Just when I thought is was all getting a bit samey, I managed to shoot for new rounds for the first time in the space of a fortnight, ranging from an 18m indoor round to an 80yd outdoor round.
The first new round was a FITA 18, which we shot at our club's temporary indoor venue. Whilst 18m is the shortest distance I have shot indoors, it comes with the additional challenge of having a 40cm face , rather than the 60m face used on Portsmouth rounds at 20yds. Being a new distance for me, I had no sight marks, but just made an estimate from previous 20yd figures. At 10 dozen, the round is the same length as a Portsmouth, but expected scores for a specific handicap are much lower for a FITA 18 than for a Portsmouth. I am still trying to work on my technique and concentrating on using my back muscles and sometimes this goes horribly wrong, but I was pleased with my score of 402, giving a handicap figure of 52 - my best yet and much lower than my current indoor running handicap.
The following week was another indoor FITA, this time a FITA 25. As the name suggests, this is shot from 25m but, unlike the FITA 18, at a 60cm face. The expected scores for a specific handicap are much lower than for a Portsmouth, but slightly higher than a FITA 18. (I don't envy those folk who have to calculate these handicap figures!). My score this time was 382 (55 h/cap) so not as good as the FITA 18, but still my third Class E score.
The following weekend we were back outdoors. The weather was overcast, but totally windless, so I made the brave decision to have my first attempt a Long National at 80yds. If you have read my previous post on my adventures at 70m, you will know that it was not altogether successful! However, I did remember that I had adjusted my sight for the shorter indoor distances, so I moved it back to allow for the longer distance. The first two or three sighters fell well short, even when my sight was set so low that the sight pin risked fouling the arrow on release, so I decided to aim higher than the gold and managed to get some arrows on the boss. I eventually found that aiming at the fabric of the flag above the boss gave me a fairly consistent hit rate, but I found myself still aiming at the gold from time to time.
After the four dozen at 80yds, the two dozen at 60yds seemed relatively easy and I ended up with a score bang on my running handicap, which pleased me no end. What does puzzle me is that on subsequent rounds starting at 60yds, it seemed an awful lot harder than coming down from 80yds to 60yds. I guess it is that old chestnut of archery being all in the mind!
Monday 14 October 2013
Tuesday 24 September 2013
All Change
After an August of holidays, reduced archery and worsening scores, I decided it was high time I got my technique sorted out. Mrs EA has noticed on many occasions that I tend to shake at full draw which, of course, is not a Good Thing. What I needed was some proper coaching, and the ideal opportunity arose a couple of weekends ago, when my daughter (older than my son, so hereinafter referred to as EA Jnr Snr) had the second of her three sessions of an intensive beginner's course. Andy was there because Beatriz was leading the course, and also there was DS, whose daughter was also on the course.
David was keen to do a walk-back test and I joined-in with Andy assessing my draw technique (as well as doing the walk-back test myself). The weather was wet so drawing around arrow groups on wet paper faces with a Sharpie posed a challenge, but we found that coloured chalk works well in this situation. Andy explained that the test gives a good indication of any adjustment needed to the position and tension (springiness) of the pressure button; the shape of the line drawn through the position of arrow grouping shot from increasing distance indicating the adjustments needed.
Andy started looking at my drawing technique and suggested I try changing a few things:
1. Position my front foot slightly ahead of my back foot to give a little stabilizing stiffness in the torso when at full draw;
2. Straighten my bow arm - it was slightly crooked;
3. Use my shoulder as a unit to draw, rather than just rotating from the shoulder joint;
4. Move my drawing hand past my face at cheek level instead of below the chin, and than come down to the anchor point, moving the right shoulder blade in and down;
5. Move the clicker in towards the riser to allow for longer draw using the above;
That's a lot to change in one session, but I persevered and tried to remember each of the points for every shot - and sometimes succeeded. Dave was also practicing at the field that day and also offered some advice. The first was to prepare for the shot with a couple of Zen breaths before setting up for the shot. I had read about this before, but Dave's explanation made it clear and it did seem to have a positive effect. Secondly he looked at my bow hand and suggested a small change to the way it was positioned on the riser. It is not much different to what I had been taught on the beginner's course all those months ago, but I had developed a bad habit since.
