Tag Archives: wooden arrow

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.
Mar 17 2014

Shoot report – Centaura Archers – March 2014

Sharon getting ready for shoot

Sharon getting ready for the shoot

This last weekend we took a break from sorting the garden and on Sunday we headed north to just outside of Derby for a return to the Centaura Field Bowmen grounds. It had been a couple of years since we had last shot this ground and not since Pete Bates had passed away. Pete had been a very well known character on the field archery circuit in the Midlands and had been the driving force behind Centaura for years.
Bench donated to the club in memory of Pete

Bench donated to the club in memory of Pete

Considering the very wet winter weather we have endured in the UK, Sunday  was an absolutely lovely early spring day. Bright sunshine and blue skies all day, with our temperature gauge in the car showing 15 degrees when we left to head home late afternoon. Pub beer garden weather or better still shooting weather.
Practise bosses before the start

Practise bosses before the start

The shoot was to be a wooden arrow only shoot, with the course being a 36 target, mix of 3D and paper faces. Normally wooden arrow only shoots have a low turnout but there were over 100 archers split across the different classes of longbow American flat bow and hunting tackle attending the event.

Great Atmosphere

I think it would fair to say  that the shoot was probably one of the most relaxed and laid back shoots I have been on for a very long time. Everyone was smiling and relaxed with very few hold ups on the course.
There was a brief lunch break between 12:30 -1:15 which was necessary as the club ground doesn’t really make for a shoot through.
Post lunch break

Post lunch break

Woodland regeneration

The club is presently working with the local council on a 10 year project of woodland management to rejuvenate the woodland. It’s very obvious how much work has started with clearing and felling of some trees which has opened up areas.

The course

As I’ve said earlier the 36 target course felt split into two main sections one part having the shorter more technical shots dictated by the terrain.

Polo shot

Polo shot

We started on peg 11 which I will call the polo shot. A hole had been cut into a foam boss with a second boss positioned some  5 yards or so behind. You had to shoot through the hole to hit the target, a paper raccoon.

Starting Peg with Sharon, Dave and Graham

Starting Peg with Sharon, Dave and Graham

We were delighted to see Dave and Graham waiting on the peg, longbow archers we’d shot with before.  Our day was filled with jokes and laughter with little consideration of the competition and more about having a good fun day shooting with friends. Thanks guys.
There were some challenging shots out there though an Ermin at 3 yards and low to the ground. Sharon nailed this with a near perfect shot. In fact she nailed the 2 smallest targets on the course,  scoring 24 points on each.

Sharon as she shot the ermin

Sharon as she shot the ermin

There were a couple of predator prey shots one being a crocodile 3d with a 3D goose in its mouth.
There was also a deceptively difficult little 3d fox which caught a few people out.

Graham on 3D fox

Graham on 3D fox

Another was a nice herd shot of 3 3Ds all deer of different sizes and distances.

It was good to catch up with so many old friends who we hadn’t seen since moving house 18 months ago. SVYF came away with a few placings Chris Harley came second in longbow and Sharon and I managed to come away with firsts in Ladies and Gents Hunting Tackle.

I’m sure that with the work the club has already undertaken and are planning it will go from strength to strength.
As always thanks for reading.
Jan 1 2014

Equipment Review – Bohning fletching tape

With the stormy weather hitting the UK at present, many archers are retreating to the indoor ranges or their making and doing rooms and sheds, fletching arrows and sorting gear for the new season. It’s been not so much of a white Christmas and New Year as a very, very wet one.

Here is hoping everyone is safe, warm and dry.

I thought I might take this opportunity to post my findings on using Bohning fletching tape. Been a while since I’ve written a review so here goes.

Just to make this clear from the outset. These are my views and opinions. I have no commercial interest in these products I review or the companies.

Double sided tape

Bohning Double sided tape

For years I have been using fletching glue to attach my feather fletching to the wood shafts. HMG has been my glue of choice. The only issue I’ve had is the time it takes for the adhesive to cure which is 15-20 minutes depending on air temperature.

For plastic vanes I’ve used simple bostic glue from local hardware shop which seems to work well on Sharon’s aluminium eclipse arrows.

At a shoot last year I was mentioning this and Bob one of our old club members from Black Arrow mentioned he used double sided fletching tape for all of his arrows and had never had any problems. Bob shoots longbow for both field and roving so his arrows can take some abuse. No offence Bob if you are reading this.

Initially I found applying the tape a little fiddly. Not so much when taking it off the roll and applying to the feather, but when trying to take the second covering layer off the tape when applying the fletching to the arrow shaft, but you get used to it.

Make sure you have aligned the fletching right as the tape adheres fast so you don’t have the time to re align if you make a mistake.

Quick tip. Ensure the shaft is dry and free from any dust which would cause poor adhesion. I don’t oil or varnish the shafts prior to fletching them.

Using the tape saves a lot of time as I found it quick and easy to use once you got the hang of it. I was able to fletch half dozen arrows in 15 minutes a significant time saving as it used to take 45-55 minutes using the glue to fletch one arrow.

Allow a little more at each end

Allow a little more at each end to make it easier to apply.

Leave a little extra at the front and rear of the fletching as it makes it easier to remove the second side of the tape and easier to apply the fletching to the shaft.

Extra length at front

Extra length at front

I was concerned the tape might come off in the rain but so far so good. I’ve been using the arrows for a little over six months and they seem okay.

My other concern was if the fletching might peel off the shaft, but this hasn’t happened either. I don’t know if this might be different if you varnished the wood first.

They have stood up to all the normal abuse I can throw at them, from being soaked in the rain, to encounters with trees and other vegetation. I’ve also used the tape for a new set of wooden arrows for Sharon and they seem to eb working well for her too.

Not sure how well it would work on plastic fletching but I am thinking of testing this shortly so it might be an update in near future.

The tape is available from most good archery shops, I got mine from Merlin in Loughborough. (http://www.merlinarchery.co.uk/bohning-feather-fletching-tape.html) I’ve used less than half the roll so far and produced a couple of dozen arrows so its pretty good value for money at just under £7 a roll.

So in short my verdict is thumbs up for Bohning tape, a good product that can save you a lot of time. 9/10 (could be higher if I had chance to try it on shafts other than wood)

Let me know if you have any experiences with this or anything else.

Happy New Year and as always thanks for reading.