Tag Archives: arrow

Feb 24 2014

Shoot report – Paget de Vesey – February 2014

Well the Field archery season has started with a very, very windy Paget shoot thankfully the rain stayed away.  (An unusual event this winter). Though not officially the start as you can shoot all year round, I always think of Paget as the start of the shooting year.  (Previous reports can be found here 2013)
On this occasion we were joined by Roy and Karen from Frankley Bowmen each with new bows or limbs in Karen case and a new longbow for Roy. Our thanks to them for making it a really enjoyable day.
Sharon and Karen at Paget

Sharon and Karen at Paget

As always the food was fantastic with two separate food huts providing ample quantities of hot food, cakes and gallons of tea and coffee.

The course

The course layers set a challenging course made more so by the extremely strong winds in a couple of areas of the woods. The Paget ground is made up of 2 woods and the course was split between the 2. In hindsight I think it might have been better to move a few pegs closer in to the targets to make shorter shots that would have been less affected by the wind. Though it is a challenge enough to set a course that works, factoring in the weather makes it really hard.
They had also suffered from falling trees in recent storms resulting in course changes. Well done guys .
The course itself comprised of 36 mixed 3Ds and paper faces. The club capped the total number of competitors to 180 but with a few no shows on the day it meant most pegs had 4 archers making for an easy flowing day.

3D lion in tree

3D lion in tree

Another great shot was a 3D crocodile between tree stumps which gave a lovely window shot. Sorry I didn’t get a photo of this one. I did manage to get one of the mountain lion in the tree which was a lovely setting.

Arrow Casualties

With the strong wind it was somewhat inevitable there would be a few casualties, with Sharon breaking one but it was Roy who won the prize for the most unusual casualty. It’s not uncommon to see arrows snap behind the pile or in half if they encounter a branch, but I’ve never seen an arrow split like Roys.
Roy misjudged one target and skimmed the top of the boss. Clattering into some branches. After a short search we spotted it and appeared fine until you picked it up.

Image arrow looks fine

Image arrow looks fine

It had split down the line of the grain.

Split down grain

Split down grain

They say imitation is a great compliment if so I’m feeling very happy. In a recent post I made reference to a different kind of shot where there was 1 target face but at different sizes. Paget members who had shot it at our shoot liked the idea so much they copied the idea putting out a very similar shot.

Ironically this was the only target I missed all day as when I drew up for it a combination of wind and hand slipping resulted in me releasing early 😦
Neither Sharon or I felt we shot particularly well with the lack of practice evident but it was a good day shooting and catching up with friends.
SVYF did well coming away with a few medals. Well done to Chris Harley on her placing in ladies longbow. Next time keep focused and stop getting distracted. Congrats to young Alfie in placing in his first ever shoot.
Thanks for reading.
Jan 23 2014

Course & target laying – A different kind of shot

A different kind of shot

A different kind of shot

At a recent shoot the club hosted I came up with the idea of a different kind of shot to the traditional one. The idea was to give them something a little different and give the archer a choice.

There would be 3 targets, not the customarily one, with each target being set up at varying distances ranging from 18 yards down  to 9 yards. On each target boss I placed the same target face a picture of an owl I had taken a few years back, but with one crucial difference. The nearest was A3 in size (A3 =  280mm × 420mm)  the middle A4 (A4 = 210mm × 280mm) and the furthest A5 (A5 =  140mm × 210mm).

A scoring line was drawn just inside the animal but I didn’t bother with any inner markings as all they had to do was be within the line. This is the image I used. I didn’t want to use a face that people had seen before.

Target

Target face

Archers were told they were allowed only one arrow and had to choose which target they wanted to go for.

If they made the shot and hit within the line, they scored otherwise it would be a blank on their score card. They would not be allowed to shoot a second if they missed first time or third arrow if they missed on their second attempt.

The closest and largest target (A)would score them 16 points (the normal score for a first arrow outer or wound hit) the smallest (C) and furthest would score 24 points ( inner bull often described as either pro ring or inner kill) and the medium sized middle (B)  one 20 points (outer bull or outer kill).

Targets A & B were across clear ground allowing archers to judge the distance more easily, also target A & B had been positioned with little difference in the distance. This was deliberate as I wanted to encourage the slightly less confident archer to had a go and be rewarded with 20 points.   To make target C a little more challenging I tied some holly bush bows down a few feet in-front of the boss so it was harder to judge the distance.

Close up of Target C

Close up of Target C

All target bosses were covered in greenery to camouflage them.

So the archer could go for an easy 16 points or challenge themselves if they felt confident, it was their choice.

Archers reaction

It was interesting to observe the archers on the day trying to way up which to go for.

