Tag Archives: paper faces

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.

May 12 2014

Shoot report – Lyme valley – May 2014

Lyme Valley May 2014 practice area

Lyme Valley May 2014 practice area

It was an early start again on Sunday with a drive up to just outside Stoke-on-Trent to Lyme Valley club for their only shoot of 2014. Normally they run a couple a year and if you want to read a previous review look here.
As the name implies the course is in a valley and with the rain they had in the preceding days and  on the day of the shoot would prove to make it a very muddy walk read sliding course and yes it was very very slippery.
The course was made up of a mix of 3d and paper faces.  36 targets in all with I think only a half dozen faces, it gave a good warm up for the 3d Championships which is just round the corner.
Speaking to the organisers they said they had about 50 archers who cancelled prior to the event or were no shows on the day, this resulted in about 130 archers attended the shoot. I can understand why you wouldn’t want to get soaked but it was a shame as it was a good course with well set targets and good use of ground. As it turned out, the weather was not as bad as forecast but it was wet for much of the afternoon.
Lyme Valley May 2014

Lyme Valley May 2014

The shot above looks flat but in reality you shoot it from down the slope so were shooting across the ground. Good use of ground.

Lyme Valley May 2014

Across the valley

You can just make out the standing bear on the other side of the valley. You shot this from the river bed uphill.

downhill turkey Lyme Valley May 2014

downhill turkey Lyme Valley May 2014

I’m really glad we took the water proof trousers and yes I remembered the waterproof jacket this time too. Might do an equipment review on the waterproof trousers as they are a good buy.
Lyme valley have a break at lunch time from 12:30 -1:15 and as luck would have it we were at the furthest target when the lunch horn signalled to stop. This made for a long walk back made longer due to me being slow having fallen earlier. More details later.
It’s never easy putting on a shoot, especially on a hill side with steps being eroded either by water in wet weather or animal activities. I really feel for these guys as I know at Black Arrow we struggled to keep all the steps and paths going and it was half the size of Lyme Valley. With a course and ground like Lyme Valley its especially difficult with the fine silty mud clay soil. Maybe on a few shots they could have cleared or levelled it a bit to make it easier but in fairness I saw more than a few marshals spade in hand working on cutting fresh steps and clearing paths themselves covered in mud.  Thanks guys your work was noticed and appreciated.
With the grounds Lyme Valley have they made good use of up and downhill shots but also some nice flat shots including one along the stream and for the first time to my recollection there was a shot in the field, nicely set using the gentle slope.
It was a long day and with people struggling along the paths and steps. The drive home was via accident and emergency query broken wrist. I had taken a fall on the 10th target when retrieving arrows.  Landing heavily on my right leg and quiver resulting in a very sore leg and developing a bruise but I had put my hand out to stop my fall and bent my wrist back. This didn’t hurt much until about half way round but by the end I was finding it uncomfortable on the release. Fortunately it it appears to be a bad sprain but doctor has said to monitor it.
Sharon shot really well, with me chasing her score all day. which saw her coming first in ladies and beating the mens scores too. Not only that but she matched her best bare-bow score too. Well done. Well done to all the other Severn Valley members who also were placed.
Thank for reading and for the meet up with readers of this blog. Nice to put a face to a reader of the site.
May 1 2014

Shoot Report – Pride Park – April 2014

Unlike those who attended the Scottish championships our Easter Sunday started wet, very wet and not helped by grabbing the non waterproof jacket by mistake. Thankfully the heavy rain stopped by about 12 and stayed away for the rest of the day.
It would have been nice to go to Scotland but we had not been able to secure leave from work in time to book our place.So it was an early start and drive up to Derbyshire for Pride Park’s Easter shoot. 
Despite the weather the welcome was friendly and the food hot. It was good to see Jill had recovered from her mishap of the previous week at the SVYF shoot when her riser snapped (previous post).
Sorry there aren’t any photos but I had buried my phone in my only dry pocket. 
You can see a previous shoot report here for Pride Park.

The course comprised 36 targets of mixed 3ds and paper faces.

The course itself is spread over 2 woods, one large wood and one much smaller one which offers up and downhill shots. The smaller wood would prove to have one of the best shots of the course, a paper face of a musk ox across a hollow.  Great position and use of dead ground. Well done guys.

In short it was a very friendly and enjoyable shoot if a little wet.

Thanks for reading.