Tag Archives: camping

Jul 23 2015

Shoot report – Liberty archers – July 2015

Liberty 2015

Liberty 2015

Liberty shoots have a reputation for being a fun shoot to attend as the club always put a lot of effort into making sure it’s fun. This shoot was their annual two day event with a party bbq on the Saturday night. We had decided to camp again this year with a few of the SVYF  members and booked the Friday and Monday off work. So early Friday morning we packed the car for the three hour drive to Liberty arriving just before 11 am so plenty of time to pitch the tent and settle in.
Liberty Archers campsite

Liberty Archers campsite

The camp site was already very busy with caravans and tents popping up along the access road, with some having arrived the previous day.
Liberty Camp chats

Liberty SVYF camp chats

Friday night meal was the traditional fish and chips from the local chip shop washed down with a couple of bottles of cider whilst sat chatting.
You can read a shoot report from last year’s event here.

One really nice tradition that Liberty Archers do is when a member leaves (they have several members that are associated with the armed forces and are transferred to other bases or countries) the archer shoots an arrow into the leavers tree.

The leavers Tree

The leavers Tree

Saturday night party 
This years theme was a Night at the movies which resulted in some fantastic costumes on show for the Saturday night party. Including a full Sister Act quior,  Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, Beetlejuice and Marilyn Monroe not to forget the jedi knights, Snow White and Mr and Mrs Shrek  wondering round. Sharon was as always magnificent going to town on a Maleficent costume.
Sharon, Jane and Jill were sponsored to shoot the Sunday course in full fancy dress costumes so we had Marilyn Monroe Beetlejuice and Maleficent wondering round the woods.

The charity team

The charity team (from left to right Jane, Jill and Sharon)

Felt sorry for any cars driving past the site as they caught glimpses of these characters. At least one motorcycle pillion took a double look. The charity to benefit is the British heart foundation and to dare over £135 has been raised. A just giving page has been set up too here is the link.

The course 
All 42 targets on the courses had a film theme from Star Wars to Citizen Kane with some requiring audience participation such as the Monty Python shot at a vampire rabbit where your fellow archers were to use coconut cups to make the sound of horse hooves as you were shooting.

As course sites go Liberty is very flat and covered in open woodland of silver birch and oaks. Thankfully this year the weather  wasn’t as hot as last year which made it a more  cumfortable couple day in woods.

Tegan and Sam

Tegan and Sam

Shooting group on both days would include Sharon and myself along with fellow Svyf members Sam and Tegan. On Saturday we were joined by Simon but he didn’t shoot Sunday.

I didn’t shoot well on Saturday and it was obvious in my score of 600 points fare lower than I wanted and in the number of second arrows I took. I seemed to be going over the top of everything.
Sharon shooting a bedded deer

Sharon shooting a bedded deer

One thing with Liberty is the ground swallows arrows as it’s quite sandy and grassy so we spent a lot of time searching for arrows. There is still one of mine somewhere out there.
Sams luckiest shot of weekend

Sams luckiest shot of weekend

Robo Deer made an appearance though with a new paint job.

Robo Deer with paint job on Sunday

Robo Deer with paint job on Sunday

The course is a full 42 targets with 3d targets of all shapes and sizes from mosquitos made up to be giant butterflies to a Magnificent Seven shot which was a herd of deer 3ds in the field. This changed to the seven samurai on the Sunday.

SVYF on the next peg

SVYF on the next peg

One target that was really tough for lighter poundage bows was based on the psycho movie, where you had to shoot through a taught shower curtain to hit a 3D bear. The curtain caused the lighter bows to either fail to penetrate the plastic sheet or deflect when their fletching made contact.
I wasn’t looking forward to Sunday following my awful shooting on Saturday.It wasn’t helped by my sinuses playing up, thankfully Sue had some nasal spray that helped clear my head.Matters didn’t improve when on my first target I sailed over the top with first arrow only to have second shatter into multiple pieces when it clipped a tree.

