With the weather forecast saying that we would have a generally sunny day and temperatures in the 20s it was going to be warm again and given the predication for the valley section to be hot and sticky, especially as I entering it mid afternoon, plenty of fluids were required. After a quick cup of tea and a target change it was off to target 5 to meet up with my fellow archers, for the day, and await the car horn to start.
Today I would be shooting with Carl, Bob and his wife Carmel and we would be staring the shoot with the large Mandrill. So with the sound of the horn is was time to start the day and two quick arrows nailed the Mandrill and we were off to the second target a Bobcat before moving quickly on to a Black Panther (I think as I can't quite tell from the photo) and then one of the most entertaining shots of the day a Skunk. Now I've shot 3D Skunks many times before but not one positioned this way with its bum facing the pegs. Now the key question was where is the kill on a Skunks bum and to be frank its exactly where you'd think and my second arrow found it "ooh ahh misses".After extracting the arrow it was time for the long(ish) Gorilla before moving onto the Coyote looking over its shoulder and then a Lions Head between a very narrow gap in the trees.
After the first arrow narrowly missed the tree on the left to hit the target for a 16 it was off to a 3D Raccoon and my first blank of the day. Their was no way I should have missed the Raccoon but with the classic under-over-under shooting I did. With the Raccoon behind me it was time to forget about that shot and see what I could do with the Black Panther that followed. No much as it turned out because it only provided me with an 8 and then it was on to the first Snake of the day. Now the thing with the snakes is that for a large target their are a lot of holes between the coils and this is usually where your arrow goes. So what looks like an excellent shot suddenly turns into a miss and the arrow is out the other side. Having put my first arrow through on of these holes I made sure I didn't with the second.The bright Orange Frog that followed was easier and provided a 16 before we moved onto another Snake and a 16. With the Snake out of the way it was off to the last target before tea a single arrow shot at a Small Pheasant and a blank. When you were stood on the peg the Pheasant was almost invisible behind the leaves of the tree so it was a case of take a guess and hope.
It was time for a quick cup of tea before we headed off into the field for a long shot at a small Bison. Unfortunately this was not a life size bison or a may have hit it but as it was I blanked completely, just like the rest of the group, oh we were having fun. The bison was followed by the first of the multi animal targets the classic Predator / Prey or Cheetah / Zebra shot. We were allowed one at the Cheetah and 3 normal arrows at the Zebra. A luck foot got me a 10 on the Zebra but the Cheetah was to quick.
It was then off into the small woods by the field, that was strangely clear of undergrowth this year, and a Hyena that was having similar luck to the Cheetah and provided me a 4. Next was a Tricky Python through the trees or if you legs would let you around to the right of the trees and a 16. With snake no longer suitable for boot it was off for a shot a a Tortoise and another luck leg shot. Following the Tortoise it was a slow walk to a Tiger, through the trees, and then onto the second multi animal shot the Wolf Pack. This year it was more spread out and from the Peg required plenty of position changes to take the shots. With a one arrow at each I managed a kill and 2 wounds netting me a nice 52 for the sheet.
With lunch over we were heading into the valley and this year they course had been changed and reversed so everything was going to be different, well almost, we started by shooting a small Fox and then onto a Leopard before yet another Snake with lots of holes. With the first in the post holing it up the second scored a wound and then it was off to the moving target. Now I can usually hit this but not today with 3 close misses it provided me with another blank.
Oh well back to the still life targets next with a 3D Bobcat and the then a downhill shot at a Vulture in the V of a tree. Now Fred had already warned me how hard the tree was and not to miss, because he broke hos arrows on this target Saturday, but with two in the tree one I simply had a 4 and an arrow with no pile. A single shot Rabbit was next and then it was to a small Climbing Bear through a lot of tree trunk before a Mountain Lion on a large branch.Next was the classic Jim's Elephant and Egret shot with one arrow at the Egret and three at the Elephant. This year the targets were in a different location but as usual I narrowly missed the Egret and his the Elephant although it was a lucky foot.
Having wander down to the Elephant to retrieve the arrows and see how lucky the shot was it was off back up the side of the Valley for another downhill at Giraffe that was very well hidden behind the overhanging branches of the tree it was stood next too. An uphill shot at an Owl followed and then a nice shot at a Capuchin Monkey before an evil shot at a Caterpillar hanging from a branch. Now this target is thin and bent but we only had a single arrow and the only score was a 20 unless of course you blank it. Having missed the caterpillar it was off to target 40 a Large Spider that cost me an arrow (i didn't need to shoot) but that's means one for Fred. Having shot the first I thought I'd put it under the target and so I shot the second that found an overhanging branch and snapped just below the fletchings whilst the third nicked its leg. On closer inspection the first was in the body and hence a kill.With only four targets to go it was a quick trip past the tea tent to check that the previous group had not taken a break and then back into the cool of the woods for small brown Turtle before a Fox looking over its shoulder and then a small Deer.
The final target of the day was an Anteater which had a large gap under its belly as I found out the hard way but at least I did not black it.
Well with an extremely enjoyable days shooting over all that remained was to hand in the cards and then pack up before heading home for a cold beer.
As usual Jim's is a fun shoot and the changes to the course definitely made it more entertaining and I'm looking forward to more of the same next year although slightly cooler weather would be better. Maybe next year I'll kill the Egret !
| Target | Target | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Me | John | Me | John | ||||
| 05 | Mandrill | 14 | - | 25 | Standing Bear | - | - |
| 06 | Bobcat | 16 | - | 26 | Fox | 16 | - |
| 07 | Black Panther | 10 | - | 27 | Leopard | 16 | - |
| 08 | Skunks Bum | 14 | - | 28 | Snake | 10 | - |
| 09 | Gorilla | 16 | - | 29 | Moving Target (Eagle & Rabbit) | - | - |
| 10 | Coyote | 16 | - | 30 | Bobcat | 16 | - |
| 11 | Lions Head | 16 | - | 31 | Vulture | 4 | - |
| 12 | Raccoon | - | - | 32 | Rabbit | - | - |
| 13 | Black Panther | 8 | - | 33 | Small Climbing Bear | 16 | - |
| 14 | Snake | 10 | - | 34 | Puma / Mountain Lion | 16 | - |
| 15 | Orange Frog | 16 | - | 35 | Elephant & Egret | 16 | - |
| 16 | Snake | 16 | - | 36 | Giraffe | 4 | - |
| 17 | Pheasant | - | - | 37 | Owl | 4 | - |
| 18 | Buffalo | - | - | 38 | Capuchin | 16 | - |
| 19 | Cheetah & Zebra | 10 | - | 39 | Caterpillar | - | - |
| 20 | Hyena | 4 | - | 40 | Spider | 20 | - |
| 21 | Snake | 16 | - | 01 | Turtle | 10 | - |
| 22 | Turtle (Tortoise) | 16 | - | 02 | Fox | 16 | - |
| 23 | Tiger | 16 | - | 03 | Small Deer | 20 | - |
| 24 | Wolf Pack | 52 | - | 04 | Anteater | 8 | - |
| 266 | 208 | ||||||
| Total | 474 | ||||||
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