Tag Archives: Severn Valley Yeoman Foresters

Aug 28 2013

Shoot report – Windrush

Windrush logo

Windrush logo

Firstly apologies for no photos in this shoot report. My camera was buried under waterproof trousers for most of the weekend. Yes a British bank holiday weekend and at times it was very wet, thankfully not all the time.

We set off on Friday afternoon fighting our way through bank holiday traffic arriving shortly after 5 pm at the campsite (read field). Pitching the tent we fixed something to eat before the rest of the svyf group arrived.

very wet Grasshopper on Saturday morning

very wet Grasshopper on Saturday morning

Windrush club (http://windrushbowmen.org.uk/wordpress/) is just outside Charlbury and were hosting a 2 day shoot over the bank holiday weekend. We hadn’t shot Windrush before and there were a few from svyf who had joined us for the weekend. Numbers at the event were quite low, 80 each day, which we think might be due to a couple of other 2 day shoots on and the Scottish Championships all being that weekend.

Windrush ground is a flat open deciduous woodland with a few areas of scrub and bushes. I think this is their new wood and they have use of part of it all the time and the rest only for the two day event.

The courses were a Mix of 3D and paper faces, 36 targets on each day. With quite a few changes of target faces or 3d targets on the second day. This would make for a very challenging couple of courses. Personally I think a there were a number of targets which were stretched for their size and distance which was a shame as the grounds and setting opportunities were extensive. 2 day shoots are always hard as fatigue sets in possibly compounded by a lack of a decent amount of sleep.

Morning of first day started early with heavy rain and overcast so on went the waterproof jacket and trousers. The second day started with rain but cleared up resulting in a warm sunny day just after lunch.

Windrush worked hard to make it a very sociable Saturday night with a hog roast and live band, who were pretty good playing a mix of blues and rock and roll tracks.

Saturday night band

Saturday Live band

Overall it was an okay weekend, neither of us felt we shot well on what were 2 very challenging courses.

Sharon like myself is struggling with distance judgement. I know I’m looking at targets and thinking okay that’s how far it is and then second guessing myself by thinking this is how far a target of this size should be and shooting it at that distance. Resulting in inevitable falling short as many course layers are stretching the distances targets are placed at. Targets you would expect at 30 yards are being set at 35-40 yards.

One of the hardest shots of weekend was on second day. Target 29 had been a standing 3d black bear facing you at about 48 yards. This worked well as if you misjudged the distance slightly but kept the line you might drop your arrow into the leg. Which i did with my first arrow.However on the second day this had been replaced with a stag at the same distance. The body mass of this target is about 20-22 inches so you lose any chance of dropping into the lower limbs. This takes it from a hard or challenging shot to a very difficult one when you consider you are shooting from behind a mound and having to get under the low canopy. Sharon lost one arrow on this target and I know others did too.

Our thanks to all at Windrush for all the work for the weekend. Great sociable Saturday, loved the band and amazed it stayed fairly dry.

Thanks for reading.

Aug 20 2013

Shoot report – Wolverine – August 2013

Wolverine - archers waiting to start

Wolverine – archers waiting to start

The night before there had been heavy rain and we had wondered whether this was going to make Wolverine a slipping and  sliding shoot, it turned out to be a bright and not too warm day. Ideal shooting weather.

Our group was made up of 3 fellow SVYF Sue, Jason (both shooting AFB) and Tom shooting bare bow, joined Sharon and myself. This was to be Tom’s first open shoot and I think he might be back judging by his smiles during and at end of day.

Wolverine group - Jason, Tom and Sue

Wolverine group – Jason, Tom and Sue

The course itself was very challenging, comprising of a mix of 3d targets, a couple of hessian or home made ones and a selection of paper faces. There was a lengthy debate at one home made hessian target when we tried to work out if it was a brown bear or kangaroo. After we had shot it and when we got close enough to see it we discovered it was actually a curled up lion. Think we need new glasses!!

Wolverine’s ground is a wooded hillside with an open field at bottom for a few very long shots. Comprising of mature deciduous trees it is quite open allowing for mixed undergrowth and some very nicely framed shots like the mountain lion. (If you can see it past Sharons very bright hat)

Wolverine - Sharon blinding hat

Wolverine – Sharon blinding hat

I know I shoot best when the event flows and there are few hold ups. Unfortunately after the lunch break and for over 10 targets we were delayed by the group in front waiting to shoot as they were being delayed. I know it affected them as I know a couple of them (Danny aka Toast who i shot with in Scotland last year and Rob Cook). Unlike last week I don’t think the delay was due to too many archers just a few slow ones combined with a challenging course.

Toast and Cookie

Toast and Cookie’s group waiting to shoot

Here is a good example of what looks easy yet many archers over shot this 3d hitting the backstop behind.

Not as easy as it looks

Not as easy as it looks

I do really need to work on keeping concentration up though when waiting to shoot. It cost me at least 40 points.

The one downside to Wolverines location is down to the nature of the geography. Wolverine have to have a break for lunch as all the catering and administration are at one end of the woodland. This breaks the flow of the day but is sadly unavoidable.

Sharon was definitely having an off day but managed over 560. Maybe the delays got to her too. Having said that she did have a great shot of the day through the fork of a tree to hit a 3d cheetah.

Wolverine-shot of day by Sharon

Wolverine-shot of day by Sharon

Despite not shooting well, losing concentration due to delays and getting a blank on a target i really should have nailed easily I came in with 626 which got me first place.

In all it was a good shoot with some challenging shots.

Thanks for reading. We are off to a new club next weekend Windrush for a 2 day shoot so hopefully the weather will be kind to us, even if it is August bank holiday.

