TAC 3D Pro Shoot

Last weekend I attended an unmarked 3D shoot put on by The Archery Company. This was my first unmarked 3D shoot, and what a baptism of fire!

Several misses, shooting the wrong targets and smashed arrows meant I ended up in a lowly 21st position (don't know the total number of compounder's, but its not much more then 21!). I knew this would be hard but not that hard.

However, I enjoyed the day and was pleased with my execution. As somebody said on the day, shooting 3D is much like shooting blank boss; no spot to aim at so the focus is on good execution.

But, its something I would like to do more of, as it will really hone my unmarked skills.

2012 Surrey Field Champs...and a nice surprise!

I had man flu, the weather was icy cold and windy at times, but I shot well and won the Surrey Field Champs (National Animal Round), with a respectable score of 615/640.

The points I dropped were on the simplest of targets, three wounds on one easy target alone. Strange, but overall very pleased. The Supra and my 305gn Carbon Ones did the business.

I found that estimating distance is easier if I try and find a halfway point and then ground walk up to the halfway point, double it and add a few metres for luck! The bow is pushing the arrows out at 293fps so there is plenty of speed to handle any small errors.

I also had a nice surprise in the form of a certificate from the EFAA saying that I had equalled the national record for the EFAA Marked Big Game round as the EFAA 3D Champs (max score of 560/560).

P.S. I shot a 30m Frostbite round a few weeks ago, my first "target" round for well over a year. Put in a 356, quite pleased with that considering!

Sussex Champs and EFAA 3D National Champs

I shot an unmarked FITA Field PB by one point at the Sussex Champs (374). Was fairly pleased with my days shooting, I had a strong second half. However, again, I got the face size wrong (60/80cm) and also set the wrong sight mark on one target. I need to be more professional if I am going to succeed at FITA field.

Next up was the EFAA National 3D Champs. I saw this as a bit of fun, which helped, because I came top of the AMUL category. I am a national champion for the first time ever! The first day score was pretty decent, with a 532 for the 3D Precision round. The next day, I maxed out the Big Game round (as did the whole top group). The Supra and the Protours shot amazingly well over the two days.

I must admit I am getting excited about 3D archery. This was all marked, but it was still a real challenge, especially when it came to aiming and working out where the scoring zones are. It's something I intend to do more of. The ultimate will be unmarked 3D, but one step at a time...

Here are some pictures of me shooting and collecting my medal. Thanks to Gary, Tony and Martin for being great group companions over the two days (and well done to Tony and Martin on their placings as well). Photos by Matthew Murdoch.

EFAA National Champs...and a decent result

I attended my first EFAA Competition on the weekend of the 8th/9th of September at March Hare Archers in Worcester.

The first day I shot a good PB on the Hunter round of 536, which put me in third place and seeded me in the top group for the second day.

The second day (Field round) started well; my first half of 269 was strong, but I faded a little in the second half and had some odd targets with windage issues, and overall ground out an OK score of 530.

Overall this was good enough for 3rd place, and not too far off the 2nd and 1st placed archers (who have some pedigree), so I came away pleased, but a load of things to work on and improve if I am to bridge the gap to the next level.

In a few weeks I have a FITA Field shoot at Crawley, and EFAA 3D round and a GNAS Foresters. Ideal prep for the Surrey Field Champs in November.

Then I need to sit down and work out a plan of action for next year. As EFAC is no longer an option, the Welsh Field Masters Tour (WFAA) is probably my main focus for next year, along with the various EFAA national championship shoots.

EFAC is off!

Been totting up the cost of going to the EFAC comp in Hungary next year. Its was getting expensive with the need to buy decent cases for the bow and equipment to fly it over.

Alas, I have had to knock it on the head. Shame because I would have love to have shot it.

So, my plans for next year have changed. I want to pursue IFAA shooting but on harder courses. So I will take a look at the Welsh Field Master tour, which is held over 5 one days shoots through the year, to see if that offers the level of challenge I am looking for. Then of course, there are the  FITA Field comps that also offer plenty of slopes.

EFAC 2013

Well I have taken the plunge and registered for the EFAC IFAA Champs held in Hungary next year. It's a five day event comprising of 2 x Field rounds, 2 x Hunter round and 1 Forester round.

