May 23 2012

Congrats to fellow archer Sam

Just wanted to say congratulations to Sam (Samantha Moss) on having her county records being accepted. Well done Sam and hope to see you at the NFAS 3D Champs in June. Drop me a line if you are going and / or camping.

You can read her archery blog Samwise musing  here its well worth a visit.

May 21 2012

Shoot report – Hanson Field shoot – May 2012

Hanson May 2012

Hanson Bowmen  only recently took on this large wood outside Derby and I must say they have worked hard to develop the grounds. The wood itself looks to be a mature broad leaf woodland filled with a few beautiful old oaks and a carpet of blue bells at this time of year. You can imagine it in summer with leaf cover and bracken. It lends itself to some lovely long shots with 3D deer set in meadows etc.

Sunday saw dry weather and though cloudy it was bright and warmer than recently. My shooting group for the day was going to be made up of myself, Sharon (my better half) shooting barebow, Scott and Zac Ball shooting compound limited and bowhunter. So again I would be the only wooden arrow archer in the group. There were about 160 archers on the course shooting 36 (37 targets as there was a bonus one)
Last time I shot the wood, Hanson had only recently moved in and it was late winter so there was very limited ground cover. They had lots of problems with access and parking for competitors cars. I think it took over 2 hours for all the cars to get out due to the track being so churned up. Since then they must have had over 5 tonnes of gravel dropped off to create an access road and it was so much better. At the end of the shoot everyone got away without a problem. Well done and thanks for all the hard work.
Meercats 3D

Meercats 3D

The targets, mostly 3Ds with a couple of Hessian faces had been set out to really challenge people. The course layers had framed some of the shots really well, making the  the archer  shoot through gaps between trees as is the case with the sitting 3D lioness, which is nearly 4 feet tall, but doesn’t look it from the shooting peg .
3D Lioness between the trees

3D Lioness between the trees

Other shots had you viewing the target  through windows in holly bushes as was the case with the walking bear  which looked tiny until you got up close.
Sharon shooting White wolf 3D

Sharon shooting White wolf 3D

The wood is pretty flat so there were a few long shots at well placed deer or boar 3ds. They also used dips in ground and hollows to catch you out.
Brown bear 3D through the Holly bush

Scott Shooting at the 3D brown bear

I misjudged one shot at a 3d bear in a hollow and dropped my arrow into its leg rather than chest. But that is good  course laying.
Standing bear

Standing 3D bear between the trees

Our last shot was the 3D cobra which they had positioned in a hollow.
We look forward to returning to see what they change next time.
3D Red fox

Small Red Fox 3D

One thing that was good to see was 3D targets with bosses a safe distance behind to catch stray arrows. This speeded up the search for any arrows that might have missed the intended target. At a lot of shoots 3D targets are put out with no backstop to catch wayward arrows, this results in time spent searching the undergrowth. I know some people say it spoils the look of the 3D but if camouflaged with undergrowth you normally don’t spot them.

So how did I do?

612 (2 points off 3rd place) top AFB was 682, so I guess not too bad.  There was an interesting statement made by Scott when walking between pegs. “In last 5 targets the 4 of us in total had shot 22 arrows.”  I was the only one in the group not to get a medal 😦

1 blank and 8 second arrows,  much better than I thought possible with the limited practice I have been able to fit in round work and club coaching (only got to shoot 12 arrows on Saturday). The one I blanked  was a small deer at about 50 yards, with 1 arrow under its belly and 2 to the left of the chest.

Score Card - Hanson May 2012

Score Card – Hanson May 2012

You might notice that there was one bonus target which if you hit meant you could shoot a small rabbit. That is why there are 2 scores  for 1 target.
You can see more photos here
Hanson May 2012

Thanks for reading

May 18 2012

Equipment Review – Bearpaw 3D Steel Screw-On Points

Okay, to go with my literature reviews (which reminds me I need to finish the write-up on the next one) I thought I’d make a few comments on equipment and bits that I use. Please remember these views are personal, feel free to agree or disagree. If you have any experience of using the items mentioned please let me know it would be great to know how they work for other archers.

The first item I’m going to review is not that exciting for most of you. Piles , no not the sort you see the doctor about 😉 I’m talking about the sort you fit to the end of your arrows in this case wood arrows. Over the years I have used a variety of different styles and metals including brass and steel.
On a recent trip to Merlin archery I picked up some Bearpaw screw on piles. I had mentioned to Chris I was experiencing a problem with loss of piles in some 3D targets recently and he suggested I try these piles. He also commented that they should self centre well onto the shaft.
They are longer than the type I had used previously (brass 3D points) but still a taper fit.
So how have they worked?
Well I’ve been using them now for a few months and I am very impressed. I’ve not as not had any come off in 3D or foam targets.
They do appear to self centre when fitting to the wood shafts, which saves a lot of time and hassle. I think this is due to the extra length giving a cleaner and straighter fit.
I’ve fitted them to Port Orford Cedar and Sitka spruce 11/32 shafts without any difficulty. I apply them with a small amount of 2 part adhesive to the shaft and then screw them on by hand. No need to use any power tools or pliers, if you need to I’ve found that you can remove them by heating on a gas ring burner and using pair of pliers.
 Bearpaw 3D Steel Screw-On Point – are available in

  • 11/32 – 100 grains /125 grains
  • 5/16 100 grains /70 grains
Bearpaw Screw-On 3D Point  are also available in Aluminium in – 5/16 – 40 grains though I’ve not used these, so can’t give you any feedback on them.
 bearpaw-3d-steel

Hope readers find this of use. Thanks for reading