As well as assessing my technique, Andy was also looking at the results of the walk back test, and we learned that the position of my button was fine, but that it could do with being a little firmer, so I put an extra half-turn into the adjustment. We also looked at why my arrows were not flying straight, especially at longer distances and, after checking with a bow square, Andy suggested that the nocking point was too low, so we decided to move it. However, in cutting-off the dental floss, Andy managed to nick the serving, so he did a splendid job of re-serving the string before applying a couple of temporary nocking points. At this time, the beginners had finished, so I had to leave to take EA Jnr Snr home and have some lunch before returning with Mrs EA.
Back at the field in the afternoon I de-fletched a couple of arrows ready to do a bare shaft test with Andy. This test gives information that helps in adjusting the nocking point to the right position, and demands shooting a few fletched arrows and one or two unfletched arrows. The relative positions of the fletched and bare shafts give an indication of whether the nocking point is too low or too high.
After a few iterations of changing positions, we reached a nocking point position that was giving satisfactory results, so the nocking points were made permanent by the application of superglue. During these iterations, we managed to get a nocking point so badly wrong that one of the bare shafts went too high,hit the target frame and rose 20m vertically up in the air before falling (thankfully) further down the range. The result of this was one very bent arrow, which was used by Andy to instruct me in the use of the straightening jig.
Since that day I have shot two indoor (Portsmouth) rounds and two outdoor rounds, and I have been trying my best to put into practice what we covered. During the latest outdoor session I had one of those 'light bulb' moments, where I actually understood what Andy had been talking about and felt that I was in control and doing something right. My scores seem to bear this out, too, having shot below (outdoor) handicap for the first time in almost two months. I still shake a bit, but I feel far better about the way I am shooting.
David was keen to do a walk-back test and I joined-in with Andy assessing my draw technique (as well as doing the walk-back test myself). The weather was wet so drawing around arrow groups on wet paper faces with a Sharpie posed a challenge, but we found that coloured chalk works well in this situation. Andy explained that the test gives a good indication of any adjustment needed to the position and tension (springiness) of the pressure button; the shape of the line drawn through the position of arrow grouping shot from increasing distance indicating the adjustments needed.
Andy started looking at my drawing technique and suggested I try changing a few things:
1. Position my front foot slightly ahead of my back foot to give a little stabilizing stiffness in the torso when at full draw;
2. Straighten my bow arm - it was slightly crooked;
3. Use my shoulder as a unit to draw, rather than just rotating from the shoulder joint;
4. Move my drawing hand past my face at cheek level instead of below the chin, and than come down to the anchor point, moving the right shoulder blade in and down;
5. Move the clicker in towards the riser to allow for longer draw using the above;
That's a lot to change in one session, but I persevered and tried to remember each of the points for every shot - and sometimes succeeded. Dave was also practicing at the field that day and also offered some advice. The first was to prepare for the shot with a couple of Zen breaths before setting up for the shot. I had read about this before, but Dave's explanation made it clear and it did seem to have a positive effect. Secondly he looked at my bow hand and suggested a small change to the way it was positioned on the riser. It is not much different to what I had been taught on the beginner's course all those months ago, but I had developed a bad habit since.
As well as assessing my technique, Andy was also looking at the results of the walk back test, and we learned that the position of my button was fine, but that it could do with being a little firmer, so I put an extra half-turn into the adjustment. We also looked at why my arrows were not flying straight, especially at longer distances and, after checking with a bow square, Andy suggested that the nocking point was too low, so we decided to move it. However, in cutting-off the dental floss, Andy managed to nick the serving, so he did a splendid job of re-serving the string before applying a couple of temporary nocking points. At this time, the beginners had finished, so I had to leave to take EA Jnr Snr home and have some lunch before returning with Mrs EA.
Back at the field in the afternoon I de-fletched a couple of arrows ready to do a bare shaft test with Andy. This test gives information that helps in adjusting the nocking point to the right position, and demands shooting a few fletched arrows and one or two unfletched arrows. The relative positions of the fletched and bare shafts give an indication of whether the nocking point is too low or too high.
