Bow, arrows and kitchen sink …..what do you carry with you on a field shoot

In field archery you are on your feet walking a course from 10am until 4-5 pm or longer sometimes. This means you often have to carry not only your equipment (bow arrows and quiver) with you, I mean all the other stuff. Depending on what the terrain is like you could be on flat ground or going up and down hills all day, so carrying lots of kit can be very tiring.
Some archers travel light others carry everything but a kitchen sink.

Me at the woodGuess I am somewhere in between, on a normal shoot or when practising at the wood (see picture above) besides bow and arrows in my quiver I tend to carry a tube of spare arrows on my back. Whilst it’s not a Batman utility belt I do carry a small first aid kit, for bites, scratches plasters etc, though it has been used on many occasions for patching up other archers who have decided to try and chop their finger off whilst extracting arrows from tree stumps or have sliced it open when a carbon arrow has snapped.

Add to this a water bottle or mini thermos flask if it is cold, whistle for emergency signally which is on a retractable key ring along with an arrow puller (very useful for giving you a better grip on arrows when drawing them from a 3D or target boss), a multi-tool and an arrow rake in my quiver for finding those arrows lost in the undergrowth. I often carry some snacks in the quiver pouch (the main bag for drinks and sandwiches is normally left at central spot) and a spare finger tab etc.
If the weather isn’t great I carry a small pac-a-mac that I can put on to keep me dry.

Unlike some other archers I don’t carry a knife to dig arrows out of trees or stumps; I find an old flat headed screwdriver works just as well. It also means I’m less likely to cut off one of my fingers when extracting the wayward arrow from some tree that moved across the target as I release (always amazes me how many trees seem to move in to protect a target when I’m shooting)
I know a few people laugh at how much I carry but others have been grateful when I been able to lend then a finger tab, patched them up after cutting themselves or got the pliers out to retrieve a wayward pile from tree stump.

So what do you carry when out shooting?

To round it off I’ll have a metal detector in car, along with a kit box for spare strings etc
I quite like the small backpack that can double as a seat which I’ve seen appearing at shoots, but know I would forget to pick it up. Thanks for reading

Equipment Review – Bearpaw 3D Steel Screw-On Points

Okay, to go with my literature reviews (which reminds me I need to finish the write-up on the next one) I thought I’d make a few comments on equipment and bits that I use. Please remember these views are personal, feel free to agree or disagree. If you have any experience of using the items mentioned please let me know it would be great to know how they work for other archers.


The first item I’m going to review is not that exciting for most of you. Piles , no not the sort you see the doctor about 😉 I’m talking about the sort you fit to the end of your arrows in this case wood arrows. Over the years I have used a variety of different styles and metals including brass and steel.
On a recent trip to Merlin archery I picked up some Bearpaw screw on piles. I had mentioned to Chris I was experiencing a problem with loss of piles in some 3D targets recently and he suggested I try these piles. He also commented that they should self centre well onto the shaft.
They are longer than the type I had used previously (brass 3D points) but still a taper fit.
So how have they worked?
Well I’ve been using them now for a few months and I am very impressed. I’ve not as not had any come off in 3D or foam targets.
They do appear to self centre when fitting to the wood shafts, which saves a lot of time and hassle. I think this is due to the extra length giving a cleaner and straighter fit.
I’ve fitted them to Port Orford Cedar and Sitka spruce 11/32 shafts without any difficulty. I apply them with a small amount of 2 part adhesive to the shaft and then screw them on by hand. No need to use any power tools or pliers, if you need to I’ve found that you can remove them by heating on a gas ring burner and using pair of pliers.
 Bearpaw 3D Steel Screw-On Point – are available in

  • 11/32 – 100 grains /125 grains
  • 5/16 100 grains /70 grains
Bearpaw Screw-On 3D Point  are also available in Aluminium in – 5/16 – 40 grains though I’ve not used these, so can’t give you any feedback on them.
bearpaw-3d-steel

Hope readers find this of use. Thanks for reading