3D deer

Centaura Field Bowmen – Shoot Report – September 2017

50th anniversary shoot

50th anniversary shoot at Centaura Bowmen

This was Centaura Field Bowmen 50th anniversary shoot and the archery gods must have looked on favourably as the weather was good the whole day. Since it was their  50th anniversary shoot it was very well attended, in fairness that is pretty normal for the midlands  based club. The only downside to this popularity being the day can prove be quite slow as archers navigate the course.

You can read a previous shoot report for Centaura here if you are interested.

3D deer

3D deer target

As normal with Centaura it was a 36 target course, being a mix of paper faces and 3D targets. On the matter of target faces, there were quite a few new paper faces that none of us had seen before. Whilst it was nice to see new targets I think some of the smaller faces might have been a little on the small size for the distance they were set as you couldn’t make them out clearly. As I said this was a minor thing in the great scheme of things.

Sharon shooting 3D deer

Sharon shooting 3D deer

We were lucky enough to be shooting with Rich and Cliff which is always a good laugh, both in gents longbow class. Sharon was on her best behaviour though and not picking on Cliff.

Rich shooting with Cliff

Rich shooting with Cliff

As is the norm with Centaura there is a lunch break between 12:30 and 1:15 where all shooting halts and archers can grab a bite to eat before completing the other half of the course.

Sharon shooting

Sharon shooting

Despite it being a bit slow at times it did flow and was a good day for those who attended over 130 archers.

Sharon shot well winning ladies American Flatbow and to my surprise I managed to secure first in gents class. The result of which are we now have a matching pair of very nicely designed wooden drinks coasters which were specially made by a club member to celebrate the 50th anniversary. They now have pride of place and on displace as I think they are too nice to use as coasters.

Thanks for reading.

Money saving tip

Here is a quick money saving idea for my archery friends out there.

A couple of weeks ago I posted how a local craft store “Hobbycraft” was selling plastic poster tubes at half price and how these tubes can be used as inexpensive arrow tubes.

The only thing to remember is that the tubes are made of quite thin plastic so can be easily damaged when dropping arrows into them.

top of the tube

top of the tube

I cut couple of pieces of foam.

thick foam piece for bottom of the tube

thick foam piece for bottom of the tube

I then add a piece of thick foam in the bottom and top of the tube. You can use an old off cut from camping mat roll.

Marking the foam

Marking the foam

This foam then protects the inside of the tube from the arrow points piercing the end.

foam fitted into the tube

foam fitted into the tube

I’ve included a few photos to give you an idea of what I’ve used.

Thanks for reading.

Sharon and my bow at Wolverine shoot

Shoot Report – Wolverine – August 2017

Wolverine - Gary making announcements at the start

Wolverine – Gary making announcements at the start

So a couple of weeks ago we headed north again, through the road works venturing this time towards Wolverine club grounds. Once again we were blessed with good weather, though the ground was a little wet underfoot, it was no way as bad as we’ve encounter previously. In fact we didn’t have rain until the drive home.

For those interested here is a link back to previous shoot report.

So onto the shoot report in full, the course would consist of 36 target, mixed 3D and paper faces. We would be shooting with Cliff with his trusty longbow and Neil shooting his primitive bow.

Neil Shooting 3D target

Neil Shooting 3D target

The start was marked not with the usual horn blast but a rocket which worked well for both the initial start and post lunchtime break. Wolverine operate a lunch break being between 12:30 -1:15 and as luck would have it we were in part of the lower woods making for a long walk back for grub.

Our first target at Wolverine - 3D bobcat

Our first target at Wolverine – 3D bobcat

The day seemed quieter than normally, with slightly lower numbers than wolverine normally have attending. This could possibly be because Pines Park who also had a shoot on this Sunday, or maybe people fancied a day off. Even though there were less people there was a good atmosphere, quite relaxed and stress free.

3D owl target between the trees

3D owl target between the trees

The smaller numbers meant we were finished by 3, though the awards were delayed slightly due to one group not handing their cards in until late.

Archers beginning to mass prior to start of the shoot

Archers beginning to mass prior to start of the shoot

Of course there was the famous giant Kong target in the field which is a trademark shot for Wolverine. There were of course a few other nice shots throughout the course. I think my best shot of the day must have been on the standing black bear which I managed to nail.

By lunch break we’d shot 18 targets and had a good rhythm going so were hoping to keep the same pace going in the afternoon. Sadly it was a bit slower after the lunch break as we waited on all targets due to catching up with the group in front.

Sharon shooting paper face crocodile

Sharon shooting paper face crocodile

I think it would be fair to say that I thought the course was challenging and different to previous years though the old faithful Kong was in the field watching over all archers. Overall it was a good day with good company.

There was a good result for Briar Rose with 3 of the 4 of us placing. Congrats to Jayne on her second in ladies hunting tackle and Sharon who won ladies American flatbow too.

Thanks for reading