May 29 2015

Shoot Report – 3D Championships 2015 part 2

3D Championships – Flete Estate 2015

So this is part two of the write up of the nfas 3d championships held at Flete estate outside of Plymouth. You can read the first part here.

Saturday I shot B course – Tavistock Archers

Saturday would see me shoot B course and Sharon would be on A with the day starting quite bright and warm. B course layers were from the Tavistock Archers club. I started on peg 19 which was a very short walk out the only downside being it meant we would pass catering only once between target 36 and target 1.
My shooting group would be Andy from Lyme Valley shooting longbow, Kate, Dawn, both shooting flatbow, and Jill Haynes from Pride Park who has recently swapped to Longbow.

B course – 3d mountain lion between the trees

B course was on a wooded hillside overlooking the camp site and would be physically more tiring than we expected as you went up and down the slopes, with the aid of a few well placed ropes. Congratulations to anyone who got round without falling since I failed this on a comparatively flat bit of the course slipping on the bluebells and jarring my right wrist. The Tavistock club had worked hard to cut routes through the undergrowth and done their best to cut steps up and down the steeper slopes.

B course – 3D frog behind the tree

The other thing about the wood was the sheer quantity of bluebells covering the forest floor along with the scent of the bluebells and wild garlic which hung heavy in the air. Though the bluebells did make searching for wayward arrows challenging at times.

B course – the paths with wild garlic and blue bells

Saturday would prove to be a very slow day for us and others. We were waiting on the majority of pegs for 5-10 minutes or longer whilst the group in front were finishing shooting, searching for arrows or scoring. This didn’t make for a flowing days shooting. In fairness it wasn’t their fault as apparently there were slow archers in front of them, which caused the delays. Though the organisers were allowing jumping of slow groups it wouldn’t have helped.

B course – 3D Mosquito

Having said this our group gelled well and we had a good day and a lot of laughs. It was great to shoot with Jill, she is a great laugh and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. She is also a great coach and was my assessor when I did my coaching course all those years ago. She told us of the nightmare journey down from Derbyshire a couple of days earlier, having first had a blow out of the caravan tyre on the motorway and then damaging the side of the caravan when pulling onto the site.

B course – Jill with her longbow

Back to the shoot.
Overall the course was pretty good, though there were long delays on one target where a safety issue had been identified. B course was situated next to X course and unfortunately a shot on X course had the same over shoot as target 35 on B course which hadn’t been spotted until archers were missing (I don’t mean that they had been shot but that their arrows were missing). This resulted in coordinating shooting and collection of arrows on the two course which Tavistock marshalling.
Distances were fair for the size of target and can think of only one that might be considered stretched which was a 3D boar.

B course – long distance 3d boar target – Kate having to go to the blue peg

Though I wish there weren’t so many course layers who set targets with trees directly behind. Think there might have been a couple of shots where you felt too close to the previous target but I’ve seen far worse on open shoots. Overall I thought it was a good challenging course and fun even if it was a very slow day.

By the time we were sitting down for a meal that evening back at the hotel the results were up on-line and saw Sharon leading in ladies Hunting Tackle by just 4 points.

Sunday A course – Ashcombe

A course – briefing

Sunday was a more overcast day and would see me shooting A course, set by Ashcombe archers. Sharon on B course.

My Shooting group changed completely and would be made up of Matt shooting AFB, Dominic and Sandra both shooting longbow.

A course – Matt shooting 3D bear

The day flowed better than Saturday with significantly fewer hold ups, I think we were waiting on only a couple of targets the whole day.

A course – view of the 3D wolf in ferns in the woodland

Ashcombe’s catering was very good with a wide selection of cakes, hot food and even fresh fruit. This course would be very different from yesterday’s being largely flat shots.

A Course – Dominic shooting 3D Mosquito

I think it is fair to say I didn’t enjoy elements of A course though. They had a beautiful piece of woodland where they set some very interesting and challenging targets. I thought this worked well and was where we started on target 16.

