So make sure you have gear and clothing for for both. Um, another interesting uh thing that I saw when I was there for the first one of the year uh was just the different arrow configurations. I know we talked a little bit about four mil and five mil, but just the air, the different arrow weights of some of the people I talked to because it was all over the board, man. There was not one, everyone was light or middle of the road, it was there was guys that were running light arrows, and there was guys who were running pretty moderately heavy arrows, and both with success. Um I'm a typically a middle of the road guy when it comes to arrows. I like um normally, if I was gonna build a specific tack arrow, normally it's that 400 to 420 grains, is where I like to be because it the bows I'm shooting, I like my bow to be shooting somewhere in the 290s, maybe a little north of 300 feet per second. I wasn't that at all this time, and it still worked out great. But there was a lot of guys, man, who were shooting those heavier arrows and having success, man. They could get the yardage that they need out of the site for the courses that they shot, and um, you know, worked out perfectly for them. So uh I think that was another interesting takeaway that you know, guys, you know, there was just so many different configurations and setups across the board. I there there wasn't one that particularly stuck out. Obviously, there was a lot of guys that were were running lighter arrow setups, but there was a plenty of dudes running the middle of the road to heavier arrow setups, too. So I thought that was kind of cool. Um, but all around good event, man. I would tell you this if you go to Indiana or Kentucky, make sure you are aware of where you're staying because we stayed in the ghetto. It was not the greatest place I've ever stayed. The house inside was super nice, but be cautious. Whenever you're booking these events, make sure you do a little bit better job than what we did of looking at where you're actually staying, because we ended up in some pretty hard parts of town around there and probably some gas stations we should not have visited. So make sure you do your research, man, on where you're staying and make sure you're ahead of the game when it comes to booking these things because they sell out so fast. Saturday was sold out for this event. Saturday was crazy busy. Um, Friday and Sunday were super slow. Um, like I said, probably one of the slower events I've been to. But just be whenever it comes to booking these things, just pay attention to where you're actually staying. I would do a little bit of research on the town too, just to make sure you don't end up in some areas you shouldn't be, because we surely did. And it was a little sketchy a couple times. So there is that. Yeah, the big thing, man. If you're planning on doing these events, make sure when they when these events drop, you're on the computer, ready to refresh that thing and get signed up, especially if you're going for the bigger ones. If you're going specifically, if you just want to shoot, I personally would pick out some of the smaller ones to do. Um because as a shooter, you it's it's not as congested on the course. You get more opportunity to shoot more courses you can shoot. Um, but the big ones, man, it's so packed. Like those courses take a long time and they they sell out so fast. But, you know, obviously more people. The vendor villages are bigger, there's more vendors there, there's more sales, there's more stuff to see and do. So you got to kind of weigh those, what's important to you. Um, the big one for us always PA. Uh, and it is absolutely wild. It's a four-day event versus normal three. So, you know, depending on when you're you're looking to go at, make sure you're just ahead of the game, mark it on your counter calendar, look at whenever they're gonna drop the registration so that you can take and sign up ahead of time. Uh, because again, these things sell out super, super fast. And if you've never been to one man and you're a little nervous to go, dude, don't be. If you've never shot something like this, it doesn't matter. If you shot a bow, you're interested in shooting a bow, these events are great for it. You meet so many cool people, man. There's so much stuff that you learn. I mean, we've been in this industry for quite a few years at this point, and I always learn something new, and there's something uh new to take away from these events. And the the people that you're gonna meet are absolutely incredible. And you you meet people just like you, bow hunters, die hard archery enthusiasts that just are all looking to do the same thing, have a good time shooting their bow. And uh you make a lot of connections too, man. I mean, there's a lot of opportunity when going to these things. So I would highly encourage you if you've never been to one, put it on your to-do loose to-do list and go do it because it is an absolute blast. Uh, and and don't be shy with you know, thinking you don't have the setup you need to do it, because you, dude, you can run whatever you've got, man. If your site doesn't reach out to those massive distances, it's it's cool, man. You can walk up closer and all the courses are different too. So that's one thing to consider whenever you look at these courses. You can look ahead of time on the website and see what courses are available and you know, max distance on the courses. Some of the courses are pretty sh pretty tame as far as distance go. They might be a little bit more technical as far as shots, but the distances aren't as great. So there's something for everybody at these events. I mean, we've seen, like I said, new archers, old archers, everybody out there, all walks of life, getting at it, getting after it, having a good time. Um, and you don't got to be a professional archer to do these things, man. You just got to be someone that enjoys shooting a bow. This is a great event for you to go out and learn and uh spend time out there with. It's a great off-season thing to do with your bow, right? I know people get burned out shooting their bows. Um, but you know, if you're going to an attack event, it's something to look forward to. It kind of keeps you behind that riser and uh shooting a bow all season, which is critical. Like I said, man, when as soon as you put a bow down, fundamentals and technique break down, you've got to rebuild and start all over and you know, reinforce that shot process again. If you can stay behind it all year and have something to constantly look forward to, it's going to keep you behind the bow, keep