Hitting the Mark

After a gap of at least 12 years, I finally made it back to the archery range this weekend and it really wasn’t a disappointment!

I was, in truth, nervous on Saturday when I arrived at the club. I kind of hoped that there would only be a few people there so I could ease myself back into the sport with minimal fuss . . . Not a bit of it, the place was packed with probably 30 – 40 people of all ages. OK, so no easing myself in then!

After introducing myself to the club owners (who were lovely and couldn’t have been more welcoming), I showed my bow, proved that I knew what to do with it, and was ready to shoot. I’d earmarked a nice 10m target that the juniors were shooting on but unfortunately Brian, the club co-owner had a different idea! A 25m target with a 60cm face – well this should be interesting (especially without my glasses!). So, I gave it a go. Aim, draw, loose! Incredibly, I hit the boss – I even hit the target – I was thrilled. It felt like starting the sport all over again – the buzz of getting somewhere near where I was aiming was huge. Amazingly satisfying.

Of course, over the next couple of hours, not all of my shots were great – some were completely pants in fact, but given that I hadn’t shot for 12 years, I was happy enough with hitting the boss.

My one concern for the day was that over the past 12 years, the muscles I use for archery have dwindled away (clearly!) and I now feel that my old bow is too heavy for me. So, now I’m in a quandary. I don’t want to spend a load of money on a new bow (they’re not cheap!), but equally, being ‘over-bowed’ is not good for an archer (especially beginners – which I kind of class myself as, as I’m returning and my ‘archery muscles’ are undeveloped). So, what should I do? I don’t want to struggle with my current bow so that I can’t form the right shooting patterns again, but I don’t want to find that I get a new lighter bow and then in a few months once I have my rhythm & strength back need my old bow again. So what to do?

I desperately need advice on this one so might have to make a few posts on archery forums to get a few opinions. I really fancy a new bow (simply because I love gadgets) but is it really necessary? I actually really like my old bow, a lovely KG1 with a green metallic riser and to be honest, although it’s now well out of date, it still does a great job. I just don’t know if you can ‘grow into’ a draw weight on a bow. I don’t want to keep struggling on with it and find that I can’t shoot as well as I used to because I can’t handle the weight. I’d rather sell it and use something I’m more comfortable with. So we’ll see. I have a couple of weeks to make up my mind as there’s no archery this weekend. Lots of poring over Archer websites in the meantime no doubt . . .

A Welcome Return

This weekend I’m making another positive step in attempting to improve my life and hopefully my health. It has been over 12 years since I’ve done any field archery but this weekend will (I hope) be the first of its resurgence in my life.

Due to one thing and another, my health over the past six years has not been the best and that reason above all others has been a driving factor in me addressing what is really important in my life. There are so many things that I have put on hold to make way for (primarily) work and of course, family. However, as I get older, I realise that there should be a balance, and prioritising myself and my own health and welfare need to be in there somewhere too. So, archery is making a welcome return, initially to my life, but hopefully soon to my wife’s and when they’re old enough, my kids’ too. Archery is a great sport that the whole family can take part in.

I first started Archery in the early 1990s when I was at University. One weekend when Annie was at her local leisure centre doing a fitness class, I noticed a poster for an archery beginners’ course. I’d always been interested in archery and had fancied a go, so I decided that this was the thing for me. So, over the next 6 weeks or so, I became completely hooked on the sport. I also read up and decided that standing on a shooting line was not really for me. Fortunately, one of my very dear friends and his family already shot longbow so I knew about an alternative form of the sport, field archery. This, with my love of the countryside and wildlife (although the irony that you are shooting at targets shaped like, or depicting fluffy creatures is not lost on me!) seemed like an ideal fusion.

So, during one of my uni breaks, I approached Silvertree Field Archers in Lincoln (a club that I think is sadly not still going). They were immediately welcoming and friendly and I settled there really quickly.
I mentioned before that archery is a family sport and to prove this, within a few weeks of joining Silvertree, my dad, Annie and my father in law and my best friend had all become involved in the archery community as well. From this point, I really became immersed in the sport, spending as much time as I could practicing and reading about it. Within a few months, I wanted to take part in organised shoots and made the plunge at Charnwood Archers in Leicestershire. I can’t really remember how I did at the shoot (not very well I’m sure) but I loved the experience!

Field Archery can be done by more or less anyone. It is more difficult for young kids (because of the strain of drawing the bows) and disabled archers (who may find the terrain difficult), but generally, anyone can take part.
There are three commonly used types (styles) of bow; Recurve, Compund and Traditional (including English Longbow and Flat Bow). All of these can be used with varying degrees of gadgetry and add ons according to the governing body’s class system, from the self explanatory ‘barebow’ class to the ultra technical ‘unlimited’ class.

There are also various ‘rounds’ you can shoot as a field archer; Field, Hunter, Animal and 3D. The first two are shot at circular targets (like target archery but in woods) and the second two are at representations of animals to closely mirror bowhunting. Many field archers prefer the latter two because of the (often) challenging placement of targets and the varying location of the ‘bullseye’ (a term never used in archery!!) on each target. The latter two definitely offer the greatest challenge and are also great fun.

Basically, I can’t wait for this weekend. Archery is a fantastic sport and something I can’t wait to get back to.

Links: NFAS
EFAA