Tag Archives: woods

May 28 2014

Shoot Report – 3D NFAS Championships 2014

2014 3d champs archers walking back

2014 3d champs archers walking back

I think this years championships could have a title of the 3D muddy championships rather than archery championships as thanks to the British bank holiday weather of heavy rain the camp site and courses resembled the battlefield of the Somme at times. So before I start I’d like to thank all those who put the effort in to set up the courses in such weather, along with the admin staff who did a storming job before and during the event.
Slightly muddy field

Slightly muddy field

Despite these conditions it was a good weekend with friends, good courses and some positive results.
For those not familiar with the event here are a couple of links to previous years 2013, 2012.
Basically it is a 2 day shoot organised by the NFAS where you would shoot 2 courses one each day. Wooden Arrow archers will shoot A and B whilst metal / carbon arrow archers will shoot X and Y courses. The courses being set either by local clubs or groups of volunteers.
Each course is made up of 40 3D targets of varying shapes and distances.
Initially we had thought of camping but having seen the forecast we chose not to camp but to stay at a local Premier Inn just outside of Derby. This proved to be a good call and very popular with other archers including a few friends.

Saturday

It would be fare to say Saturday was wet in the morning through until about 3 pm. We were to shoot B course today and A course on Sunday.

The only issue with Osmaston is that the site has been used for five years so finding new shots and routes is hard. Despite that the course layers did their best to set a 40 target course. I would start on peg 14 & Sharon on 10. There were two other adults in my group Les and Shirley and one junior Aaron.
Sorry there aren’t many photos but rain and phone camera don’t mix well.

2014 3d champs cat in the tree

2014 3d champs cat in the tree on B course

I think it would be fair to say that B course was a much easier course as far as distance is concerned but that made you relax and lose concentration. So despite scoring a personal best of 754 points I knew that those that kept their concentration would do well and the top hunting tackle archer came in with 814 points.
By the end of the first day we were tired but  in good spirits. Largely helped by the very illusive sun making a brief appearance for a couple of hours.

We headed back to the inn where we could grab a quick shower and dry out the clothes before meeting up in the bar and enjoying an evening meal with fellow SVYF members.

Sunday

Sunday morning started with very heavy rain which persisted for a few hours but by 2 it was cloudy and began to brighten up. We collected our score cards from administration and then had a look at the previous days results and positions which were up and saw Sharon in  third place and me in sixth. We were both in the same shooting groups and starting on the same peg numbers as Saturday.

Sharon at 3d champs 2014

Sharon at 3d champs 2014

Sunday’s course was completely different with some fantastic framed shots.
I let myself down on Sunday by not having something to eat at the first food stop which resulted in a sugar level drop and corresponding energy level drop mid way round that cost me points. Will hopefully learn from the mistake and replace the energy bars I normally carry in my quiver.

3d bear champs 2014 A course

3d bear champs 2014 A course

Sunday was hard work as by now the ground was saturated and paths that had seen hundreds of archers through were slippery and ankle deep in mud making it very easy to fall. Add to this that people were getting tired I was amazed no one fell.
Anyway back to the course. We started on an uphill brown bear positioned against a tree. The use of foliage and ground was superb with it being a challenge to hit most targets from your first peg.
My one good shot of the day was a bedded white ram which by some miracle I managed to 24.

Shirley shooting 3D bedded Ram on A course Sunday

Shirley shooting 3D bedded Ram on A course Sunday

There have been a few comments on the society boards about some of the 3d targets positions not being ideal if you missed. I know I lost 3 arrows over the weekend, but that is the nature of the sport in many ways. I do think the use of a few well placed nets would have speeded the day up though.

The full scores are available from the nfas website on this link.

Sharon said she didn’t shoot well having blanked one target and taken a third arrow on another.  So you can imagine her delight and shock when she was called out in first place.
Sunday we returned to the Premier Inn and had a couple of drinks in the bar to celebrate.
Sharons' trophy - Ladies 3D Hunting Tackle Champion

Sharon’s trophy – Ladies 3D Hunting Tackle Champion

We would also like to congratulate Colin for his placing in Gents Crossbow and the wonderful Chrissie Harley on her placing too in Ladies longbow.
As for me I dropped 3 places so ended the weekend in ninth place with 1412, still my best result in a 3D Championships and matching my position from last years national championships.

