Tag Archives: blog

Feb 10 2015

Shoot Report – HaySmith – February 2015

Hay Smith Shoot just before start.

HaySmith Shoot just before start.

So this is my first shot report of the new year and it sees us heading north to Leicestershire to try out a brand new club and ground. The “HaySmith and Spares” club was set up following the success of the course they laid at last year’s 3d championship course.
So on a cold frosty Sunday morning we headed up the motorway. I approached the shoot with some trepidation as it was to be the first time out for several years with my American flat bow (AFB). I’ve been trying to build up my strength to cope with shooting it for last couple of weeks but this would be the first real test.

Cold and frosty start to the day

Cold and frosty start to the day

The club’s grounds are quite a small deciduous woodland with a few streams running through, but generally a flat course and easy to navigate.

To say the shoot was popular is an understatement with it being fully booked within 24 hours of registration opening.  The shoot itself was to be a twice round 20 targets with five archers to a peg and all pegs being filled.

Being a new club there were a few 3d targets with  the majority being paper faces. Having said this they did have some new 2d foam targets: a wolf and rabbit which I hadn’t seen previously. Maybe in hindsight reducing the numbers on the shoot to 4 a peg with a couple of empty pegs might have made the day flow more quickly but you live and learn. Having said that it was great to catch up with so many people many of whom we hadn’t seen since last year. It was also good to meet up with Jim Grizzly Kent from Merlin Archery Adventures and have a chat.
One thing the organisers did right at the beginning before the shoot started, which I though was a great idea, was have every archer check the arrows of the archer next to them. After which they announced that anyone found with unmarked arrows would be escorted off the course.
I think it is fair to say the club members put a lot of effort in to making access around the wood easy with numerous bridges across the brooks and secure steps cut into the banks.
We started on target 7 and were joined by Alan and Neil from Pines Park and Josh from Centaura.

Target 7 - first target of day

Target 7 – first target of day

One interesting thing they did was take some standard faces and change the scoring zone and to ensure all archers were aware of the new zones they provided copies at administration and catering. One of these was to be our first target which fortunately I managed to hit.
There were some lovely set shots including one of a 3D wolf across the small pond, thought the reflection looked great.

3D wolf shot - target 20

3D wolf shot – target 20

There were some lovely framed shots which unfortunately suffered due to the low sun and shadows making them not only hard to hit but also hard to see.

Hard to see target

Hard to see target

They had the space to put on a particularly long shot to a 2d hessian tiger which was over 50 yards and probably closer to 65.

Long Tiger shot

Long Tiger shot

In all there were good shots but I  didn’t feel they knitted together as a course as well as they could.

Unfortunately not all things went well for them, which was a shame considering the effort they had put in. There were a couple of issues with targets where the overshoots were close to the next peg so when archers on one target missed the boss the arrows were heard to land near the group in front. This perception of danger often unsettles archers. A ricochet off the ground by one target landed near Administration, resulting in the shoot stopping until the organisers rectified the issue, which they did quickly.

Like many clubs HaySmith relied on outside catering and unfortunately they weren’t the fastest which resulted in delays as groups waited for food. In fairness the food was good and it was the first time the caterers had done such a large event.
Sadly these issues and delays resulted in a long and at times slow day and for this reason the organisers decided to reduce the number of targets that the archers were to shoot from 40 to 30.
It was a brave move by the organisers on the day and I think given the delays they were encountering it was probably a good idea. It meant people could get off the ground and set off home before it got dark.

 They are running a second shoot this weekend due to the initial demand and speed at which their first was booked up.

I’m sure they will review and develop the course over time addressing any issues.
Sharon did well winning ladies Hunting Tackle and being only a few points behind the top gent archers. As for me I didn’t do well and need a lot of practise to get my head in the right place with the AFB. I did have one very lucky shot on a 3D standing bear that was a lot smaller than I expected.

Lucky shot of the day

Lucky shot of the day

I think the mark of a course and shoot is whether people would go back. Despite all the problems I know we will and I hope others do too. Yes there were problems on the day but they reacted to them and will know for the future. Not all clubs learn from their mistakes.

Thanks for reading.

PS I still say the club colours are pink and not salmon Chris.

Jan 27 2015

That video again :-)

The internet seems to have been taken over by videos of Lars Andersen and his archery skills. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen it on Facebook or Twitter links

He came to my attention a while back and you can see the original posting I made here

I’ve included a link to the latest film is here in case you haven’t seen it

There are a few interesting different views being expressed on different forums. There is little doubt that he has amazing skills in his archery, but I’m not sure by some of the comments made in the video.

For this reason I’ve included this link to an alternative viewpoint.
Thanks for reading
Jan 16 2015

Making and doing archery madness

I firmly believe that a successful club is more than just a field or wood and group of people who shoot there.
A good club supports its members, nurturing and developing their skills and interests. I believe it should also be somewhat of a social gathering.

It is very easy for a newbie archer to get lost and confused with friendly offers of advice or to be too nervous or embarrassed to ask for help. Ideally you want new members to be intimidated as little as possible but not everyone has the confidence to ask questions or seek advice.

Learn from the past
Many years ago, I was a member of the Black Arrow club in Derby. In fact it was the  first ever archery club we joined. Kevin the club chairman and Cherrie the Secretary organised a making and doing session for all the new members who had joined. It gave all present the opportunity to learn the basics of arrow making, string making and how to serve strings. It proved a great success being both instructional and social with Cherrie and Pete (her partner) providing food for all.
Over the Christmas holiday of 2014 Sharon and I organised a similar event at our house, with the objective of giving a few of the newbies some guidance on making or repairing arrows and a variety of other topics.
It proved to be a very sociable afternoon  and evening, helped by the contributions of everyone who came and Sharon’s expert cooking. Yes, not only is she a cracking shot but also a great cook.

Nigel showing his expertise on straightening wooden arrows.

Nigel showing his expertise on straightening wooden arrows.

We covered topics of how to make wooden arrows including fletching arrows, attaching piles and nocks. Having a number of experienced archers there proved really useful as each explained how their technique was slightly different from each other enabling a great spectrum of knowledge to be displayed and discussed.  The discussion on whether to varnish the arrow prior to fletching or fletch then varnish was one hotly debated topic. An equally debated topic was the merits of different glues for attaching piles to wooden shafts with some preferring  hot melt over epoxy glues. All the advice and comments were provided freely and in a relaxed atmosphere.

Jason showing how to use fletching tape

Jason showing how to use fletching tape

Whilst arrow making was going on in one room, arrow straightening of aluminium arrows using our straightening jig was being demonstrated in another. There was also just enough space to demonstrate applying serving to a bow string.

Discussions went on long into the night on different techniques and it was a very sociable evening. Our thanks to all who contributed their time and advice.

Greta making her first arrows

Greta making her first arrows

With everyone at the wood the following day even more discussions took place, this time with archers showing off their arrows they had made previously and again citing the merits of varnishing first or other such topics.

So if you have the opportunity to run something similar to this at your club go for it. It doesn’t take much planning and benefits can be huge.

Thanks for reading and to all those that attended. Special thanks to Kevin and Cherrie who set the bar so high all those years ago.
Oh, Kevin if you are reading this remember the glue.