After a few iterations of changing positions, we reached a nocking point position that was giving satisfactory results, so the nocking points were made permanent by the application of superglue. During these iterations, we managed to get a nocking point so badly wrong that one of the bare shafts went too high,hit the target frame and rose 20m vertically up in the air before falling (thankfully) further down the range. The result of this was one very bent arrow, which was used by Andy to instruct me in the use of the straightening jig.
Since that day I have shot two indoor (Portsmouth) rounds and two outdoor rounds, and I have been trying my best to put into practice what we covered. During the latest outdoor session I had one of those 'light bulb' moments, where I actually understood what Andy had been talking about and felt that I was in control and doing something right. My scores seem to bear this out, too, having shot below (outdoor) handicap for the first time in almost two months. I still shake a bit, but I feel far better about the way I am shooting.
Monday 22 July 2013
Surrey Archery Weekend 2013
The weekend of July 13 & 14 saw Surrey Archery Weekend, a two-day event held at Kingston University sports ground in Tolworth, and only half a mile from where we live. This was the first World Record Status event I had attented and certainly the largest. Although there was Double FITA Star over two days, there were a number of single-day rounds with English Archery Federation Championships on Saturday and the Surrey County Championships on Sunday. Both Mrs EA and EA jnr entered the Surrey Champs but, sadly, I am not quite at the stage where I can shoot the Men's distance of 90m, so I volunteered as Field Crew.
It was an early (7:30) start on Sunday morning, however the journey took less than 5 minutes by bicycle. All of the fifty bosses were already in place from there previous day, but new faces had to be fixed in the correct position. The other vital job was to fill containers with water and place them along the shooting line. The forecast temperature was 29°C so they could be used by the competitors to wet towels or hats to keep them cool. By 9am the temperature had already reached 22°C.
Competitors were arriving at the same time as the field crew, but the bulk of them started arriving about 30 minutes later. I took a few minutes out to unload our car and help EA jnr set up his kit and have it checked by the judges. They noticed that not all of his arrows were labelled, so we did a quick job with stickers from the toolbox and had them rechecked - OK this time.
As this event was being run under FITA rules, there was a timed practice session and all shooting was electronically timed, with buzzers indicating the start and finish of each end. The other difference to the club sessions I am used to is that each shot must be marked on the face so that the judges can decide if a bouncer is genuine or not.
Mrs EA was shooting a Ladies FITA (70,60,50,30) while EA jnr was shooting a Metric III (50,40,30,20). The first two distances were shot on 122cm faces and the final two distances on small 6-ring faces, which only have scoring rings from 6-10.
Field crew duty during the shoot was confined mainly to locating arrows that had missed the boss and moving the bosses between distances. The Kingston University ground staff had done a brilliant job of marking-out the field, making moving bosses much easier than it could have been. At the lunchtime break, all of the bosses needed refacing, with small 6-ring faces being used on most bosses: four per boss for compounds and two per boss for recurve. The water containers were refreshed, too.
Scores were collected from the scoresheets on the line and entered into iPads by volunteers from the Metropolitan Police Cadets. This meant that the running scores for the first two distances could be posted shortly afterwards. EA jnr was pleased to find that after 50m and 40m he was in second place, with another junior from our club close behind. Lunch for the competitors was a picnic in the shade and my daughter joined us to eat and to watch the afternoon session.
After lunch the temperature soared to 32°C and lots of people took advantage of the water buckets to soak towels or hats. Thankfully there were much fewer misses at the shorter distances so the field crew got a bit of a break. However after the final distance we had to swing into action to remove the faces, take down the bosses and frames and take them to the waiting transport. Finally we took down the safety fencing. During this time the juniors decided to have a fun water fight - perfect for a hot afternoon.
Field crew duties over, I helped pack away kit into the car before joining the rest of the Nonsuch Bowmen team for the results and presentations. We also managed to get a team photo in our new club shirts. EA jnr's score qualified him for EAF green (700) and white (800) junior Cross awards and we were able to claim them there and then. It was whilst waiting for the results that my daughter made it known that she had enjoyed the afternoon so much that she would like to do a beginners course. Will this make her EA jnr snr?
