Excalibur Shoot Report 27th-28th August 2011

Having never shot at Excalibur previously I was looking forward to a good weekends shooting, especially since shooting with Mark and Scott at Fleet and the description of the targets Mark builds, and so after a long drive we finally arrived in Clacton. Excalibur have a small section of woodland but they use it well fitting 20 custom targets into the small area and generally making it one of the most fun shoots on the calendar.

Mark from Excalibur tends to custom build / modify the targets to the highest quality and as I said we were looking forward to an entertaining weekends shooting even though the weather had been atrocious and the weekend promised rain but after Avalon what's a bit of rain.

So having arrived and eaten the traditional bacon roll it was off the the starting target, 6, and meet our fellow archers and today we would be shooting with Steve, Steve - I never hit 24, Shaun and Stuart. Because of the size of the Excalibur woods we would be shooting 2 x 20 targets and the way they make this more interesting is to lay out 2 sets of pegs and you shoot one the first time around and the other the second. To speed up the process we split the group into 2 and 3 shot from the left and 3 from the right allowing double shooting which was to prove interesting on Sunday.

So with the start signal sounded we were off to shoot the first target of the day a Raccoon and with a 16 it was a good start and we were off. With most of the targets being walk backs they are quite close together and so it was only a short walk to the following Red Fox and then on to a single arrow at, one of, a pair of Penguins.

The penguins were followed by a very hard, not difficult, Monitor Lizard that just didn't want to release the arrows and we spent some time trying to extract them. Having finally removed the arrows it was a short walk before a long Bedded Deer and a number of Barnes Wallis shots from my fellow archers before a quick trip back to the tea tent and our first break of the day.

I decided to have a slice of Theresa's bread pudding and considering the amount of alcohol it contained would be a mistake. So having had a quick cuppa it was of to the multi target consisting of a Zebra, Giraffe and Wildebeest with a single arrow at each and my first blank of the day (an expensive blank missing out on a potential 72 points). But as I have already alluded I believe that it was the bread puddings fault or that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

So having retrieved my arrows it was off to the next target a Standing Deer through a narrow gap in the trees and then onto a Skunk and 24 not bad given the size of the target and its distance.

This was probably my best shot of the day with an arrow in the middle of the pro ring and so it was off to a long Standing Wolf before a Turkey shot and an Alligator or was it a Croc. Walking around the back of the alligator it was off to a very interesting shot at an Owl in the undergrowth. This was to prove a very costly shot on Sunday with a number of misses,  ricochets and the inevitable shattered arrows.

On Saturday the only reason we could see the target was a shaft of sunlight was falling on its white head. On Sunday we did not even have that luxury especially because it had been turned so its back was facing the pegs. A nice shot at a Walking Bear followed before a longer shot at a Panda and then it was out into the field for another long shot at a Rhino before it was back to the tea tent.

Following a quick Pork and Apple burger it was off to target 1 and a Kestrel on a spiders web before a Flamingo followed by a small Turkey and a Sitting Wolf. Our final shot, of the 20 targets, was a Prong Horn and a 24 for John.

Having shot the 20 targets from the left peg first time around it was time to switch to the right pegs and find out how different the the shots were. The course layers certainly did an excellent job setting the two sets of pegs because the the shots they provided were completely different and provided the experience of the 40 target shoot.

So having shot the 20 targets again it was off to the Colchester Feering Travelodge not the best experience but at least it cut down on the drive for Sunday.

So getting up bright and early Sunday it was off back to Excalibur for a Bacon and Sausage roll before the second day of 2 x 20 targets. Today we would be shooting with the Steve, Steve, Shaun and Stuart again so no introductions were necessary and the entertaining banter started immediately. Overnight the Excalibur guys had been out swapping targets and placing Marks Pièce de résistance the Peacock. Having chatted with Scott this was 3 weeks work and given the amount of detail seemed a shame to shoot but shoot it we did.

