Tag Archives: “shoot report”

May 28 2014

Shoot Report – 3D NFAS Championships 2014

2014 3d champs archers walking back

2014 3d champs archers walking back

I think this years championships could have a title of the 3D muddy championships rather than archery championships as thanks to the British bank holiday weather of heavy rain the camp site and courses resembled the battlefield of the Somme at times. So before I start I’d like to thank all those who put the effort in to set up the courses in such weather, along with the admin staff who did a storming job before and during the event.
Slightly muddy field

Slightly muddy field

Despite these conditions it was a good weekend with friends, good courses and some positive results.
For those not familiar with the event here are a couple of links to previous years 2013, 2012.
Basically it is a 2 day shoot organised by the NFAS where you would shoot 2 courses one each day. Wooden Arrow archers will shoot A and B whilst metal / carbon arrow archers will shoot X and Y courses. The courses being set either by local clubs or groups of volunteers.
Each course is made up of 40 3D targets of varying shapes and distances.
Initially we had thought of camping but having seen the forecast we chose not to camp but to stay at a local Premier Inn just outside of Derby. This proved to be a good call and very popular with other archers including a few friends.

Saturday

It would be fare to say Saturday was wet in the morning through until about 3 pm. We were to shoot B course today and A course on Sunday.

The only issue with Osmaston is that the site has been used for five years so finding new shots and routes is hard. Despite that the course layers did their best to set a 40 target course. I would start on peg 14 & Sharon on 10. There were two other adults in my group Les and Shirley and one junior Aaron.
Sorry there aren’t many photos but rain and phone camera don’t mix well.

2014 3d champs cat in the tree

2014 3d champs cat in the tree on B course

I think it would be fair to say that B course was a much easier course as far as distance is concerned but that made you relax and lose concentration. So despite scoring a personal best of 754 points I knew that those that kept their concentration would do well and the top hunting tackle archer came in with 814 points.
By the end of the first day we were tired but  in good spirits. Largely helped by the very illusive sun making a brief appearance for a couple of hours.

We headed back to the inn where we could grab a quick shower and dry out the clothes before meeting up in the bar and enjoying an evening meal with fellow SVYF members.

Sunday

Sunday morning started with very heavy rain which persisted for a few hours but by 2 it was cloudy and began to brighten up. We collected our score cards from administration and then had a look at the previous days results and positions which were up and saw Sharon in  third place and me in sixth. We were both in the same shooting groups and starting on the same peg numbers as Saturday.

Sharon at 3d champs 2014

Sharon at 3d champs 2014

Sunday’s course was completely different with some fantastic framed shots.
I let myself down on Sunday by not having something to eat at the first food stop which resulted in a sugar level drop and corresponding energy level drop mid way round that cost me points. Will hopefully learn from the mistake and replace the energy bars I normally carry in my quiver.

3d bear champs 2014 A course

3d bear champs 2014 A course

Sunday was hard work as by now the ground was saturated and paths that had seen hundreds of archers through were slippery and ankle deep in mud making it very easy to fall. Add to this that people were getting tired I was amazed no one fell.
Anyway back to the course. We started on an uphill brown bear positioned against a tree. The use of foliage and ground was superb with it being a challenge to hit most targets from your first peg.
My one good shot of the day was a bedded white ram which by some miracle I managed to 24.

Shirley shooting 3D bedded Ram on A course Sunday

Shirley shooting 3D bedded Ram on A course Sunday

There have been a few comments on the society boards about some of the 3d targets positions not being ideal if you missed. I know I lost 3 arrows over the weekend, but that is the nature of the sport in many ways. I do think the use of a few well placed nets would have speeded the day up though.

The full scores are available from the nfas website on this link.

Sharon said she didn’t shoot well having blanked one target and taken a third arrow on another.  So you can imagine her delight and shock when she was called out in first place.
Sunday we returned to the Premier Inn and had a couple of drinks in the bar to celebrate.
Sharons' trophy - Ladies 3D Hunting Tackle Champion

Sharon’s trophy – Ladies 3D Hunting Tackle Champion

We would also like to congratulate Colin for his placing in Gents Crossbow and the wonderful Chrissie Harley on her placing too in Ladies longbow.
As for me I dropped 3 places so ended the weekend in ninth place with 1412, still my best result in a 3D Championships and matching my position from last years national championships.

