Severn Valley Yeoman Foresters October 2009 Shoot Report

I was looking forward to the S.V.Y.F shoot following the course they laid at the Nationals and it had been 12 months since I was last at their Ombersley woods. Yet again they managed to organise a Sunday shoot in late October where the weather was perfect, slightly overcast but clear and dry. After an early start and a good trip it was time for registration, a Bacon Butty and a cup of tea. Today was going to different because it would be the first time I have shot a Field round without John by my side and surprisingly I was going to miss his, almost, constant banter. Having broken his arm he will not be shooting for some time but looking at it from and alternative point of view there was a positive side because he was not going to beat me.

At 10:30ish we were all ready to walk out to our peg and because I had been put on target 1 I did not have far to go and so starting my Sports Tracker application on the phone it was off to the first peg to meet the group I was going to spend the day. My group of five consisted of Trev, Mark, Mark, his Daughter Zoe and me all shooting varying styles so their was going to no long delays for sighted archers.

• Google Earth File.

Our first target was a medium distance Boar through the tree and down a slight dip but a 1st Arrow wound was a good way to start the day. This was quickly following by a long Mountain Lion across one of the many bridge covered swampy areas that mark the S.V.Y.F as an entertain course. With the Mountain Lion dispatched on the second arrow it was of to the third target a face on Turkey. Freshly purchased from Tony this was a nice target. Mark, our resident Compound Unlimited Archer, took the first shot only to find a very thin sampling just in front of the target and his arrow ricochetted off to the right. Deciding that Mark should not be the only one Zoe did the same but the result for her was a bent arrow and one for dad to straighten.

With the goose cooked for the Turkey it was back past the tea hut and onto target 4 a paper faced Deer through the trees and down a dip. With the drop this was a slightly more difficult shot than it first looked but at least I scored. Following on quickly from the Deer was another tricky shot at a Honey Badger over the swampy ground and into the shade. Essentially this made it a black target against a black background in the shade but I was one relatively good form and wounded it with my first arrow.

The next target was another long one from one of the many bridges at a Rhino up the bank on the opposite side of the swampy ground one of the classic S.V.Y.F long shots. Having finally wounded the Rhino on my third arrow it was off to the next target a sitting Hare and my first 24 of the day.

Having killed the Hare it was off for a long shot at a Deer and a blank not too good after a 24 but that's how it goes sometimes. With the blank history it was onto another long shot this time at a Baboon through the trees and up the bank a wound for me but at least it was not a blank. This was quickly followed by a long paper faced Boar and then onto a Coyote through the trees.

Next was tiny short hand drawn Stoat through a gap in the trees quickly followed a longish Cobra over the undergrowth that made it difficult to judge the distance. With a third arrow on the Cobra we were off for a downhill Mountain Goat and three arrows later I found the first was a wound, I do hate paper faces, but as they say I paid for three shot so I may as well take them. Another Badger quickly followed through the trees and down the bank this was quickly despatched and then it was onto what was probably the most entertaining shot of the day a head on Cheetah.

This was not the traditional way to shoot the cheetah and provided only a very narrow target and I managed to put my first two arrows just down the right side of the target before finally putting the third in the middle of the chest.

The Cheetah was followed by a longer than it looked Bear down along one of the bridges. This was another deceptive shot because the bridge disappeared behind some overgrowth foreshortening the perception. A first arrow wound was a good for this target and with the bear out of the picture it was time for a small Rabbit before lunch.

S.V.Y.F always do an excellent lunch providing Venison burgers and a variety of other options. After a good lunch and another cup of tea it was of to target 19 as Reindeer down the bank to "Little John Bridge". The burger obviously went down well because I first arrowed the Reindeer and then is was onto a paper faced Pheasant followed by a small Crocodile down on the marsh.

The Crocodile was followed by a Duck and then a German Sheppard (well a grey wolf) before we moved onto a small brown Owl in the middle of a tree stump. Their was not a lot of target to shot on the Owl. With the tiny owl missed the next target was a large long Lion over the undergrowth and down the hill and a first arrow wound was an excellent result.

Having pulled the arrow from the lion it was on to a paper face Prairie Dog to the sounds of "Alan Alan Al" as I received a text message for my son. The Prairie Dog was a quick shot and then we moved onto a long Deer.

I managed to pull off a shot with my first arrow that I'm sure would be unrepeatable putting it between the Deer's mouth and back missing it completely an inch in any direction and it would have been a first arrow wound but in the end it required three arrows.

A Bobcat was our next target followed by another hand drawn Stoat wrapped in the branches of the undergrowth. This was a single arrow shot and resulted in a wound which given the distance and size of the target was an excellent result.

The final target before a quick tea break was a new Mosquito which prove slightly more difficult than anticipated and provoked a long discussion on which line was the kill.

With the Mosquito swatted it was time for a quick cup of tea before moving onto our last six targets starting with another Mountain Goat and then a sitting Raccoon. With Rocky the Raccoon disposed of it was time for another long Deer down the open path before moving onto a paper face Raccoon with a very small wound line that I managed to surround with all three arrows.

Our penultimate target of the day was a short small Rat down a steep bank shooting past my boot and it was to provide me with my second 24 of the day which was not bad considering the angle of the shot. We finish the day with another Turkey side on and down the bank.

The the turkey stuffed it was time to pick up the 3d and return it back to the tea hut before the prize giving and raffle. At the end of the day the Westcott Archers managed 2 golds and a bronze for Shel, Ruth and John (Ferret) but more to the point a fun day was had by all.

S.V.Y.F Woods Location

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Bowmen of Burleigh Junior Halloween Fun Shoot

The Bowmen of Burleigh Junior club organised its end of the outdoor season Halloween fun shoot on the 28th September 2009. Ok I know it was not officially Halloween but it was close and as it was the last Monday evening the juniors would be shooting outside we decided a set of Halloween based fun targets would be a good way to end the season.

Fortunately the weather was with us and we were set for a fine evenings shooting. The juniors would be presented with six targets and would shoot on a rotation basis. Having shot all six they would then take a break for soup and brownies before shooting the round again before finally adding the scores and waiting for the prizes.

With a good turnout of 12 Juniors they would be split 4 per boss and move through them in sequence the first boss contained a Hobgoblin and Bat.

As you may or may not be able to see we did not have standard score and as such the juniors did not know what they would be scoring until they had shot the target and then read the information. In general though scoring was based on the NFAS Big Game strategy.

Having shot the Hobgoblin and the bat it was onto the Ghost and the pumpkin but to the supprise of the juniors they soon found out that the Ghost had not kill because you can't kill a ghost it is already dead.

Now that they were getting used to our warped sense of humour it was time for the final two faces the Spider with the googly eyes and the wicked witch. Giving the juniors the impossible task of scoring high mark for shooting the spiders legs it was entertaining to watch some of them try.

Having shot the first round and filled up on soup and brownies the junior shot the same faces again knowing where the high scores were and having completed this just before the light faded it was time for our Wicked Witch Paramount (aka Ruth) to present the prizes for the overall highest scores in each of our categories.

As the shoot ended we were all presented with a classic English autumn sunset before the light finally disappeared.

Our next shoot will the indoor Christmas Shoot and when the outdoor season finally starts in the new years we will be looking at some additional fun evenings with the juniors trying Clout, Field and if we can Popinjay.

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NFAS Nationals September 2009 Shoot Report

Following last years successful and enjoyable Nationals at the Heart Of England Conference and Events Centre this years were to be held at the same location taking advantage of their extensive woodlands. Summer had finally return and again we were going to be able to bask in the rays of a glorious English Summer.

As with last year we travelled up in the Friday to a local B&B (recommend by Fred and Terry our fellow Westcott Archers) and an excellent recommendation it was on arriving at the Bonnifinglas Guest House each guest was provided with a can of larger to settle us in for the night. Following a hearty full English breakfast on Saturday morning it was off to the Heart Of England for our first days shooting. As usual at the Nationals the course were split A & B for the traditional wooden arrows and X&Y for the sighted archers. So given that I am traditional I can only comment of the A & B courses and will leave the others to another blogger.

This year the A course was set by S.V.Y.F whilst the B course was laid by Excalibur both were going to be excellent courses but completely different. Where Excaliburs section of the woodland restricted them to short shots the S.V.Y.F portion of the wood provided ample room for the longer than it looks shots as I was to find out on the Sunday.

Google Earth Files

• Saturday - B Course
• Sunday - A Course

Saturday 19th

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Saturday started with registration and the now mandatory arrow check before registration. We were due to shoot the B Course today and hence the long walk out to the furthest reaches of the woods and having finally arrived swapped cards with our shooting partners for the day, Phil and Dave, the air horn sounded we were started our days shooting.

The first target of the day (22) was the standing Fox, nobody like this target, short distance and it should have been easy to hit but it was not the case and took a couple of arrows but at least I didn't black the first shot of the day. Moving on back to the path we were going to be zig-zagging off it was time to shoot a Black blob which I then was a Beaver and an incredibly small one at that. Having shot the blob it was back to the path for another short shot and this time it was a Stag. We were their thinking it's the same distance as the blob but many times the size we can't miss but you know what you can.

Having disposed of the Stag it was of along the trail for a Grazing Deer through a very narrow window. Having wounded the deer it was time for a Raccoon before we moved to the edge of the woods for a longer shot across the find at a Reindeer obscured by the long grass in the field. This shot caught out every one in the group being longer than it looked. Having second arrowed the Reindeer we were out in the field for another long Deer and and then onto, what was going to be my only 24 of the day, a short down a bank shot at a Jay.

Having disposed of the Jay it was back into the woods, via a quick Mars Bar break, and time for another Raccoon through the branches of the trees and then on to another Fox.

With the Fox history it was time for out first Ground Squirrel of the weekend which started John of with his usual "Alan, Alan, Alan, Al" comments. Having shot Alan or was it Steve we moved onto another extremely short shot this time a Red Squirrel through a small gap in the trees. This is the Squirrel that is all tail and no wound line, to speak of, and through the trees it was a trickier shot than usual.

The next shot was not much better being a Hare through the undergrowth but then they switched again it was time for another long shot at a standing Stag through a narrow corridor through the trees. I was pleasantly surprised that I had managed no ricochets and hence no missing arrows. Following this interesting long shot at a large target we were back to the tiny tiny Stoats down in a ditch. This was a long shot for such a small target and hence it took a couple of arrows.

At least we were back to the break area and it was time for a well deserved burger and tea. At this point Dave had to retire and so it was that after lunch we moved on as a group of three to start the afternoon with a small smelly Skunk quickly followed by a Turkey and then it was onto the larger targets again a walking Bear up a slight hill and through the bracken.

Having disposed of the bear it was onto the Mule Deer through the bracken another longish shot that was rather deceptive in its appearance. With game on the menu it was time to take out Rocky Raccoon before moving onto a small well hidden Rabbit through another narrow corridor in the trees before moving onto another Pig of a shot at a Wild Boar with its head and back end hidden by the trees between it and the Red peg. Another longer open shot followed at a standing Deer and then we were back to the small targets again with a Fox followed by a sitting Rabbit.

It was time to switch now from the furry animals to the feathered kind with a Duck through some overhanging bracken. Ok we know it does not grow like that but the Excalibur Course layers improved the shot. With the Christmas Duck skewered it was time to get the Goose course with a medium length shot through the bracken again. With the Goose cooked we were back to our furry friends with a large long Bear and then another Hare through the Bracken. We were now back to the small targets again with a Partridge followed by a small Fox (well I think it was a fox), a Rabbit and finally a Pheasant before we had a final quick stop at the break area.

Following a quick break it was time for our last three targets of the day another small Fox followed by a longer shot at an Antelope and finally to round off an excellent days shooting another Ground Squirrel / Prairie Dog and another round of "Alan, Al, Alan, Alan, Alan, Al" before we headed back to registration to hand in our cards and it was only 15:00. Fortunately I was not one of the many cars that had been trapped in the car park and after a short shopping spree at Carols and John trying to convince me to buy a 3D Elk that stood taller than him we managed to get away early and relax for a while before heading of for an Chinese with the rest of the Westcott crew.