The course was essentially the same but the targets had all moved and some had become much tighter to the trees and the net result of this was 5 smashed arrows and this was a first given what my bamboo arrows have survived previously. Some of them were so badly damaged that the pieces were even to small for Fred.

Having had a brief chat with Harry Boyce at a target and then a tea break suggesting that I take my photos after I have shot, not a problem to me half of them are already, because some people may accuse me of cheating suggesting it had a range finder of I was identifying the kill. What a sad state of affairs it is that:

1. People would even consider cheating what's the point of winning if you cheat.
2. That it would help me a longbow archer knowing the distance (I shoot instinctive and knowing the distance would probably have a negative effect) and where the kill is.

If I want to know where the kill is on a target I let the Compound archers shoot first it gives me something to aim at.

Although I totally understand where Harry was coming from I just think it sad that it is even something we need to think about.

Anyway enough of my ranting this was an excellent two days at Excalibur and I will be putting it on my regular "Must Shoot" list to see what Mark has cooked up for the next shoot.

Skunks Bum

Spider

I made a comment before shooting this "Who would be the first to shoot through the web into the spider" and as Harry pointed out later that's exactly what I did.

Woodpecker

Saturday 27th August

Target				Target
		Me	John			Me	John
06	Raccoon	16	-	06	Raccoon	10	16
07	Red Fox	10	10	07	Red Fox	4	4
08	Penguins	20	24	08	Penguins	16	16
09	Monitor Lizard	10	-	09	Monitor Lizard	20	16
10	Bedded Deer	16	16	10	Bedded Deer	16	-
11	Zebra / Giraffe / Wildebeest	-	-	11	Zebra / Giraffe / Wildebeest	36	16
12	Standing Deer	16	-	12	Standing Deer	16	14
13	Skunk	24	16	13	Skunk	16	-
14	Wolf	16	10	14	Wolf	20	4
15	Turkey	4	16	15	Turkey	16	8
16	Alligator	10	-	16	Alligator	20	10
17	Owl	10	8	17	Owl	16	16
18	Walking Bear	16	10	18	Walking Bear	16	16
19	Panda	16	16	19	Panda	16	16
20	Rhino	10	16	20	Rhino	4	10
01	Kestrel	10	-	01	Kestrel	16	16
02	Flamingo	10	-	02	Flamingo	-	16
03	Turkey	-	10	03	Turkey	16	-
04	Sitting Wolf	20	20	04	Sitting Wolf	16	16
05	Prong Horn	16	24	05	Prong Horn	10	-
		250	196			300	210
				Total		550	406

Sunday 28th August

Target				Target
		Me	John			Me	John
06	Bobcat	10	10	06	Bobcat	16	24
07	Baboon	16	10	07	Baboon	10	10
08	Woodpeckers	-	-	08	Woodpeckers	16	-
09	Javelina	16	10	09	Javelina	24	16
10	Rhino	10	10	10	Rhino	16	-
11	Zebra / Giraffe / Wildebeest	40	16	11	Zebra / Giraffe / Wildebeest	32	16
12	Wolf	10	10	12	Wolf	16	8
13	Skunk	-	-	13	Skunk	16	-
14	Hyena	16	16	14	Hyena	10	-
15	Turkey	16	16	15	Turkey	16	4
16	Alligator	4	10	16	Alligator	4	4
17	Owl	4	8	17	Owl	-	10
18	Walking Bear	16	4	18	Walking Bear	10	4
19	Tiger	24	10	19	Tiger	10	-
20	Peacock	16	16	20	Peacock	16	16
01	Spider	10	4	01	Spider	-	-
02	Flamingo	16	16	02	Flamingo	14	16
03	Carp	16	10	03	Carp	20	-
04	Wild Boar	16	20	04	Wild Boar	20	4
05	Wild Boar	16	-	05	Wild Boar	16	20
		272	196			282	152
				Total		554	348