Tag Archives: traditional archery

Banks of snowdrops at Centaura
Apr 18 2018

Shoot report – Centaura Bowmen – March 2018

Centaure Bowmen

It seems ages since I’ve written a shoot report, hopefully I haven’t lost the knack of what to include and cover. So here goes with this shoot report for Centaura Bowmen March shoot, which I think could have been called the snowdrop shoot. For those interested here is a link to a previous shoot report.

Unlike some of the recent weekends we’ve had of late, it wasn’t that cold, though there were areas of the woodland covered in a think blanket of white, with hundreds of snowdrops in flower.

Banks of snowdrops at Centaura

Banks of snowdrops at Centaura

One of the nice things with going to Centaura shoots is the opportunity it presents to catch up with old friends and a few blog followers, even if only briefly and that day was no exception.

So joining Sharon and myself in the shooting group on the day was Sue and Andrew, both shooting Bare Bow. We quickly discovered it was only the second NFAS shoot Sue had done, but I have to say I think she did really well.
Sharon shooting our first target

Sharon shooting our first target

Hopefully we haven’t put her off continuing in the hobby, though as we had a good laugh shooting round and chatting about anything and everything, I think we will see here again.
Sharon shooting 3D turkey target

Sharon shooting 3D turkey target

The course was familiar to many of us who had shot Centaura competitions before, consisting of 36 targets being a mix of 3D and paper faces. To be fair to the course layers they have added a couple of new shots, which seemed to work pretty well.
If you ever shoot at Centaura you will discover that the club produces some custom paper faces, which though can be quite small generally have generous scoring lines and offer a nice change to the normal ones seen at other shoots.
Andrew shooting 3d

Andrew shooting 3d

Overall the day went pretty well, but with over 120 archers in quite a small wood it was at times a bit slow, whilst waiting for the group in front to shoot or clear the target.
Sharon framed between the trees

Sharon framed between the trees

Personally I feel there was only one 3D shot (the bedded goat in the quarry) and maybe one paper face (fox) that could have been thought of as a bit stretched for the size of target.
Long paper fox target at Centaura

Sue shooting the long paper fox target at Centaura

To be fair though it looks like the club have invested in some new 3Ds which work well and look good. Being a small wood I think they struggle to change shots or course without starting from scratch.

3D lizard

As normal for Centaura there was a lunch break of 45 minutes to allow archers time to grab some food before being back out on the peg. For those not familiar with this lunch break concept it is a break, normally between 12:30 and 1:15, during which time all shooting is stopped. They have added a drinks table outside that speeds up the process of serving 100 plus thirsty archers.
Andrew shooting 3D bedded deer target

Andrew shooting 3D bedded deer target

I wasn’t shooting too badly in the morning, but after the food stop I hit a problem. I had a muscle twinge in my shoulder, from then on I was struggling to hold at full draw, obviously this impacted on the last 10 targets with me blanking two and dropping to second arrows on others. I think I need to do some more practise and build the shoulder up a bit. Sharon shot well, getting first in ladies Flatbow and despite my shoulder problems I managed a first in gents.
The only real downside would be a very slow drive home partly down to shoulder twinges but mostly due to heavy traffic on the motorway.
Thanks for reading.

Sad News

Shortly after this shoot report was written up, I heard that the club had been targeted by thieves, with details here. Since then they have published a full list of items stolen.

List of items taken
3 x Left Hand Polar bows 16 18 and 36 poundages
3 x Right Hand Polar bows 16, 18 and 28 poundages

2 junior “Jelly” bows colours orange and light brown 10Lb

Arrows :
36 carbon Mybo Hailstorm
24 aluminium Easton
36 miscellaneous manufacturers aluminium, carbon and fibre glass
12 wood arrows

Here’s hoping the club survives and continues to grow. Good luck

Sharon shooting 3D deer
Apr 6 2018

Shoot Report – Harlequin Bowhunters – February 2018

Harlequin Bowhunters

Harlequin Bow hunters NFAS shoot

It had been almost a year since we’d shot Harlequins course, not for any reason other than something always came up, so we were curious to see how it had changed. So on what was a bright but cold Sunday morning we headed north up the motorway to Harlequins grounds. Those interested can read a previous shot report here.

