Tag Archives: archer

Me shooting the large 3D red dragon
Jul 4 2017

Shoot report – Hawk archers – June 2017

Hawk Club and archers massing

Hawk Club and archers massing

Okay so this may come across as a bit of a fanboy write up of the shoot report for Hawk but I will freely admit that I really like Hawks grounds and the shoots they host. A fact any regular reader of this blog might already be aware of.
Those of you haven’t read my write ups before might be thinking “Why do I like the shoots so much?”

Well I find the courses challenging not because targets are stretched, but because they cause the archer to read the ground, the inclines etc. and try to factor that into their shots. In essence that is the appeal of field archery to me. Hawk course layers force you to focus and push yourself, in a good way. You can have a read of previous shoot report here if you are interested, hopefully you are.

The last report was from a couple of years back as they didn’t run an NFAS shoot last year, which was a real shame, but I know they were busy setting a course for WFAA .

3D fox at Hawk grounds

3D fox at Hawk grounds

I know that many archers that have shot Hawk can find the ground challenging to get round and the shots difficult, not because of the distance but the landscape and terrain. Even those used to shooting on an incline will find Hawk a challenge but I truly believe that it is well worth exploring this Welsh hillside. If you are wanting to test your archery skills, head to their next shoot.
Interestingly at their last shoot I know one reader of this blog was talking about this to another archer at the shoot. She had searched for Hawk Archers on the internet, and found this blog, with the write up of previous shoots, so they had an idea of what to expect.
So enough of my rambling, let’s get onto the important stuff and the actual shoot report for Hawk Archers.

So being in Wales it is appropriate to start with a comment about the weather. Heavy showers had been promised but thankfully those we had early in the day weren’t a problem and cleared quickly, leaving a warm dry day. Yes dry day in Wales.

Troll in a hole

Troll in a hole

As always there was a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere at Hawk shoot and this time it was great to see so many people there, since traditionally Hawk shoots are quite small. This time there were over eighty archers attending.
Our shooting group for the day would consist of Luke and his dad Ant both shooting in the primitive class. I know that some archers find shooting with juniors difficult but Luke was a great sport and coped with his new bow really well.

Luke shooting at coyote

Luke shooting at coyote

This year Hawks course would be a 36 target course with a mix of 3ds and a few paper faces, with a theme of Dragons this year. One of which was a huge 3D red dragon on the hillside, along with a black dragon and a couple of really cool custom paper face.

Hawks black dragon 3D

Hawks black dragon 3D

I guess the giant red can’t have been that huge as it took me 3 arrows to hit it, with the first two landing just at its feet. (Must have been the Welsh man in me not wanting to shoot our national flag)

Me shooting the large 3D red dragon

Me shooting the large 3D red dragon

The shoot would be a shoot through with you passing the catering hut twice, where you could fill up on supplies before heading off again. Only downside this year was the lack of their homemade chilli, which is usually great.
Another very cool custom target made by the guys at Hawk was a two headed wolf, that was amazingly detailed and well sculpted.

Two headed wolf 3D

Two headed wolf 3D

Hawk was also the first opportunity for us to catch up with some of the archers who had shot our 3D course and find out their views of the course, which appears to have been very favourable. I will put an write up on what happened when I get the chance.
Despite having not touched a bow very much over the last few weeks, Sharon shot well, winning ladies AFB and despite not picking up a bow in what seemed ages I did ok and won gents AFB.

Sharon on the practise bosses

Sharon on the practise bosses

This year Hawk introduced a memorial trophy in both gents Bare Bow and American Flat Bow in memory of past members. I have to say I feel very honoured to be the first person to receive this new AFB trophy in memory of Bob Nourish.
From what I understand Hawk will be one of the teams setting a course for this years NFAS National Championships in September, which going by their normal standards should be a great course.
Thanks for reading

Sharon shooting off the tower
Jun 21 2017

Shoot report – Black Arrow – June 2017

Black Arrow

Black Arrow – archers gathering

I have to say it was a little strange going to the Black Arrow shoot as a competitor, having been a member for several years. The club has moved from the wooded hillside near Coxbench in Derbyshire where I learnt to shoot to now being located near Lout. Even though it is a different location there were some similarities, including the old trap covered shelter. This new site being a stones’ throw or should that be an arrow flight, from Harlequin archers, Long Eaton, and the new Merlin archery wood.  Seems the area is fast becoming a nexus or archery clubs in the midlands.

There was a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere at the shoot with over 80 archers or so attending, though I think they had quite a few no shows. Fortunately the strong winds forecast didn’t arrive until late in the day and even then it wasn’t too much of a problem as its quite a dense woodland.

Our first target a hessian owl

Our first target a hessian owl

The 40 target course would be a mix of 3D, 2D, paper faces and some very well painted hessian faces ranging from badgers to bears. The only downside being not always seeing the detail of these targets until you are up close, so you are having to guess where the scoring zones were. But they did look good.

The club has invested in some of the 2D targets similar to those owned by the Harlequin club. One of these being a 2D lion which I hadn’t seen before and was a lot smaller than expected, might explain why it was so hard to hit and see from the white peg thanks to the fast growing bracken. Glad I managed to hit it from the red peg, one of my few good shots of the day.

The not so large 2D lion

The not so large 2D lion

They do also have some homemade 3D targets, including a large bear, complete with a salmon which was the kill zone and a coloured peacock. The only problem being the latter target was still wet though, so I now have a blue and white right boot.