Jun 6 2013

Shoot Report – 3D National Championships

Morning Sunrise

Misty sunrise over the fields

The weekend of the 25th-26th of May saw the arrival of the annual National Field Archery Society (NFAS) 3D championships.
This 2 day event would see archers from around the country (just under 600 competitors) travelling to Osmaston just outside of Derby. This was the 4th year the event had been hosted there and possibly the last as the contract with the estate is ending this year. Here is a link to last years report.
3D Badge

3D Badge

I will admit to approaching the weekend with a level of apprehension, the week before I had struggled to shoot round our wood on both days, so wondered how my shoulder would cope with 2 days of no doubt challenging courses. Only time would tell.
We’d chosen to camp this year with a group of fellow archers from SVYF and had taken the Friday off work so we could get up early and set up the tent.
3D Champs, Sharon sheltering from the wind

3D Champs, Sharon sheltering from the wind

As it was pitching the tent was a bit of a challenge in winds, gust up to 50mph and showers but we managed it.
Rainbow over campsite

Rainbow over campsite

Format of the weekend

Each class would shoot a different course over the 2 days, A+B course if shooting wooden arrows X+Y course if shooting metal / carbon arrows. The courses had been set by 4 different clubs Artemis Archers, Lyme Valley, Hanson and Duvelle.
Since I was shooting my recurve in the Hunting Tackle class as my shoulder was still not 100% I would shoot course A on Saturday which had been laid by Duvelle archers and Sunday it would be Lyme valleys course (B course). Sharon would be shooting X&Y course (X course Saturday and Y course on Sunday)
The courses were made up of 40 3D targets of various size and distances and I do mean all shapes and sizes. Over the weekend I shot everything from 3D deers, bears, frogs, raccoons to the occasional dinosaur.

Saturday Morning

Saturday Morning – archers gathering

You register between 8:30-9:30 and go through arrow check, this is where a marshal will check your arrows to ensure they are marked with your name, and shooting order. (this is a requirement for both the rules and insurance)
Announcements started at 10 and we were sent off onto our respective courses on the walk out, which can take up to 15-20 minutes itself before you even get to your course and then have your course briefing and escorted to your starting peg. Roughly by 11am you should have started shooting.

Saturday

Saturday dawned with a clear bright sky, thankfully the wind from Friday had gone too. having made up a few new arrows I thought I’de try them out on the practise targets before they got too busy.
The day didn’t start too well with breaking 2 arrows on the first 6 targets, one of which hit the target but broke on the leg after hitting the leg support. By the end of the day I had smashed one into pieces and had to re-pile 2 others.
My only criticism of this course would be that within the first 16 targets we shot,there were a number of the same targets, we had 3 of the same bedded panthers and 2 Velociraptor. This isn’t the clubs fault as they are given the 3D targets, but I think it would have been better to spread them out a bit more.
Having said that the targets weren’t stretched for their size or distance. I think a few more signs informing archers to shout clear when they had left the target they had shot, so the following group knew they were clear and could start shooting would have been good. There were a number of large bushes that blocked vision so at times it was hard to tell if people had cleared the area.
As for shooting, well I didn’t blank any targets so wasn’t too bad a day, though my shoulder was beginning to ache. Here’s hoping for a decent nights sleep.
We had finished by 4 pm and I was back at the tent shortly afterwards, A course being the closest to the campsite.
As the evening approached we gathered round the camp fire, lit the barbecues and sat chatting about the days successes and failures over some hot food and a few drinks. Good social end to the day.

Sunday

Sunday was another bright and clear day, a complete difference to last year when it was continual rain all day.
The one downside was I hadn’t slept well and my shoulder was stiff and painful, add to that my stomach wasn’t feeling 100% (guess that was the Barbecue I thought). The organisers had posted the first day results on the net late Saturday night and a copy at Administration so there were people massing round comparing notes and scores.
This days course had been set by Lyme Valley archers. Lyme Valley’s home ground is in a valley outside Stoke on Trent and they make great use of up and downhill shots. They had obviously taken this skill set to the course and applied it very well.
There were a number of deceptive shots making use of the height and dead ground.
I’m sorry but I didn’t take any photos of the course, but I’ve included a couple of photos from the course Sharon shot on Sunday.
upsidedown Baboon Y course - thanks to Sharon

upsidedown Baboon Y course – thanks to Sharon

Including an interesting upside down baboon.

Photo from Y course - thanks to Sharon

Photo from Y course – thanks to Sharon

I didn’t shoot as well on this course as Saturday, partly down to it being a more testing course and partly due to my shoulder beginning to cause me grief. Despite blanking several targets I came in with 30 points less than Saturday, just under 600 points.
Hanson were doing the catering for Lyme Valley and they always do a great spread, sadly my stomach was not feeling right so I only snacked.
It transpired that I had a better day than Sharon who was shooting on Y course (Artemis), she had had the misfortune of being held up on most targets which interrupted her flow and concentration.
Sharon on Y course

Sharon on Y course

So how did we get on? Well Sharon came away in third for ladies Barebow (despite shooting badly on Sunday) As for me well I came in 15th, not bad for feeling off and having a bad shoulder. You can see the full results here.
We got home on Monday after a fun weekend, the only down side was I came down with a very unpleasant stomach bug which saw me not venturing far from the toilet for 3 days. The doctors think it was gastroenteritis.
So despite falling ill after the event, it was a great weekend. What is more it has made me realise that despite having a bad shoulder I can shoot and do well. Big thanks to all those archers and friends out there who have been so supportive, especially a certain lady called Sharon. Thank you.
As always, thanks for reading