This is a chance to shoot alongside the very best IFAA shooters in Europe, on what looks like a challenging course in a mountainous region on the northern Hungarian/Austrian border.

Oh, and it happens to be the Q-School for the 2014 Pro Series! My chances are going to be very slim at best, but I will give it my best shot (pun intended!). With all this in mind, I need to use my time intelligently and come up with a plan for the next 10 months that gives me the best chance of doing well.

Progress so far...and what of the future?

Well its been a while since my last post. As I have said before, I have cut down my blogging and general archery related forum activity to focus on actually shooting.

Since my first forays into field, I have done a few more FITA field comps and have joined the EFAA.

Firstly, the FITA field comps have been mixed. The SCAS individual champs started OK on the first day, but a miss (shot the wrong bunny!) meant I missed out on a PB. Then on the second day I made the fatal mistake of switching to the hinge release. Less said about that score the better!

Last week I attended the SCAS Regional Field Champs at Fort Purbrook. A fantasic venue; shooting of the fort, in the tunnels and corridoors. Conditions were tough; windy outside and dark and gloomy inside. But this is what field is all about for me. The scores were not great, but I did enough to help Surrey win the SCAS compound team champs (along with Dave Morris of Nonsuch Bowmen).

Some lessons have come out of this. Some euqipment releated (specifically drawlength on my new bow), but also my field craft on the unmarked is still under par, but that will come with time and experience.

Finally, I joined the EFAA this year and have attended three shoots, two of those classification shoots. Being an avid watcher and follower of the Pro Archery Series, I wanted to shoot the same rounds and get a small taste of it. In my first two classification shoots I have gained the higest classification possible, Supreme Field Master. I have also done my first 3D shoot, which was fantastic fun.

The discovery of the different field disciplines has reinforced my desire to pursue field archery long term. I have booked into the EFAA National Champs and EFAA 3D Champs, and I will look forward to those. After that is the Surrey Field Champs, which I will be working hard to do well in this year.

First FITA Field shoots...a good start

Since my last post I have shot my first FITA Field shoots, at Pentref and Overton (British Field Champs). Both were difficult courses, with very tough but contrasting weather. Pentref was very wet and windy, whilst Overton was very windy but stinking hot.

Whilst with field its about shooting the course, not the score like target, I am pleased that I have not disgraced myself. The unmarked at Pentref was 373 (day 2 was cut short due to weather, then even more so due to equipment failure), and at Overton, I shot 353 (unmarked - VERY windy on the top ridge) and 373 again for the marked (VERY hot). The two 373's are just a shade under MB; for two hard courses that's a good start.

Both shoots, especially at Overton, I made classic field craft errors which cost me a lot of points, which will get ironed out as I gain experience. The marked score at the British Champs was especially pleasing, as taking into account just the second day scores I would have been in third place, ahead of one or two established international field archers. Despite the blistering heat and challenging slopes I shot some really strong stuff. Overall I finished 8th out of 30 gents compounder's.

Next up are the Northampton Field Champs, a seemingly flat course so a chance to improve on my current scores, but nothing is easy!

Will I go back to target? Not at this rate...enjoying this FAR too much!

Friars Gate Archers 2012 Spring Field Shoot

Shot a PB of 915 for this round, and came in in first place. Shot well and handled the distance estimate well other than a couple of targets that fooled me, but that's down to experience and will be sorted.

I really enjoyed the shoot, and am looking forward to field this year. I am joining Crawley Archery Club to make use of their FITA field course to prep for the up and coming field comps I have booked.

All change please...all change!

In the last few weeks I have decided to move forward my field archery adventure to this year. It all came about a few weeks ago when I was practising target but all I could think about was field, and looking forward to next year. To me it did not make sense to spend a year shooting target but not being 100% committed to it.

So, all my target shoots have been cancelled and I am now looking at which field shoots I can attend this year. Some serious distance estimate practice is now needed.

And to top it all, a new bow is on the way. A PSE Supra ME, black riser and camo limbs. Mmmm!

One month until it all starts again!