Monday

Monday morning dawned with blue skies and warm weather which was beneficial as we had arranged to help the HaySmith crew who had laid X course walk the course and clear up any litter, remove signs and return it back to a natural state. Though I think the camping and parking  field may take longer to recover.
So after a long weekend and miles of walking we finally got home and could relax. Our boots and gaiters are still drying out and the poor old car resembles one from the RAC rally.
As always 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 9 2014

Shoot Report – Long Eaton – May 2014

Archers at LEFA shoot

Archers at LEFA shoot

Last weekend we headed north towards Long Eaton club shoot in Leicestershire.
Despite it being a bank holiday weekend, the weather was good with bright sunshine and blue skies and no rain!! This meant I was able to get a load of photos this time unlike the Pride Park shoot at Easter.
The course was a full 40 3Ds and billed as a warm up for the NFAS 3D championships in a few weeks, which I think may have put some off attending as there were only about 120 or so attending, which was a shame as it was a great course.
You can see past shoot reports Summer Solstice 2013
The woods looked Lovely with all the bluebells out which made it a very picturesque setting.
Bluebells at Long Eaton wood

Bluebells at Long Eaton wood

The course layers had done a great job with very good target placement with some great use of the ground. The use of dead ground and the dips and hollows was excellent. Those that shot well earned their points.
I don’t think any shots were stretched though there weren’t any easy shots.

The bison looked great in a carpet of bluebells.
Bisson Shot

Bisson Shot

Another nice one was the owl half way up a tree.
3D owl shot

3D owl shot

LEFA second target

LEFA second target

Nice to see target bosses behind most of the 3Ds to catch wayward arrows and the fact they’d camouflaged them to make them less obvious meant they didn’t spoil the shot.
Sharon shooting at LEFA

Sharon shooting at LEFA

I’m not sure about some of the new small 3d targets they were trialing at the shoot though.  They look good but are quite dense.

Small 3D hare

Small 3D hare

Sharon broke an arrow hitting one and my only blank of the day was after I hit one 3 times in the chest and got 3 glance offs. Think the problem is the way they are moulded makes some areas very dense.
Having said this it is nice to see some new 3Ds and I liked the running hare. It is very hard for shoot organisers to source small targets and I know target 7 which we started on which was a small fish that you shot nearly vertically down to was shot out by the end of the day.
Speaking with a couple of other archers they had similar experiences. I also had the opportunity to speak to the organisers and I think they are going to review some of the smallest ones. Always good when organisers listen to feedback and Long Eaton appear to have done this based on the quality of this shoot.  Thanks guys and well done.

There were a couple of predator / prey shots  one using a lovely 3D pheasant taking flight from a big cat.
For those not familiar with predator prey shots they work like this. You shoot at the predator first and if you hit with your first arrow you get a chance to shoot the prey for bonus points.  Where I don’t mind the idea of bonus points or predator prey shots.
I’m not a fan of predator prey shots where you can score full points on the prey if you hit. Maybe a bonus 10 points if you hit the prey but I think it can open up too great a points difference if you can score up to 20 or 24 points on the prey. Hawk do these shots as second arrow scoring on the prey which is more balanced. Personal view and shouldn’t be seen as a criticism of the course.
In general the day flowed well with only a couple of hold ups at the predator prey shots which is normal.
Lucky shot at LEFA just held into target

Lucky shot at LEFA just held into target

I didn’t shoot well after lunch actually to be fair I was shooting pretty poorly at times which is a shame as it would be good to shoot the course when I was shooting well. Probably due to too much work and not enough practice. Sharon came away with a first in ladies hunting tackle

Think the only thing that could have made it a better shoot was to make it a shoot through and not have a lunch break, although the club don’t think this would be practical.
In all I think it would be fair to say it was one of the best courses they have put on if not the best. Well done all involved. Here’s hoping the 3D championships courses are as good.
Thanks, as always, for reading.