Tag Archives: “shoot report”

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.

Apr 22 2014

Shoot Report – Severn Valley – April 2014

SVYF shoot April

SVYF shoot April

Okay so I’ve been a little slow in getting this posted, sorry all. So a couple of weekends ago we had a very tiring time. Two long days of helping sorting shots and 3Ds but it all proved worthwhile. 
On the Sunday Severn Valley club (or to give it’s full name,  Severn Valley Yeoman Foresters) hosted it’s first open shoot of 2014 so Sharon and I were helping on the run up to the shoot and marshaling on the day. So it was a busy day preparing the course on Saturday daytime.
Saturday night saw us entertaining Paul and Rhian. They were shooting the course on Sunday so were staying over as it saved them a long drive down on Sunday morning. It proved a Great night chatting with take away food and a drop or two of wine.
Sharon Sunday morning

Sharon Sunday morning complete with metal detector

Sunday morning saw great shooting weather, with light wind, bright spring sunshine and not so warm as to wake all the mosquitos from their winter sleep. 

We welcomed 191 archers to the club from 8:30 onwards (200 is our maximum limit so we were nearly full).

Shot on B course

Shot on B course

 There were many familiar faces joining us and It was great to catch up with some friends from Black Arrow and Artemis.

John and Ben Straw of Artemis

John and Ben Straw of Artemis on B course

The course consisted of 40 Mixed 3Ds and Paper Faces ranging in distance from 6 yards to nearing 60.
Archers on A Course

Archers on A Course

There seemed to be a real buzz on the day and not only from all the newly emerging bees but from the archers too who seemed to be enjoying the sun and the day.

Group about to shoot target 38 B Course

Group about to shoot target 38 B Course

I was lucky enough to watch a few groups and take a load of photos. 

Double Deer shot on B course, but only back one scores.

Double Deer shot on B course, but only back one scores.


As always the course was split in two halves A and B.

3D bear on B course

3D bear on B course

A course was set by Steve Colin and Phil,  with Chris and Keith doing B.

Tiger Shot on A course

Tiger Shot on A course

With few hold ups other than archers stopping to enjoy the food at tea stops the day flowed well. 
The only negative thing being an accident which befell one of the archers where her metal riser snapped at full draw. Thankfully she wasn’t seriously injured. (Details can be found here )
Personal congratulations to newbie course layers Keith and Chris Harley.  You set a great course.  Well done. 
Feedback from all attending has been very positive and I’d like to thank all those that either attended as competitors or helpers for giving up their time. 

As always thanks for reading.

Apr 7 2014

Shoot report – Wolverine – April 2014

Kong from a distance

Kong from a distance

It was an early start on Sunday as we packed the car and headed north up the motorway. No bright spring sunshine instead we had a grey start to the day, though the heavy showers forecast stayed away until our journey home.
We were heading to the Wolverine club which is based not far from Stoke-on-Trent and is a club we have visited a few times (previous shoot reports can be found here 2013, 2012)
Indirectly we did suffer a little from the heavy rain which had fallen overnight as the parking field got very slippery and provided an interesting experience to get out of. The course paths too were very slippery under foot with a few people falling, fortunately no one was seriously injured.
The club had laid on a 40 target course with a mix of 3ds and paper faces. Of course Kong was out in the field.  Even managed to hit it this time, although it was with a third arrow.
3D crocodile in the grass

3D crocodile in the grass

There were over 150 archers braving the weather and hillside climbs that made the Sunday trek.
3d wolf in the bush

3d wolf in the bush

Our shooting group on the day included myself, Sharon, Sue from Long Eaton club who we had shot with before and Rich from DW longbow who was only on his second open shoot.

wolverine shooting group as we trekked up the hillside

wolverine shooting group as we trekked up the hillside

Wolverine’s grounds are in 2 woods on a  hillside with a small field half way down. This made for lots of walking up and down the hillside which left everyone tired by the end of the day. It also allowed the club to set up some very nice up and downhill shots. If you have read my past reports you will know that Wolverine always have a lunch break for their shoots as the course ground doesn’t allow for a shoot through. This meant lots of archers trekked up the slope for lunch and then back to start the second half.
3d bear at wolverine

3d bear at wolverine

My only criticism of the course is they had a few targets with the boss frame on the top and bottom. This resulted in us and others spending time digging out arrows which had missed the target but stuck in the wood frame.
Sue shooting

Sue shooting

The course was a challenging one with the mix of uphill and downhill shots, with archers working for every point. Targets were hittable so long as you kept your focus. The only hold ups we encountered were down to the group in front having to dig out stray arrows on a couple of target so in all it flowed well.
Bedded deer at wolverine

Bedded deer at wolverine

My shoulder is definitely playing up as I struggled a bit with back twinges in the latter half of the day but in all had a good day. Probably not helped by helping at our club on Saturday to shift heavy stuff before our shoot next week.
Sharon at full draw

Sharon at full draw

Sharon came away with a first in ladies Hunting Tackle (HT). I managed a second place in Gents HT.
Thanks for reading. Next weekend we will be helping to marshal our club shoot.