Sunday 20th

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Sunday started with another Full English breakfast and off to the Heat of England Centre again and this time they had decided to arrange the car park so that their were spaces between the rows of car resolving Saturdays issues with trapped cars. Today we simply collected the cards with no arrow checks and we would be the last group out shooting the A course. The A course had been laid by our friends at S.V.Y.F and in the pre-shoot blurb we were told that they had done the best they could with the wood they had been given but they were just being sneaky because this was an exceptionally well laid and tricky course.

So wandering out to our first target (33) we exchanged score cards with Rob and Alan, our shooting partners for the day, and prepared for our first shot of the day a very long Deer little did I know this was going to be the standard for the day. Saturday was mostly short small tricky targets today was the exact opposite long large tricky targets and after Saturday a challange.

After blanking the Deer, not a good way to start the day, it was on to a long medium sized Fox along a small gully by the side of the road. Another blank and my day was not looking good especially when we came to the next target the head on Turkey a horrible target with a wound the size of the kill on a normal deer but it was not to be a hat-trick and I killed the bird and then it was on to a medium distance Fox over the bracken. The fox despatched we arrived at the break area and having convinced John it was not lunch time we had a quick coffee and mars bar then off to target 1.

Walking up to target 1 we initially missed the red peg expecting to walk into the woods to find it but no we should have known it would be on the road. This was a loooong shot at a Ram, uphill and down dale, through the gates of one of the paintball bases. Very deceptive and we all dropped short on our first arrow and high on our second but cracked it with the third. This was definitely going to be an interesting day and it was at this point we decided that shooting order would be decided on who scored the highest on the previous target and would inevitably lead to an interesting scenario of post kill first arrow miss but it made the day entertaining.

Anyway having shot the ram we moved on into the woods and came across a slightly shorter Hare through some tightly packed trees that I managed to 24, my first of the day, which inevitably meant I was to shoot first on the next target a Goose and you guessed the first arrow went no where near it. With the Goose cooked it was out onto one of the tracks and a long shot at a walking Bear the type you shouldn't miss but I did with the classic under - over - under shooting. Oh well their was always the next target a long Deer down another track with, for added entertainment, a bend on the apex of which grew a stand of saplings we were shooting through but to make up for the missed Bear I scored my second and final 24 of the day.

One of my best shot of the day and I was up first on the next target a Boar and yet again that first arrow would not go in.

The net result was I was not shooting first for our next target a Turkey or funny enough the following a Skunk the last target before lunch. Following our Burger, Tea and a few discussions with fellow archers on the Y course who were sharing the same burger van we were off to the second half of the course starting with a sneaky Rabbit through the trees and very tight for a longbow. With three arrow shot, although as it turned out only the first was required, it was time for John to shoot and standing on the yellow peg we could see that he had better not miss because from the cub peg the anyone standing by the burger van was in-line for an overshoot. So with a low draw and sure eye the Rabbit was killed.

Moving on our next shot was a Javelina and a 2 for 14 meant I was up first for the next target a long Martin Mule Deer through the undergrowth and then on looping back round to the burger van another well placed Red Deer. Moving back across the path it was time for another long, single arrow, Antelope closely followed by a Boar and then onto the Duck with the reflection. One of these days I will go to a shoot where they hang this upside down just for the fun of it nut today the duck was not a problem which meant I was now up for first for the next looooong Deer and with John on the camera trying to get some action shots of my arrow in flight I killed it with the first although I thought I had missed.

Having killed the Deer it was time for a tiny short Partridge, hidden behind a tree, and then thankfully onto a larger target over a slightly longer distance. Well I say a larger target but that is all relative and the Prairie Dog is larger than a Partridge. With the two small short targets over and done it was back to the longer larger targets with the next shot being a brightly lit Wolf through the trees and then back to the burger van for a short break before we started on our final stint of the day.

Short break over it was down the path to the first of our final targets a long, forward facing, Bear through a narrow corridor of low hanging trees. A very nice well laid target that I managed to kill with my first arrow. Moving on into the woods the next target was a Fox and because I scored the highest on the Bear I was up first and well the first arrow gremlin struck again with my arrow ricocheting off a tree to the right front of the target and disappearing into the brambles behind. When everyone had shot and scored it was time to venture into the brambles behind with the vain hope I might recover the lost arrow and as luck would have it just as I had given up all hope I found the offending shaft in perfect condition. With my arrow recover it was off to the next target a well framed small Red Squirrel that need to be shot through the overhanging branches.

Having skewered a squirrel it was time for another long Deer, the one with the tree in front which proved interesting for Alan, and then to a long Fox in the snow. This was quickly followed by an even longer Standing Deer shot up one of the many paths which provide a nice open shot. Bob the cat was next and then it was back to the itsy-bits-tiny-weeny Stoat before moving onto a reduced Reindeer. Reducing the size of the animal always play havoc with judging the distance but I managed to kill the reindeer with the first arrow.

We were now into the final stretch and our next target was a large long walking Bear and another long Stag which I managed to miss. Our penultimate target was a large long Mountain Lion which I again missed so it was down to the last target to make sure I did not finish the day the way I started. Another Prairie Dog that was not going to get away from me and although I shot three arrow the first had done the job.

With all the targets shot it was time to pick up the last and return it to the practice field before returning to administration with the scores and then the wait for the sighted archers to return before the raffle and prize giving. On the whole another excellent days shooting on a very well thought out and laid course.

At the end of the prize giving it was not a bad day for Westcott either with Shel getting 3rd in the FreeStyle, Mark a 3rd for the Compound Limited and John a 1st in the Cub Longbow.

Shel (Bronze FreeStyle) / John (Gold Cub Longbow) / Mark (Bronze Compound Limited)

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South Wilts Shoot Report 6th September 2009

The South Wilts shoot was going to be the last Faces practice shoot before the Nationals and I have some new arrows that I needed to try. Having been furiously working on then in the evening last week I finally finish them on Saturday just in time for the shoot. I new these arrows were going to shoot differently because I had switched from my normal 100 Grain Tophat piles to 125 Grain MedHeads and hence Sunday was going to be a "Learning Experience" Having shot the South Wilts 150th Anniversary Shoot I had a good idea of what to expect in the way of shots and was looking forward to a goo days shooting.

As usual we started the day with the traditional Bacon Butties and registration, you have to get you priorities right, and then found we would not be shooting with the Ruth and James but instead found we would be shooting with George Spears and his son Joe. It was going to be one of those days where the Cubs showed the adults how field shooting should be done.

Having been scoffed the butties it was off to our first target, 11, and the short wait for the blast on the horn. As usual I had my phone and sports tracker running to follow the days shooting and the file can be found below.

• Google Earth File.

As the horn blasted little did I know this was going to such an entertaining day hitting the targets I expected to miss and missing the targets I expected to hit. I put the initial long shot misses down to the extra drop-off provided by those extra 25 Grains.

The first target of the day was a medium distance Mountain Goat through the trees and under growth and provided the first points of the day. It's a good way to start scoring on the first target and raises the hopes that it will continue that way. With the Goat out of the way it was off to shoot a Coyote in the snow with wound lines that we not too generous and hence slightly more difficult. At this point the arrows were shooting well with the medium distance shots I was getting the drop-off I was expecting. The next shot at a Standing Deer was longer and the now I was to find out how the heavier arrows faired and the answer was they dropped quite rapidly. Ok not a problem because today was a "Learning Experience".

You could, metaphorically, hear the Course Layers laughing in the background as we came the the next target; a tiny Stoat

to be shot from all of 1m or maybe less. I could almost bend down and place the point of my arrow on the Stoat from the Red peg but as we all know the close ones are often a lot harder to hit than the long ones but today I was on form and Killed the stoat with a single arrow.

Little did I know bu this was going to be the way my luck was running with the tiny targets. With the Stoat history we were back to the longer targets with a Spingbok and then onto a Turkey. Now I did not know it at this time but Turkeys were going to be the bane of my life during the shoot and there were plenty of them to shoot but more of that later. With the first of the Turkeys out of the way it was of to the next small and smelly target a Skunk which I quickly disposed of and then it was another Turkey.

As I mentioned I was shooting a new set of arrows and I had only finished them on Saturday so what happened next did not best please me. This was a medium distance shot with a tree stump just in front of the target and as I mentioned I had not quite figured out the drop-off for the arrows. so having shot high on the first arrows I needed to take a second from the white peg and you can probably guess what happened I clipped the stump in front of the target and watched as half my arrow went flying into the trees. I did not take a third shot because it did not die in vain but scored me an expensive 10.

Well you can't let these things put a damper on your shoot, so I didn't, and completely missed the next very long Standing Deer. Oh well nearly time for our fist stop of the day with only a Boar between John and his second Bacon Butty of the day. With the broken arrow still not bothering me I was going to kill the pig even if it took 3 arrows !

All refreshed after a quick food intake (John and Joe that is) we were back into the woods, once we worked out when the sign was pointing, and time to shoot another Red Deer. Nice shot that provided John and me with a kill watching John eat his Bacon Butty must have done me good or was it the Carrot Cake I had Hmmmm.

The next target was one of those tiny Jays but it was placed down the side of a bank. All the peg were together and the angle of the shot was not nice was the longbow touching the ground. I resolved this by straddling the steps down to the target and killed the Jay with my first arrow. That was not two small targets I killed with the first arrow.

With the Jay out of the way it was onto another Standing Deer and then Alan the Prairie Dog followed by one of the Standing Deer faces with the tree across the front and the guys at South Wilts had specifically written that the tree does not score having previous had an archer argue that it did. Me I always assumed it did not score because a real tree would not.

Following on from the deer it was time for a bit of Grouse (well something like that) shooting and then onto the Duck hunt. I was starting to get the hang of these new arrows which was quiet fortunate because the next shot a long Black Bear and although I did not wound it on the first arrow they were all on the target. Then from a large target it was back to a Tiny Squirrel could I do it again. Well like bob the Build yes I could and killed the Squirrel with the first arrow.

Squirrel despatched it was off to another long shot ad a Boar that dropped off down hill and was a lot further away than it looked. With the porker providing scratching it was off to a Hare raising shot through the undergrowth and then an Antelope. Moving on it was time for another long shot, this part of the course contained a number of these, at a Stag. Again because of the lay of the land this downhill shot was more deceptive than it first appeared but my problem was the fact I pulled the shot right and sailed past its bum. The next was a trick Fox with little in the way of a Wound line and a Pro Kill the course layers had obviously drawn on with a 2p piece (well it was slightly larger).

I was getting into the swing of thing and decided I would kill the next target a Cougar and with John one hand with the Camera we have the evidence.

Cougar disposed of it was onto another Grazing Deer an then another long Black Bear which I managed to hit on the nose but alas no wound but John did kill it with his first arrow. Following on from this was another Turkey (I hate Turkeys) and then a well laid long Stag through the trees. Having put my first arrow to the right we had to spend time fruitlessly searching for a missing arrow. With one broken arrow and now one missing it was off to our last target before lunch a Mountain Goat.

Following John's 3rd Bacon Butty of the day it was off to our final 10 targets of the day with the first being another Grouse hiding through the door of the "Hobbit's Standing". Having shot the target John was busy making a few comments to Fred and Terry about it being a good size for them - Kids!.

Another Red Deer followed closely followed by a second Red Deer and then another Turkey. This time it was the Turkey facing you with a wound line the size of the kill on the deer. A longish Javelina followed and then Steve the Prairie Dog although that was an entertaining discussion with Fred. With that joke getting old it was time for a Cougar and then a a Hare I wounded by a hairs width (wound lines Hmmmm) and John killed first arrow.

Another Stag through the trees followed and interesting target with little margin for error and so missing the trees I pulled left and missed the deer as well. Our final target of the day was another longish Javelina and I had not intention of blanking the last shot of the day and so with that in mind I wounded the pig and then it was off for the long walk back to the tea hut.

