Steve Allam, from Overton Black Arrows, has got back to shooting field archery at the Warren.
Steve Allam, from Overton Black Arrows, has got back to the Warren and is ready for the field archery season ahead.
The Warren is a special place for many field archers and Overton Black Arrows have been shooting there since 1970. Last year we had planned a celebration for our July competition involving a hog roast, live music and a fun clout shoot across the valley.
[caption id="attachment_26511" align="aligncenter" width="281"] The Warren[/caption]
Alas, this could not happen due to covid and won't happen this year either - however, 2022 will be the clubs 60th birthday, so we hope to celebrate then!
After the first lockdown in 2020, we held weekly training sessions at the Warren and hosted two Open competitions which made a lot of field archers very happy.
The January lockdown was a hard stop. We were in the midst of a new Winter Field League, held across the country with four other field clubs. We had 30 bosses out, with waterproof target faces, all left where they stood. Luckily, we had moved all the 3D targets off the course.
Normally after winter, we spend a bit of time repairing bosses, trimming, cutting, measuring, putting pegs out and setting up a short course for members and visitors alike. We eventually get around to doing some shooting.
Such was the pent-up desire for shooting, 3 April saw 11 club members turn up, slap on some target faces and start shooting as soon as they could.
It was cold and windy. But it was great!
With no distance markers and many unpegged targets we had great fun re-learning our ‘cheat systems'. Most of us only managing around 20 points below our normal scores for 12 targets.
Special mentions for Eric (82) out-shooting some with his longbow and Tony, a new club member who hadn't shot since his beginner's course, who suddenly found himself shooting 30m+ uphill in the woods!
Of the 16 target faces we had left out, maybe 3 or 4 were left in place. The sheep had knocked over 2 of the bosses, and our 60m downhill target is very much in need of repair. But these are jobs for another day.
Maurice, Peter & Gerald are already planning a course for the All British Championships, which is only seven weeks away!
All we need is a little bit more practice.