Another Liberty shot between trees

Another Liberty shot between trees

For some reason my head slowly started to  work as the day progressed but any chance on placing was long gone due to poor shooting on Saturday but at least I wasn’t feeling a complete failure.

Sam shooting the singing in the rain themed target

Sam shooting the singing in the rain themed target

Sharon shooting on Sunday in costume

Sharon shooting on Sunday in costume

There were a couple of shots on Sunday that I thought could have been improved with better peg location as shorter archers found them near impossible to see due to undergrowth but in all it was a good course.

Hard shot through the trees

Hard shot through the trees

Sharon proving she can shoot in costume

Sharon proving she can shoot in costume

Sharon came away with first in ladies hunting tackle so she now has an Oscar to fit in the trophy cabinet.

Thanks for reading.
May 20 2015

Check your kit

First Aid Kit

First Aid Kit

Some of you may follow my Tumblr (http://offthearrowshelf.tumblr.com/)  or instagram (https://instagram.com/offthearrowshelf/) sites. Those that do, will have seen my recent post about checking the contents of  your first aid kit. For those that haven’t I’m going to expand on it a bit here.
Whether camping, skiing  hiking or enjoying field archery I always carry a simple first aid kit, either in my backpac, day sack or on my quiver belt. It doesn’t take up much space and weighs nearly nothing. One tip I have found is to put everything contained within into waterproof zip bags. It keeps the kit together and more importantly dry.
It’s nothing fancy, just a simple kit you can pick up from most outdoor stores with a few extra items, I’ve added over the years like antiseptic wipes, spare micropore tape, antihistamine cream, dehydration sachets etc.
I’m no medic but I have patched a few people up over the years and found it amazing how few people carry such a kit. It’s one of those things you hope to never have to use but am glad to carry. As it has been said “you hope for the best but plan for the worst“.
First aid kit and spare arrow tube

First aid kit and spare arrow tube

Since it’s the start of the summer and the 3d championships are just round the corner I use it as a reminder to check, replace and refill the kit. It’s worth checking to make sure everything is within date as sterile dressings, antiseptic wipes etc have a limited shelf life. When in Cotswold Outdoors this last Saturday I noticed they sell a refill pack for first aid kits, which is a good simple means by which to restock.

One addition to the kit this year is a tick card, which is a small credit size card with a magnifying glass and simple prongs to help you remove a tick (http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/lifesystems-tick-card-b3210065).
There has been a number of articles in the news about the spread of ticks and the increase in the number of reported cases of Lymes Disease.

Lymes Disease is a potentially serious condition and here is a link to a recent BBC news article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32429228 and another on the dangers of tick bites http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-27255853

As if to prove the point within 3 hours of posting the original photo on Sunday, the kit was being used. They had been doing some maintenance at the wood and badly cut his hand when trying to saw some wood.

Thanks for reading

Sep 25 2013

Shoot report – NFAS National Championship 2013

2013 NFAS National Championships

2013 NFAS National Championships

Last weekend (21st-22nd September) saw the annual NFAS National championships, which this year was held just outside of Hemel Hempsted, Hertfordshire a little over a 2 hour drive from home. This was the second time the Gaddesden Estate had hosted the event in the last 3 years, though this time we were only using one area of the woodland.
The estate grounds are a lovely mix of old mix leaf deciduous woodland, crisscrossed with paths and hollows, some of which were used by the course layers exceedingly well.
Unlike other champs we decided not to camp being unsure of the weather and went for a bit of luxury, well sort of limited luxury, as we and a few others booked in at a Premier Inn about 20 minutes drive from the site. It was a novelty being able to have a hot shower, a proper bed and not too bad food from the restaurant next door.  We were joined by a few others from Severn Valley and Paget de Vesey club making it a social evening on both Friday and Saturday night.
2013 NFAS Nationals