Monday

Monday morning dawned with blue skies and warm weather which was beneficial as we had arranged to help the HaySmith crew who had laid X course walk the course and clear up any litter, remove signs and return it back to a natural state. Though I think the camping and parking  field may take longer to recover.
So after a long weekend and miles of walking we finally got home and could relax. Our boots and gaiters are still drying out and the poor old car resembles one from the RAC rally.
As always thanks for reading.
May 9 2014

Shoot Report – Long Eaton – May 2014

Archers at LEFA shoot

Archers at LEFA shoot

Last weekend we headed north towards Long Eaton club shoot in Leicestershire.
Despite it being a bank holiday weekend, the weather was good with bright sunshine and blue skies and no rain!! This meant I was able to get a load of photos this time unlike the Pride Park shoot at Easter.
The course was a full 40 3Ds and billed as a warm up for the NFAS 3D championships in a few weeks, which I think may have put some off attending as there were only about 120 or so attending, which was a shame as it was a great course.
You can see past shoot reports Summer Solstice 2013
The woods looked Lovely with all the bluebells out which made it a very picturesque setting.
Bluebells at Long Eaton wood

Bluebells at Long Eaton wood

The course layers had done a great job with very good target placement with some great use of the ground. The use of dead ground and the dips and hollows was excellent. Those that shot well earned their points.
I don’t think any shots were stretched though there weren’t any easy shots.

The bison looked great in a carpet of bluebells.
Bisson Shot

Bisson Shot

Another nice one was the owl half way up a tree.
3D owl shot

3D owl shot

LEFA second target

LEFA second target

Nice to see target bosses behind most of the 3Ds to catch wayward arrows and the fact they’d camouflaged them to make them less obvious meant they didn’t spoil the shot.
Sharon shooting at LEFA

Sharon shooting at LEFA

I’m not sure about some of the new small 3d targets they were trialing at the shoot though.  They look good but are quite dense.

Small 3D hare

Small 3D hare

Sharon broke an arrow hitting one and my only blank of the day was after I hit one 3 times in the chest and got 3 glance offs. Think the problem is the way they are moulded makes some areas very dense.
Having said this it is nice to see some new 3Ds and I liked the running hare. It is very hard for shoot organisers to source small targets and I know target 7 which we started on which was a small fish that you shot nearly vertically down to was shot out by the end of the day.
Speaking with a couple of other archers they had similar experiences. I also had the opportunity to speak to the organisers and I think they are going to review some of the smallest ones. Always good when organisers listen to feedback and Long Eaton appear to have done this based on the quality of this shoot.  Thanks guys and well done.

There were a couple of predator / prey shots  one using a lovely 3D pheasant taking flight from a big cat.
For those not familiar with predator prey shots they work like this. You shoot at the predator first and if you hit with your first arrow you get a chance to shoot the prey for bonus points.  Where I don’t mind the idea of bonus points or predator prey shots.
I’m not a fan of predator prey shots where you can score full points on the prey if you hit. Maybe a bonus 10 points if you hit the prey but I think it can open up too great a points difference if you can score up to 20 or 24 points on the prey. Hawk do these shots as second arrow scoring on the prey which is more balanced. Personal view and shouldn’t be seen as a criticism of the course.
In general the day flowed well with only a couple of hold ups at the predator prey shots which is normal.
Lucky shot at LEFA just held into target

Lucky shot at LEFA just held into target

I didn’t shoot well after lunch actually to be fair I was shooting pretty poorly at times which is a shame as it would be good to shoot the course when I was shooting well. Probably due to too much work and not enough practice. Sharon came away with a first in ladies hunting tackle

Think the only thing that could have made it a better shoot was to make it a shoot through and not have a lunch break, although the club don’t think this would be practical.
In all I think it would be fair to say it was one of the best courses they have put on if not the best. Well done all involved. Here’s hoping the 3D championships courses are as good.
Thanks, as always, for reading.

Jan 5 2014

Wet weather and floods

As some of you maybe aware the UK has been hit over the last few weeks with heavy rain and high winds. Its been not so much white Christmas more wet and windy.

This has resulted in severe flooding in several areas with trees and numerous tree branches down across roads anf railways.

It has had a significant impact on the archery wood too. Numerous branches have come down with a few trees down in neighbouring fields.

As the wood has several overgrown ponds and collects the run off from local fields we are seeing a lot of brown coloured run off water flowing into the wood.

Flooded ponds

Flooded ponds

Several of the bridges that criss cross our woods small streams are nearly submerged. The photo shows one barely above the water.

Nearly under water

Nearly under water

I took this video from the bank behind our club house and normally there is a small stream at both ends of the bridge. As you can see it is hard to see where the stream starts.

More bad weather is forecast in the next few days, so our hopes and best wishes go out to all those families facing an uncertain future.

Thanks for reading.