Tag Archives: woods

Pride Park - don't let the sun shine fool you, it was freezing cold
Nov 19 2016

Shoot Report – Pride Park Archers – November 2016

Pride Park - don't let the sun shine fool you, it was freezing cold

Pride Park – don’t let the sun shine fool you, it was freezing cold

On a very cold Sunday November morning we would head to not far from Ripley in Derbyshire, to the new grounds of Pride Park Archers. The club has only just taken on this woodland a few weeks earlier and are in the process of settling in. So  this would be their inaugural shoot on these grounds. 
Don’t let the bright sunny morning photo fool you it was freezing cold with a very keen wind blowing off the fields. We did have some rain showers in the morning, which thankfully were quite short lived.
Our shooting group would consist of 3 members from Harlequin Archers club, Martin, Shane both shooting Compound limited and Gayle shooting barebow.
Shane and Martin retrieving arrows from across the creek

Shane and Martin retrieving arrows from across the creek

As for the course this would be a twice round 20, with the usual mix of paper and 3D targets. Some of you might think it is a long way to travel for a twice round twenty but this was both their first shoot at their new grounds as well as  a 20th anniversary shoot so we wanted to show our support for the club. We have a bit of a soft spot for Pride Park as they were the first club we ever went to a competition at all those years ago. We’ve always found the club very friendly and supportive not only at club events but also the NFAS as a whole.
Sadly not everyone showed them the same level of support with there being 14 no shows. I feel this  is a really big hit for the club, never the less there were another 74 of us mad fools who did brave the chill wind and turn up. The no shows caused a slight  delay to the start as Admin did their best to balance the groups. The catering team were doing their part to keep us feed and thanks to Paula for the cooking especially the burgers at lunch time.  
Their new grounds occupy mixed woodland, mainly coniferous situated on a Derbyshire hillside. This made for an unusual visual effect when the pine needles fell, making it look like flurries of snow were falling or maybe it was because it was so cold we were thinking snowfall.
Being off the beaten track means there is a fare walk to the woods across a couple of small fields but in return they do have a nice bit of woodland to develop. 
The wooded hillside offered some very nice shots, such as the long downhill 3D bear and I think as the club settles into the wood there will be even more potentially challenging shots.
The downside of the wood is there is little ground cover of any depth in places, so if you miss the 3D target your arrow will become a casualty, which a couple of mine did.
Gayle shooting 3D badger target

Gayle shooting 3D badger target

Overall I thought the targets were well placed, though I think the paper face Jay target didn’t need the boss angled as it’s a challenging shot already and angling it means arrows are likely to tear up the foam quickly. The zombie shot was different and a bit of fun too.
Paper face jay between the trees

Paper face jay between the trees

It would be fair to say I really struggled getting round the course. Compared to other grounds I have shot at its not that hard, but my asthma has been playing up for the last few weeks following a virus. This meant I struggled with the slopes resulting in my always carried but rarely used  inhaler being used lots.
I’d like to thank not only the group I was with but others who asked after me, along with Chris Harley who took time to walk back up the slope with me at the end of the shoot. Thanks Chrissie
Sharon shot really well, being back on form, winning not only the ladies class but out shooting all the men in the class (obviously including me).
Sharon shooting 3D crocodile

Sharon shooting 3D crocodile

Considering the limited time the club members had and the amount of work that was involved in just clearing the pathways, I think they’ve done really well. Yes there is room for a few improvements and enhancements but it is early days for them in the wood. One thing that I think  should be mentioned is the way the marshals reacted to problems quickly investigating and solving them, such as getting a replacement boss when one was found to be shot out.

Good luck Pride Park Archers with your new woodland.

Thanks for reading.
Aug 11 2016

Some new ideas from off the arrow shelf site

walk in park

Hi everyone

This is a quick message to say that there are a few new developments here in the near future. I hope to be launching a couple of new sections or categories of articles for this site.

A walk with… will cover informal interviews with archers I’ve met, giving an insight into their love of archery, how they got into it initially and so on. It is based on the idea of chatting with them as they walk round the woods shooting.

Behind the counter… is aimed at businesses associated with archery, whether these produce bows, custom leather worked quivers, or whatever, giving them the opportunity to provide some insight for readers.

So why am I doing this?

This is a new development for the Off the arrow shelf blog so I hope you all enjoy it. The reasoning about this is pretty simple really, like all good ideas. Quite often I am being asked about archery suppliers, where you can get the arrow shafts from or which bow to go for. So I thought I would create a series of articles on different archery related shops, suppliers etc.

Before I start I’d like to make a couple of things clear. I have no company sponsorship or formal connection to these businesses. Yes I may have bought products from them in the past and even written review on some products, but I am not sponsored.

I’ve also met loads of people over the past few years I’ve been doing this hobby and running this site. Some have become good friends and nearly all have a wealth of stories or advice that I feel would be great to share.

I will still be writing shoot reports, equipment reviews and linking to other useful resources for archers.

Let me know what you think and thanks fro reading.

May 10 2016

Shoot report – South Cheshire – May 2016

Traffic jam on motorway

Traffic jam on motorway

Sunday morning we were packed and on our way to South Cheshire shoot early as it’s one of the further shoots and takes about an hour and a half journey time. The problem was the motorway north was down to 1 lane instead of 4 due to an accident so that made for a very stressful drive as we sat in the traffic for 30 minutes waiting our turn. As it was we made the shoot in time to register and by all accounts several others had been delayed in the same incident. Let’s hope the passengers in the van that had crashed and flipped onto it’s side are okay.
South Cheshire

South Cheshire

The weather on Sunday was unseasonably warm with temperatures in the low 20 degree centigrade a complete contrast to recent weeks, this meant I was able to get a few photos.
Second target of the day 3D antelope

Second target of the day 3D antelope

This would be the first outing with my new Black Brook flatbow.
3D fox between the trees

3D fox between the trees

The course was entirely 3d targets and they had painted small pink dots in the centre of the kill zone for every target.
I’m unsure if I like the idea or not. In some ways it means all archers know where the highest scoring zones note just those with sights or access to listing of 3ds, also there are no arguments as to which scoring zones count.
The downside was it appeared to wear off as the day went on so not all archers were as clearly visible later in the day. Possibly the use of different paint would solve this.
3D boar

3D boar

There were some new 3ds including a sea lion and big cat which we hadn’t seen on previous shoots at South Cheshire or other shoots.
Small 3D cat in the sun

Small 3D cat in the sun

Another 3D between trees

Another 3D between trees

There were a number of shots framed between trees and branches making them hard to judge.
3D Turkey shot between trees

3D Turkey shot between trees

I think a few well placed catching nets would have sped the search for arrows up on a couple of targets, especially the ones near the water.
Very long shot at 3D Deer

Very long shot at 3D Deer

My thanks to the two marshals who helped retrieve the wayward arrows in the lake. Glad I could help launch and retrieve the boat, though I think a couple oars might be useful next time.
Discovered that the arrow sock labels I’d put on the night before don’t cope with being in water.
Sharon shot well winning ladies afb and actually scoring higher than the gents did too. Unfortunately my first outing wasn’t a very auspicious one, I really need more practice.
Sharon shooting 3D

Sharon shooting 3D

The journey home was less eventful but looks like we’ve developed an issue with the cars rear breaks, so no doubt that will be pricey to solve. So all in all was not the best day for car journeys.
Thanks for reading.