Tag Archives: wooden arrows

Sep 21 2017

Money saving tip

Here is a quick money saving idea for my archery friends out there.

A couple of weeks ago I posted how a local craft store “Hobbycraft” was selling plastic poster tubes at half price and how these tubes can be used as inexpensive arrow tubes.

The only thing to remember is that the tubes are made of quite thin plastic so can be easily damaged when dropping arrows into them.

top of the tube

top of the tube

I cut couple of pieces of foam.

thick foam piece for bottom of the tube

thick foam piece for bottom of the tube

I then add a piece of thick foam in the bottom and top of the tube. You can use an old off cut from camping mat roll.

Marking the foam

Marking the foam

This foam then protects the inside of the tube from the arrow points piercing the end.

foam fitted into the tube

foam fitted into the tube

I’ve included a few photos to give you an idea of what I’ve used.

Thanks for reading.

Cliffs very lucky shot at the 3D carp
Aug 31 2017

Shoot Report – Lyme Valley – August 2017

Cliff shooting 3D hare

Cliff shooting 3D hare

A couple of weeks back we headed north up the motorway and through what feels like endless road works to Lyme Valley shoot. Sorry its taken so long for the shoot report. If you are interested here is a link to a previous shoot report. We were lucky to have good weather, dry and not to warm which is perfect conditions for Lyme valley as you don’t want it to be too warm going up and down the slopes, or wet as it can get very slippery.

It would be a twice round twenty rather than the normal 36 target course they have set in the past. This would prove to make it  a good but long day. Admin and catering was as good as I remember from past visits.

Cliff shooting 3D vulture

Cliff shooting 3D vulture

Our shooting group made for great company, with us being able to catch up with Nadeem, Cliff and Kay all shooting longbow, not forgetting Teyah (Kays dog)

Downhill 3D bear

Kay shooting downhill at 3D bear

There were some nicely laid shots with good use of dead ground. The big grizzly bear 3D shot was great and I wish I’d taken a photo of it. The use of dead ground worked really well I thought on this shot.

Another  was the big bedded elk 3D shot along the hillside was a very nicely framed shot and provided the shot of the day from Cliff on the first circuit round as he managed to 24 it. Though it has to be said that one person’s reaction was timeless to the shot, especially the timing of the comment.

Sharon shooting 3D bedded Elk

Sharon shooting 3D bedded Elk

I had one very lucky shot on the 3D carp only just getting it, with the arrow balanced on top. Ironically Cliff had done exactly the same thing happen the first time round. Evidence of this can be seen in the photograph.

Cliffs very lucky shot at the 3D carp

Cliffs very lucky shot at the 3D carp

Only shot I wasn’t overly keen on was the 3D crocodile by the river. As it was situated on the bank, if you missed your arrow stood a chance of breaking in the stones bank or deflect up into the bridge. The shot looked good and wonder if mounting the crocodile a couple of bosses would have saved a few peoples arrows (including Sharon’s) worse thing was you had to shoot it twice.

Another change to the normal Lyme valley shoot was it was a shoot through rather than a lunch break which I much preferred.

Tricky shot at 3D frog on bank

Tricky shot at 3D frog on bank

The  downside of shooting a twice round is if you get a good shot the first time round on a target you feel you should be able to replicate it second time round. The upside is getting some photos, that is if you remember.

I know some people have commented on some parts of Lyme Valleys course being a little tight on space but by reducing the course to 20 targets from 36 it gave them plenty of space between the different shots.

Sharon shooting down hill towards 3D baboon

Sharon shooting down hill towards 3D baboon

Overall it was a good day with a well laid course. Personally I think if they do another twice round twenty they would be better to use only part of the woodland rather than all of it. Or maybe as Sharon suggested at the time they could set a course of 30 targets and possibly charging slightly less entrance fee. It proved very tiring going up and down the slopes, not once but twice. I think it also made others tired too as the second time round felt slower. To be fair to Lyme Valley, it was a good course and fun day out in the woods.

There were 4 Briar Rose archers attending the shoot, with it being Gayle’s first visit. Steve only just missed out on placing in gents barebow by a couple points. Sharon shot really well despite her thinking the opposite winning ladies AFB with a score that would have had her placed second in the gents class. I surprised myself by winning gents AFB.

Thanks for reading

Bows resting on tree
Aug 11 2017

Shoot Report – Spirit of Sherwood – August 2017

Archers briefing at Spirit of Sherwood shoot

Archers briefing at Spirit of Sherwood shoot

So August is normally thought of as the height of summer in the UK, but I can’t say it really felt like it when we set off. Thankfully it remained dry through the day, if a little chilly first thing, though it did brighten up later on. Since it is a good two hour drive for us, if the motorways are clear, we decided to travel up the night before and stay over in Worksop. I don’t know what it is but the UK motorway network seems to be having more and more roadworks and temporary speed limits.

Archers arriving for Spirit of Sherwood shoot

Archers arriving for Spirit of Sherwood shoot

So there are few things in life that can be relied upon. Normally the phrase includes birth, death and taxes. Well maybe Spirit of Sherwood shoots should be added, as the ones I have attended have always been good, with targets well placed, not stretched, admin organised, along with good marshalling from start to finish. This Sunday was no different, even at the end when the admins had to resort to doing everything by hand due to computer problems it worked. I think the only thing that let them down was the catering van they brought in, who were quite slow and seemed to run out quickly.

Those wanting to read a previous shoot report can find a link to one here. As I write this I’ve realised I never did write a shoot report for last Decembers wooden arrow shoot at Spirit. Sorry.

The course was a mix of paper faces and 3D targets, organised in a clover leaf formation round the central point. This would mean we’d pass the catering stop a couple of times whilst navigating the 40 target course.

With I think over 200 people attending the shooting groups were quite large with 5 archers in most. Sunday would see Steve and David from Lincoln longbow, two comparative newbie archers having been only shooting for about 12 months, joining Harry shooting compound Unlimited, Sharon and myself.  We also had Mathew Harry’s grandson with us, enjoying a walk round as he wasn’t shooting.

3D deer shot at Spirit of Sherwood

3D deer shot at Spirit of Sherwood

The course itself was challenging without the targets being stretched, with some clever use of bracken as cover. Speaking of bracken, Spirit course layers covered all the bosses with foliage making them disappear in to the background. I especially liked the paper deer they set behind the shade of a bush, which made it very hard to identify if it was a 3D,2D or paper face. Vey cleverly set.

3D bobcat target between the trees

3D bobcat target between the trees

Another well set target I thought was the black bear 3D on all fours which was set in a clearing, see photo. It looked good and I always think that is part of the battle when making a course work.

3D black bear between the trees

3D black bear between the trees

I seemed to have a day of not quite judging the distances correctly, probably down to the lack of practise I am getting. Though I have to say it also could be down to the clever course laying. I seemed to get a lot of sixteens but very few twenties, with my arrows landing just over or under the higher scoring zones.

Steve shooting at 3D

Steve shooting at 3D

Spirit of Sherwood normally have some form of moving target and this time it was a 3D crocodile which I am surprised to say  I managed to hit. Normally I don’t fare well on moving targets. I know some groups found the day quite slow, which I think is inevitable when you have so many archers. We kept a steady base throughout the day, with our only real hold up being at the second food stop, where the groups in front had stopped for food.

Special thanks should go to young Mathew for volunteering to carry the 3D target we finished on in by himself, thank you. Here’s hoping you have a great birthday in a few days. Sharon and I shot ok, with Sharon winning ladies AFB and me scraping a first too. Thankfully the drive home afterwards  wasn’t too problematic, so in all a good day.

Thanks for reading