2013 NFAS Nationals

The two clubs who put all the effort in to set the courses, clear paths and marshal were Cloth of Gold (Course A) and Westcott Archers (Course B). This would result in 2 very different courses of 40 targets one shot each day over the weekend. With over 400 archers present the courses were packed, with 5-6 on a peg, top marks to Admin though for all their hard work and organising.
Personally I think the society should have gone with 3 courses, as it would have spread the archers out and wouldn’t have resulted in as many hold ups on pegs which was a real problem for us on Sunday.
Delays result in a lack of flow to the day and I suffer from this in the form of a loss of concentration and focus. Combine this with a more challenging course, Sunday would prove to be a tough and long day. With only 2 courses it would see us shooting in mixed groups, which was great as it meant I got to shoot with Sharon on both days.
The first day we would shoot A course with Pug (who we had shot with before at Thornbury and would go on to be placed in compound limited) Robin and Norm with B course on Sunday with Rob Cook, Vickie, Lesley (Rob would go on to win gents bare bow)

Downhill boar

Downhill boar, probably the best shot on A course

Saturday A course

A course was laid by Cloth of Gold and would prove to be the easier of the two and I think this was partly due to them having less woodland. There were a few lovely set targets like the boa in the hollow which you shot from the top of the slope. The thing I liked was that there weren’t many silly long shots.

Only two targets spring to mind and both were small ones. The JVD red squirrel which was just after the food stop and the JVD ermine. The ermine is a small target and doesn’t need to be put on an angled boss. The squirrel was too far and it didn’t help that we had an hour long enforced lunch break just before it due to hold ups with groups in front of us. In contrast on B course the Ermine was set up really well.

Ermine target on B course

Ermine target on B course

In all though the day was okay and made better by the good company.

Sunday Course B

Sunday saw us on B course set by Westcott Archers which was far more challenging and demanding for all.

2013 NFAS Nationals B course sunday first target

2013 NFAS Nationals B course Sunday first target

The problem was this meant archers were taking more arrows and with the number of archers present it slowed down the day especially at the longer shots or those 3d targets with no backstops.

At one target when we arrived there were two groups in front of us still waiting to shoot it. I spoke to a few people who like me thought it  would have been a good idea to station a couple of marshals there during the day to help search for missing arrows.

2013 NFAS Nationals 3d deer

2013 NFAS Nationals 3d deer

This was the first time there had been a mix of 3d and paper faces at the championship. Traditionally it had always been solely paper faces.

2013 NFAS Nationals red squirrel

2013 NFAS Nationals red squirrel on B course

Big thanks to Merlin Archery who donated the paper faces for the event.

Tight shot between trees Nationals B course sunday

Tight shot between trees Nationals B course Sunday

Whilst it was good to shoot a mix of faces I think the lack of back stops on some of the longer distance 3d targets resulted in delays as people searched for missing arrows. Having said that there were some great shots on B course including a very deceptive 3D crocodile which had been hidden in a slight dip, which saw many archers arrows go high.

I would like to say a big thanks to Alex for all her stunning pictures of the weekend some of which she’s kindly allowed me to share on this site. Love this one of Sharon.

2013 NFAS Nationals Sharon

2013 NFAS Nationals Sharon

I manage to get one of Alex, whilst she was getting ready for end of shoot awards.

Alex hiding behind camera

Alex hiding behind camera

Waiting for results

Everyone waiting for results

SVYF came away with team trophies in bare bow, longbow and instinctive along with placing in the individual gents bare bow, crossbow and junior girls hunting tackle.

2013 NFAS Nationals - Barebow team

2013 NFAS Nationals – Barebow team Sharon and Robin, the rest of the team (Ivor & Steve) were a bit camera shy.

Sharon missed out on placing by 20 points coming under 3rd place. As for me I came in 8th, not bad I guess but I dropped 3 places on Sunday, I think due to the delays and waits for shots. Full results are available on the NFAS website, or click here .

Thanks for reading.