The results and awards took quite some time, given the number of pounds and bow styles. Although Mrs EA was not placed, she was pleased with her performance and valued th experience. EA jnr, on the other hand, was was surprised to placed in Silver medal position for the boys Metric III having being overtaken by his club-mate in the afternoon. The boy who was leading throughout was in eligible for an award as he was from out of County. Unfortunately the organisers only had a Gold medal ready so EA jnr will get his in the post in due course.
Other members of the club were also placed or claimed trophies, and even those who didn't shot well.
Next year I intend to enter as a competitor rather than crew. Although I still won't be able to shoot 90m, I will have had another birthday ando become eligible for the Masters rounds at 70m. There are clearly some benefits to turning 50 other than Saga holidays or Sun Life funeral plans!
Postscript:
The club has an award for the best handicap-adjusted score by a member shooting in the Surrey Championships. EA jnr was gobsmacked to be awarded this shield after shooting yesterday!
Wednesday 3 July 2013
Adventures at 70m
A couple of weeks ago I decided to increase the draw weight by winding in the limb bolts from the minimum setting that I had been using since March. Since then I have not scored any rounds, but spent a few sessions on the practice range trying to improve my draw and release technique, and to get used to the increased poundage. Music concerts, illness and family holidays also conspired to see me at the club less than I would have otherwise been.
Last night I decided to be adventurous and attempt 70m for the first time, shooting a FITA 70 round. This was not an altogether rash decision, as I had already shot 60m with the lighter settings, so I was sure that I would be able to at least reach the target. For the first couple of arrows I got Mrs EA to check where they were landing, and found that I needed to move my sight right in to the riser and on the very lowest vertical setting before I hit the target reliably.
When I say 'reliably', that is overstretching the truth a tad; the scoresheet appears to tell a different story:
Dozen 1 : 2 hits, score 7
Dozen 2 : 6 hits, score 28 [vast improvement]
Dozen 3 : 8 hits, score 30 [even better...]
Dozen 4 : 4 hits, score 19 [hmmmm....]
Dozen 5 : 7 hits, score 31 [bouncing back...]
Dozen 6 : 7 hits, score 28 [getting dark]
Total 143 (62 handicap)
So I scored with less than 50% of my arrows, and most of my misses were low. In fact I didn't manage any degree of consistency throughout the round and cannot say that I had a 'group' of arrows at any time. It is fairly clear that I am pushing the capabilities of my current equipment at this distance and I suspect that, at the speed they are travelling, my arrows are much more susceptible to the wind than some thinner, faster arrows. I conclude that the type of arrow and draw I am using and my current draw weight are not really suited to much over 50m, so I will be sticking to shorter distances for the foreseeable future. It is tempting to rush out and buy some heavier limbs and 'better' arrows to make things a little easier, but then I remember that I have only been at this game for four months and can probably gain more by developing my technique at the shorter distances with my current equipment. I suspect that this kit will see me to the end of this outdoor season and through the winter indoor season, when I hope to be able to do justice to any upgraded kit.
But it was worth trying!
Last night I decided to be adventurous and attempt 70m for the first time, shooting a FITA 70 round. This was not an altogether rash decision, as I had already shot 60m with the lighter settings, so I was sure that I would be able to at least reach the target. For the first couple of arrows I got Mrs EA to check where they were landing, and found that I needed to move my sight right in to the riser and on the very lowest vertical setting before I hit the target reliably.
When I say 'reliably', that is overstretching the truth a tad; the scoresheet appears to tell a different story:
Dozen 1 : 2 hits, score 7
Dozen 2 : 6 hits, score 28 [vast improvement]
Dozen 3 : 8 hits, score 30 [even better...]
Dozen 4 : 4 hits, score 19 [hmmmm....]
Dozen 5 : 7 hits, score 31 [bouncing back...]
Dozen 6 : 7 hits, score 28 [getting dark]
Total 143 (62 handicap)
So I scored with less than 50% of my arrows, and most of my misses were low. In fact I didn't manage any degree of consistency throughout the round and cannot say that I had a 'group' of arrows at any time. It is fairly clear that I am pushing the capabilities of my current equipment at this distance and I suspect that, at the speed they are travelling, my arrows are much more susceptible to the wind than some thinner, faster arrows. I conclude that the type of arrow and draw I am using and my current draw weight are not really suited to much over 50m, so I will be sticking to shorter distances for the foreseeable future. It is tempting to rush out and buy some heavier limbs and 'better' arrows to make things a little easier, but then I remember that I have only been at this game for four months and can probably gain more by developing my technique at the shorter distances with my current equipment. I suspect that this kit will see me to the end of this outdoor season and through the winter indoor season, when I hope to be able to do justice to any upgraded kit.