Returning to the tea hut at 16:00 it was one of the quickest rounds of 40 targets we have shot and a very pleasant day. Having won a bottle of win in the raffle and John winning the Cub Longbow Westcotts two other medals made it a good day all round especially when Sam returned my missing arrow.

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Windrush Shoot Report 29th/30th August 2009

August bank holiday and time for the Windrush two day shoot and because the Saturday night promised a Hog Roast and Real Ale I decided it was a good idea to camp for the weekend. So I decided that it was a good idea to travel up early afternoon on Friday and pitch the tent during daylight. This would have been a good plan if it had not been a typical English bank holiday weekend. Having arrived late afternoon at the Windrush camp site we started to pitch the tent only for it to start raining. Not to bad for me because with my tent you put the outside up first and then the inside. For Ruth, one of my fellow Westcott Archers, it was not so good because she had to pitch the inside before cover the tent.

Although I had not shot at Windrush previously it had been recommended and I was looking forward to a good weekend of shooting a combination of 3D's and paper faces although paper face are not my favourite. As usual I decided to run my Nokia Application to generate a Google Earth file of the course.

• Google Earth File

As can be seen from the file the Windrush course covers a combination of typical woodland shot and more open field shots all based around the stream that runs through the middle of their woodland. Over the weekend we were to shoot two different rounds on the Saturday we would be shooting a Woodsman round whist on the Sunday it was going to be a standard Big Game round.

Saturday 29th August

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After a clear cold Friday night Saturday turned out to be a glorious day and breakfast was going to be the typical bacon butty after registration. Today we were going to be shooting with Sam and Owen from South Wilts and given that Owen had shot through one of Johns arrows at the Westcott Indoor shoot John decided to refer to him as the "Arrow Killer" throughout the day. As mentioned we were going to be shooting a Woodsman round today which meant we were likely to be shooting 3 arrows on each of the 36 Targets.

We started the day on Target 24 a 3D Bedded Deer up a slight hill over open ground. Having started the day with 3 arrows at the first target we moved onto small Javelina paper face and then onto a paper face Rabbit that was to be shot from down a small dip in the hill. The result of this was that the rabbit was at head height and hence the shot was rather interesting. Having killed the rabbit we moved onto small Polecat in a tree shrouded dell. This was a long shot for a small target and was going to require 3 arrows just to hit the face. From the pegs the view was masked by the brow of the dell and the associated overgrowth worse for my son than me but maybe that would be to my advantage for a change.

Having successfully shot the polecat we moved on up the other side of the dell to take another downhill shot at a small Prairie Dog through a well placed fork in the tree. providing another interesting shot especially for the tall longbow archer.

Alan; Alan; Alan; Alan

Having disposed of Alan or was it Steve we moved on moved back through the woods for a long down hill shot through the trees at a Standing Bear in the fields below. This was a very flexible dancing bear which managed to dodge left and right for all my arrows but their was always Sunday. Having missed the bear we moved onto a Stag paper face across one of the stream that runs through the Windrush shoot and then back along the stream to take a shot a Swimming Duck.

As mentioned John and I have previous shot with Owen and following the arrow shattering experience at the Westcott Indoor shoot John had promised he would avenge his broken arrow and Owen was keeping a close eye on his arrows. It's always an advantage being a cub because you get to shoot last and your fellow archers arrows are a good target.

But Owen did not have to worry because the longbow archers showed the freestyle archers what a duck shoot is all about.

Duck despatched it was off for a Turkey Shoot and then moving swiftly on back into the trees for a small paper Cobra quickly followed by a paper Fox and then 3D downhill Bobcat. Having extracted our arrows from the bobcat and finally climbed back to the path we were off to shoot our final target, a small Alligator, before our first stop at the tea tent.

Having eaten a well deserved Bacon Burger and valiantly battle the wasps we were off to target 1 across the other side. Target 1 was a long up hill Wolf and the longbow archers again showed the freestyle archers how to shoot with both of us killing the wolf with the first arrow.

Moving on it was back to the birds with a Pheasant through the trees and then a very small Jay, not a nice shot but not the smallest of the day, and then back to a 3D Beaver. A ricochet off the back of the beaver and a well placed rock cost me my first and last broken arrow of the weekend (not bad really).

A short walk to the top field provided us with some interesting and deceptive long shots. The first of these was a downhill Crocodile followed by a long uphill Standing Deer and finally a Turkey hiding in the bushes.

Moving back down into the lower field we shot our final 3 targets before the second tea break. These were nice open shots across the width of the field with the first being a Fox and this was followed by a large Brown Bear and finally a Stegosaurus. With the 3 despatched it was time for a well earned cup of tea.

Following our short tea break it was off to target 11 for our final set of targets the first of this stint was a Mountain Cat across the Stream.

This was followed by another uphill Deer (these were actually harder than they looked) and then we were back on top of the hill shooting a small legless Boar in a dip well hidden by the lay of the land. The interesting thing about this was that the Yellow peg was in the line of sight and hence the line of the shot but after my first arrow it was only half the peg as my arrow passed straight through it. It would have been an excellent shot if I had killed the pig but unfortunately my arrow drop short although the line was good.

The next shot was another long one down the line of a boundary fence at a standing Wolf. You could tell that this was more difficult than it looked by the number of fluorescent shirted marshal wandering around with metal detectors. With the wolf dead and all arrows found the next shot was back up the field at another Turkey hiding in the bushes and then onto another Duck across the Stream. This shot produced a nice set of Johns arrows in flight.

Following the Dead Duck it was time for another paper Fox and Turkey followed by the smallest target of the day a Stoat in fact I think some of the Dragonflies buzzing around were larger than the stoat. Needless to say this single arrow shot brought my short run of first arrow kills to an end.

Moving on we were back in the open shooting decent size faces with a Black Bear although the red peg did require a bit of a balancing act because it was fixed to a rotten log.

Having shot the bear it was onto "Steve" another Prairie Dog and then past the Tea tent for a downhill Fox that was all but hidden when I stood up straight and hence required some contortion (but no photos of that). With fox out of the way we were at our last target of the day a single shot at a Mongoose or Snake well the sign did say Nominate. Having shot the snake and found no kill we forgot the Rule "If there is no kill zones marked on a target the whole animal is a kill" so we scored it as a wound Hmm. We found out later that it should not have been a nominate but we should have shot the Mongoose.

Well having had an excellent days shoots it was back to the tent to drop off the gear have a few cans of real ale and then back down for the evenings Hog Roast and entertainment (Morris Dances and then live Music).

Sunday 30th August

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Having seen the forecast for Sunday I decided to get up early and pack the tent before we started shoot. This was the right choice because the clear blue sky start to the day was not to last. So having packed the tent it was down to tea tent for the breakfast bacon and egg butty and registration. Today we would be shooting Big Game and the organisers had mixed the groups so we had a new set of shooting partners for the day (Stuart, Gordon and Mark). Also we were to start on a different target. Today it was going to be target 19 (that pesky little stoat !).

Having walked out to the first target we noticed that the Windrush course layers had changed some of the targets and that pesky little stoat had been replaced by pesky little Jay. Following the starting blast on the horn we all took our single arrow shot and decided to leave the Jay in pristine condition for Sam and Owen who were now in the group behind. Having blanked the first we moved on to target 20 which was now a large Stag hidden under the trees but the red peg was still in the rotten tree stump. Having shot the venison for dinner it was time to start looking for the Christmas lunch because the next target was a Turkey (Steve having done a runner).

At this point we should have gone back to the tea tent but because we had only shot 3 target we moved straight onto Red Fox through the trees and contortions again. The next (yesterdays Mongoose) was a Turkey or was it a Ptarmigan followed by the uphill Bedded Deer that was further than it looked. Having shot the deer we again moved on over the hill for the long shot at a Wolf that did not have very generous wound lines and onto target 26. Today the Rabbit had been replaced by a Hare which provided a taller thinner target but the shot was still from down a hole.

The course layers had replaced the polecat in the dell with a rather small thin Cobra but I must say I managed to pull out one of my best shots of the day and kill the snake with my first arrow. Having removed the arrows and trekked back out of the dell it was time to take another shot at Alan the Prairie Dog and then on the the long Standing Bear. Today the bear did not stand a chance I was on form and killed it with a single arrow. I suspect this may be because when we arrived to remove our arrows we found it with a Fag in its mouth (one of the groups in front had a sense of humour).

Moving out onto the field the long shot across the stream had been replaced by another Bear which I again managed to first arrow kill. The bears did not stand a chance today.

Walking up to the Duck over the bridge shot we found it had been replaced by a Raccoon, the first of many, but from the peg the rope across the bridge still posed a hazard. Moving back up the hill our next shot was a downhill at a Turkey hiding under the trees. Having retrieved the arrows we returned to retrieve our bows only to find a member of Sam and Owen's groups behind was comparing the length and girth of my bow with his. Having mentioned I have a longer one my 10 year old son chirps up "he knows what we are talking about" which set everybody laughing.

The next shot was another downhill Cobra with not a lot of error around the kill followed by a paper face Bobcat and then a 3D Bobcat. The final shot before lunch was a single arrow at a very small bird, another Jay I think, which was I missed.

This target completed signalled time for lunch and another Bacon and Cheese Burger along with a fight with the wasps. It also signalled a change in the weather with a light drizzle blowing in that remained for the rest of the day (I'm glad I packed the tent in the morning).

Once lunch was complete and we were full and ready to rock n Roll it was off to target 1 which now sported a large Brown Bear. Today this shot was more tricky that Saturday and I required a couple of arrows before it fell.

Having disposed of another bear we were next faced with another Raccoon followed by a Skunk and on to a Carp. Like a fish out of water this was an easier shot than the Beaver yesterday and I had no intention of breaking another arrow. Having skewered the carp it was out into the top field again to shoot the Crocodile (which now had a mouth full of feathers) the long uphill Deer and the Turkey in the bushes. I was still having trouble with the Croc but the Deer went down with the first arrow.

Back down in the lower field it was time to shoot Pheasant and then the Bear and then Stegosauruses before moving back to the tea tend for a quick cuppa. The quick cuppa turned into a slightly longer delay first because their was a backlog in front and then just as the group in front of us was about to leave the whistles were blown and the shot stopped. This was because a loose horse was running across the lower field and needed to be caught and restrained.

After a 15 minute or so break in shooting to rescue the horse it was onto our final 8 targets. The first was the nice long shot across the stream as a white Mountain Goat followed by the uphill standing Deer. The next target was going to or had been yesterday the short legged boar but today it had been replaced by a standing Fox and I suspect the red peg had moved as well. Although John suggested I shoot the yellow peg again I decided I would rather kill the fox and did so with my first arrow. The long (longer than it looked) Wolf was next followed by the Turkey in the bushes and our aim as a group was to try and shoot its head off. We all failed in our challenge but I did manage to kill the turkey.

Target 16 was now a Polecat across the stream whilst 17 was another Raccoon and our final target of the day was the Fox with the minimal wound lines. That was it we only the walk back fortunately we could follow the course quite quikly back to the tea tent. Having dropped off the score cards it was time to pack the equipment back in the car before returning for the raffle and the presentations.

It was quite a good weekend for Westcott taking 5 medals.

• Mark - 1st Gents Compound Limited

• Shel - 1st Gents FreeStyle

• John (Ferret) - 3rd Gents FreeStyle

• Ruth - 2nd Ladies FreeStyle

• John - 1st Cub Boys Longbow

In addition Shel received special prize for the highest gents score of the weekend whilst Hugh, Ruth and Ferret walked off with a number of Raffle prizes. On the whole, despite the drizzle, it was an excellent weekends shooting.

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Fleet Ibex Shoot Report 16th August 2009

It was that time of year Fleet Ibex were running the "Ken Dendall Memorial Trophy" shoot, the last of the season, and the weather forecast looked like it was going to be a good day. The English summer had returned and the Fleet Ibex woods were going to provide another great days shooting. Having arrived early and registered, I remember my NFAS cards this time, it was time for the, you guessed it, traditional bacon butty and a chat with some of my fellow Westcott archers. Today John and I would not be shooting with James and Ruth, our usual partners, because of Ruth's hectic work schedule. Instead it appeared we would be spending the day with Fred and Terry our fellow Westcott archers.