Julie about to start the show

Julie about to start the show

Sadly the start of the shoot was slightly delayed as they suffered from quite a few no shows (over a dozen) which caused the mighty admin team of Julie and Sam some hassle on the day as they tried to re-arrange the remaining 120 or so archers.
There would only be four of us in the shooting group, with big voice and little voice as they were nicknamed or better knows as Colin and Corinne both from Centaura Bowmen joining Sharon and myself.
2D bobcat target in the cover of the tree

2D bobcat target in the cover of the tree

Harlequins ground is pretty flat with dense area of evergreens of Laurel or Rhododendrons, and deciduous woodland, which houses there 36 target course. This being a mix of paper,3D and 2D targets. I have to say I’m not a huge fan of the 2D targets as it can be a real struggle to draw arrows from.
Sharon shooting 3D deer

Sharon shooting 3D deer

The low winter sun and lack of leaf cover on the trees, resulted in us struggling with some shot as they proved very hard to see.
Sharon shooting into the sun between trees

Sharon shooting into the sun between trees

I’m not sure if it was the low level of the sun (I hadn’t picked up my reactolites glasses) or something else, but by lunchtime I had developed a headache, which gradually got worse as the day progressed. The shoot was a shoot through with a couple of opportunities to pass catering and grab some hot food or drink, definitely something that was needed on the day. It was good to see Harlequin seemed to have recovered from the vandalism they suffered last year.
2D Tiger target between the trees

2D Tiger target between the trees

I thought the course was ok, with a mix of short, medium and long shots. There were a few familiar shots along with several new shots that worked well. My only observation was it felt quite tight in a few spots where you were close to next or previous shot, especially if you were the second group waiting to shoot. Having said this I know that they are looking to reset the course in readiness for their next shoot.
As the sun went down so did the temperature, along with making a few shots more challenging to see with the sun in your arrows.
3D target set between the trees

3D target set between the trees in dappled sunlight

Of all the shots I think the one I liked the most was the 2D Kangaroo target in the hollow, it was framed really well and just looked good. Always think if a shoot looks good, archers will enjoy shooting it.
2D Kangaroo target set between the trees in a hollow

2D Kangaroo target set between the trees in a hollow

Though the day was a bit slow especially in the second half, seeing us waiting on most of the targets, we had a good laugh which helped to keep my mind off my headache. By the end of the shoot my head was pounding and painkillers weren’t doing much. For that reason we decided to leave early. This was the first time i’d left a shoot before the prize giving but knowing we had over an hour drive home, due to road works I wanted to get home.
In some ways I was glad we left when we did as by the time we had got home my headache had got worse despite the painkillers. I was worried it might be developing into a full blown migraine, which sadly it did by Monday. I ended up spending most of Monday in bed, with the curtains drawn. Thankfully I don’t get migraines often.
Thanks for reading.
Apr 1 2018

Another archery club targeted by thieves

Some of you may have seen my tweet that Centaura Bowmen archery club outside Derby has been added to the list of clubs targeted by thieves. Here are the details that I know of and taken from the NFAS Facebook group.

Facebook notice of thefts

Facebook notice of thefts

Over the past few months I’ve heard of a number of clubs that have been hit, whether by thefts, trespass or vandalism.

So what can we do?

  • We can all keep an eye out for suspicious characters at our clubs or woods.
  • Cultivate links with other local clubs and groups, so you can share news and alerts.
  • We can be careful how we promote the clubs locations on public websites.
  • Securing the huts, sheds etc seems like common sense, but having been a victim of thieves I know that simply putting a lock on the door is not always enough. When we were last broken into they got past the lock and quality padlock by forcing panels out of the door.
  • Think about marking your equipment with club name, or branding the 3Ds with club name is something I know a few clubs have done. You could invest in smart water option too for the more expensive items.
  • If we see deals that appear too good to be true on sites like eBay or offered locally, be suspicious.
  • I know some clubs have invested in security systems, whether these be alarms or cameras. Inexpensive trail cameras, the sort used for wildlife monitoring can prove an effective way of monitoring who actually visits your woodland. If you do use these, you have to post signs stating CCTV is in use.
Try a search for  digital game / trail / hunting cameras and you’ll find them.
I have one such camera VWTech 720p / 8MP low light visions – this captures both still images or video depending on what I set. It’s an old model now but has worked pretty well for me over the years.
Here are a few examples of what it captures, both day and night.
Pretty clear image of badger at night with trail cam

Pretty clear image of badger at night with trail cam

Fox in daylight with trail cam

Fox in daylight with trail cam

Fox by night with trail cam

Fox by night with trail cam

Most if not all will display a time and date of the visitor too.
Thanks for reading