Wellington Bowmen Shoot Report 26th June 2011

Having spotted a flyer for the first Wellington Bowhunters shoot that would take place around the corner it was an opportunity I was not going to miss a local shoot that would take me no more than 15 minutes to get to (not that I mind driving). The weather forecasters had promised a mini heatwave for Sunday and sure enough the day started with glorious sunshine little did I anticipate how hot it was going to get later in the day.

The Course was going to be the traditional 36 targets over undulating woodland that had plenty of branches and logs scattered across the ground (they had been logging recently) which made the going tough and finding arrows interesting. In addition the woodland provided a marshy area that the course layers had taken advantage of and this was definitely not an area where you wanted to miss the target because it was more that likely that you would never see the arrow again as it buried itself in the smelly mud around the target. At the end of the day I heard more than a few metal arrow archers complaining about lost arrows in this section but from my point of view it was fun if a bit smelly and wet.


Well today I would be shooting a new set of arrows having bought some shafts at the 3Ds I was only able to buy cedar at my spine weight so I thought I'd give them a go today having, only, completed them on Saturday. So with John not feeling up to it (to hot) I was on my own and after standard safety briefing etc it was off to target 14 to meet up with my shooting partners for the day Ken, Derek and Vanessa. We were going to be a completely wooden arrow group with two longbows and to AFBs. Ken (longbow) was going to be shooting some of the Tonkin Bamboo arrows which I had been considering since spotting the advert in the NFAS Newsletter and after seeing the way they performed I ordered some when I returned home.

With a single blast of the horn it was time to start shooting and we had decided that we would shoot in the order of the scoring cards. This was rather interesting because it meant that I always shot first well at least I got it over with quickly. As I have mentioned it was a glorious day and not a cloud in the sky. The result of this was some very distinct bright and dark patches within the trees and fortunately our first target (14) was a Standing Deer in one of the brighter patches. Requiring 3 arrows it was not a good start but I was the first time I had shot the Cedar arrows and I don't think they are spined quite as well as my pine shafts. Moving on quickly it was time for a single arrow shot at a sitting Rabbit and although I hit the 3D it was in the green base so not points for me.

Next was a Large Bedded Stag and a quick 16 put me back on track but then it was a complete miss at the next Standing Deer. What a day I was having so far you could say it was "Hit and Miss". Although I blanked it mine was not quite as spectacular as Ken who hit the Antler and spun them around.

With the Deer out of the way it was time for a small Bedded Deer and then quickly on to another Standing Deer before a nice open shot at a Reindeer. With out quick foray into the open complete it was back into the woods and a Duck before moving onto another Standing Deer an then a Tiger our penultimate before lunch. The only thing between me and lunch was a multiple target consisting of a Fox and 2 Rabbits with a single arrow at each. With a maximum of 72 available I managed two wounds and hence a 32.

So it was time for a quick lunch break of Peanut Butter Sandwiches that had been in the back of the car all morning and a slightly warm banana. 

With lunch out of the way it was a short walk to the next set of targets and a Walking Bear. With the Bear out of the way it was time to take a shot at a very deceptive Standing Stag that was slightly downhill with plenty of dead ground between the pegs and the target. I still managed a first arrow wound and then it was off towards the marshy area and a Bobcat that had a lot of tree debris around it. With the Bobcat only providing a 10 it was to shoot a Javelina with some very soft and marshy ground behind it not a target you wanted to miss. The next target was another Standing Deer before we moved onto a Boar and a blank.

It was time I started getting my act together and hitting a few of these targets and hence the Goat that followed provided me with a 16 before a Standing Deer and another 16. This was quickly followed by another Standing Deer and a Rising Boar and then onto another of those Multiple targets. This time it was 3 Standing Deer with a single arrow at each.

A quick 48 was good for the score sheet although the 2 Pigs that followed cost me a few points as I blanked them but then it was back the the break area for a drink.

Having refreshed ourselves it was back into the woods to target 1 and a Mountain Lion before another Standing Deer in some soft ground that ate arrows. The next target was worse for this because it was a Tortoise in the middle of a boggy area where a number of the metal arrow archers simply lost their arrows as they disappeared under the moss.

With the wet area out of the way it was time for another multiple target shot at a Crocodile and 2 Carp which proved me with a useful 52 before another Standing Deer and a Turkey.

What followed was probably the best target of the day a very long Standing Moose.

From the pegs this looked small and not knowing the actual size of the target, although we could guess from the previous group as they pulled their arrows, looked like a medium distance shot across the open ground of road. This was not the case it was a very long shot. Although I guessed as much and actually had the first arrow at the perfect height for the kill I pulled left (or maybe it was the spine of the arrows) and missed. The second was not much better because I now had the left-right fixed but went over the back but finally the 3rd hit the mark. When we walked up to retrieve the arrows we found out how big the target was standing close to 2m at the shoulder it was like missing a Barn Door at 100 yds.

With the moose out of the way it was back to the smaller targets with a Jackalope and then on to a Honey Badger before another multi target shot. Again this was a Pair of Standing Deer with one shot at each and just like the pigs I blanked them both which was not good dropping that many points. As you can see below Ken again managed to hit the antlers but completely removed them from the head of the Deer this time. With his Bamboo arrow through the horn he managed loose the pile from the arrow trying to extract it.

With only 3 targets to go I was looking forward to the end of the shoot and a Ice Cold beer because by this time we were all suffering from the "Mini Heatwave" and after 3 Litres of water I was running low.

A large White Mountain Goat across some open ground followed and once out of the way it was time for a single arrow shot at a Turkey and my one and only 20 of the day. The final target of the day was a downhill Goat that we watched member of the group in front hit ricochetting of branches and road but a hit is a hit. Having shot the final target all we had to do was return it to the road, not bad as it was right next to it, and then a short walk back to the car park and the quick trip home for a cold shower and an even colder beer.

After and excellent days shoot in glorious weather I am looking forward the next shoot that Wellington will be doing. Although their is not club here at the moment hopefully they will be able to set on up and I'll be able to shoot more often. So all I can really say was it was a great day with some excellent shoot partners on a good course.

Target				Target
		Me	John			Me	John
14	Standing Deer	8	-	34	Rising Boar	16	-
15	Rabbit	-	-	35	3 Standing Deer	48	-
16	Large Bedded Stag	16	-	36	2 Little Pigs	-	-
17	Standing Deer	-	-	01	Mountain Lion	16	-
18	Bedded Deer	4	-	02	Standing Deer	-	-
19	Standing Deer	10	-	03	Tortoise	16	-
20	Reindeer	16	-	04	Crocodile and 2 Carp	52	-
21	Duck	16	-	05	Standing Deer	10	-
22	Standing Deer	10	-	06	Turkey	16	-
23	Tiger	4	-	07	Giant Moose	4	-
24	Fox and 2 Rabbits	32	-	08	Jackalope	-	-
25	Standing Bear	-	-	09	Honey Badger	8	-
26	Large Standing Stag	16	-	10	2 Standing Deer	-	-
27	Bobcat	10	-	11	Large Mountain Goat	4	-
28	Javelina	16	-	12	Turkey	20	-
29	Standing Deer	16	-	13	Goat	10	-
30	Boar	-	-				-
31	Goat	16	-				-
32	Standing Deer	16	-				-
33	Standing Deer	16	-				-
		222				220
				Total		442