Tag Archives: national field archery

Aug 22 2014

Shoot Report – Wolverine – August 2014

Kong from afar

Kong from afar

Last weekend we headed up to Wolverine Archers outside Stoke on Trent for their August shoot in weather that felt more autumnal than high summer.
I must admit to having second thoughts about going.  Not because of the course but because for the previous few days I’d not been very well and had less than 8 hours sleep in total for the past few nights. The previous day I’d been coaching which had left me very tired so I wasn’t feeling my best.
But the option was to either stay home feeling rough or to try and work through it. So we loaded the car and set off.
The course comprised of 40 mixed 3Ds and paper faces. You can see previous reports here.
Shooting group

Shooting group

We had a really good group with Zeena and Dan from Lyme Valley joining Charlie from Hanson and ourselves.

Shooting Group

Shooting Group – Charlie, Sharon, Zeena and Dan

I learnt two things from this day. The way to stay looking young is to drink Guinness as evident from the very youthful Zeena. The other is that Charlie should stick with shooting longbow rather than crossbow as he is a natural.

Charlie shooting at 3D beer

Charlie shooting at 3D beer

The Wolverine team always put on a good course and this was no different. Shots were challenging and not stretched,  with Kong making an appearance as always.

Charlie moving on to shoot

Charlie moving on to shoot

The only thing that marred the day was Sharon falling down a slope half way round the course. Fortunately she wasn’t injured but now has a scratch on her bow that will need seeing to. Could have been much worse and like many archers she was more concerned about her bow than herself. Note to Sharon when reading this. “Bows can be replaced,  you can’t.”

Dan shooting

Dan shooting

We came home having had a lovely day but I must admit to feeling shattered and having an early night. Despite her fall Sharon came first in ladies hunting tackle and I somehow managed to scrape a third place despite dropping 50 points in the second half as fatigue and lack of sleep started to play a part in my shooting.
We also came home with a new friend. Robin a’Dale who is travelling round the country visiting different shoots and keeping a diary of his adventures.
Thanks for reading.

Jun 23 2014

Shoot report – Hawk archers – June 2014

hawk archers

Hawk archers

Earlier this month we headed just over the border to Monmouthshire for the annual Hawk archers shoot.
Numbers were small with around 40-50 archers of mixed classes but that made for an easy flowing day and relaxed atmosphere. You can see a previous shoot report here.

Opening shot at Hawk small brown 3D

Opening shot at Hawk small brown 3D between trees.

Hawks course layers set an enjoyable but challenging course with some very deceptively placed shots. A number of times we would get to the target to realise it was either further or smaller than we thought. That’s not to say they were stretched but well placed.

Sharon preparing for shot - 3D lion

Sharon preparing for shot – 3D lion

The course was a mix of 3d targets and a few hessian painted to a very high standard.
Inter mixed were a couple of predator prey shots which Hawk scores slightly differently to other clubs. If you hit the predator with your first arrow you can go for the prey with your second arrow but only score max for a second arrow. Therefore if you get 24 points on the predator the max you can score on prey is 14 points.  I think I prefer this scoring as you get a potential bonus but not a huge amount.
Hawk archers grounds is situated in a beautiful wooded hillside allowing them to put on shots both up and downhill.

Mary on long 3D deer shot

Mary on long 3D deer shot

Shooting group for the day would be Sharon,  myself Richie from DW Longbow (we shot with him at Wolverine) and Mary from svyf.

wpid-20140615_141633.jpg
The organisers worked hard to clear paths and cut in steps up and down the hillside which was much appreciated as the ground soil is quite heavy clay in parts making it quite slippery. As it was  we enjoyed good weather with no rain and it being bright without it being too warm. Having said this I know Mary struggled at times to have enough light to see through her sights as the tree cover was pretty dense in parts.
Only one shot annoyed me  or i think could have been improved which was one between a V in a tree which you shot from about five to six yards. The gap was too tight for my arrows as they are still straightening at that distance. The result was two broken arrows.

Mary shooting one of the uphill shots at Hawk 2014

Mary shooting one of the uphill shots at Hawk 2014

It was great to see Mary get round the course.  She had taken a really bad fall a few weeks ago at Charnwood shoot tearing the muscles in the left leg. The fact she could walk let alone get up and down the hillside.
As for me I didn’t shoot well at all only coming in with 520ish long way off placing and a lot lower than I wanted.

I’m going to have to work on my consistency of draw as I’m taking a lot of damage to my right ring finger tip.

Mary and Sharon at Hawk

Mary and Sharon at Hawk

Congrats to Mary and Sharon who both got first places. Especially well done to young Alfie also from SVYF our  a junior who shot really well coming first too.
As always thanks for reading.

Apr 7 2014

Shoot report – Wolverine – April 2014

Kong from a distance

Kong from a distance

It was an early start on Sunday as we packed the car and headed north up the motorway. No bright spring sunshine instead we had a grey start to the day, though the heavy showers forecast stayed away until our journey home.
We were heading to the Wolverine club which is based not far from Stoke-on-Trent and is a club we have visited a few times (previous shoot reports can be found here 2013, 2012)
Indirectly we did suffer a little from the heavy rain which had fallen overnight as the parking field got very slippery and provided an interesting experience to get out of. The course paths too were very slippery under foot with a few people falling, fortunately no one was seriously injured.
The club had laid on a 40 target course with a mix of 3ds and paper faces. Of course Kong was out in the field.  Even managed to hit it this time, although it was with a third arrow.
3D crocodile in the grass

3D crocodile in the grass

There were over 150 archers braving the weather and hillside climbs that made the Sunday trek.
3d wolf in the bush

3d wolf in the bush

Our shooting group on the day included myself, Sharon, Sue from Long Eaton club who we had shot with before and Rich from DW longbow who was only on his second open shoot.

wolverine shooting group as we trekked up the hillside

wolverine shooting group as we trekked up the hillside

Wolverine’s grounds are in 2 woods on a  hillside with a small field half way down. This made for lots of walking up and down the hillside which left everyone tired by the end of the day. It also allowed the club to set up some very nice up and downhill shots. If you have read my past reports you will know that Wolverine always have a lunch break for their shoots as the course ground doesn’t allow for a shoot through. This meant lots of archers trekked up the slope for lunch and then back to start the second half.
3d bear at wolverine

3d bear at wolverine

My only criticism of the course is they had a few targets with the boss frame on the top and bottom. This resulted in us and others spending time digging out arrows which had missed the target but stuck in the wood frame.
Sue shooting

Sue shooting

The course was a challenging one with the mix of uphill and downhill shots, with archers working for every point. Targets were hittable so long as you kept your focus. The only hold ups we encountered were down to the group in front having to dig out stray arrows on a couple of target so in all it flowed well.
Bedded deer at wolverine

Bedded deer at wolverine

My shoulder is definitely playing up as I struggled a bit with back twinges in the latter half of the day but in all had a good day. Probably not helped by helping at our club on Saturday to shift heavy stuff before our shoot next week.
Sharon at full draw

Sharon at full draw

Sharon came away with a first in ladies Hunting Tackle (HT). I managed a second place in Gents HT.
Thanks for reading. Next weekend we will be helping to marshal our club shoot.