I was looking forward to today because I was going to be able to shoot the course using my bow rather than a borrowed bow as I had during the 17th May Shoot and I was hoping for a better score (considering what I scored in May this was not going to be difficult). Also John had decided that he would shoot the 12 - 14 pegs which meant he would be shooting his first arrow from the blue peg rather than his tradition cub peg so there was also going to be the chance that I would score more than my 10 year old son and that would be a first.

The organisers of the shoot had also decided it was time to enforce some of the NFAS rules on arrow markings and any arrows recovered that were not sufficiently marked would be sold back to the Archer for the princely sum of £1 and the proceedings would go the the charity of their choice. I thought this was a good idea especially because all of John's and my arrows were marked appropriately.

With administration out of the way and being warned about the Adders we all walked out to our first target and awaited the horn that would start the shoot and as usual I have recorded the days route as a Google Earth File.

• Fleet Ibex Google Earth.

We were starting on target 37 so it would not be long before we passed the tea hut. We all exchanged cards and got read for the first shot of the day a small Deer through the bracken (their is always a lot of Bracken). Once the horn had been sounded we all wounded the Deer and then proceeded onto the Turkey through the trees. For those who have shot at Fleet Ibex before you will probably remember this shot because you have to be just the right height and no one in our group was. I was too tall whilst everyone else was to small. This meant that if the branches overhead did not get in the way then the branch across the middle of you line-of-sight did. The net result was some interesting contortions. Having finally hit the Turkey with my third arrow it was time to hunt the arrow in the bracken behind. This proved fruitless and my only hope was that someone else would find it.

Moving on from the Turkey it was a quick walk to the Cobra through a small window in the trees. This was a nice shot just the right distance and turned out to be my first kill of the day and I hoped it would be the first of many but then again I'm always optimistic. Having despatched the snake in the grass it was off to target 40 and a Bear with it head in a dustbin which apparently was strangely attractive to arrows. I'm sure Ranger Smith would not be to pleased that the Fleet Ibex team we feeding Yogi.

Having complete our first section we were back to the tea hut but it was not time to stop and we rolled straight on to target 1 the Buck and Doe. This was an interesting shot because the Doe covered the rear half of the Buck and did not count and with the psychological impact of the trees made for a very small window but I was on form and managed a first arrow wound. With the Buck out of the way target 2 was another Bear this time standing or was it trying to climb into the window of the hut. They really must be careful where they keep the food.

With the Bear dispatched it we off to what would become a typical shot for the days shooting a Boar partially obscured by a fallen log. This was interesting because boars and logs are a very similar colour and took two arrows to wound. The next shot was a long Deer in the bracken that required the presence of a marshal with a metal detector to help find the arrows.

With the deer dead it was back to the Turkey shoot with another of the Christmas treats hiding in the bracken through the trees. Moving on from the turkey it was time to shoot our first kitty of the day a Leopard climbing over a tree and then onto another Standing Bear with its lower half masked by the bracken and hence a temptation to shoot high. Moving on we to target 8 we needed to shoot another Turkey but this time is was a single arrow only and consequently my first blank of the day. Such a simple shot but no turkey lunch for me; oh well there's always the next target and a full grown Bison is hard to miss or so you would think.

This was a long downhill shot that was very deceptive and the ground dropped away more than it appeared. Terry shot first, let the FreeStyle guys show us the way, and his arrow made a very odd sound and we assumed a miss so he took the second. Fred required 3 and then it was my turn a long shot with a high arc and my arrow followed Terry's and I assumed I missed so I was off to the white and a second shot. On arrival at the target it turned out that my luck was in and the first arrow had hit the leg. Terry on the other hand was not so lucky his arrow had just missed the target and hit the support pushing the pile up the shaft (the first arrow he was to break).

With the bitter sweet success of the bison history it was time for the Honey Badger and then onto another deceptively simple single arrow shot at a Doe on the path. With the psychological effects of the bracken and the bank I did it again and pulled the shot too high ricochetting of its back. Target 12 was next and this was yet another interesting shot a BobcatBedded Deer hidden in the bracken and then an uphill, pig of a shot, at another Boar.

positioned behind the V in a tree but from the Red peg it was also a shot over a bank but the white provided a downhill shot from the top of the bank. Moving on it was our penultimate target before lunch and another

Time for lunch a double burger and a cup of tea.

Rested and refreshed it was off for the second half(ish) of the course starting with a Cheetah through the trees and then onto another Boar. This proved to be an interesting shot with my first arrow flying wildly left of the target and hitting the number 16 which rang out loud like the dinner gong making John jump. It's a good job emergencies are signalled by a whistle and not a gong. But having put myself off the next arrow missed as well going right but finally I pulled it together and planted one in the middle. With the clouds all gone the afternoons shooting was going to be a high contrast affair with the targets in the dark of the trees whilst the peg were in the open. The next target, a Deer, was going to be the first but not the worst. After the Deer it was time for another Bobcat and another Deer followed by a third Deer before we came across one of those half laying half standing Boars where if you do not get it just right it's so easy to shoot straight over its back.

With the pork crackling it was time to go hunting for some boots with a long shot at a Crocodile (or maybe an Alligator) under a log. Unfortunately for Terry his miss from the Red peg cost him another arrow when it his a buried rock in the ground. As I mentioned earlier the tricky under or over the fallen tree were going to be a common occurrence during the day with our next target being a Bedded Deer under and behind a fallen tree. Another target were your line had to be just right but that's what makes Fleet Ibex such fun. Now it was time for a change and the next target was a GoatTarget 25 provided us with a Howling Wolf and then it was on to another Turkey. Moving swiftly on from the Fowl target we were back shooting a Doe trough the tangle of tree limbs before moving onto a nice longish shot up the at an Ibex. Yet another trick 3D because the way it stands means it's easy to go over its back if you aim just that little bit too far to the right.

well something like a Goat though the trees an up a hill. Another where missing target meant you would be looking for you arrows for quite a while.

As I mentioned before the afternoon was all about contrasting light and the next few targets certainly brought it home. The Mini Bear on 29 all but disappeared when you aimed whilst the Bedded Ibex on 30 did vanish in the glare.

If you look at the photos above their is an Ibex in the first whilst the second gives you a hint of what the light was like and the only option was to shoot where you thought the target was. Moving on from the next target was another, nice, long uphill Howling Wolf followed by a Baboon and then another well hidden Deer. I was getting used to the uphill or downhill targets concealed by fallen trees what was handy because the next target was a Brown Bear with its lower half covered by a fallen tree.

Our penultimate target of the day was a long long long shot at a very large Bedded Elk. Now this Elk was big and the net result of that was that it looked a lot closer that it actually was with 3 out of the 4 of us hitting the rotten tree in front of it. Having overheard conversations through the day this was a common occurrence for this very well laid target.

Having finally hit the Elk it was time to shoot the final target of the day a Fox and then to total up the scores before picking up the target and return with it to the tea hut.

After an excellent days shooting, where I significantly out performed my previous score, Westcott walked away with 3 Medals for Cass, John and Shel not a bad day really. To think if I had not blanked that 1 shot Deer I would have been in line for a Medal as well but there is always next year and I will certainly be booking my place as soon as I know the dates.

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Crowthorne National Shoot Report 26th July 2009

Having seen the weather reports for the weekend I was expecting to get slightly wet during the Crowthorne Nationals. I was shooting a Double New National which was an interesting choice given I could not use my Warbow and was restricted to my light longbow but such is life. My son and his friend Daniel we also shooting, the Short Junior National, and hence we had the Bowmen of Burleigh Longbow team. With the hope that we would retain the Team Longbow Cup from last year we were all prepared to do our best.

The morning session started at 10:00 with fine weather and a light breeze. Shooting a 100 Yards for only the second time this season (I have been doing more Field Shooting than Target) it took me 12 Arrows to find my mark and yes that meant the first 6 scoring arrows were not exactly up to scratch. Anyway with these out of the way my second 6 arrows were a storming success with a nice 25 scored (not bad for a longbow at 100 yards) and this instantly put me in the lead. Shooting continued in much the same way for the 4 dozen at 100 yards and then after a short break the targets were moved to 80 yards. At this point Roger, who had been shooting on the same target, found his mark and started scoring rather well. The net result was that by the end of the morning session Roger had more than recovered and lead Colin, Rene and myself.

With the morning concluded and lunch out of the way it was time to shoot the Second New National of the day. At this point there were only Roger, Colin and myself shooting with Rene having only shot half a day. Over lunch the weather had definitely changed with the air becoming thicker and heavier. This was to prove the undoing of all three of us we all scored lower than in the morning. Given that I had shot 4 Dozen arrows in the morning you would expect that I new where to aim for the afternoon. No the change in weather meant that I, and the others, were having difficulty hitting 100 yards. After a few brief showers the 4 dozen at 100 yards was over and we were down to 80. This did not seem to do any good for Colin and me because we continued to shoot badly whilst Roger managed to claw back some respect by improving his score.

After an excellent, if entertaining, it was time for the awards. Roger won the gold for the Gents Double New National whilst I managed Second but Burleigh won the Longbow team trophy and I suspect that this was due to the impressive score (680) that my son put in for the Double Short Junior National.

All the results for the day can be found on the Crowthorne Site.

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South Wilts 150th Anniversary Shoot Report 19th July 2009

This was my first trip to South Wilts and I was looking forward to a recommended shoot, although having seen the weather I was expecting to get damp if not wet, and as usual we travelled down in our usual Westcott group. On this their Anniversary shoot South Wilts had organised 40 3Ds set through their woods and into the opens fields surround it. This provided a variety of entertaining shots especially when the wind picked up.

The course layers at South Wilts placed a camouflaged back stop behind each of the targets that did not have a natural bank and the net result of this was that the shoot progressed rapidly. Having these backstop saved me, and I suspect other archers, a number of lost arrows and I would recommend them to more of the field layers especially with the camouflaged covering which meant they were not distracting. But the end of my comments on the pros of backstops and onto the a summary of another excellent days shooting; for those interested I have again been using my phone to track the course and the file can be found below.

• Google Earth File.

As is traditional, for my son and me, we started the day with a bacon roll and then on to roll call. We were not shooting in out usual group and instead were with Brian, Peter and his Son Jack with our usual partners, in crime, on the target in front so I would be looking for Ruth's arrows.Our first target of the day was Wolf through the trees surrounded by some rather sharp brambles. Having shot the wolf we moved out into the field for some rather entertaining shots because the wind had started to pick up. The first field shot was a very long, full size, Buffalo that was just out of range for Ruth from the red peg but for me the hump on it's back was not quite high enough. This was my first blank of the day but such is life and once the target has been shot there's no point in worrying.

This out of the way we were off across the field for a very nice shot at a Deer through a small copse of trees but you needed to watch the overhanging branches. Having killed this one it was back into the open on the other side and a Bedded Deer. Having finally found the mark on this we moved back towards the woods for a "Pig of a shot" at a Boar. This was a tricky shot because we were shooting from the bright fields into the dim woods and the Boar was actually closer than it appear causing some of our group a bit of an issue but I liked it although I did only hit it high on the back.

Moving on we came across the first of a number of Standing Bears another lovely shot through the trees into a bright, slightly open, patch. Another kill and I was beginning to think this could be a good day. With the Bear despatched it was of to the shoot a sitting Cougar and then a low, long, walking Bear.

I like the large targets and the next was to be a small, white, Owl and needless to say this was one of those Base, Left and the right moments for another blank. Oh well the next target was a Standing DeerBedded Deer with a rather interesting peg layout.

partially hidden by the trees and then another

As you can see the white peg was closer to the target than the blue and this caught Brian out. Having apparently missed from the red peg he walked to the next peg and took a second shot from the blue to kill the deer. Only when I shot did he realise his mistake. Having potentially lost 6 points because of the mistake it was with much relief that on reaching the target we found his first arrow had hit.

