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

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

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

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

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

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