Tag Archives: field archer

Mar 24 2016

Shoot report – Thornbury – March 2016

Thornbury Field Archers

Thornbury Field Archers

Last Sunday we headed south on the motorway to Thornbury Field Archery Club for their 40th anniversary shoot. I have come to the conclusion that I really hate road works on motorways and especially 50 mile an hour limits, which only some people adhere to. Anyway on to the shoot report. We’ve shot at Thornbury a couple of times and this was by far their busiest shoot with over 120 people attending. You can read the last shoot report here.
Despite the size of the event it was still friendly and flowed quite well with only a couple of hold ups.
3D bird target just over the bank

3D bird target just over the bank

We would be shooting with a couple we’d not met before, Helen and Jason. Helen shooting Barebow and Jason his compound. It was really nice to meet another archery couple and we hope to shoot with Jason and Helen again in the future.
Shot between the trees

Shot between the trees

Unlike previous shoots at Thornbury, this one would be a full 40 target course, with a mix of 3D, paper and hessian faces. They had managed to secure the adjacent field to their wood which has enabled them to set 4 targets in field including a lovely 3d target of a badger under a fallen tree.
Sharon shooting 3D badger

Sharon shooting 3D badger

There were a couple of predator prey shots (only one arrow at each target allowed) along with some challenging shots over banks or window shots between trees.
3D target between the trees

3D target between the trees

I think one of the hardest shots of the day was one of the special shots, where you had three 3d deer targets and a wolf 3d behind. The target was the wolf and if you hit the deer you blanked the shot.
Jason shooting a 3D hare

Jason shooting a 3D hare

I’m not sure but think they must have some very gifted artists in the club as they had some lovely hessian targets on the course including a fantastic tiger and a fish jumping out of the water for a dragon fly.
An example of the great hessian faces

An example of the great hessian faces

The elephant shot returned, though not at the great length it was previously, but it still made for a challenging shot between the trees.
The elephant shot makes the return

The elephant shot makes the return

Sharon shooting off one of the towers

Sharon shooting off one of the towers

My complements to the cooks as the chilli at lunch was great as was the homemade lemon cake. Sharon shot well winning ladies AFB and I was pleasantly surprised coming first in gents AFB.
Thanks for reading.
Feb 23 2015

Shoot report – Paget de Vasey – February 2015

Paget announcements

Paget announcements

I always think of the Paget shoot as the start of the NFAS year. Though in the NFAS unlike other societies there is no indoor and outdoor season, with shoots going on all year round, Paget just feels like the start. You can read previous shoot reports here 2014, 2013 and 2012.
Having said this it never feels like the start of spring as it is always cold, sometimes bright and cold but always cold. This year was no exception with the morning being cold and exactly as the forecasts predicted after midday it started to rain and didn’t let up until near the end. So Sunday morning saw me scraping the ice off the car before heading up the motorway. Paget is one of our closest shoots so only 40 minutes drive saw us pulling up in the car park.
The course was a mix of 3d targets and paper faces set at sensible distances with a couple of challenging shots but nothing stretched. I think they had taken on board people’s comments from last year. The course is spread over two woods the smaller being their club grounds and the larger rented for the weekend from the activity centre.

Paget is always a popular shoot and this year was no different with most groups being five to a peg. So Sharon and I were surprised to see only one other person join us Anthony from Frankly shooting hunting tackle.

Paget marshals sheltering from cold

Paget marshals sheltering from cold

Not sure if the photo does it justice but they had a new dinosaur 3d between the trees.

Dinosaur 3D

Dinosaur 3D

I didn’t approach the shoot with much confidence following a fall I had at SVYF on Saturday which jarred my back and shoulder.
Sorry there aren’t many photos but I didn’t want my phone being soaked so only have a few from earlier in the day.

3D mountain lion

3D mountain lion

Catering was as fantastic as always with the cottage pie warming us up for the second half perfectly. I think the only downside to the day were a few delays which occurred when target bosses had to be replaced as heavier poundage bows were passing through. This the organisers dealt with as quickly as possible but inevitably did cause a few delays and hold ups but in fairness I’ve seen this at other shoots too.

Sharon shooting a paper face deer.

Sharon shooting a paper face deer.

Paget has great facilities but they pay a price as they have limited access to the larger wood which I know they struggled with this year.
Unlike some from SVYF members who did well on the raffle we didn’t win anything. I mention the raffle as I liked the way the organisers bagged up multiple items into one prize which looked good and worked well. It meant there were 10 or so decent prizes rather than a mix of good and not so good.
Despite the poor weather, Sharon shot really well winning ladies hunting tackle and in fact scoring better than all the men too. As for me the shoulder held out partly due to attaching a heatpack to keep it warm. I managed a respectable second place with my second time out shooting AFB, but was aching lots on Sunday night.
Thanks for reading.

Oct 31 2014

Useful video form Merlin archery

Grizzly Jim at Merlin have been putting out a few videos on YouTube recently and this one on How to Anchor and Release is well worth looking at.

I agree about the statement on consistent and form, I know a few archers that have what some see as poor form but are consistent, self included. Have a good weekend.

Thanks for reading