Tag Archives: advice

Sep 13 2014

Shooting In Cool Weather (Guest Post)

With the winter months not far off this is a worth while read for shooting in cold weather.

Steve Ruis's avatarA Blog for Archery Coaches

I volunteer from time to time to work with local JOAD groups. We are blessed in the Chicago are with a number of very good JOAD coaches, one of who had this to offer his young charges as the weather turned quite cool here in the area recently.

Shooting In Cool Weather (Guest Post)
by Gabe Querol

Coach GabeLast evening we conducted our JOAD class in the first cool weather of the season. All the kids came dressed in a manner which made me realize I hadn’t done enough to teach them how to operate in cool conditions. I saw hoodies with draw strings, baggy coats, baggy sweatshirts and a young man with shorts and a teeshirt, who was shivering. Needless to say the practice was not productive for many, as some were hitting clothing on every shot and others were uncomfortable and didn’t much care how they shot.

Q

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Aug 19 2014

Equipment review – Mybo boss

Over the last few weeks I’ve been doing some coaching with a couple of new archers down at the wood which has been great fun. Been good to get back to doing some coaching.
One of the students was asking about getting a practice boss for their garden and what to get, how much to spend etc. This got me thinking, dangerous I know.
Well, a while back I wrote a piece on setting up a practice boss and the safety considerations. (Here is the link if you are interested.)
This was based on a layered foam boss, but there are bag targets out there and a few months back I picked one up from Merlin archery store. You can see the Archery Adventures  video review here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVx16sYH2JE) .
So I thought it a good time to write a review of how we have found it.

So why did I buy one of these?

We were after something we could use not just for the recurves and flat bows but also the compound. Whist at Merlin I got chatting to the guys about target bosses and how our old tuff butt had seen better days and we were looking to replace it. They showed me the then new mybo sureshot  target boss range they had started to stock.

The staff demonstrated its stopping power by shooting a compound crossbow at about 5 yards into it. The result was about an inch or two of the bolt sticking out the back of the smallest boss. Not bad and a good demonstration of its stopping power.

First few arrows

First few arrows

Cost wise they aren’t bad. I believe replacement covers can be bought from Merlin.

90 cm are £75 and 70 cm are £49

There are three sizes are available. We have the mid range one. (70cm)

The mid range one isn’t to heavy,  manageable by me  to move round so can’t be that heavy as I’m not the strongest archer in the world. There are a couple of handles on top to make it easier to move. I’ve used these with some rope to tie ours in place.
The larger one needs a couple of people to move more due to the bulk than weight.
I’ve put ours on top of our current boss so you have a size comparison.
Mybo bag target

Mybo bag target

Initial tests are positive we’ve been using for a few months now shooting at it a couple of nights a week.

  • Arrows are easy to draw too.
  • Weave hasn’t frayed yet and the holes appear to close up quite well but can still be seen after drawing the arrows.
  • The arrows don’t penetrate too far at least from our recurve bows.  Haven’t tried my compound yet as concentrating on practice with recurve for upcoming National champs in September.
Hole after drawing arrow.

Hole after drawing arrow.

I think it works well for a practice boss and has lasted well from repeated shots though I haven’t shot it with anything other than recurves and flatbows. Although I do think you need to occasionally to shake the bag up so that the contents resettle themselves (bit like when you fluff up a pillow)
Whilst I don’t think you could replace foam bosses with these for a shoot.  I think they work well for practice at home or for a club indoor range potentially.

Top tip

One tip I would give is to get some heavy duty plastic sheets.  I’ve got a load I use in the garden and when I’m not shooting at the boss I cover it to protect it from the worst of the British weather. It also helps prevent birds or other wildlife using it as a scratching or scent post.
I hope you find this useful and if you have one of these or experience of them then let me know. Please remember when setting up a target consider safety above all else.
Thanks for reading.
Aug 8 2014

Some sad news – passing of Roy Bickerstaffe

This week I received some sad news from my old clubs (Black Arrow) chairman Kevin Bunting, concerning the passing of a well know archer and fellow club member Roy Bickerstaffe.

Kevin has put these words together and asked I share them with the wider archery community.

Roy Bickerstaffe - perfect style

Roy Bickerstaffe – perfect style

It is my sad duty to advise you of the death of Roy Bickerstaffe after a short period of rapidly declining health. Roy started the ‘Derby Carriage and Wagon Welfare Archery Section’ in March 1965 (was this the longest archery club name ever?)

Roy shot both target and field in those days and was very proficient in both, swapping with apparent ease between the classic target ‘Freestyle’ and ‘Heavy Tackle’ as Hunting Tackle was originally known.

Roy involved himself in all aspects of the sport: administration, coaching and, of course, shooting.
 
In 1970 the BFAA merged with the EFAA and soon Field Archery as we had known it was changing and not for the best.  Roy with a few others decided that enough was enough and with the hindsight afforded by their experience of the BFAA and the benefits of a clean sheet of paper, founded the NFAS in 1973. This gave field archers the wonderful opportunity to again engage with the sport as they wanted.  True, the NFAS migrated down a path they may have strayed somewhat from Roy’s vision but there is not a single true field archer that does not owe Roy and his band of merry men and women a debt of gratitude for what we all enjoy today.
 
Roy could talk for hours on a wide range of subjects and frequently did and there are many who have missed appointments, meals, loved ones and sleep as they tried without success to prompt an end to the dialogue or rather, monologue.  But one thing is for sure….that all who benefited from time with Roy was the richer for it.
I’d like to pass on my condolences to all the Bickerstaffe family. Though I only met Roy a couple of times when I first started shooting as Kevin says he had a wealth of experience that he was always willing to share.
Thank you, Roy  for all the work and effort you  made to a hobby I have the privilege to enjoy.
Thank you for reading.