3D peacock - should have come with a warnings as paint was still wet

3D peacock – should have come with a warnings as paint was still wet

As for other shots there were a few framed shots which I quite liked, though I think a few of the peg positions were a bit tight for younger archers and too close to trees or branches that you could have caught a limb on.

Sharon shooting off the tower

Sharon shooting off the tower

Our group for the day would be Sharon, myself, D’No aka Dean shooting bow hunter and David shooting AFB both from Hanson. The club catering was great as they had two food stops, which enabled them to run a shoot through, both having a wide selection of cakes to keep archers going along with hot drinks.

Paper face red squirrel

Paper face red squirrel

It’s obvious they are putting a lot of effort into the courses, including building a tower enabling them to set a more technical elevated shot involving height difference. This is something they struggle with being located in an otherwise flat woodland.

A slightly different angle showing Sharon shooting from the tower

A slightly different angle showing Sharon shooting from the tower

They had one interesting shot through a barrel and another of a paper face duck over a small pond and used dead ground well. Another nice feature was the way they had covered all their target bosses with camouflage tarpaulin making them less obvious.

Marshals were all friendly and proved good at reacting to problems when reported, which is always good to see. Though I think they struggled with the speed of growth of the bracken in some areas as a few shots were very hard to see despite having been trimmed the day before.

In all it was a good day seeing friends and catching up with an old house mate Stuart, from university days. On a personal note I think I would have preferred to see some the well painted hessian targets on the closer shots, as I felt some of the small paper faces (Jay, duck etc.) felt a bit stretched. Still Sharon shot well, winning ladies AFB and I managed a second place.

It was good to see the club appearing to be thriving and running shoots at their new grounds, I hope this continues in the future.

Thanks for reading

The bluebells the shoot is named after
Jun 13 2017

Shoot report – South Wilts – Bluebell shoot – April 2017

South Wilts start

South Wilts start

Okay so this shoot report is well over due for which I am very sorry.  I am still trying to catch up with all my writing, having  been so focused on the course setting for the 3D championships and the subsequent run up to it I’ve let this site updates slip, so I’m sorry.  My writing isn’t the only thing that I’ve let slip, as my garden is resembling a jungle at present. Anyway on to the shoot report for South Wilts bluebell shoot.

The bluebells the shoot is named after

The bluebells the shoot is named after

This was our first trip to South Wilts shoot ground and due to the distance, a two and half hour drive involved we made it a weekend trip and stayed over. Granted we might have had a shorter trip if we hadn’t diverted past Stonehenge but since we were in the area it seemed like a good idea. Being the first time there it would mean a completely new course and largely new group of archers to meet and shoot with. Having said that there were a few familiar faces present, including Pat a friend from my coaching course all those years back.

Being a spring shoot we were forecast a few rain showers but it was not as wet as expected with only a couple of light showers­­ early in the day. Having said this it did not deter the archers with over 160 attending the event.

Wolverine 3d from the junior pegs

Wolverine 3d from the junior pegs

The course itself would be 40 targets, with 36 being 3Ds and the remaining paper. South Wilts have a lovely woodland with carpets of bluesbells, hence the shoot being called the Bluebell Shoot”. The grounds are mostly flat but they have constructed a couple of towers to offer a different shot. I think it might be worth them modifying one of the towers so there isn’t a metal bar across where you draw up. I came very close to hitting my lower limb on the bar. On the other towers they had ropes that worked better.

Sharon on one of platforms

Sharon on one of platforms

On the subject of towers I do think they work as they offer the course layers the opportunity to set some fine shots including one at a ram, shown in the photo.

The view from the platform

The view from the platform

I actually think they used the ground well too for the majority of the shots. The day flowed pretty well with the only real hold up we had was at a long target, large grizzly 3D but in many ways I would expect it at that style of target.

One of the long bears

One of the long bears

Our shooting  group for the day would be Tony, shooting hunting tackle, with his wife Pat who wasn’t shooting accompanied by their granddaughter Lacy shooting barebow. I know some people don’t like shooting in a group with a junior or cub, but I have to say Lacy was great company and a good shot. Tony we knew from his time as general secretary for the NFAS a few years back.

Our first target a 3D puma

Our first target a 3D puma

We did get lost at one stage going round the course, but I think this was as much to do with the archery interfering with the conversation as the course not being clearly marked. I found out later we weren’t the only ones to miss the turning and the marshals added some more direction arrows as the shoot progressed in case any other archers were enjoying the conversation and not paying attention.

South Wilts club has been at the grounds for a number of years and this is obvious from the construction of the towers to the quality of the facilities available for its members. Catering was very good and prices reasonable, with all the marshals I spoke to being friendly and very helpful, especially when trying to source a torch to check Lacys’ hand for splinters after she tripped.

Yes some more bluebells

Yes some more bluebells

The lack of practise due to the work on the 3ds showed in my shooting, but I managed to scrape third with Sharon winning ladies AFB.This was our first double medal win under the new club banner of Briar Rose Field Archers (more on this later). Maybe if we get there next year we can improve on this, as I think it is a good shoot to add to the list to revisit.

One other thing I would really like to mention here, were the number of archers who thanked us for stepping forward to set a course at the 3ds. Here’s hoping that those who thanked us enjoyed A course.

Thanks for reading