  • Many archers went for the easy 16 points, happy with just not blanking the target.
  • Many of the sighted archers went for the 24 thinking they had too to keep their score up, the result being some missed.
  • The remaining went for the 20 points (middle size target B).
  • The holly bush trick on Target C worked, as a few archers commented they thought it was closer or further than the target actually was.
  • Interestingly there  were those who said I’ll go for what they perceived as an easy shot. Either target A or B, only to miss  possibly due to lack of concentration?
  • Many archers selected their target, shooting it and because there wasn’t any queues of people waiting asked if it was okay to have a pop at the harder shot for fun.
  • Lastly I noticed lots of smiling faces and a few people have commented on it to be since the shoot.

Conclusion

As I said earlier the idea was to give them something a little different. This worked with a number of archers speaking to me afterwards about the shot and how they liked it. Importantly it didn’t slow the shoot down which had been a concern, in fact I would say the opposite as it was one of the quickest targets on the day with no waiting. People seemed to enjoy the difference.

One thing I would add is the importance of having clear instructions. For those interested these are the instructions we used to explain the shot to archers on the day. We laminated a couple of copies, attaching them to trees near the shooting peg for archers to read before taking the shot.

You only shoot 1 arrow.
No 2nd or 3rd arrows are shot.
If you hit anywhere within the scoring area of the animal you score points shown below otherwise you blank.
Choose target A, B or C.
If you hit your chosen target with your one arrow you score
16 points for hitting target A or blank if you miss.
20 points for hitting target B or blank if you miss.
24 points for hitting target C or blank if you miss.
No hit. No score.
No 2nd or 3rd arrows are shot.
Choose carefully and Good luck.

Future Posts

In the next few posts I will be looking at course laying and the factors as I see them that make a good shot and a great shot. Trying to give advice, thoughts and ideas. If you have any thoughts or comments please let me know.

As always thanks for reading.

Jan 1 2014

Equipment Review – Bohning fletching tape

With the stormy weather hitting the UK at present, many archers are retreating to the indoor ranges or their making and doing rooms and sheds, fletching arrows and sorting gear for the new season. It’s been not so much of a white Christmas and New Year as a very, very wet one.

Here is hoping everyone is safe, warm and dry.

I thought I might take this opportunity to post my findings on using Bohning fletching tape. Been a while since I’ve written a review so here goes.

Just to make this clear from the outset. These are my views and opinions. I have no commercial interest in these products I review or the companies.

Double sided tape

Bohning Double sided tape

For years I have been using fletching glue to attach my feather fletching to the wood shafts. HMG has been my glue of choice. The only issue I’ve had is the time it takes for the adhesive to cure which is 15-20 minutes depending on air temperature.

For plastic vanes I’ve used simple bostic glue from local hardware shop which seems to work well on Sharon’s aluminium eclipse arrows.

At a shoot last year I was mentioning this and Bob one of our old club members from Black Arrow mentioned he used double sided fletching tape for all of his arrows and had never had any problems. Bob shoots longbow for both field and roving so his arrows can take some abuse. No offence Bob if you are reading this.

Initially I found applying the tape a little fiddly. Not so much when taking it off the roll and applying to the feather, but when trying to take the second covering layer off the tape when applying the fletching to the arrow shaft, but you get used to it.

Make sure you have aligned the fletching right as the tape adheres fast so you don’t have the time to re align if you make a mistake.

Quick tip. Ensure the shaft is dry and free from any dust which would cause poor adhesion. I don’t oil or varnish the shafts prior to fletching them.

Using the tape saves a lot of time as I found it quick and easy to use once you got the hang of it. I was able to fletch half dozen arrows in 15 minutes a significant time saving as it used to take 45-55 minutes using the glue to fletch one arrow.

Allow a little more at each end

Allow a little more at each end to make it easier to apply.

Leave a little extra at the front and rear of the fletching as it makes it easier to remove the second side of the tape and easier to apply the fletching to the shaft.

Extra length at front

Extra length at front

I was concerned the tape might come off in the rain but so far so good. I’ve been using the arrows for a little over six months and they seem okay.

My other concern was if the fletching might peel off the shaft, but this hasn’t happened either. I don’t know if this might be different if you varnished the wood first.

They have stood up to all the normal abuse I can throw at them, from being soaked in the rain, to encounters with trees and other vegetation. I’ve also used the tape for a new set of wooden arrows for Sharon and they seem to eb working well for her too.

Not sure how well it would work on plastic fletching but I am thinking of testing this shortly so it might be an update in near future.

The tape is available from most good archery shops, I got mine from Merlin in Loughborough. (http://www.merlinarchery.co.uk/bohning-feather-fletching-tape.html) I’ve used less than half the roll so far and produced a couple of dozen arrows so its pretty good value for money at just under £7 a roll.

So in short my verdict is thumbs up for Bohning tape, a good product that can save you a lot of time. 9/10 (could be higher if I had chance to try it on shafts other than wood)

Let me know if you have any experiences with this or anything else.

Happy New Year and as always thanks for reading.