Tag Archives: safety

Sep 6 2012

Archers Paradox video

This last weekend down at the Wolverine shoot a few of us were discussing the importance of having the right spinning for your arrows. I think part of the reason for this was due to a couple of us having bought the tapering jig recently and Jim having got some arrows made up recently.

Whilst doing some research I came across this video on the Archers Paradox and dangers of using the wrong spinning of arrows.  I’ve posted a shorter version of this a few weeks back and I know a few other people have posted the link too.

The effects of too low a spinning is very evident, the arrows are almost like they are rubber bands! Also note the protective glove the archer wears when trying out low spine weights.

Thanks for reading

Sep 4 2012

Shoot Report – Wolverine September 2012

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve last shot Wolverine course, but last weekend we headed up there. Situated just past stoke it took a little over an hours drive from the new house, though the rain showers we drove through made us wonder if it was going to be a dry day..
The course itself is mostly on a large wooded hillside with paths criss-crossing and lots of up and down shots. We were all grateful that the rain stayed away as the paths would have been very slippery otherwise.
The course layers have a reputation for laying a challenging course and they lived up to this reputation on the day. It was a very well laid course making great use of deadground to make you under or over estimate the distances to the target.
Our shooting group was made up of Paul Jones (from North Wales club shooting Compound unlimited) Sharon and Bob Davies a Black Arrow member shooting his Longbow.
Sharon and Bob

Sharon and Bob

It was really good to catch up with Bob and Jim from Black Arrow who we also saw and was shooting in the group infront, as we’d not seen them since moving house. Jim is doing well with his new Flatbow, and I had the opportunity to chat with him about his new arrows.

He’s bought some arrows from Dreamcatcher arrows and I must say they look great and not overly pricey form what Jim said.

There were about 180 archers there and it ran very smoothly with no long hold ups.
Back to the course and shooting. Not great start blanking the first target, despite hitting it twice the arrows glanced off twice!! One either side of a small 3d partridge. One of the new part 3d targets where other it only a 3d from the front. Our second target was a standing bear, through the trees.

Paul shooting Standing bear

Paul shooting Standing bear target 2

Bob Shooting 3d Deer

Bob Shooting 3d Deer in the afternoon

The real downer on the day and made me really angry was at the lunch break, when an inconsiderate archer who had stopped early so he could get to the lunch tent walked across my shooting line when I was drawing up. It was dangerous and ignorant.

How Far is Kong

As always they had Kong out this time at about 77-80 yards. Kong is a huge home made gorilla 3d target over 11ft tall  which they placed in a field. Banked it with first falling between legs and 2&3 drifting left. The video below gives you an idea of distance and size

The course was mainly 3d targets with a few paper faces.
Liked the standing bear paper face, looked really good and well placed.
Sharon shoot at 3D

Sharon shoot at 3D

Sharon did well winning Ladies Barebow. Though she did get some lucky shots, with her arrows just staying in the target.
Sharons arrow

Sharons arrow is the top one.

I would like to say that I had shot well, but truthfully I shot terribly at a level I have not shot since starting. It has been a real confidence hit and I’m not sure what I will do. I don’t know whether to continue with flatbow or go back to Hunting tackle. Either way I really need to improve 😦
Thanks for reading
Aug 31 2012

Buying equipment – first bits and pieces part 1

Having been inspired by some of the recent articles on here, including ones by Jordan Sequillion I thought I would put a posting together on buying equipment as a newbie. The only problem is it grew longer and longer, so I thought I would do a couple of postings, so here goes.

This is very much an overview and I’ll go into more details in future postings.

As a coach I often get asked by students about buying a bow, how much do they cost, what should I got for, where can I get one, I’ve seen one on ebay,etc. I always reply by saying wait a few weeks or couple of months, use the club equipment for now until you have a better idea of what is a good buy.

But sooner or later your students will want to purchase their own bow (which is great don’t get me wrong) but there are a few things that might be worth getting first. So I have put this post together to offer some advice

First things for any new archer to buy (before a bow) should be

  • A tab or glove of their own, normally I recommend a beginner starts with a tab, it’s easier on their fingers and promotes good finger position on the string
Simple finger tab

Simple finger tab

  • Belt quiver, you can pay a small fortune for some quivers, but when you are starting go for something simple.

    simple belt quiver

    simple belt quiver

  • Arrow puller, makes life easier for drawing arrows
  • Whistle (for safety calls and is a necessity for insurance on some sites)
  • An arm bracer or arm guard that fits (doesn’t fall down the arm or is too tight and cuts off circulation, and they like, there are loads of different designs, some that go all the way up the arm some that only cover the forearm.
Leather arm guard

Leather arm guard

  • Arrow rake for finding those arrows that fall short (a cheap decorating roller can be used, once modified for the purpose )

What kind of bow should I buy?

As a first bow the best is the take down recurve practise bow in my view.

They are relatively cheap (£55-£75 depending on where you get them), so if they don’t stick with it it’s not such a huge investment. Also you might be able to pick one up from club member who has progressed.

The limbs can be upgraded to heavier poundage as archer develop their strength and skill (I did this after a few months myself, with some shops giving a discount if you trade your old limbs in )

They are forgiving to use which is what you want as a beginner.

They come in a vast variety of sizes, shapes, poundage so good for all abilities, heights, draw lengths etc so are easy to find one suitable for all shapes and sizes of archer.

A basic beginners recurve doesn’t require as much maintenance as a longbow,  compound or performance recurve. Sharon still has her first bow and we use it for coaching all the time and its over 4 years old.

Arrows – for arrows I tend to recommend aluminium arrows for a beginner, they are durable and cheap. Easton Neos Beginners Alloy Arrow work well and come in variety of lengths and spines.

I tend to recommend avoiding carbon arrows at this stage even though you can get them for less than aluminium. There tend not to be as durable if they catch the side of a target or branch and some clubs don’t allow beginners to use them. They are also harder to find in the undergrowth with a metal detector.

Where should I buy my first bow from?

  • NOT eBay – there is nothing wrong with eBay before anyone says anything. I simple would not advise anyone to buy their first bow off it, as you don’t know the history or condition of the bow.
  • Try before you buy –  really important, try bows of different draw weights, bow lengths and manufacturers. You will find that some limbs will feel harder to draw than others
  • Visit local shop – There are a number of archery shops (Quicks, Merlin etc) round the country and all quality ones will give you the opportunity to try first and spend time with you. My first bow was bought from Quicks Archery and they were very helpful and spent time explaining everything. (If possible take an experienced person with you when looking to buy one ideally your coach or fellow club member)

Ok that is a start, I’ll add more and another post on other facts to consider like draw weights, measuring exact draw length for arrows etc, comfort and bow lengths etc next week

Thanks for  reading, let me know what you think.