At our recent club shoot (Briar Rose Field Archers) in July, we made the decision that we wanted to run speed checks on compound bows and crossbows, so we set up the club chrono.
For those of you unfamiliar with a chrono, it measures the speed of an arrow and under the NFAS the maximum speed allowed is 300 FPS (feet per second) as per the shooting rules. There is a 3% allowance for variance in chronograph equipment being used. This means a bow reading 309 FPS is still legal.
The chrono has a sensor at either end between metal V rods that are used to offer a guide to the archer as to where to shoot. The archer shoots over the top of the chrono, crossing the 2 sensors between the two V with their arrows. The archers shoot a few feet from the chrono into a boss as shown in the picture below, where you can see the chrono mounted on a tripod and the target boss beyond. It’s important that the chrono is set up level and there is sufficient light for the sensors to register the arrow passing above.
Archer arrow speed check at recent shoot
Anyone over the speed limit would be asked to slow the bow down or not be allowed to shoot.
There were a few interesting observations
All compounds and crossbows we tested were legal i.e. speed less than 300 fps.
The reaction and feedback from the attending archers were very positive, not just from those who were shooting compound or crossbows, but traditional archers shooting recurves or longbows. These were curious to see what speed their bows were producing.
It generated lots of discussion with some about how they might increase their speed. How the weight of arrows affects speed. How shooting light arrows increases speed but can damage bows and so on.
Several had never seen or were even aware of what a chrono is or why it’s important. Possible because they were shooting styles other than compound or crossbow.
The latter point is worth revisiting as unless you frequent national championships or 3Ds it’s unlikely you will have encountered one. Few clubs have them or if they do I haven’t seen them often at shoots. This raises the question of whether there are bows out there being shot that are exceeding the speed limits through no fault of the archers.
For those interested you can see the results of the Briar Rose shoot on the club website. Also wanted to say a special thanks to Rich Clarke who manned the chrono. You might know Rich from Archery Geek outdoors Podcasts.
In the previous post I wrote of the importance of feedback to course layers. In this post, I’m looking at some of the preparations that an event organising team should consider. These being both in time and the expenditure clubs have to fork out in advance before the event when it comes to target faces, 3Ds, shooting pegs, etc. I think a logical way to begin is with a few questions, based on whether a club has the necessary stores to host an event. This is even more important for newly formed clubs or a small clubs that have fewer funds to draw on and resources to draw on. So here goes with a simple question, or do you have enough…
Have you got enough target faces for the course? Remember you are going to need spares and replacements.
What about shooting pegs? Do sufficient in the right colours for all the shots?
Do you need to repair/replace any target bosses?
Are there enough scorecards for all attendees?
What about your 3Ds doe they need repair or replacement? Have you got enough securing pins?
The above is just a brief list, which can go on and on. So, I’m going to explore a single element in more detail, that of target faces and the preparation of these.
The Prep
Long before the day or even the weekend of the event, there is work going on at the hosting club and club members homes. Some of you may be familiar with the work in setting the course out, clearing paths, staking target bosses, etc. Away from these physical aspects of the course laying process, there is the planning for what faces are required? Where to source them from? Whether they are in stock or not at your preferred suppliers?. To give you an idea, we had to paste up over 70 target faces for our shoot ranging from small ones (group 4 ) to large ones that just fit on a 1300 mm square boss. This was for only 24 targets out of the 36 targets on the course in question, the others would be 2D or 3D targets. So why did we need so many? I will cover that a little later.
The club was hosting an NFAS open shoot, which means all targets were set on unmarked distances, ranging from 6 yards to over 50 yards. It would be a big game round, so all targets would be animal paper faces, 2D or 3D targets.
Pasting up
Mounting the target faces in itself takes time and ideally good weather; read warm, dry weather. We paste all the faces onto corrugated cardboard, so they last longer. We also paste an extra piece of card behind the highest scoring area as this tends to prolong the life of the target.
Card on the back
This means the first hurdle is sourcing sufficient cardboard to mount the target faces, which can be an uphill struggle in itself when you think of the sizes of some of the larger target faces. For our last shoot, we were very fortunate. You could say we hit gold twice thanks to a local Halfords branch and a couple of club members who secured loads. We’ve tried lots of different glues and found Hobbycraft PVA to be the most cost-effective if doing small numbers. The other alternative is to use diluted builders sealant PVA. You really need to factor in the time it takes to do this too.
Not only are you sorting suitable size cards, glueing the faces to the card. You have to trim the card down afterwards. Sort them to ensure you have the right ones for the right targets. This is where getting club members involved and helping can make a huge difference. We were very fortunate to have some great volunteers in the club who came around for several days.