But it was worth trying!
Thursday 13 June 2013
A Week of Contrasts
It has been an interesting week! Saturday was the Nonsuch Bowmen new members' day, where everyone shot at shorter distances so that the newer members have a chance to shoot with some of the older hands. This year, the club decided to seek sponsorship for the event in aid of the charity SeeAbility, who provide residential care for the daughter of two of our club members. The round for the day was a Short National, plus shorter distances. I was very happy to shoot a score of 417, which qualified me for my Third Class badge. Following the shoot we had a barbecue, with yours truly on burger-flipping duty and new and old members getting to know each-other. The latest count indicates that we have raised over £1000 for SeeAbility.
Tuesday started badly, but not as bad as it could have been. Shortly after dropping my daughter off at school for a GCSE exam, I had a collision with another car with the result that my car was a write-off. On the positive side nobody was injured, but I felt quite shaken. I was in two minds whether to shoot on Tuesday evening, but Mrs EA persuaded me that it would take my mind off things. The round was a Short Metric, which I find quite challenging, being 50m on an 80cm face, but I was glad I turned up as I was awarded my Third Class badge. We made it a family affair with EA jnr being awarded his First Class badge, and Mrs EA her Six Gold End badge. I struggled through the round, not enjoying it very much, but when when it came to looking at my total, I found that I had bettered my PB for the round by 40 points and shot below handicap. Strange how your mind can trick you sometimes!
Wednesday was a bit of an adventure for me. I had booked a day off work to shoot in the Take-a-Break competition, organised by Guildford Archery Club, and my first experience of shooting away from my home ground. My round was a Windsor and, being a shorter distance, was not eligible for any of the day's main prizes, but I was there mainly for fun and not for glory. There were another three gents shooting the same round. The club was well represented and Mrs EA was shooting at an eligible distance. It was nice to shoot with archers from other clubs, and discover the minor differences in things like calling scores and club organisation. At the end of the day I scored just below a third class score and just below handicap, which was fine considering the stiff wind and rain later in the day. The whole day was thoroughly enjoyable and it was an experience shooting with around sixty other archers of all abilities and I was to find out later that I had the best score for the gents Windsor, so can be doubly pleased.
Next weekend I plan to 'wind-in' the limbs on my bow to increase the poundage. I have been shooting the bow with the limbs set to minimum poundage since I first put them on and now that I have achieved my Third Class badge, I feel it is time to make some minor changes. My arrows were chosen with a spine at the stiffer end of the range to allow me to move up in poundage, so I am hoping that going heavier will have a positive effect on their flight. I would also like to start progressing toward longer distances, so gradually moving up in draw weight should help towards this goal.
Sunday is a non-shooting day for me, but I will be supporting from behind the line when Mrs EA and EA jnr take part in a friendly, local inter-club competition. The event will be tinged with a little sadness, though, as one of the coaches at the host club lost his life in a car accident last week. He was well known to many local archers and will be sadly missed.
Thursday 6 June 2013
The Archery Two-Step
(..or one step forward, two steps back)
I admit it. I am a geek (just as well, really - that's how I have earned my living for the last twenty-odd years). I like numbers. I like the way that using numbers can tell a story, and target archery really does boil down to numbers in the end, doesn't it? The really good thing about archery numbers is that they can be quite forgiving of the novice (that's me) but really very hurtful to the expert. I know that sounds a bit odd, but stay with me.....
Since I started shooting scored rounds, I have kept a record of my scores, which are available for all to see! I have found this really useful in judging my progress; not against anyone else, but against myself. Sometimes, at the end of a round, it feels as though I haven't really shot to my potential, and that I could have done so much better. Then I look back at my previous score for the round and find that I have beaten my personal best by some margin. Isn't it strange how the human mind can be so misleading?