A Course – Dominic shooting 3D Deer

The section I really didn’t gel with was the section in the field. They set a loop from the main wood through the field to a smaller wood and then back through the field.

A course – the 3D deer in the open

Targets 19 to 36. There were I think 12 targets in the field which I think was excessive for a 36 target field course. I think a few maybe 5, 6 max in the open is fine but a third of the total course is too many.

Target 1 – A Course – between the trees

Of the ones they positioned in the field there were some very nicely set targets like the frog you shot off the stump or brown bear over the fallen tree.

A course – the 3D frog from the tree stump

There were others that didn’t work for me or engage with me, like the cobra, brown ram and dinosaur. In contrast the dinosaur in the wood was placed really well. Maybe they didn’t have time to fit them all in the main wood.

A course – view of the ferns in the woodland

I don’t think it helped much when the rain hit and we were in the field. true it wasn’t as wet as past years but it’s not much fun shooting in the rain in an open field. I know the sport is called field archery but that’s the irony as most of the time we are in a wood.

A- Course Sandra shooting

In all though it wasn’t a bad course being safe and with some well set targets in the woodland, though I would have liked to see some more in woods. Again I was lucky enough to have a good group that was socialable and fun to shoot with.

The results

Special congrats to a certain Jill Haynes who won bronze in ladies longbow, well done Jill. Hope it made up for all the problems you had getting there. My congratulations to Colin from Severn Valley who came second in gents crossbow. After a poor performance I managed to scrape in at 11th place in gents afb.

As some will already know Sharon retained her championship title by winning ladies hunting tackle having stormed the second day coming in with over 600 points.

Sharon celebrating her win in the bar on Sunday night.

Thanks for reading.

May 13 2015

Shoot report – Long Eaton Field Archers – May 2015

Long Eaton 2015

The standard joke about the British sense of humour is we always talk about the weather. In many ways this is true and I think the reason for this is it’s so changeable. Weather forecasts at the start of the week had promised heavy rain over the bank holiday Sunday and even up to Friday and Saturday it was forecasting rain. In reality we had a beautiful sunny spring day making me wish I had chosen lighter, cooler apparel but it make make for lovely shooting weather. Having said this the drive up the motorway was unpleasant with lots of standing water and some chaotic drivers pushing their luck and speed limits. Anyway on to the shoot report.
We hadn’t been to Long Eaton Field Archers (LEFA) for a year and were looking forward to catching up with some old faces. It was great to see David chair of LEFA , Adrian from black arrow and others just a shame we did get to chat longer. Was also good to catch up with JT and the media legend that is Jim Grizzly Kent. Here are some links to previous LEFA shoot reports May 2014, 2013
Due to the forecasts Long Eaton had quite a few no shows and this delayed the start of the event by a few minutes along with the extensive pre shoot briefing and peg changes due to the no shows. As it was there were over 130 archers present.
Like many clubs LEFA have seen part of their woodland felled and this has changed the look and feel of the grounds dramatically which I think has improved it. The new layout enables fresh shots and new possibilities. The only thing I would say is they need to be aware of tree canopy as on a couple of shots the trees made it difficult for low poundage bows but this is easily resolved with a little pruning or change of peg position. Something I am sure they will sort for next time.
The fine weather did mean I was able to take a few photos.

Cliff Shooting

Our shooting group would be Cliff and Nadeem shooting longbow and hunting tackle respectively.
It was to be a 36 target course of 3d targets of all shapes and sizes from bison to small pheasants.
Cliff nicknamed the shoot the Noahs ark shoot due to the number of targets where you had to nominate which 3d target to go for. This was an interesting dynamic as it meant you have to consider which is easier or more suitable for you to shoot.

3D target behind tree stump

Talking of the 3d Bison it was set well in the open at about 65 yards.

