Shoot Report – Wolverine – August 2014

Kong from afar

Kong from afar

Last weekend we headed up to Wolverine Archers outside Stoke on Trent for their August shoot in weather that felt more autumnal than high summer.
I must admit to having second thoughts about going.  Not because of the course but because for the previous few days I’d not been very well and had less than 8 hours sleep in total for the past few nights. The previous day I’d been coaching which had left me very tired so I wasn’t feeling my best.
But the option was to either stay home feeling rough or to try and work through it. So we loaded the car and set off.
The course comprised of 40 mixed 3Ds and paper faces. You can see previous reports here.
Shooting group

Shooting group

We had a really good group with Zeena and Dan from Lyme Valley joining Charlie from Hanson and ourselves.

Shooting Group

Shooting Group – Charlie, Sharon, Zeena and Dan

I learnt two things from this day. The way to stay looking young is to drink Guinness as evident from the very youthful Zeena. The other is that Charlie should stick with shooting longbow rather than crossbow as he is a natural.

Charlie shooting at 3D beer

Charlie shooting at 3D beer

The Wolverine team always put on a good course and this was no different. Shots were challenging and not stretched,  with Kong making an appearance as always.

Charlie moving on to shoot

Charlie moving on to shoot

The only thing that marred the day was Sharon falling down a slope half way round the course. Fortunately she wasn’t injured but now has a scratch on her bow that will need seeing to. Could have been much worse and like many archers she was more concerned about her bow than herself. Note to Sharon when reading this. “Bows can be replaced,  you can’t.”

Dan shooting

Dan shooting

We came home having had a lovely day but I must admit to feeling shattered and having an early night. Despite her fall Sharon came first in ladies hunting tackle and I somehow managed to scrape a third place despite dropping 50 points in the second half as fatigue and lack of sleep started to play a part in my shooting.
We also came home with a new friend. Robin a’Dale who is travelling round the country visiting different shoots and keeping a diary of his adventures.
Thanks for reading.

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.