Tag Archives: centaura bowmen

3D deer
Sep 27 2017

Centaura Field Bowmen – Shoot Report – September 2017

50th anniversary shoot

50th anniversary shoot at Centaura Bowmen

This was Centaura Field Bowmen 50th anniversary shoot and the archery gods must have looked on favourably as the weather was good the whole day. Since it was their  50th anniversary shoot it was very well attended, in fairness that is pretty normal for the midlands  based club. The only downside to this popularity being the day can prove be quite slow as archers navigate the course.

You can read a previous shoot report for Centaura here if you are interested.

3D deer

3D deer target

As normal with Centaura it was a 36 target course, being a mix of paper faces and 3D targets. On the matter of target faces, there were quite a few new paper faces that none of us had seen before. Whilst it was nice to see new targets I think some of the smaller faces might have been a little on the small size for the distance they were set as you couldn’t make them out clearly. As I said this was a minor thing in the great scheme of things.

Sharon shooting 3D deer

Sharon shooting 3D deer

We were lucky enough to be shooting with Rich and Cliff which is always a good laugh, both in gents longbow class. Sharon was on her best behaviour though and not picking on Cliff.

Rich shooting with Cliff

Rich shooting with Cliff

As is the norm with Centaura there is a lunch break between 12:30 and 1:15 where all shooting halts and archers can grab a bite to eat before completing the other half of the course.

Sharon shooting

Sharon shooting

Despite it being a bit slow at times it did flow and was a good day for those who attended over 130 archers.

Sharon shot well winning ladies American Flatbow and to my surprise I managed to secure first in gents class. The result of which are we now have a matching pair of very nicely designed wooden drinks coasters which were specially made by a club member to celebrate the 50th anniversary. They now have pride of place and on displace as I think they are too nice to use as coasters.

Thanks for reading.

Sep 21 2016

Shoot Report – Centaura – September 2016

Centaura shoot - archers waiting for start

Centaura shoot – archers waiting for start

On a early September Sunday morning we loaded the car to set off to Centaura shoot ground near Derby.
On arriving we discovered that sadly the club suffered from vandalism a few days before the shoot, which resulted in the course layers having to adjust some targets and use backup faces they had to hand, rather than those they had hoped to use. This vandalism was reported to the police, with the local press running an article on the damage complete with images of the culprits, as they managed to capture cctv images of the individuals they believe to be responsible. Let’s hope this helps identify those responsible and brings them to justice. I have included a link to the news article here. (http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/just-look-what-morons-have-been-doing-to-aston-archery-club/story-29710480-detail/story.html#)

If you are interested in reading a previous shoot report, you can find one here.
The shoot was slightly delayed due to the number of no shows, 17 in all and this is a lot for a small club to cope with, not just in the loss in earnings for entrance fees but also the cost in food bought based on expected numbers. There were still over a 100 archers in attendance in a variety of classes.

Small paper face between the trees

Small paper face between the trees

Despite the vandalism the club managed to set a 36 target course with a mix of paper and 3D targets, some of the papers are of their own design. There did seem to be a number of small faces but I think this might have been due to the vandalism and them using what they had rather than what they might have wanted to.
Sharon and I would shoot with John from Wolverine who was shooting longbow. I must say John was really good company and great to shoot round with, with conversation flowing freely on different topics from archery to other outdoor hobbies.

target 35 paper face puma

target 35 paper face puma

There were some familiar shots along with some new ones. We started on the club’s signature shot the Polo, this time on Target peg 1 with a small paper face red squirrel.

The now famous polo shot

The now famous polo shot

I particularly liked the bomb hole shot, which saw a change to the norm of shooting straight down.

Bear 3D from the red peg

Bear 3D from the red peg

3D bear shoot, zoomed in from the red peg

3D bear shoot, zoomed in from the red peg

This time they had managed to secure a 3D bear part way up a tree, making for a deceptive shot.

Close up of the bear 3d shot

Close up of the bear 3d shot

They also lengthened the very short shot they have had for the last few shoots, which I think worked much better.
The day flowed well, with no major hold-ups or issues we were aware of.
As always Centaura operates a lunch break 12:30 -1:15 and of course as luck would have it we were on the furthest target when the horn was blown to stop. I think my only critical comment might be that a few of the shooting pegs could do with being hammered in a bit further as anyone with long length bows could encounter problems catching their lower bow limbs. Also moving the target 36 shooting peg so it’s not on the main path, as it’s quite hard to concentrate on your shot when there are archers walking off the course.

Sharon shooting at paper face fox

Sharon shooting at paper face fox

Sharon did suffer from what can be best described as a slight wardrobe malfunction when stepping over a branch. The result was a ripping sound as her trousers ripped from knee to waist. Fortunately a role of micropore tape was to hand to save her embarrassment, allowing her to finish the course, with a pair of waterproof over-trousers being used when we got back to the car. Despite this Sharon shot well winning Ladies american flatbow.
Thanks for reading

Mar 17 2016

Shoot report – Centaura archers – March 2016

Centaura archers

Centaura archers

Many years ago I was watching a World War two documentary on the London blitz. The narrator an American journalist  made reference to a saying I still remember to this day.
“The sign of a great fighter in the ring is if they can get up from the floor after being knocked down.”
It was in the context of how Londoners would pick themselves up every morning following the German bombing raids and carry on with life.
Three weeks prior to their shoot the Centaura club had been a victim of a break in, resulting in a theft of some of their 3d targets, power generator and other items needed to run a shoot. A damaging blow for any club but when you are due to host a shoot for over 100 archers a scant few weeks later it could be devastating.
Despite this I am delighted to say the club and it’s members proved their commitment to archery by picking themselves up and hosting a good friendly shoot with some challenging shots and unique target faces.
The archery gods must have been looking after them as even the weather seemed to be kind on the day, bestowing a bright sunny early spring day, if at times slightly chilly in the morning. If you are interested in reading a past shoot report you can find one here.
Our shooting companions for the day would be Gayle and Amy both from Harlequin club ,  joining Sharon and I wondering round the woods admiring the banks of snowdrops and primroses that were in full bloom.
Bank of snowdrops

Bank of snowdrops

The polo shot returned this time with a skinny meerkat face one of many faces a club member had sourced.

The polo shot

The polo shot

Sadly I did not make the most of the day and would like to thank Jim Pierce for his assistance at the lunchtime break for taking the time to look at my shoulder. I had injured it on Saturday when lifting a boss resulting in a sharp pain each time I drew up. Not great for a draw dynamic really. Hopefully it will settle down over the next week. While I remember congratulations Jim on your first place.
Back to the shoot report.

Shot from the hill top

Shot from the hill top

Yes there were many familiar targets but they all seemed to work and the day flowed well with only a couple of hold ups on the more challenging shots.

Valley shot - sadly cost me an arrow

Valley shot – sadly cost me an arrow

On the subject of targets it is noting that there were some excellent custom target faces. I loved the owl looking out from behind the tree and the meerkats,  though I think the fox must have been on a diet.
In short well done to Centaura for showing what is possible despite the criminal element in our society.

Luckiest shot of the day

My luckiest shot of the day

On a lighter note to end this report can I say how great it was to have the opportunity to meet in person and talk with a reader of this blog. I’m really glad you like the site and enjoy the shoot reports and thanks for taking the time to chat.

Sharon shooting her BlackBrook American Flatbow

Sharon shooting her BlackBrook American Flatbow

Special congrats to Sharon who showed she is becoming more used to shooting her afb by out shooting all wooden arrow archers both male and female on the day.
Thanks for reading.