Moving on it was time for a rock, well backstop, climbing Croc with some rather interesting small branches between you and the target. This was then followed by a larger, stickier, Croc down a fair straight and open path. Time for another Wolf and although a number of the targets appear to be clear and open the distance was often deceptive. But we soon finished off the wolf and then on to another Standing Deer with a hidden kill. With Venison on the menu it was time to get ourselves some pork for Sunday dinner and another Boar through some small saplings. The course layers did like to use the young sapling to cause the archer to pause for thought. This was to be Peters undoing later in the day.

Our next target was to be the Polar Bear and exceptionally well laid set piece recreating the natural habitat of this majestic beast.

Moving on from the Arctic Wastelands it was time to Shoot Bob Mills or rather his skeleton. This was a one arrow shot and we had to hit the skull.

With Bob dead again it was off to a well deserved cheese burger and a cup of tea. With our bellies full it was back out into the fields and time for a longish downhill at a standing Ibex and then on for some Pork Scratching with another BoarTurkey Shoot and then a Loooooong large Lion from a scaffolding platform.

or was it a Javelina. This was followed by a

We needed to be up on the scaffolding because their was no way you could see the target from the ground. This was going to be fun. I must admit I judge the distance perfectly and my first arrow was at the exact height of the kill but too far to the right and just skimmed the lions bum (no Westcott bot shot today). Moving to the white peg I did exactly the same, good grouping but totally the wrong end of the animal, but finally I managed to hit an animal the size of a barn door from the blue.

Now we were back to the smaller targets with a Beaver (I think) and then a Standing Deer. A brown Raccoon followed and then it was onto another Wolf and Coyote. Having shot a few smaller targets the next was another large Standing Bear through a thin alley of trees which provided Brian, with the help of Rick O'Shea, a rather interesting and entertaining kill.

Yes if you zoom in on the arrow that appears to be coming in from the right was Brian's shot from the red peg. Brian having finished his trick shots we moved onto a Bedded Stag and then a Leopard. Having killed the Leopard we were heading for the small targets again with a, shot out, Ground Hog. Fortunately it was only one target because the next was a nice Standing Deer followed by Bob the Cat and then a Walking Bear.

These were the sapling that caused Peter a few problems, although we did find all of his arrows. Having found Peters arrows we were off to shoot another small Boar and then a Standing Deer. The next shot was one of those longer deceptive slightly downhill large Standing Bear which was leaning on a log. The log Hmmmmm smallest part of the target but the easiest to hit.

With the large Bear out of the way, well the tree stump anyway, it was onto a Small Walking Bear and then back to the tea hut for a drink. After a brief break, no jumping, we were off for our final two targets of the day a longish Prong HornBoar in the trees.

up the path and a

With these final two targets out of the way it was back to the car to pack up and then to wait for the presentations. This being the South Wilts 150th shoot the medals were actually granite mounted and very nice indeed. So after an excellent days shooting were had time to relax with, yet another, cup of tea for the slower, compound, groups to return before the presentations could actually begin.

As it turned out it was not a bad day for Westcott with three medals / trophies for Shel, Ruth and John. For me it was great because I had not lost of broken any arrows. The only thing we need to do before we left was to book ourselves in for the South Wilts Pre-National shoot in September.

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Longbow Heritage - Jim's Jungle Jaunt Shoot Report 4th & 5th July 2009

After the excellent shooting last week I was looking forward to another entertaining weekend shooting Jim's Jungle Jaunt; near Shackleford. Carol always organises a good shoot but this year she managed to surpass herself not only because of the target layout and shooting lines but primarily because of her commitment to run the shoot even though one of her neighbours managed to burn down Carol's house along with the rest of the block. All credit to Carol for putting on the shoot and as usual a fun shoot it was.

Jim's Jungle Jaunt is a two day shoot in the woods around an organic farm near Shackleford which this meant that we had real live piglets roaming the woods. As such we we under strict orders not to shoot anything that moved apart from the eagle. Although the weather forecast warned of showers the weekend turned out to another glorious two days with sun cream a mandatory requirement for the shoot and a prolific amount of water a must.

Again for those interested I recorded a Google Earth GPS file that records our days travel around the 3 loops of the shoot.

• Google Earth File.

As mentioned this was a two day shoot and we would be starting on the same target each day. As appears to be coming the usual format for my entries I will walk through the first day and highlight the entertaining differences for the second day.

Saturday 4th July

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Although Saturday was going to be a glorious day for the weather what I did not know when tucking into my breakfast bacon butty was that it was going to be a diabolical days shooting for me although I must say I broke more arrows on the Sunday than Saturday. I must admit that, for whatever reason, Jim's always costs me a lot of broken shafts but fortunately Carol is always on hand to resupply me. If I ever improve my shooting standard she may end up going out of business.

For those that don't know, and their can't be many of those, the targets at Jim's are all 3D-2Ds hand drawn 3Ds fixed to foam backing and as such don't resemble any of the traditional targets and this is one of the things that makes Jim's so much fun (not for the sighted archer). Although sometime we do have extended discussions about exactly what we are shooting so given that my descriptions of the targets are based on what I think they are.

After the roll call we followed Carol down to our assigned target, 36, and prepared for the start of the shoot. 45 marketed target peg shooting a mixture of traditional big game and multi-target shots. The first target was going to be a medium distance baboon straight trough the trees. Having missed the sound of the car horn to start the shoot we eventually started when we heard the other archers shooting. The first target should have been an indication of how my shooting was going to go for the day. It's never a good thing to start the day with a blank but that's exactly what I did. Oh well it was only the first target everyone else scored but such is life.

Moving on the second target was a honey badger through the gaps in the trees and I took it out with my first arrow; this was the way the day should start. But no the wolf pack on the the next target lost me a maximum of 60 point as I blanked the lot but what I didn't know at this point was that it was going to be the beginning of a 14 target run of either blanks of 4s with the odd exception. The 4th target, a croc, was going to be my best shot until much later in the day.

Having disposed of the croc it was onto the next honey badger and I was starting to drop behind the rest of my group although this was not unexpected with Ruth shooting Freestyle and Richard shooting Compound Unlimited it was not good that James a Longbow and John, my son, cub longbow where leaving me behind.

Moving on to the Mandril James was have a cracking days shooting barely needing more than two arrows and John could almost have survived with just one. Having sorted out the Mandril it was onto a small white owl in front of the roots of a fallen tree and then moving swiftly onto the first snake of the day a large undulating target where it is surprisingly easy to shoot either over or under the target. Once the Snake had be sorted and the stray arrows located we moved onto a well camouflaged Anteater through the criss-crossing branches our penultimate target before the first tea stop. With the anteater deceased we had a single arrow at a very small piglet and no it was not one of the ones from the farm. With our beacon in hand it was back to the tea tent and my son first burger sandwich and coke of the day.

Having refreshed ourselves it was time to move out into the open for our second loop and onto a very long buffalo

some 80 yards away. Although the exact distance was a point of hot debate between Ken, the compound archer from the group behind, and Richard in our group once we had all shot. Richard chose 80 yards and hit Ken decided it was 100 and missed. Me I assumed it was 80 but still missed.

Having missed the Buffalo we moved onto the second target in the open another honey badger which finally provided me a much need hit. The badger disposed of we moved to the edge of the trees and took a pot shot at a Tasmanian Devil. Not a shot you should miss because the concrete hard ground meant the arrows would skip along for quite a distance behind. Moving back into the edge of the woods it was time to shoot a big cat on a branch again another target that punished the bad archer with a long walk in the fields. As with all cat targets Ruth our resident cat lover managed to kill the kitty. With the cat deceased it was a short walk to another snake this one hanging from a tree and you would not believe how easy it is to shoot through the coils of a snake. Next was the single arrow woodpecker which we all blacked with the exception of John who killed it.

Following the woodpecker were a series of targets shooting out through the trees into the open fields at a variety of game and predators the first of which was a lioness followed by a leopard. These were interesting head on shots through the trees and were to provide some entertainment on Sunday with me apparent shooting through a tree (see below). Following the leopard it was onto the Predatory / Prey shot. One arrow at the cheetah and 3 at the zebra again a shot that punished any misses with a long walk. Moving on the next shot was a lion and then a small monkey on a branch and then the Chris Boyton aka the gorilla shot. The next big cat on a branch was our penultimate shot before the second tea stop. The only animal that lay between us and a well deserved break was the long giraffe which Ruth successfully shot in the head a feat she was going to repeat on Sunday.

Having filled John with a Bacon and Sausage sandwich and topped up the water it was off into the valley for a hot and sticky session. The first target of this section, 16, was a small tortoise followed by a tapir and then a single shot spider that was slight worse for ware.

Now we were onto one of the classic Jim's shots the Elephant and the Egret. We were to take a single shot at the Egret and then shoot the Elephant big game style. As you can see from the shots below this was 50 yard + down hill at a very small Egret and an Elephant. Not an easy shot but having said that Ruth hit the Egret and killed the Elephant earning herself the full 60 points.

With Ruth over the moon it was time to shoot a tiger in the tree and then a longer than it seemed Rhino across the valley. This was followed by a well hidden orang-outang and a hanging snake which John had to shoot from the blue peg because the yellow was on top of a bees nest. Up the side of the valley was another kitty for Ruth to kill in the form of a black panther. With the panther out of the way it was back for another snake in the grass and then on to the hippoanther. This was a shot from the top of the valley down into the middle of the valley and from the red peg we were having a debate about whether it was a black panther or a hippo. As it turned out it was the black panther but one that could disguise itself at a hippo.

The next shot was the moving target always fun regardless of you success although last year I did shoot the rabbit out of the eagles claws sadly a feat I was not going to repeat.

Working our way out of the valley the next shot was a perched vulture followed by another kitty (leopard) for Ruth to kill and then a lioness through the trees. Time for our final tea break of the day and top up on the water before we shot our final 5 targets of the day.

After a quick stop we we off to target 31 a single shot at a spider and a well hidden boar followed by the across the path shot are a large dog with an open mouth. The penultimate target of the day was a small fox whilst we ended day with a brown bear.

Having had an excellent, if rather unsuccessful for me, days shooting it was off home for some well deserved rest and to fix the defletched arrows for Sunday.

Sunday 5th July

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Sunday started as a rather cloudy morning but this soon disappeared and as far as I was concerned I was simply their for the enjoyment. After Saturdays shooting I could only do better, as long as you don't count broken arrows, and as it turned out my Sunday shooting was back on my normal form and this inevitably meant I had passed Saturdays score after 30 targets. To speed up the shooting some of the archers had been moved and Richard was no longer in our group so it was just going to be the 4 Westcott archers. The following are some of the entertaining photos of the day.

Target 41

This was to set the theme of my day yes I hit it with my first arrow but the fletchings and top of the arrow was missing. One dead arrow. Unfortunately I could not see this had hit so I took another shot which Rick-Oshea'd (the Irish Field Archer) of a few trees and ended up in 3 pieces.

Target 45

John wings the piglet.

Target 3

Yes I did it again put the arrow in the target but lost the fletchings.

Target 5

James bags the snake and celebrates by doing his snake impression thank goodness it was not a baboon !

Target 10

Now how the hell did I do that, yes from the red peg it it between the trees.

Target 17

Now how do we shoot that tapir, the Ruth way, my way or

James way.

Target 19

So close: If Ruth had not tried to compensate for the wind it would have been two hit on the Egret.

Target 23

Snake hugger.

Target 27

James bags the Eagle.

At the end of a second great days shooting it was back to the tea tent for the prize giving but prior to that Carol was going to scatter the ashes of Dolly her mum down by the Elephant. Having done this with the whistling arrows shot over our heads it was on with the final part of the weekend.

Although James and me did not win any medals John and Ruth both won a gold in their respective categories so another good day for Westcott.