Bison 3D target

They had two predator and prey shots and a moving target. Personally I think one predator prey shot is enough and if you do put it in then have second arrow scoring for prey so a maximum of 14 if you hit the prey. Otherwise it inflates the scores if you get two good kills as it is a possible 48 points on one target peg.
The shoot was a bit slow at times with us catching up the group in front but I think this was inevitable as it was a challenging course and I went to second and third arrows more than a few times as did others. I think I had the luckiest shot of the group on a 3D with my arrow some how just holding in the target.

Lucky shot

LEFA changed the format from past shoots, to a shoot through rather than lunch break which worked much better as it allowed us to time our breaks so groups in front could have more time.
Also it was nice to sit and chill out in the sun. Catering was as good as remembered with a selection of cakes to make Mr Kipping happy and hot food in form of baked potatoes, burgers etc.
I think overall the course layers did a good job with well placed targets and good use of ground.
The standing bear which you shot from a hollow worked well.

3D standing Bear

There was a lovely set 3d stag in the trees which looked so natural.

3D stag

Really special thanks to Nadeem and Cliff who were really supportive and fabulous company to shoot round with. Some readers may know I am struggling to get my head in to shooting the flatbow at present and at one stage nearly stopped on Sunday but their support and friendly banter got me sorted. Thank guys and belated happy birthday Nadeem.

Full results for the shoot are available on LEFA website and here’s a link if you are interested.
Sharon came away with first in ladies hunting tackle and despite starting badly I managed to scrape away fourth place in afb I think through luck rather than skill. Congratulations to Nadeem on his second place too obviously the force is strong in you.
Thanks for reading.

Mar 30 2015

Shoot report – Lyme Valley – March 2015

Lyme Valley 2015

Lyme Valley is one of our favourite shoots, but getting there was a pain this year with motorway traffic and some very inconsiderate driving which nearly saw us in an accident. Fortunately we escaped, though the car didn’t as we now have a sizable chip in the windscreen, but could have been much worse.

As its name suggests Lyme Valley club’s ground are situated in a steep sided, narrow valley not far from Stoke on Trent. You can read a previous shoot report here.

First Target of the day – very small at this distance

The course was a mix of 3d and paper faces with 36 targets in all. Our group besides Sharon and myself would be made up of Mark, David and Wendy all shooting longbows.

Mark drawing arrows from our first target

Thankfully the weather was dry and mild as Lyme Valley paths can be very slippery when wet. (Treacherous is a phrase that has been used in the past )
As it was it felt a very long day, possibly because it was a challenging course which meant more second and third arrows by those present. We were waiting on nearly all the pegs for the group in front to finish because they had been delayed. I think the delays were all along the course which meant that the day didn’t feel like it flowed.

Another 3D target – Grizzly Bear

Due to the geography of the grounds Lyme Valley have a lunch break at 12:30 and as luck would have it were at the opposite end of the wood when it started which made for a long walk out for lunch and an equally long walk back for the restart.
I think a few strategically placed bosses would have saved a few broken arrows and might have speeded the day up.

Sharon shooting a small 3D deer

There were some nicely set targets, with a couple in the field which made for a bit of variety.
There were quite a few shots framed between the trees which many archers struggled with not just me. Most notably the large cobra which was a talking point for many.

As luck would have it we both came back with all our arrows but I know several people didn’t. Though Sharon didn’t feel she shot well she won ladies hunting tackle. I’m still struggling with the flat bow though and need to get my head and heart sorted.

3D fish was our last target of the day.

Due to traffic and road works on the motorway it proved a long, slow drive home but fortunately with less idiotic driving by fellow road users.
Thanks for reading.

My Archery Experiences

Field archery experiences, shoot reports, equipment & book reviews, tips and advice from a UK archer and coach.

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Shoot Report – 3D Championships 2015 part 2

Saturday I shot B course – Tavistock Archers

Sunday A course – Ashcombe

The results

Shoot report – Long Eaton Field Archers – May 2015

Shoot report – Lyme Valley – March 2015

Saturday I shot B course – Tavistock Archers

Sunday A course – Ashcombe

The results

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