you shooting, and only improving your skill set with that bow. So highly encourage you, check them out, head over to the the Total Archery website, look at the events that are maybe close to you, and uh do it as a vacation, man. Take the family. We have there's always families out there, husbands, wives, kids that go to it together and walk the courses and shoot them and have a good time. So I would uh highly encourage you to check one out if you never have. It's so, I mean, there's 3D archery events and stuff that are like local events and stuff like that, but this is just so much bigger, man. The targets are cool, they're challenging. It's for fun, no score. You just go out there, shoot targets, hang out with your buddies, and and have a good time, man. And, you know, it really challenges you and it lets you see any holes that you have within one, your shooting capability, or two, your equipment, uh, which is critical. It's a great time to learn if you have any issues prior to bow season, right? You know, you're having uh issues shooting elevation or excuse me, angles, or you know, your weird footing. I mean, this is just going to help you develop those skills, bring back something to work on, improve on, and improve your skills as a bow hunter uh and archer. So I think it's a great event. Um, like I said, it's all for fun. There's no scoring, there's no money to be paid out. It's just you go shoot these incredible courses that these guys put on at these incredible locations and have fun with your bow and friends, man. Uh and you meet a lot of great people. I meet cool people every time I go, um, which is honestly pretty humbling uh to be able to interact and talk to the amount of people that we do. Uh it's a lot of fun, man. There's a lot of great dudes out there, great girls out there, um, just spending time behind their bows, which is what we love to do. So, a couple key takeaways, man. Make sure you got good footwear, make sure you got rain gear. I don't care if it doesn't not call for rain, make sure you got rain gear. Make sure that your axes are leveled on your bow site. It is critical. Make sure that that site is leveled. Um, if you're looking at getting a new site, I would encourage you to get a site, spend a little bit more money. It doesn't have to spend a ton of money, but get a site that has the ability to level a third axis just so you can shoot those angles. Um, because without it, uh you can't level it. Uh, it's just harder to be accurate with a site that you can't level to your bow. So if you're looking at buying a new site, I would encourage you to spend a little bit of money. It's a good investment. Get one where you can level the axes on it. If you need any, head over to the website extremeoutfitters.com. Um, use the code ArcheryProject. It's gonna save you 10% on all of your purchases through extremoutfiters.com. So whatever you need, head over there. You need single arrows, we sell arrows individually, free cut and glue, all of that, yada yada. For you guys that need equipment. You know, head over to the website extremeoutfitters.com. Use the code archeryproject. It'll save you some money and everything over $50 ships for free currently. And we offer free cut and glue on all arrow purchases. So, whatever you need, you just need to replace one arrow because you lost one arrow attack. We can do it. Um, yeah, get out there, spend time with your bow, train before you go to this thing. So, the other thing, too, is I noticed some people were a little taxed when we talk about the fitness side of things because you got to remember these things are on the side of mountains. So you need to make sure you have a little bit of uh fitness in the tank, I would say, to to really um enjoy these courses because whenever you start fatiguing real bad, it's harder to shoot your bow better. This would be a reality check for you. Um, that terrain is rough, man. So I would say, you know, get outside, shoot your bow, work out a little bit, prep for these things. So it's a win all the way around, right? You're healthier, you're in better shape, you're stronger, you look better, you feel better, you shoot your bow better. It all goes together, man. Get out there, get after it. Um, yeah, I can't preach enough good things about total archery uh events, man. They're they're definitely worth it. They're a good time. Um, get your buddies to go with you. And they're not overly expensive either to go shoot one of these things. It's like 60 bucks a day or something like that. You know, you obviously you got to account for travel and whatnot, but it's nothing crazy. And it just really does help you develop and pick apart your own uh flaws and just improve your skill sets. It's worth it, it's fun. You meet a ton of cool people, as I've said 7,000 times already. Um, get out there and do it. So just make sure you prepare for it, check all of your equipment, make sure you've been shooting your bow prior to it, and make sure you've got a good shot process that you've ingrained in yourself. So when you're around all these people and there's a lot of commotion and things going on, you can stay within that with within what's currently going on in front of you, which is focusing on your bow, shooting that bow, and executing and making a good shot so you're not chasing arrows down everywhere and having to buy arrows from us whenever we're at these event because you lost them all. So, as always, I appreciate you guys, man. It's in uh we really appreciate you guys following along, supporting us as a brand. It means a lot to us. Um, it's very humbling, incredible. Um, very thankful that um, you know, we have the support from you guys that we do. So again, if you ever need anything, head over to the website, at Shremoutfires.com, use the Archery or use the discount code ArcheryProject. If you got questions, anything technical-wise, if you got questions on any of your equipment, if you got questions on TAC event, man, reach out to the guys or us here at the shop. I've got techs on staff all the time that can answer any of your archery questions and kind of maybe you need help with an aerobille for total archery challenge. Maybe you got a question on leveling a site, all those things, we can help with that. If you can't come in the shop, reach out over the phone. Our guys here would gladly walk you through processes and answer any questions that you got. So that's it, guys. Appreciate you guys. Indiana, Kentucky. It was an absolute blast. It was great meeting all you guys. Till next time, we will see you guys in the next episode of the Archery Project.