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Avalon Archers 3Ds Shoot Report 27th & 28th June 2009

Having finally recovered from my shoulder injury, thanks to time and my Osteopath (Marcus Vaz), I would finally be able to shoot my longbow again. So I was looking forward to a couple of good days shooting regardless of what the weather forecast had suggested. I had never shot Avalon before and had not realised what I had been missing and to say that the Avalon course is one of the best I have shot is putting it mildly this was on a par with the 3D Nationals course. I say this because I do like variety in a shoot and Avalon had a lot of that to say the least.

For those who have never shot Avalon their woods are based just outside Sandy in Bedfordshire and cover some rolling woodland providing a number of interesting and entertaining ups and downs. The varied trees and undergrowth allowed the course layers to devise some devilishly difficult shots for the average height freestylers never mind the tall longbow archers as you can see from the photos. Yet again I decided to records the Nokia Sports Tracker application a go and recorded the route, for posterity, as a Google Earth file below.

• Google Earth File.

The Avalon shoot was a 2 day shoot where we essentially covered the same course on the Saturday and the Sunday but over Saturday night the magic course laying pixies had been out and moved the pegs and a number of targets. Obviously these were slightly sadistic pixies because the pegs were moved to some rather more interesting and difficult positions.

As a Westcott Archer I must says that we fielded a good turnout for Avalon with a grand total of 13 Archers most of who were shooting freestyle; oh well you can't have everything but the Westcott reprobates can be identified below.

Saturday 27th June

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Saturday was looking like it was going to be a glorious day, although the weather forecast did suggest the odd heavy shower, and so it was to be hot and humid with any slight breeze welcome. Having registered, and found out we were shooting with Ruth and James starting on target 34, it was off to for the traditional Bacon Butty to start the day. With the bacon butty summarily munched we were off to our first target a small bear hidden behind the trees branches. On the sound of the klaxon we were off for the day with James taking the first shot. This target was interesting on so much as although you could see the bear the kill was difficult to find (branches and the like). Once the bear was cleanly dispatched a short walk brought us to a slightly longer Javelina hiding through the trees. This proved to be a good shot and we all moved on happy. Now we started our trek up the hill (Avalon has a lot of those) for another longish straight shot at a deer, of one type or another, with quite a lot of bracken behind. Any overshoot, ad we had a few of those, meant rooting around in the undergrowth. Fortunately for us, mainly Ruth, we had Adrian from Westcott in the group behind to find the arrows that we had missed. Once the deer was out of the way it was up the hill again to a short Hare (Jack Rabbit) and then onto a short but tricky, because of the trees, Mini Bear.

With the Mini Bear out of the way we move out of that part of the woods and across the track to the take on a long straight Goat; a nice open shot but with plenty of trees behind. Once we found all our arrows we were off to target 40 the last before our first tea, well coke, break of the day. Now target 40 was basically a point blank shot at a very small rubber lizard and probably harder for the freestylers than for the longbows (I can say that because I hit it with my first arrow).

..

With the tricky lizard done and the coke drank target 1 awaited. This was a small ladybird down in a dip with a kill on one of its spots. Moving on from the ladybird we had to shoot a wolverine from some rather interestingly place pegs. Again this was a slight downhill shot but fortunately, on the Saturday, there was a bank behind. Having sorted the wolverine it was off for the first of a new of turkeys and then a mountain lion down a dip and through some rather annoying trees. This was a brown target with a brown background and a lot of brown around it; need I say more.

The next target was a very long wolf which although open was tricky to judge. Now I don't generally need to worry about how far the target it, everything being 4 inches, but this was estimated as a 40 m / yrd (depending if you spoke to Ruth or James) shot. Given that Ruth was initially worried by the distance her first 24 of the day put her mind at rest.

Following this long shot the organisers had decided we could do with another short, but tricky, turkey which cost me my first broken arrow of the weekend. A first arrow hit but the tree in front took its toll and removed the know and fletchings. With the turkeys goose cooked we were after some venison to follow and the course layers provided it with an ample long bedded deer through the trees.

Having sorted the long shot it was back to the short shot with a raccoon through the undergrowth. The picture below shows the view from the red, white and blue pegs and the only way I could photograph the was to stand to the side.

Well having dispatched raccoon we were back to the long tricky down a dip shots for another wolf but this time the wolf was angled and proved somewhat more difficult to hit. Moving on from the wolf it was time for a coyote hidden amongst the undergrowth. This was soon dispatched and we followed the orange tape through a building and then into another but where were the pegs? Well this was Avalon "pista de resistance" and also my one major complaint about this shoot. Having found the pegs inside the building we could see our next target, a cougar, through the windows.

This was going to be rather interesting because their was a lot of concrete around these windows and a fair amount of metal work in them. Very interesting and difficult shots especially because the roof of the building was only about 8' and given I am 6'7" with a 79" longbow there was no easy way to hold it and shoot.

With all of the adults having shot it was time for my son, a cub, to take his shot from the yellow peg across the inside of the building and through the widow. Essentially it was the same place as the white and blue pegs. At this point I should have known that it was dangerous but having just shot the cougar through the window I decided to let him have a go. This was a mistake because unfortunately he missed the window and the ricocheting struck him in the head and only missed hes eye because he ducked. Needless to say once we had calmed him down and stopped the tears he took his second and third arrows from the other side of the window. Although I did mention this to the marshals the course layers decided that the shot was safe for the Sunday an left the yellow peg where it was.

Moving on from the cougar it was time to travel back into pre-history are shoot a 2D-3D Velociraptor and then back to reality with a bobcat where everybody, bar me, scored a 24. Then we were back to pre-history with a small hidden stegosauruses and then out into the open. At this point the heat of the day really hit you and you began to wish you were back under the trees. The shot from the open ground was back into the trees and over the bracken at a distant ram which blended rather well with the background. A brief walk back undercover brought us to brown mini bear hiding behind a tree. Set at an angle you could just about see the kill but hitting it required some fancy shooting to miss the tree. This said I did and hit the bear with my first arrow although I missed the kill.

Mini Bear dispatched it was back to shooting across bracken into open ground to take out another deer with relative ease and then back into the wood proper for a grazing doe through yet more trees. After the deer it was a case of spot the frog on the next target, yes it is the green lump that blends into the background, and this is where the longbows showed the freestylers how to shoot with both of us hitting the 24.

With only the climbing bear between us and lunch we quickly disposed of it and then off for a well deserved break to down a few cold cokes and burgers or in James's and my case a "MacSue" which consisted of Burger, Sausage and Bacon twice on a bun. To say it was a mouthful is putting it mildly.

Once the MacSue had started to settle we moved onto target 21 a hiding Jackal with the bright afternoon sunny behind it. Contrast was the name of the game here but the MacSue was having positive effects. Moving on from the Jackal we were shooting another 2D-3D this time a kangaroo that appeared simply as a silhouette where yet again Adrian proved his worth for James this time finding the arrow that missed.

Moving on from roo we were back on a turkey shoot and the prong horn to follow another long shot through the trees. Next on the list was Skunk close range but tricky through the branches, or so I thought until Sunday, but given the poundage of my bow I well and truly skewered it.

Now we had finished with the short shots for a while and the course organisers had decided to provide us with another long downhill shot, this time, at standing bear. The bracken between the red peg and the bear made this one a difficult target to judge but 4" was about right for me. The next shot was a standing buck (yes there is a deer in this photo) across a small valley and provided me with my luckiest shot of the day where I just clipped the back of the deer.

With Bambi gone we were shooting Kermit again and then leopard through a V in a tree which surprisingly did not catch anyone out. Target 30 was a head on badger through the branches whilst target 31 provided us with another deer again through the trees and up the hill.

Our penultimate target of the day was yet another turkey carefully placed behind a large conifer and required a bit of squatting to see. We rounded off the day with another Bob the Cat hiding behind the leaves by a tree.

So having had a throughly enjoyable, if rather warm and humid, days shooting it was back to the tea cabin for some ice cold water and then the drive home thinking they put some trick shots in there today for us. Little did we know what Sunday was going to bring.

Sunday 28th June

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When we left home on Sunday it looked like it was going to be another glorious day but as we approached the Avalon ground the mist set in. No problem it meant it was going to slightly cooler than the Saturday and hence a blessing until it burned off later in the day. On arrival it was time for another bacon butty before we started again on target 34 which at first glance looked like it was the same shot. As yesterday it was a small walking bear but for today they had moved the peg. This was going to the way it was for the day, in general, the same targets but the pegs had been move. As I mentioned earlier this was done by some sadistic pixies because you need to be a short pixies contortionist to even see soo of the targets from the red peg.

Given this I will not run you through the targets again just highlight some with specific photos.

Target 3

I bet I could not do that again if I tried.

Target 11

Two windows from the Red peg but still the cubs peg was inside and dangerous. Ruth managed to turn one of her aluminum arrows into a banana by bouncing it off the far wall.

Target 16

The brown mini bear prince turned into a frog.

Target 17

The deer looks a long way away from half way up the hill.

Target 18

There is a deer behind that there log but yoga is a must have skill.

Target 25

Here we go again.

Target 29

How the hell am I going to get the Leopard?

Target 30

Watch out for the electric fence; fortunately the longbow does not conduct electricity but positioning for this shot put other parts of my body close to it.

Target 32

Where's that turkey.

After completing another thoroughly enjoyable day it was simply down to waiting for the prize giving or in the case of Avalon the evening comedy entertainment. Due to a number minor computer hitches the results were modified a few times and our compare for the evening performed well. In his own words "I would like to thank you all ....."

At the end of the day the Westcott team faired well with:

• 1st Cub Longbow
• 1st Ladies Freestyle
• 1st Gents Freestyle

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3D Nationals 24th & 25th May 2009

Following on from last weeks rather wet shoot at Fleet Ibex I was anticipating a wet weekends shooting but in fact it turned out to be one of the warmest / sunniest weekend of the year, so far, which meant the waterproof never made it out of the car. Osmaston Park provided enough woodland to allow for the laying of 3 courses of which we were due to shoot two. I think the choice of courses was based on luck of the draw because we were shooting in a mixed discipline group. My son and me were picked to shoot the B Course on the Saturday and the C Course on the Sunday (the advantage of this was that the A Course had a 20 minute walk before they could start). Both Courses were of 40 3Ds spread over a 12 Mile trek through some rather interesting woodland.

This was always going to be an interesting weekend, for the same reason last weeks Fleet Ibex was, because I would be shooting a borrowed 40lb Longbow with my arrows matched to my 65lb longbow. So knowing this I was not expecting to have an astounding score I just hoped I would not be too badly embarrassed by my 10 year old son.

I had just downloaded the Nokia Sports Tracker for my phone and decided the 3D Nationals would be a good place to test it so if you are interested in the Google Earth files for the B and C Courses here they are:

• Saturday B Course.

• Sunday C Course.

Saturday 23rd May

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The B Course was layed around one of the large ponds / small lakes within Osmaston Park and we we due to start on a longish grazing Deer.

Mary / John (Keith), /Me / John / Graham

Having met the rest of the group we awaited the shotgun blast and kicked off the day with the longish shot at the deer which I missed with the first but hit with my second arrow. So at least it was not going to such a bad day, although my first arrow vanished into the Rhododendrons which were to plague the B course. This arrow would not return until the end of Sunday which was surprising because I thought I had lost it for good (like Mary's). Having successfully started the day we were off through the Rhododendron roots to our next target, a bear, a slightly tricky shot through the trees and the bushes. Having successfully dispatched we moved onto a uphill boar, with one of those well place trees behind, by this time my son was definitely shooting better than I was (but that is nothing unusual). The bear that followed was a longish target that you did not want to miss because trying to find arrows in the Rhododendrons was a pain. Then our first tea stop of the day (my one real complaint of the day was that the prices for refreshment on the B Course were extortionate - outside caterers).