This is all a little bit introspective, and it is human nature to want to measure your abilities against others as well as yourself. Comparing just the scores for a particular round is the obvious way of judging ability, but this clearly favours the more experienced or stronger archer over the novice or someone with the basic inability to pull a 40lb bow. Whilst it is fine for competitions, it does not recognise progress, which is why handicaps are so great.
Why are they great? Well, firstly, they level the scoring across the dozens of rounds available to target archers: scoring 371 for a Short Junior Warwick (2 doz arrows at each of 30yds & 20yds) is equivalent of scoring 642 for a Metric II (3 doz arrows at each of 60m, 50m, 40m & 30m). Both give a handicap of 60, allowing the archer to try different rounds. Secondly the handicaps can be used to adjust scores in tournaments and competitions, so that archers who shoot above their ability on the day are rewarded, whilst those who are having an off-day may go home with the proverbial wooden spoon (or the aluminium/carbon composite spoon for those who can't resist high-end kit).
In many clubs the records officer will maintain a list of handicaps for each of the scored rounds, and provide each archer with a 'running handicap'. This figure is the average of the previous running handicap and the handicap for the latest round, if lower. As the running handicap is rounded up, you need to better your running handicap by 2 or more to get it lower. An initial running handicap is set as an average of the handicaps of an archer's first three scored rounds and running handicaps are reset at the end of the season to the average of the three best handicaps over that season. In general, the running handicap for an improving archer will continue to go down, but someone who has lost form or ability may find their running handicap rise at the end of the season.
So what is this about one step forward and two steps back? My records page has a graph showing the handicap scored for each round and the running handicap at the time of the round (not after it), against the date of the round. Here is a snapshot of the graph at the time of writing:
After the first half-dozen rounds, there is a pattern : better handicap; worse handicap; worse handicap. Or one step forward, two steps back. This is remarkably consistent until the very latest rounds, where it does break down, but the zig-zag nature of the Round Handicap line just goes to show that progress is not linear, and you should expect the odd off-day - there will be a better one round the corner.
Over time the downward slope will flatten out and the two lines will converge, but the zig-zag nature of the round handicap line will still be there. That's why handicaps are forgiving of the novice - a high-ish handicap will benefit you against someone with a handicap in the teens. Those with very low handicaps need only miss with one arrow and all is lost. What's that you say? Really good archers never miss? OK, so they rarely miss, but even good compound archers sometimes hit gold on the wrong boss.....
Tuesday 28 May 2013
How many miles?
Last weekend was a Bank Holiday in the UK so I had an extra day off work! With EA jnr off at scout camp and his sister busy revising for GCSEs, Mrs EA and I could have a guilt-free weekend of archery. I managed to shoot on Saturday, Sunday and Monday but Mrs EA had a well deserved lie-in on Sunday.
This really was a weekend of firsts for me. Saturday's scored round on the short range was an American which, confusingly, is a GNAS Imperial round: 5 ends of 6 arrows at each of 60yds, 50yds and 40yds on 122cm faces. At 90 arrows this was to be the longest round I have yet attempted and weather was sunny and warm so it was nice to shoot in a t-shirt for a change. Throughout the round I tried to put into practice the techniques that coach Andy had explained a couple of weeks earlier, so that I could use my clicker correctly and avoid clicker-angst. There were a couple of dodgy ends at 60yds, but my scores were fairly consistent at the shorter distances. With a final score of 497, this not only produced my best round handicap of 57 (5 below my running handicap) but was my first third-class score. Very happy!
Sunday morning was a little cooler but still t-shirt weather. The round was a Short Metric (6 ends of 6 arrows at each of 50m and 30m on 80cm faces), which I have shot three times before. Again, my emphasis was on technique and the first four ends at 50m were fairly consistent, but the final two were a relative disaster. The 30m ends were mor consistent and I finished with a total of 298, which was a PB for this round and only just above my running handicap, but not a classification score this time.