How many faces are needed?
Scoring faces that are severely damaged by other archers arrows or have deteriorated to mush due to wet weather is not easy or fun. So to be fair to all competitors, you want to provide decent target faces that are easy to score. Add to this that small faces get shot out quicker due to the very nature of numerous arrows impacting into a small space. Wet weather and paper faces don’t mix. Carboard becomes sodden, ripping easily, glue gives up its adhesive properties, and so on. All this means you will need to replace them more regularly. Much as you hope for dry weather, you have to plan for all eventualities. This means for a shot that would be a group 4 target face, we wanted 6 to 8 copies. That may sound a lot but think of it this way. We capped the numbers of archers at 120 competing, all shooting at least 1 arrow, often 2 for some faces means probably 120 to 180 arrows. Divide 180 by 6 and you get 20 arrows into a small piece of paper. Factor in possible wet weather and the effect this has on paper. You begin to realise why you need multiple copies For group 1 faces (the largest), we ensured we had a spare on the day.
JVD Red Squirrel target face
Spares were stored either in bin bags behind the target bosses to keep them dry or back at the admin hut, so they were there when required.
One quick tip or advice I would offer is if the budget for the event can afford it, buy a few spare different target faces of the different group sizes. It means on the setup day, usually the day before the shoot, you can tweak shots. You might find a JVD wolf would look better than, say a Delta ram on a particular target. One thing to remember is, that setting a shot that looks good, adds to the enjoyment for the competitors.
Wolf picture
So that I hope provides you with an insight into the preparation and time required when it comes to target faces. In the following article, I’ll look at some of the physical aspects and considerations in respect to shooting peg positions to allow with all bow styles. In the meantime, please keep safe and well. Thanks for reading.
In this and my next few posts, I’m planning on exploring some of the behind-the-scenes activities that go on for a National Field Archery Society (NFAS) shoot. Those activities which attendees may not be aware of unless they have been involved in hosting or running such events. Though this will be focused on NFAS shoots these activities are common to most organisations.
You might wonder why am I doing this, well personally, I feel it is beneficial for all archers to gain some knowledge of some of the activities that go on before the event so they have a clearer understanding of the process which are otherwise hidden on the day. In doing so I hope the attendees can offer constructive feedback.
The concept of feedback will be the focus of this post. This in itself may sound a little strange. Starting with the very thing that is provided after the event, but it is something which has an impact on all parties and can be both positive or negative, constructive or damaging, supportive or hurtful.
Many people love to offer their views and more often or not this used to be via conversations in the clubhouse. Now in the 21st century, countless social media platforms offer people the ability to post their views, thoughts and more. You are currently reading my views.
Reading all this can be difficult especially if it’s not positive pr constructive. Filtering through these reports is not always easy if you are a course layer. I often wonder whether as course layers you have to develop a thick skin. I mention filtering as people will post their feedback based on their point of view or perception of the shot, organisation of the event etc. The style or shooting class will play a part here too, so remember that.
There is an old saying which seems very apt.
“You can please some of the people all the time. All the people some of the time, but not all the people all the time.”
Feedback positive and negativeis equally important.
Whilst it’s great to receive positive feedback from archers on your course laying abilities, sometimes the less positive feedback is more important. That may sound a strange thing to say as, after all, you are wanting to experience the feel-good emotion about all the work and effort you’ve put in. So, I will try to explain it and the logic behind this statement.
So here is the Why?
Well, negative feedback if constructive provides you with the opportunity to develop and improve. I firmly believe that learning from your mistakes is vital. Too often in today’s society, people are focused solely on the positive for self-esteem or promotion etc.
Constructive negative feedback should stop you from becoming complacent with your own ability and perspective if you choose to explore the reasoning and facts presented.
The first step is to listen to the feedback, ideally with a clear head and evaluate whether there is justification for what is being said.
Some will present feedback that is, let’s say flawed or not entirely accurate. An example might be a statement that’s a 35-yard stretched shot for the target face. Well, if you know the distance is actually 28 yards and then their justification is possibly flawed.
Admit when you screw up.
Course layers are not perfect, all are human and therefore can and do make mistakes. Sometimes you have to put your hands up and say you got it wrong. In fact, I believe it is very important to do this if you have genuinely made a mistake. To steal a phrase from one of my favourite podcasts, “Don’t be that guy.” Don’t try and cover it up or worse still, blame the archers. It is not fair on them nor is it the right thing to do. If you have to make a mistake accept and learn from it.
My Archery Experiences 