Following a cuppa we were off around the lake starting with another, long uphill, boar that taxed me and my bow. Followed by a downhill, with the lake as a back drop, bedded deer that was well hidden behind a tree stump. Having dispatched the deer it was off for another pig of a shot up the hill again, these were definitely taxing me and was finding it difficult to reach the long shots. At least the next large Elk was a downhill shot which was much better suited to my shooting. After this we returned to the lake to dispatch a Grey Goose on the edge of the lake. Fortunately this had a backstop, because there was nothing behind but water, but to shoot from the red peg you needed to be under 6' so with my head in the trees and my bow wrapped in the branches it was a fun shot. We move onto a down hill deer, by an old picturesque water wheel, and then another bedded deer. The going now changed from the slippy, damp, Rhododendron covered hills to low trees with damp undergrowth (well it had been raining earlier in the week). Back across the road we shot another deer, good job I like Venison, and then back up the hill for a leaning bear. I was getting used to these uphill shots now and things were looking up. Well that is what I thought until we came to the next target which was a long uphill large deer. We were now back into the thick of the woods and for change it was time to shoot a big cat, leopard, than Groundhog day. This was an interesting target because we were shooting side on and the kill was at the front. After due discussion it was decided that the target had obviously turned on its base and having taken our shoots put it back where it should be. Next was another pig of a shot and I thought I had the flukiest shot of the day:

Hitting it in the back after a ricochet but it was not to be and I had to score my second arrow. For a change the next target was a small crocodile well positioned in the middle of some puddles and again you did not want to miss this because the fate of your arrows was a very muddy forgone conclusion.

Having kept my arrows clean we moved back into the thick of the trees and another deer, this time with a backstop, and then onto another boar. With the boar dead it was time for the wolverine (I think) hidden in the bushes. This was duely followed by another deer and then a long long long standing bear (this was a nice shot).

Our final target before lunch, and a well deserved cup, was another uphill bear with the Rhododendrons as a back stop (by now I was beginning to hate Rhododendron).

Having polished off a burger and tea it was on to the first of the final round of targets and back around the lake again. We were off shooting crocodiles again. Another shoot we not much, apart from accuracy, to stop your arrows disappearing to the murky depths. The croc disposed of it was time to shoot a grey thing (not sure what it was badger maybe) followed by a waving bear, or was he boxing, which I completely missed requiring John to cut my arrows out of the tree. Turkey was on the menu next followed by a long uphill stag that tested me again and then another (Oh) deer.

We were back by the lake again with a standing doe, fortunately with a tree between it and the lake, followed by another Crocodile although this one was definitely out of water. The course layers must of decided that by now we had lost enough arrows and decided it was time for a backstop on our next bedded deer but for a change it was not required. Following this was a rather odd boar, that cost Mary a carbon arrow, with a stone filled bank behind. This caused a few interesting discussion with the marshals stood by because my son bounced his arrow out of the kill. It was finally ascertained, having read the rules, that because we had all witnessed it he could score the kill and that made him smile.

The boar was followed by a small white fox, with a very annoying base, which required 3 arrows to be shot only to find the first had scored. We were now well into the Rhododendrons again and the shooting though them caused a fair few ricochets and this was no exception for the boar that followed. The next was another groundhog, this time with a visible kill, hidden within the bushes. What was next may well have been an elk but looked like a cow and was as usual through the trees and note especially good for a longbow archer. All the fun of a parabolic trajectory those compound archers have it easy at times. But given that I am not to worried about scores it's all part of the fun, wooden arrows are cheap after all, and we swiftly moved onto our penultimate target another bear. This dispatched the we rounded up the day as we started with a deer in the bushes.

After a great day of shooting with a fun bunch of people it was off back to the car park to see if I could get the car out and back to my parents for the night. Considering I had lost one arrow and defletched a number of other all in all it was a good day. I had the evening to glue the fletchings back on.

Sunday 24th May

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Given that Saturday was a glorious day Sunday was even better with blue skies and not a cloud to be seen. This was definitely going to be hot and require plenty of the factor 40 sun cream. As is usual on the second day the groups were changed and this was done by moving 3 people from the target behind forward. Today we would be shooting on the Hanson layed C Course in another part of the extensive Osmaston woodland which was to provide some different terrain that was a lot drier than Saturday.

So off we marched to our starting target John, me and our new shooting partners Liz, Lindsay and Tony and again awaited the sound of the shotgun to allow us to start our days shooting. With the crack of the gun we were off to what proved to be an even better day than Saturday. To kick off we were to shoot a rather relaxed looking big cat uphill and through the bracken (which is better than Rhododendrons) and the day was off, although not too well for me because I blanked the first target, moving on it was time to shoot a small sitting fox which I hit and broke my duck. Having dispatched the fox it was time to move onto something bigger in the form of a walking bear. A nice long open shot nothing to difficult but tricky all the same.

Next the Hanson guy had decided to place a small crocodile head on. Although this is a long target it was rather thin and somewhat more trick than you would anticipate. Never the less it received its just deserts and we were off for an uphill shot at a white wolf. Again the long uphill were cause me an issue but my son was loving it although he kept saying he hated the uphill they never seemed to cause him a problem. Next it was the turn of a goat to stand in the way of our arrows closely followed by another side on shot at a walking bear although the kills on these were often tricky to hit. Moving into some slightly more open woodland and the glorious sunshine our next target was a spotted deer at a slight angle. Trickier than it initially looked.

Moving back down the path the crocodile reappeared this time side on and hence more to miss. Having skewered a croc (they are nice to eat especially tails) it was another open shot across the bracken at a small stag. My son found out that even bracken can deflect a light arrow. Next it was the turkey shoot and Tony managed to hit the leg, a shot that he could probably not repeat, and then on to a rather tricky long Stag through some overgrown Rhododendrons. The shot from the cub peg was not much better.

A sitting cat, I think, was closely followed by a very large resting elk / stag that was further away than it looked. Having disposed of the stag it was time for some more pork scratchings with another boar. Having shot the boar the next target just looked like a black blob hidden by the bushes. It was in fact a black owl that was well hidden in the shade / shadows made all the darker by the brilliant sunlight. Pork was on the menu again with the next two targets giving us an uphill boar and a downhill boar all surrounded by foliage.

Time now for a long boxing bear in open ground nice shot if you can hit it. With the bear sorted it was time for a tricky Ibex, well from the red it was tricky, through some overhanging trees and then on to a badger in a bush. Over the hill, not me but the next target, was a nice white mountain goat in a ditch again trickier than anticipated. A wolf in the bushes provided our next target and the bright sun causing a few issues with the shadows it cast.

An deer missing its antlers was our penultimate target before a well deserved burger and cup of tea. Now the only target between us and lunch was a small red fox. With the fox disposed of it timely fashion it was time for lunch (Hanson doing their own catering meant the price was reasonable).

Post lunch shoot started with a very long stag through some nice open trees. My only problem is the bow I was using could not reach the target from the red peg with the arrows I had. If the previous was a ,simple, long shot the next was a tricky short shot. Another deer but through the V of a tree (if you look at the picture it is there honest). Apparent if you managed to get the arrow through the V you would hit the kill. I can categorically say this is not true because their were plenty of other branches on the other side between you and the target.

With the deer out of the way it was time for another relaxing big cat hidden between the trees and a small fox somewhere through those Rhododendrons. Following the fox we moved onto a long standing bear, tied to a tree, that was again difficult to reach given the trees and the path of my arrows. At least the deer / goat next was shorter and hence within my reach although for my son some of the bracken was rather high. With the target dispatched it was time to move onto the wolverine, through the Rhododendrons again, another nice but tricky shot for someone who is slightly taller than average.

The next target produced my favorite photo of the weekend, giving a true indication of the glorious weather, and was of an uphill shot at a standing stag. From the red peg the shot was somewhat more tricky and one of the archers in the previous group shot wide, left, but hit the target after a few ricochets. One of the few time a Rhododendron was helpful.

Having taken on the stag it was time for a very short small black animal, badger maybe, hidden below a number of trees in a hollow. It was at this time I found out that Liz (compound) used a 60 yard site mark for such short distances me I just aimed straight at it. At least the next animal was recognisable it was a raccoon again in a small hollow. Having sorted the raccoon the next target was difficult to see at first and the pegs we definitely designed for some one of a smaller stature. It was another owl but this time you needed to shoot through a number of bushes and a lot of intertwined branches.

A bedded Ibex started our last four targets and require the archer to be able to shoot around the bushes and miss the tree in other words a fun shot. This was closely followed by an open uphill over a slight crest impala and downhill boar. unfortunately for me I blanked both of these bouncing my arrows of their back (such is life). Our final shot of the day and the weekend consisted of a nice standing cheetah. Although I did not kill it I still only used one arrow so that closed the day on a high.

Having finished shooting we grabbed the 3 D and returned it to the road and the returned to the assembly area where we awaited the raffle, auction and prize giving. As I expected I did not win anything but John managed to win a t-shirt in the raffle and more importantly the Silver for the U12 Longbow beating my score by a large amount. Another cub longbow medal for Westcott to go with the Compound Limited Bronze for Mark and Freestyle Bronze for Shel.

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Fleet Ibex Shoot Report 17th May 2009

Having watched the the weather forecasts from the previous week I was expecting to be shoot Fleet Ibex in wet conditions but waking up Sunday morning to bright sunshine I thought we were going to have a good day. After the 50 minute drive down to Fleet Ibex the weather had changed slightly and we were in fully wet weather gear. This was the start of one of those days and it was at registration that I realised I had forgotten my NFAS card and my son his shooting glove. Thanks to Carrol the glove problem was resolved and the missing cards could be worked around by joining NFAS again on the day. The weather looked as though it was in for the day but after a 45 minutes the sky brightened and we were ready to shoot. For those who don't know Fleet Ibex this was a classic 40 x 3D course spread across their rather substantial woods (you do a lot of walking at Fleet) mixing the large and small with the long and short shots.

This was always going to be an interesting shoot for me because I am recovering from a shoulder injury which meant I could not shoot my normal 65lb longbow and had borrowed a 40lb longbow, off a fellow Westcott Archer who was shooting Free Style on Sunday, although I was using my own arrows. So now the excuses are out of the way onto the shooting which started , as mentioned, 45 minutes late but at least the the Sun was out and their was no wind.

The first shot of the day was a medium distance deer, they like deer at Fleet, from within the confines of some rather low hanging trees out across open ground. This being tall this was not such a good shot and it was a case of either kneel or do the splits. To my pleasant surprise I hit the deer and we were off and running the morning continued to progress well shooting the frog, or I think it was a frog, over short distance. I was getting the hang of a light bow, over spined heavy arrows and short draw and inconsistent anchor point (I naturally draw 32" when field shooting but borrowed bow was not built for that). A quick trip past the Tea Hut took use to the back of the course through some classic tree obstructed shots at the indigenous venison. Continuing up through the back of the Fleet Ibex woods we started to shooting the targets surrounded but fallen trees, which regularly ended up being hit in preference to the actual targets, which proved no problem for the compound archer shooting with us. On one occasion the tree was in the way so he shot through the tree to wound the target.

Reaching the back of the course we started on the up and down shots and then there was the Javelina and the Bison. This was the first really long shot and showed what the consequence of mis-matched bow and arrows is. On these shots for my arrows (large, heavy with long fletchings) the bow did not quite have the Umph to reach the targets from the Red Peg or even the White on the target where it was further away. Not a problem I was there for the fun of shooting. Moving on now back past the Tea Hut (after the obligatory burger and bacon butty) it was onto a number for long targets often through some tricky trees and then back round the other side of the course. On reaching target 35 we were stood waiting for a while looking down the valley counting the arrows stuck 30 feet up the trees before shooting some of our final targets.

After shooting another excellent Fleet Ibex course (if you have not shot there I would recommend it) and only having one arrow abducted by Aliens. It was back to the Tea Hut for a final cuppa and presentations. Having been out-shot by my 10 year old son (not unusual) I knew I was not in the running for a medal but the rest of the Westcott archers would have a chance.

At the end of the presentation Westcott came away with 2 Golds, a Silver and bronze. Not bad for a day that looked as though it would be a washout. I may not have put in one of my best scores at least I had some practice for the 3D Nationals next week.