Bank Holiday Monday was a bit of an adventure, being my first twelve-dozen round, with the first two distances in the morning and the other two after lunch. I was the most inexperienced archer on the field and the furthest I had shot was 60yds, so I decided to attempt a Metric II round (3 dozen arrows at each of 60m and 50m on 122cm faces,and 3 dozen arrows at each of 40m and 30m on 80cm faces) . The day started with a stiff breeze, which increased throughout the day, becoming strong and gusty by the end of the round. It was quite a novelty to shooting the club's long range and I was pleased to score with most arrows fairly quickly, although there were a couple that went very much astray. By the end of the morning, I was starting to get a little fatigued so the break for lunch was very welcome, although there was some moving of bosses and target faces to be done first. The afternoon session was timed to start at 2pm, so we had a leisurely 90 minute break, during which we went hunting for lost arrows. The first round of the the afternoon session was shot with 6-arrow ends, but the move to 30m meant that we shot 3-arrow ends, which significantly extended the time taken (and the distance walked!). My final score was 651, which is big on my running handicap. I think I can be proud of that, considering the windy conditions and that I was just about fit to drop by the end of the round.
That got me thinking about how far I had walked shooting the three rounds over the weekend, so I did a few sums, remembering that you walk twice the distance of the end when collecting arrows. These are the numbers:
American
2x5x60yds=600yds
2x5x50yds=500yds
2x5x40yds=400yds
Total 1500yds
Short metric
2x6x50m=600m
2x6x30m=360m
Total 960m=1050yds
Metric II
2x6x60m=720m
2x6x50m=600m
2x6x40m=480m
2x12x30m=720m (3 arrow ends)
Total 2520m=2756yds
This gives a total over the three rounds of 5306yds, or a fraction over 3 miles; not a marathon but not insignificant, either.
Over the weekend a couple of the senior members had noticed that I had become shaky at full draw and advised that moving my clicker forward slightly would probably reduce the shake. I will give this a try next time out.
Monday 13 May 2013
Clicker-angst
I think I may have invented a new term : Clicker-angst. I first noticed clicker-angst a couple of weeks ago, when Mrs EA was shooting the end that resulted in six golds. She was having severe difficulty in drawing past the clicker to get other release point, and had to come down from the set position a few times. At the next evening shoot another, fairly experienced, archer was having similar difficulties and he decided to stop using his clicker for the rest of the round.
Having set up my clicker the previous Tuesday evening, I was looking forward to trying it in a scored round on Saturday. This was to be a Short Metric, a round I had shot a couple of times before. The last few times shooting a scored round I have managed to reduce my handicap, so I was hopeful of a reasonable score. On the downside, the warm, sunny weather of the previous weekend had been replaced with wind and heavy rain showers, so full waterproofs were in order. While I was on the short range, Mrs EA was shooting at 70m on the long range, in training for the Surrey County championships, which she had entered a few days earlier.
Although my shooting was not totally bad, I found that I was having similar clicker-angst problems that I described above. I seemed to be letting my front shoulder ride-up, which prevented me drawing the arrow past the clicker. This seemed to upset my concentration somewhat, and affected my overall performance. However, my score of 223 was still a PB for the round, but the handicap equivalent was a few points above my best.
As Mrs EA was still busy on the long range, I approached coach Andy to ask his advice about my clicker setting and what may be wrong with my technique. Not one to duck a challenge, Andy spent the next 30 minutes with me, carefully analysing my stance, shot set-up and drawing style, making some really useful recommendations. The main problem was, as I expected, that my front shoulder was coming up and Andy tried a number of ways to improve this. One issue that became clear was that I can not lock down my front arm without rotating my upper body towards the target, so Andy suggested that I pre-draw a short way, locking my front arm and shoulder before raising the bow fully, and then rotating my back shoulder to complete the draw. The final few millimetres before release should be gained by putting a little extra pressure on the back shoulder. Another aspect Andy picked up was my basic stance, which should be:
On Sunday morning I spent a couple of hours on the practice range, in an attempt to consolidate the previous day's advice and to improve my consistency. This was harder than it sounds, as minor differences in any part of the shot set-up resulted in the arrow not going past the clicker, or the clicker going off prematurely. Clicker-angst! At one point I just walked away for 10 minutes rest, which had a positive effect - the next three arrows were the best I had shot all morning, and they just felt right! Before I started I set myself the goal of getting all six arrows in the gold or red (at 30m), but in the end I was pleased to put three arrows in that zone a couple of times. I think I will be better prepared to use the clicker on my next round.
