Tag Archives: recurve

Mar 22 2013

Literature Review – Idiot Proof Archery-How to Shoot Like a Pro

I recently bought this book (Idiot Proof Archery-How to Shoot Like a Pro) on a trip to Wales Archery.  But I had first seen a copy about a year ago whilst competing at the Scottish championships. Some of my club members from Artemis had a copy and were promoting its content.

Idiot proof archery

Idiot proof archery

I like the style of writing, as it makes the book an easy read. It also means you can easily put it down and pick it up or flick through.

I think it gives good advice for those wanting to improve and I found the Dos and Don’t chapter particularly informative and insightful. Another thing is if you are a coach or interested in developing coaching skills there is some good advice and tips throughout the book on things to look out for in your students.

I particularly like the quick key points tips in the margins.

I would classify myself as a traditional archer in many ways, in so far as I shoot mostly wooden arrows from bows without sights. I have a compound and carbon arrows for my recurve, sights etc but prefer instinctive shooting, which means some of the material and subject matter covered is not as relevant. Having said that I still found this very insightful and in short a good read.

Images can be a little small but they succeed in getting the messages across. the one thing I think is lacking is an index of content to aid in finding topics.

I’ve included a link to Amazon below but as I said I bought my copy from Wales Archery, which is a great little shop in Crick, Monmouthshire.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Idiot-Proof-Archery-How-Shoot-Pro-Step/dp/0971281211

ISBN-10: 0971281211

ISBN-13: 978-0971281219

Mar 14 2013

Tips and Advice – screw in points

Getting the perfect matched arrow takes time and relies on a number of factors, from overall arrow weight,  to flexibility / spine of the shaft, fletching size etc. One of  these factors is the weight of the pile or point. A heavier pile makes the arrow flex more, whilst a lighter pile makes the arrow stiffer.

For this reason we have been trying to fine tune Sharons’ arrows (Easton X7) and have recently changed her points from glue in pins to screw in points with obvious inserts into the aluminum shafts. The X7 are great arrows, and work well from here bow but we thought we might get a slight improvement. By using inserts we have a greater access to different point weights to experiment with.

Sharon Shooting

Sharon Shooting

The old piles came in at 60 grains and the feeling was it might be making the arrow a little too stiff. So we spent sometime looking at alternatives. By the way we have looked at going for carbon arrows but Sharon preferred the X7 as Carbon ones, as the carbons came in too physically light for here bow.

I’ve used a 2 part epoxy glue to secure the inserts into the shafts, which appears to work well. We’ve opted for these inserts and points which we got from Bow Sports. The inserts are 8/32 with 9/32bullet points.

Arrow points and insert

Arrow point and insert

The one thing with we’ve discovered is that the screw in points sometimes work lose. Now the easy answer to this is to apply a little glue, the only problem with this being that if you need to remove the piles the only answer is to then heat it up to break the glues bonds, which will also break the bonds of the glue used to hold the insert in.

One trick I’ve come up with using plumbers tape or PTFE tape. I cut a small piece about an inch in length and then wrap this round the threaded bolt, then screw this into the insert in the arrow.

new pile and insert

New pile, you can see the tape wrapped round thread.

The result of using the tape is to make the threaded bolt a little tighter in the insert, so making it less likely to undo or loosen.

Technical Facts for those interested in weights etc

  • Old piles / nibs were 60 grain
  • Insert 14 grains
  • New screw in points 80 grain

Hope you find this of use and as always thanks for reading.

Feb 18 2013

Shoot report – Paget de Vesey 2013

As promised here is the write up from the Paget shoot which took place on Sunday 17th. This was the first competitive shoot of the 2013 season for us and before I start I will admit to having a soft spot for Paget de Vasey shoots.

Paget was the first NFAS shoot we ever did and have made sure we have booked on their shoot ever since. It was also going to be the first shoot that Sharon would be competing at following recovering from her injury.

Paget 2013 - start of the day

Sunny start of the day

Unlike in previous years, where the shoot has been cold and damp, last year even having a dusting of snow, we enjoyed a sunny Sunday. The only problem was having the sun in your eyes for a few shots 😉

The Paget club only hold one shoot a year and they use an outdoor activity centre when they do. This means the club members have to set everything up the day before and have everything cleared out by the end of Sunday. An advantage to this site is the catering is superb, with 2 food stop huts with an excellent selection of cakes for those with a sweet tooth.

On the day we were very fortunate to have a had a great group too shoot with Trev, Emma, Robin (also from SVYF who we were taking round for his first ever NFAS shoot), Sharon and myself, with a mix of styles too with longbow, hunting tackle, barebow and compound. I was shooting Hunting Tackle (recurve bow without sights and wooden arrows) as I’d not had any practice with my flatbow.

From left to rightEmma, Chris, Sharon and Trev

From left to right
Emma, Robin, Sharon and Trev

The course was made up of 36 targets, being a mix of 3D and paper faces about 50/50 I’d say with some less familiar faces too. The centres grounds are flat, with the woods being mainly deciduous woodland.

The shoot started at 10 am the day flowed well with only a short stop for lunch and no hold ups. We started on target 15.

Target 16

Target 16 – 3D coyote

Some of the shots were very nicely set like this one below of a 3D boar in a hole by an uprooted tree.

Paget Shoot - 3D boar in hollow

Paget Shoot – 3D boar in hollow

There were a few paper faces targets that were stretched for the distance which was a shame. Often course layers will put a paper face out and increase the recommend distance to make it a harder shot when it truth it can be done with careful positioning or use of ground. Sorry winge over.

In fairness there were also some very nicely set paper faces. This crocodile was a great example, can you spot the interesting feature? (No, Trev hasn’t shot himself in the head, its just the angle of the photo and how he is holding the arrow)

Paper Crocodile shot

Paper Crocodile shot (No Trev hasn’t shot himself in the head)

This target was  made more interesting as the target boss was slightly slanted forward.

target 14 - last of day

Target 14 – last of day – 3D bobcat

As readers of this blog will know I was a little anxious about this shoot. It would be the first Sharon had competed at following the recovery from injury. Saturday she had managed to shoot round the wood in full (40 targets) for the first time with her own bow for nearly 4 months.

Sharon (holding my bow)

Sharon (holding my bow)

I needn’t have worried as she did really well and enjoyed the day. Though she will admit she was not up to her usual scoring level, she managed to shoot the entire course and it wasn’t until the latter part of the day that she began to feel tired and scores dropped off. Even then she scored 546 points  (an average of just over 15 points a target) which was enough to secure first place in ladies Barebow. Well done.

Robin also did really well and seemed to enjoy himself and already booked on another shoot in  a couple of weeks.

I came in with 596 points, no blanks and secured second place in gents Hunting Tackle, 8 points off first. Not bad considering I’ve only shot the bow a couple of times in the last few months.

Overall I’d say it was a great day, really good to catch up with so many familiar faces who we hadn’t seen for so long. Here is hoping for a good 2013 season.

Thanks for reading.