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Arrow Making : Of Spine, Materials, Piles and Fletchings

Following a few questions on my previous blog entry "Making Longbow Arrows" I have decided to put together a quick table covering my experience in choosing Arrow material, spine, pile and fletchings. It is based on the Longbow and Warbow I shoot / have shot and my sons bows. Therefore you can consider this as a rough guide but in reality the only sure way of getting your arrow correct is to suck it and see. Ultimately every individual will have the ideal Arrow for their bow but we all need a starting point; so here goes.

Bow Weight	<=30 yards	30/40/50 yards	60/70 yards	80/100 yards	180 yards	Field
20 lb	5/16 POC 70 grain Piles 2.5" Fletching Spine <20 lb	5/16 POC 40 grain Piles 2.5" Fletching Spine <20>	-	-	-	5/16 POC 70 grain Piles 2.5" Fletching Spine <20>
40 lb	5/16 POC 70 grain Piles 4" Fletching Spine 30-35 lb	5/16 POC 70 grain Piles 3" Fletching Spine 30-35 lb	5/16 POC 70 grain Piles 2.5" Fletching Spine 30-35 lb	-	-	5/16 POC 70 grain Piles 4" Fletching Spine 30-35 lb
65 lb	11/32 Pine 100 grain Piles 5.5" Fletchings Spine 60 lb --------------- 3/8 Ash 125 grain Piles 7" Fletchings	11/32 Pine 100 grain Piles 5.5" Fletchings Spine 60 lb	11/32 Pine 100 grain Piles 4" Fletchings Spine 60 lb	11/32 Pine 100 grain Piles 3" Fletchings Spine 60 lb	-	11/32 Pine 100 grain Piles 4" Fletchings Spine 60 lb
95 lb	3/8 Ash 125 grain Piles 7" Fletchings Spine 80 lb	11/32 Pine 100 grain Piles 5.5" Fletchings Spine 80 lb	11/32 Pine 100 grain Piles 5.5" Fletchings Spine 80 lb	11/32 Pine 100 grain Piles 4" Fletchings Spine 80 lb	11/32 Pine 100 grain Piles 3" Fletchings Spine 80 lb	95lb is too Heavy for 3D targets

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Spining your Longbow Arrows

Follow a comment on my previous blog entry "Making Your Own Arrows In Four Easy Steps" concerning the spining of arrows I have decided to produce a blog entry specifically to described how I spine rate my arrows to match my bows. This done I will look at further options around the correct (a rather loose term), for me, fletching size for the job at hand.

Arrow Spine Rating

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The spine of an arrow is an indication of its stiffness and is calculated by measuring the amount of deflection, bending, that occurs when a 2 lb weight is hung from its centre of the shaft whilst it is being supported at two points 26" apart. This deflection can be turned into an approximate draw weight of the bow it is suitable for. In general spine meters, used to measure spine, are configured in 5lb increments and hence when you buy you shafts they will generally be rates 50-55lb, 55-60lb, 60-65lb, etc.

Bow Weight and Arrow Spine

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As a rule of thumb these draw weights are a good measure if you are shooting a bow that draws through the handle; by this I mean something similar to a recurve of a flatbow. If on the other hand you are shooting an English Longbow, or a bow that shoots around the handle, you will need to choose an arrow shaft that is spined less than your bow. Their seem to be a number of rules of thumb on how you determine the correct spine for your bow but the only correct way to do this is to make and try out a number of arrows; then once you are happy put your best arrow on a spine tester and record its spine.

Personally I tend to spine my arrows at about 10lb less than my bows draw weight, then using my 65lb bow but often have to drop lower than this when making arrows for my 90lb warbow (it's can be difficult getting heavy spined shafts). Needless to say if I can stick to my rule of thumb I will and it works for me.

Archers Paradox

As a Longbow Archer, or an archer who shoots around the handle, you will be affected by the Archers Paradox. If you consider the nocked arrow resting in the drawn position (I do need a picture for this) it does not define a straight line from the string through the handle to the target instead it is pointing off to the left (I am assuming a Right handed archer here). As you release the Arrow it flick off the fingers (assuming the traditional three finger loose) and will push the front of the arrow against the side of the bow. This causes the arrow to bend in towards the centre line until it reaches its maximum bend As the arrow travels forward the string begins to move back to the centre line whilst the arrow, based on its resonance frequency bends the other way. As the string continues forward the natural movement and flexibility of the shaft will cause it to move back. This continues for a short period after the arrow has left the bow until it finally straightens itself.

Incorrectly Spined Shafts

Shafts that are to stiff, overspined, will fly left whilst a shaft that is to flexible, whippy, will tend to leave the bow and fly right. This assumes a Right handed archer for left handed archers the directions are reversed.

Fletching - Size Really Does Matters

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The size of fletching you choose will have an effect on the cast and accuracy of your shooting and in general, if you plan to shoot varying styles, you will need a number of arrows. Personally I have three sets of arrows with 3", 4" and 5.5" fletching although I am currently in the process of making some with 7" fletchings for indoor (but that will be covered in another blog entry). As mentioned previous I shoot a 90lb warbow for outdoor target archery and a 65lb longbow for indoor and field archery. Therefore this should be taken into account for the fletching sizing below and if you shoot a lighter bow you may need slightly smaller fletching.

In general though the larger the fletching the more accurate you arrow whilst the smaller the fletching the less drag you have and hence the further it will fly. The size of the fletching will also play a part in how quickly the arrow straightens after leaving the bow.

Again in many ways the exact fletching size you require can only be identified by trial and error (but making arrows is fun) and as such what you see below should be taken as a starting point.

Target Archery (Outdoor)

In general outdoor target archery ranges from 40 yards to 100 yards and given this variation I choose to have two sets of arrows. When shooting 80 / 100 Yards I use 4" fletching whilst 60 Yards or less I switch to 5.5" fletchings. This allows me to keep my aim fairly flat and consistent even at the longer distances.

Target Archery (Indoor)

In general indoor target archery tends to be shot over 20 yards and as such accuracy is more important than distance. At present, because it is indoors and their are brick walls, I use some of my previous years 5.5" fletched target arrows. In my opinion, given a 65lb longbow, these fletchings are to short and I am currently in the process of making some heavier, Ash, arrows with 7" fletchings.

Field Archery

In field archery the majority of the targets are below 40 yards and accuracy is the name of the game. Hence larger fletchings in the order of 5.5" are the name of the game with a couple of shaft with shorter fletchings for those odd long shots.

Clout

For a Clout shoot the gentlemen are required to shoot 180 yards whilst the ladies 140 yards. Because of the distance short fletchings are required and I tend to shoot my standard arrows with a 3" fletch because distance is more important than accuracy. I can reach 180 yards with my 5.5" fletchings but it is much easier with the 3". Read more!

Bowmen Of Burleigh Christmas 2008 Fun Shoot

The Bowmen Of Burleigh Christmas fun shoot was originally planned for the 19th December 2008 but due to the fact Embrook School was closed on this date we decided to run it on the first available Sunday in January. So given this the date was rescheduled to 18th January 2009 and fortunately we were still in the Christmas mood. The day was split into a morning and afternoon session, as usual, and further subdivided into Senior and Junior classes. Rather than the traditional Portsmouth faces or even Archery Darts we put together a series of Season appropriate, well sort of, faces and allocated our own marking system. As you can see below these faces ranged from the traditional Christmas Turkey (yes we also field shoot) to the Grinch and Santas Sleigh with presents held on by Polos. The Juniors and Seniors were split into target groups and assigned a a starting target and 5 additional targets. Each Archer was allowed 3 arrows at each face and needed to guess which part of the face scored the highest, generally the smallest, but after the first target you could cheat and check out the scoring for the next. In addition to our standard method of scoring we had the additional incentive on Santa Sleigh of presents suspended on polo mints. If you managed to shoot the polo you got the present but if you did not then you only scored a 5. Once the each of the Archers had shot on their 6 allocated targets and the scores were passed to our Fairy Paramount" Ruth for final rankings the archers were allowed to continue shooting for the polos. This was easier said than done although we did have a number of hits from the Compound Archers and one line cutter from a Longbow. After the Fairy Paramount presented the prizes, yet more chocolate, we ran the team shoot. This essentially consisted of dividing the Archers into two groups. They each had a target, at 20 yards, covered in 20 balloons. Each archer was allowed to shoot 1 arrow, when at the front of the line, and then move to the back. The winning team were the first to burst all their balloons this was actually more difficult than initial anticipated and required a couple of visits to the target to remove shot arrows. Needless to say this was a very entertaining team competition. All in all a fun day was had by all those that attended and we intend to run the 2009 Christmas Fun Shoot in November. Read more!

Westcott Indoor 2009 Shoot report

The Annual Westcott NFAS occurred over the weekend of the 18th / 19th January 2009 and based on the fun I had last year I was looking forward to a rather entertaining few hours of shoot. We were due to shoot in 13:30 session but due to the M40 managed to miss this because of an accident that closed it for while. Thanks to a bit of luck and Cass we managed to squeeze onto the later 18:30 session (fun because I did not bring a coat expecting to be out by 17:00). As usual the "Outdoors Indoors" shoot was layed out in the Westcott hall with the prolific Christmas Trees sprouting from the concrete floor and laying their needle covered branches across the floor at least no mud or so I thought( I proved myself wrong on that one by shooting the plant pot). The shoot consisted of moving along a line with 10 shooting positions each with two targets and we were allowed one arrow at each target. These consisted of the traditional combination of long (well 20 yards) large animal 3Ds and the trickier short small 3Ds. My son and I started on target 1 the Saber Tooth Lion and the rising Gofer the classic long(ish) shot and the moving target. It was my lucky day I bag them both and then it was off to the Triceratops and the Mini Bear in his thong devilishly hidden so that he was only really visible from close up. It was essentially a shot in the dark a black target in the shadows not happy with this the Westcott boys (course layers) decided to hide the standing bear behind the fronds of a palm tree with the only real option to shoot through the said fronds. Missing the previous Stegosaurus is how I managed to cover my arrow in the soil from the Palm plant pot. The second shot on peg 4 was the Boar and it was a "Pig of a shot" hidden behind the volcano and the best part of a Christmas Tree. That and the fact the shooting position was behind another tree meant I missed the boar and heard a resounding crack as I hit the volcano. Next shot was the crock on the volcano (or turkey for the second round) easy I thought but no that big red volcano was like a magnet to my arrow and crack I hit it again. Moving on a couple of targets it was time for the caged lion, brought in from the cold, but like the classic Barn Door at 100 yards I could not hit a caged lion at 20 (although I killed it the second time around). Moving on past Rocky the Raccoon and the disappearing Wolf (see Shoot review July 2008) it was onto the flying pigs. Now this is always an entertaining shot, two arrows at the revolving pigs, and usually generates a loud thunk as the arrow hits the back wall so save your old ones for this shot. I must admit is you aim in the right place a miss results in a hit on the lion :-). Having missed the pig I moved onto the last targets before the tea break; a moving owl and leopard. These dutifully disposed of it was time for tea and donuts and a quick comfort break. After the half hour rest whilst the Westcott course layers moved some of the targets it was back to shooting the bouncing Gofer. The tea break had obviously been what I needed because I was much more successful second time around and the extra donut my son managed had a similar effect (brightening his mood in general). The shot of the day was made by our 3rd shooting partner. My son had managed to bag himself a 10 but his arrow was dangling from the target. Being the "Nice" farther I am (will that's my story and I'm sticking to it) I completely missed the kill on the small wolf but out shooting partner was not quite as generous deciding a 10 is what he needed and one close to the existing arrow. The net result is pictured to the right, it's all part of the fun and gave my son another reason why we should make him some more arrows. I'm only surprised he did not suggest it as a reason for a new bow. All in all it was a great afternoon / evening shooting and if you have never shot "Outdoors Indoors" then book now for next years Westcott indoor shoot they promise it will be more entertaining and devious than this years. Read more!