So, I have exactly one month until the outdoor season starts again. I am at the Meriden Pre-Season FITA Star on the 1st of April. Hopefully I will be no April fool!

I have set aside the next month to get into the groove of shooting timed FITA distances. I wanted to do this a little sooner but I have been attending some Winter Field League shoots so target has taken a bit of a back seat.

Whilst on the subject of field archery, as things stand at the moment I am intending to have a break from target archery next season and focus fully on field archery. The time has come to take a break from the yearly grind and do something different. I will still practice 90m weekly where possible to stay in tune with the big distances, but I do believe if I am to achieve my dream of GMB (if I don't do it this year), then I need to do something different and freshen myself up.

But this year is all about going for GMB, so I have booked up plenty of comps to give my self a decent chance. If I don't do it, I am not going to sweat it. I am proud of my achievements over the past two years and I am sure I will have a good season again this year.

Bow tuning update

I have been reading and watching some articles about nocking point height, d-loop length, peep height etc, by Alistair Whittingham and John Dudley.

One of the things I suffer from is holding low on the target, and the sight bobbing up and down, which invariable causes me to fight it, and hence introduces tension into the shot. Up until now, I have put this down to me alone. I have even thought it could be a mild form of target panic.

So I read and acted upon a couple of things. First, I am happy that my draw length is OK, so that has remained untouched. But I have played with the peep sight height, nocking point height and d-loop length.

The peep sight height was easy. I moved it down just a mm or so to get a more comfortable view of the scope, especially at the longer distances. In fact all distances feel a little more comfortable.

Next was the d-loop length. This has been shortened by maybe 2 to 3mm. The suggestion was, making the d-loop shorter (if your DL looks OK), would help lock in the drawing arm at anchor. My d-loop was a little long and it caused the arm to floating around a bit, and most likely causing small movements that meant the bow bobbed up and down.

The final and probably most compelling change is the nocking point height, or position, on the string. This is in effect good old fashioned tiller tuning, but instead of leaving an uneven tiller (I shoot a single cam bow, so the tiller is uneven anyway, so in this case, it would mean the limb bolts simply being unwound a different number of turns), the position of the nock point is moved up and down until the aim steadies. As it turns out, my nocking point was about 3mm too high, and after some experimentation, the aim has locked into place. This has also meant the pressure on the bow hand has changed, moving it lower towards the wrist joint, so the pressure of the bow is directly over the bone. Before, it was a little high in the grip. All of these changes together have had a remarkable affect.

For the first time in a long time my aim (when the form is correct) is much steadier, where as before I seemed to always be fighting it. I have only moved things by a couple of mm, but it has been worth the effort.

The video/article in question can be found @ Performance-Archery.tv | Episode 24 | Dot Holding Low and Tiller tuning and holding steady

Yet another year gone and another to look forward to...

So 2011 is over. It has been my best year yet outdoors, making MB for the second time and edging closer to GMB. However I am mindful that my biggest failing is not my technique or equipment, but falling short in the mental application department. Don't get me wrong, I have had a very good year, but I want more, and want to be better, and this is the area I have to now improve.

This year I embark on another trail of competitions, trying to get to GMB. This year I have to do things differently, change something, otherwise it becomes yet another year of going through the motions.

What's been going on lately? Well I have been shooting outdoors almost every week, shooting the big distances, and getting stuck into some Field by shooting in the Winter Field Archery League. This has been a welcome distraction, but at the same time it has been very useful. I have now started shooting timed rounds at the club in preparation for competitions that will start in April. It gets too easy banging in the big scores at the club with no pressure.

Indoors has once again been difficult. I do shoot every week indoors, but I have struggled to muster any enthusiasm for indoor rounds. I have a dedicated indoor bow, that I am still to get set-up properly. I tend to just practice form and technique @ 18m instead. Not a bad thing, but I wish I could be better indoors and learn to like it. That gap has been filled with the Field shoots however, so that is likely to be the direction I take in future years in the winter.

In the last three months or so I have been working on my physical strength, and have been doing weights most days. This has helped with aiming and will no doubt be worth points in the coming season. I will see if I can fit in some running as well to improve my general fitness for the outdoor season.