Tag Archives: BAFAC

Sep 4 2012

Shoot Report – Wolverine September 2012

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve last shot Wolverine course, but last weekend we headed up there. Situated just past stoke it took a little over an hours drive from the new house, though the rain showers we drove through made us wonder if it was going to be a dry day..
The course itself is mostly on a large wooded hillside with paths criss-crossing and lots of up and down shots. We were all grateful that the rain stayed away as the paths would have been very slippery otherwise.
The course layers have a reputation for laying a challenging course and they lived up to this reputation on the day. It was a very well laid course making great use of deadground to make you under or over estimate the distances to the target.
Our shooting group was made up of Paul Jones (from North Wales club shooting Compound unlimited) Sharon and Bob Davies a Black Arrow member shooting his Longbow.
Sharon and Bob

Sharon and Bob

It was really good to catch up with Bob and Jim from Black Arrow who we also saw and was shooting in the group infront, as we’d not seen them since moving house. Jim is doing well with his new Flatbow, and I had the opportunity to chat with him about his new arrows.

He’s bought some arrows from Dreamcatcher arrows and I must say they look great and not overly pricey form what Jim said.

There were about 180 archers there and it ran very smoothly with no long hold ups.
Back to the course and shooting. Not great start blanking the first target, despite hitting it twice the arrows glanced off twice!! One either side of a small 3d partridge. One of the new part 3d targets where other it only a 3d from the front. Our second target was a standing bear, through the trees.

Paul shooting Standing bear

Paul shooting Standing bear target 2

Bob Shooting 3d Deer

Bob Shooting 3d Deer in the afternoon

The real downer on the day and made me really angry was at the lunch break, when an inconsiderate archer who had stopped early so he could get to the lunch tent walked across my shooting line when I was drawing up. It was dangerous and ignorant.

How Far is Kong

As always they had Kong out this time at about 77-80 yards. Kong is a huge home made gorilla 3d target over 11ft tall  which they placed in a field. Banked it with first falling between legs and 2&3 drifting left. The video below gives you an idea of distance and size

The course was mainly 3d targets with a few paper faces.
Liked the standing bear paper face, looked really good and well placed.
Sharon shoot at 3D

Sharon shoot at 3D

Sharon did well winning Ladies Barebow. Though she did get some lucky shots, with her arrows just staying in the target.
Sharons arrow

Sharons arrow is the top one.

I would like to say that I had shot well, but truthfully I shot terribly at a level I have not shot since starting. It has been a real confidence hit and I’m not sure what I will do. I don’t know whether to continue with flatbow or go back to Hunting tackle. Either way I really need to improve 😦
Thanks for reading
May 15 2012

Shoot report – Lyme Valley May 2012

Sunday saw another early start and long drive, this time stopping off to collect Ben on route a fellow Black Arrow member who we were acting as shoot guardian for. Thankfully it was dry and sunny day, a rare combination recently. Our destination was to be the Lyme Valley  grounds just north of Stoke on Trent who were hosting this NFAS shoot.
We like Lyme Valley shoots and try to get to them whenever possible, so the early start is normally more than worthwhile.
It is a lovely wood situated on the sometimes steep sides of a valley, with a stream at the bottom.
See previous shoot write-up.
Renowned for being a course where you will be going up and down the valley sides and crossing the countless foot bridges you work up a good appetite. I’m not a fan of having lunch breaks at shoots, I rather shoot through where you stop off and grab a bite to it between pegs. However due to the layout of the wood it’s not practical for Lyme Valley to run as it as a shoot through. This Sunday would see 160+ archers joining us for a day shooting a mix of  3D targets and paper faces.
We had a great group with Sharon, Ben and I being joined by Jill and David Haynes from the Pride Park club, 2 very good compound archers and great company laughing and joking all the way round the course. Jill is also a coach trainer and had been one my assessors when I was taking my coaching course.
The Lyme Valleys course itself had been extensively modified since the last time we shot it, providing a mix of short medium and long shoots, going up, down and across the hillsides. Add to this the careful use of dead ground and trees to frame shots all made for a real challenge.
I’m still amazed to have hit the long turkey shot after the lunch break. Especially with the audience watching, themselves waiting to shoot the target. I’m sure the marshal had jinxed us when he’d said just before we were about to shoot “everyone gets it first arrow” – thanks Tom. We’d seen the group before lunch shoot the target and not all hit with their first arrow.
Amazingly we proved Tom right and did all hit it with our first arrow, though I did feel the pressure when I went up to shoot. I was the last adult to shoot and Jill, David and Sharon had all nailed it with their recurve and compound bows. There was me with my little flat bow and wooden arrows, I’d only finished making and marking up the day before.

Sharon did really well scoring 628 and winning ladies barebow. In fact I think she was only 2 points behind the third placed gents. All in the group did well with all of us getting placed. Yes that means I won my first ever medal in American Flatbow, only a third place but still a medal and placing 🙂
After all my concerns about target panic and reading on the subject and not forgetting the support from followers of this blog and fellow archers I’m more convinced than ever that you have to persist and work at it.

Big thanks to all at Lyme for a great day, already booked for your next shoot.
Thanks for your time in reading this.

Apr 28 2012

Work day at wood, tired but worth it

So no competitions this weekend, though with this weather i’m not surprised. Just heard that the local shoot was stopped part way through after a couple of branches came down in the woods. The good news was no one was hurt.

Thankfully it stayed dry for the workday at Black Arrow (BAFAC), wood which was Saturday. Sharon and I spent the day at the wood  working with other members updating and improving the course.  We got there just before 10 and left at just after 6, so was a long day, but did manage to get some shooting in too.

The goal was to work from 10 until 1 updating course, maintaining access paths etc. In reality most of us worked until 2.

Well in those  hours all who turned  have managed to  change 8 of the 20 targets, updating 7 (moving shooting pegs etc or in one setting up a completely new target.)

It was really great to see members working together to improve the site.

Big thanks to all that helped. I think it has improved the course no end.