Tag Archives: field archer

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.

Feb 18 2017

Shoot Report of sorts – Harlequin – February 2017

Harlequin Archers Feb 2017

Harlequin Archers Feb 2017

I feel the bitterly cold temperatures marred this shoot with the cold wind in some parts of the wood along with several sleet or wet snow showers making it feel like a test of endurance at times. I think anyone who survived the day deserved an award. Due to the  unpleasant weather there is only the one photo as my phone was buried under several layers in my jacket to keep it dry.
You can read a previous shoot report here. Despite the cold weather there were nearly 150 archers attending.
This was our first shoot of 2017, well strictly speaking it was Sharon’s first as I didn’t shoot the course. Instead I walked around with Sharon and her shooting group of Kay, Andy B, Julie and Roger, who were shooting a mix of flatbow, longbow and Barebow. As for the course, there  were the familiar 2d targets which I’m sure were even harder to draw arrows from in the cold, or maybe that was just us struggling. There were a few shots nicely framed between trees that tested the archer’s nerve along with the now traditional long shot at the 2D Moose, that is simply huge. The majority of the targets were 2D or 3Ds though there were a few paper faces including one deer that Sharon took 3 shots on and found all 3 were scoring.
It was nice to see some friendly faces and to chat to people we hadn’t seen since before Christmas.
It was good to have the opportunity to chat with Andy Soars too about his new bow designs. For those who don’t know Andy is the bowyer who produces the Blackbrook bow range of bows. These are bows which Sharon and I are both lucky enough to own (I have two of his flatbows and Sharon one of his recurves and a flatbow). If you have a chance drop by his website and take a look at his selection of bows. http://www.blackbrook.eu/
I did find it hard at times though, especially when talking to some people who asked why I wasn’t shooting or who were partially aware of what had happened.
To be honest my heart is just not into shooting at present. I picked my bow up for first time in over 8 weeks on Saturday and I could feel the loss of muscle tone in my shoulders. The other thing was it didn’t feel like I wanted to shoot. Don’t get me wrong, I miss going down to the wood to shoot round but I realise I’m missing it more for being out there in nature than shooting.
Anyway back to the shoot report.
Harlequin did their best to keep everyone warm with supplies of hot drinks and a very nice chilli as one of the options for a hot meal. By all accounts their scotch eggs went down well too. Sharon shot well coming first in Ladies AFB with Kay coming first in Ladies Longbow. Though Julie didn’t place in longbow I think she shot really well, considering it was her first time out with the bow having only just picked it up. Oh, Andy B hope you are feeling better.
Despite the weather the day seemed to go well and people enjoyed themselves. Fingers crossed it will be warmer for their next shoot.
Thanks for reading.
Jan 25 2017

What is Field Archery?

Sharon Shooting off the tree stump at 3d

Sharon Shooting off the tree stump at 3d

A few months ago I received an email from a reader asking what actually happens on a field course, how they are organised, rules for scoring etc.
So I thought I might update one of the pages on the blog “What is Field Archery“
First view from Red peg

Consider the tree cover and branches

It details the scoring of the NFAS Big game round (probably the most popular competition scoring rounds in the NFAS), along with what you can expect on a course and how the different shooting pegs work for different age ranges.
Hope it is of interest to people even if you don’t shoot NFAS
Thanks for reading