What a great weekend.
We were at Liberty archers 2 day shoot and were liberty newbies and just like to say thanks for having us and for all the hard work.
Weekend started with a amazing thunderstorm and light show Friday night, an enjoyable day of shooting on Saturday even though it was a little warm and rounded off by a very chilled Sunday shoot.
I’ll post a full shoot report shortly but for now here’s a brief video of the winter wonderland party
Long may the turkey flow..
Thanks for reading
Forest of Arden
It’s been a couple of years since we had last shot the Forest of Ardens ground so it was good to get back there and see how it has changed.
Day started with rain showers which thankfully stopped by 11 with the weather brightening up, so by end of day we had brilliant sunshine.
Situated not far from Coventry, Forest’s ground comprises of a mature broad leaf woodland. Carpeted in bracken and brambles it makes for some lovely set targets and views across the countryside. Though the ground is fairly flat there are a few hollows which they make good use of. There was one stage you were going up and down the slopes lots and the club must have been busy as they had cut steps in to make it easier. Thanks guys, I know how much hard work this takes.
Sharon shooting an early target
If you are thinking of visiting them be warned that the car park is a fair walk from the wood so make sure you remember everything when you leave the car. Another tip would be to take it easy driving down the narrow lane to the site as the hedges are very high so you can’t see much.
3D ram
The course itself comprised 40 Mixed targets of 3Ds of varying size and conditions with a couple of the smaller ones showing their age. I think some of the 3ds could have done with some back stops as arrows disappeared into the bracken or undergrowth if you missed. This kept many marshals busy searching for arrows and they admitted they ran out of time on Saturday when preparing the course.
Deer 3D target
It would be a shoot through with two opportunities to take on food and water, between targets 40-1 & 21-22. Unlike other grounds this is two separate locations either end of the woodland.
Target 30
The shoot was well attended with most groups numbering 4 archers. In ours we had Peter and Paul from Paget shooting longbow and hunting tackle join Sharon and myself.
Shooting group Sharon, Peter and Paul
The day flowed well with few hold ups mainly from searching for arrows that had missed the target and disappeared into the bracken jungle. We’d finished by 4 pm and joined the other assembling archers for the raffle and prize giving.
Don’t think there were any stretched targets though some were approaching what might be considered maximum range.
Sharon shooting bedded deer in the afternoon.
Only negative comment I’d say was that there were a few targets where you felt the next target shooting pegs were a bit close making you feel a bit uncomfortable when at the peg.
There was a slight delay at the end waiting for the last groups to come in caused due to some confusion over what targets could or should be brought in. This resulted in a couple of targets having to be taken back out so the last groups could finish shooting. Easily done and didn’t affect the overall feel of the day which was very positive.
Shot across a pond at a crocodile.
There were lots of SVYF there and if there had been a team trophy I think we might have won it. Well done to Chris and Keith Harley on both placing in longbow. Sharon won ladies hunting tackle. With Jason, Steve, Gail and Martin also placing. Sorry if I’ve missed anyone out.
Sadly nothing for me but to be truthful I’m not surprised. This was my first outing using a shooting glove rather than tab. I’d only shot a few arrows the day before to see how it felt. I was pleasantly surprised by scoring okay and not blanking any. Definitely need practice though as glove is very different to a tab.
As always thanks for reading.
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 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
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
Shooting group for the day would be Sharon, myself Richie from DW Longbow (we shot with him at Wolverine) and Mary from svyf.
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
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
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.
My Archery Experiences 