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.
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.
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.
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