Jun 28 2012

Shoot Report – Long Eaton Field archery – June 2012

Start of Shoot

LEFA announcements

The solstice shoot is famous for being both themed and fun, with this years theme being Robin Hood. Some how appropriate for an archery shoot. Little touches like the wanted posters offering 100 gold pieces for the outlaw were dotted round the wood added to the scene.
The course laying team had worked hard to overcome  problems resulting from the terrible wet weather that hit a couple of days prior to the shoot which had resulted in sections flooded, along with treebranches down across paths.
3D Fox though the trees

3D Fox though the trees

The tracks were very slippery as one person said Torvell and Dean would have found it a challenge.

The course was made up of 40 3D targets with a couple of predator prey shots that were very nicely set.

Another 3D target

3D deer

The course was very well laid with great use of available cover and framing of targets.

Predator Prey Shot
For those not familiar with predator prey targets let me explain. Predator prey shots are ones where you have a predator target positioned to look like its attacking a prey. Here it is a mountain lion against ram.

Close up of Predator PreyWith your first arrow you target the prey, if you are successful in hitting the predator you can then have a bonus arrow at the prey. If you miss the predator with your first arrow you then target the prey with your second arrow, but even if hit the predator with your second arrow, you now don’t get to shoot at the prey.

I’ve said it before that i don’t like lunch breaks when shooting as i tend to go off the boil but on some grounds it is a necessity and lefa is one. Whilst talking food and got to say top marks to all the catering staff for great food, throughout the day. The other thing it did make for was a great atmosphere.

So how did I do? 1 Blank in the afternoon that upset my head and meant that I messed up the next few shots 😦

The only one I blanked on the day. Taken from red peg

The only one I blanked on the day. Taken from red peg

Need to sort this out for my own piece of mind.
I came away with 560 and a 3rd, should have broken 600 on a 40 course.  Score card here.
Score cardSharon shot really well and won ladies Barebow with 682 points
Full results can be found here
Thanks for reading
Jun 21 2012

Check out – Various methods of aiming the traditional bow

This is a great article on Charles’ Archery Blog on different forms of aiming and well worth a read for all archers that shoot without sights

It explains the difference between instictive and gap shooting and other forms of aiming.

Various methods of aiming the traditional bow.

Jun 19 2012

Bow, arrows and kitchen sink …..what do you carry with you on a field shoot

In field archery you are on your feet walking a course from 10am until 4-5 pm or longer sometimes. This means you often have to carry not only your equipment (bow arrows and quiver) with you, I mean all the other stuff. Depending on what the terrain is like you could be on flat ground or going up and down hills all day, so carrying lots of kit can be very tiring.
Some archers travel light others carry everything but a kitchen sink.

Me at the woodGuess I am somewhere in between, on a normal shoot or when practising at the wood (see picture above) besides bow and arrows in my quiver I tend to carry a tube of spare arrows on my back. Whilst it’s not a Batman utility belt I do carry a small first aid kit, for bites, scratches plasters etc, though it has been used on many occasions for patching up other archers who have decided to try and chop their finger off whilst extracting arrows from tree stumps or have sliced it open when a carbon arrow has snapped.

Add to this a water bottle or mini thermos flask if it is cold, whistle for emergency signally which is on a retractable key ring along with an arrow puller (very useful for giving you a better grip on arrows when drawing them from a 3D or target boss), a multi-tool and an arrow rake in my quiver for finding those arrows lost in the undergrowth. I often carry some snacks in the quiver pouch (the main bag for drinks and sandwiches is normally left at central spot) and a spare finger tab etc.
If the weather isn’t great I carry a small pac-a-mac that I can put on to keep me dry.

Unlike some other archers I don’t carry a knife to dig arrows out of trees or stumps; I find an old flat headed screwdriver works just as well. It also means I’m less likely to cut off one of my fingers when extracting the wayward arrow from some tree that moved across the target as I release (always amazes me how many trees seem to move in to protect a target when I’m shooting)
I know a few people laugh at how much I carry but others have been grateful when I been able to lend then a finger tab, patched them up after cutting themselves or got the pliers out to retrieve a wayward pile from tree stump.

So what do you carry when out shooting?

To round it off I’ll have a metal detector in car, along with a kit box for spare strings etc
I quite like the small backpack that can double as a seat which I’ve seen appearing at shoots, but know I would forget to pick it up. Thanks for reading