Having set up my clicker the previous Tuesday evening, I was looking forward to trying it in a scored round on Saturday. This was to be a Short Metric, a round I had shot a couple of times before. The last few times shooting a scored round I have managed to reduce my handicap, so I was hopeful of a reasonable score. On the downside, the warm, sunny weather of the previous weekend had been replaced with wind and heavy rain showers, so full waterproofs were in order. While I was on the short range, Mrs EA was shooting at 70m on the long range, in training for the Surrey County championships, which she had entered a few days earlier.
Although my shooting was not totally bad, I found that I was having similar clicker-angst problems that I described above. I seemed to be letting my front shoulder ride-up, which prevented me drawing the arrow past the clicker. This seemed to upset my concentration somewhat, and affected my overall performance. However, my score of 223 was still a PB for the round, but the handicap equivalent was a few points above my best.
As Mrs EA was still busy on the long range, I approached coach Andy to ask his advice about my clicker setting and what may be wrong with my technique. Not one to duck a challenge, Andy spent the next 30 minutes with me, carefully analysing my stance, shot set-up and drawing style, making some really useful recommendations. The main problem was, as I expected, that my front shoulder was coming up and Andy tried a number of ways to improve this. One issue that became clear was that I can not lock down my front arm without rotating my upper body towards the target, so Andy suggested that I pre-draw a short way, locking my front arm and shoulder before raising the bow fully, and then rotating my back shoulder to complete the draw. The final few millimetres before release should be gained by putting a little extra pressure on the back shoulder. Another aspect Andy picked up was my basic stance, which should be:
- right-angles to target
- feet shoulder-width apart
- weight slightly forward over balls of feet
- tummy in, bum in
On Sunday morning I spent a couple of hours on the practice range, in an attempt to consolidate the previous day's advice and to improve my consistency. This was harder than it sounds, as minor differences in any part of the shot set-up resulted in the arrow not going past the clicker, or the clicker going off prematurely. Clicker-angst! At one point I just walked away for 10 minutes rest, which had a positive effect - the next three arrows were the best I had shot all morning, and they just felt right! Before I started I set myself the goal of getting all six arrows in the gold or red (at 30m), but in the end I was pleased to put three arrows in that zone a couple of times. I think I will be better prepared to use the clicker on my next round.
Wednesday 8 May 2013
Competition and Clicker
After an eventful Saturday, we were back at the field again on Sunday morning for a club competition. This is a handicap competition various distances depending upon age and gender. For gents it is was a choice of a New or Long National and for ladies a National. Given that I have never shot further than 60yds, I decided that attempting 100/80yds would be rather foolish, so I joined the Mrs EA with the ladies at 60/50yds. This meant that I was ineligible for any awards, but I was happy to take part nonetheless. EA jnr was also on the line shooting a Junior National at 40/30yds.
For once the sun was out and it was very warm - T-shirt weather for a change. Some members even gave their [hairy] legs an airing, which led to an interesting wager (in aid of charity) later in the day. My shooting seemed to be a bit erratic, but my final score of 256 seemd to indicate that I had performed as well as could be expected, and better than my running handicap would predict. However, there had to be a stewards enquiry on my scoresheet, as I had not checked the adding-up carefully enough and had signed for 100 less than I had shot. As I was ineligible anyway, the committee showed some leniency. If I had been eligible, I would have ranked sixth with my handicap-adjusted score, which I am really pleased with. Even better, EA jnr came fourth overall.
The wager I mentioned earlier arose out of a discussion between Martin (shooting Compound) and the ladies. Martin had managed to score a gold on the wrong target, and was giving himself a verbal kicking, when one of the ladies said that they would be proud to shoot a gold at 80yds, never mid six of them. Now, the club has organised a shoot later in the year in aid of a charity very close to a couple of members, and Martin offered to have his legs waxed and donate £100 to the charity if any of the group of ladies shot a six-gold end at 70m/80m in a scored round with a recurve bow. The challenge has been duly accepted!
Although the field was open for shooting on Monday, the EA family had a day off, but we were back there on Tuesday evening. I wanted to set up my clicker and Mrs EA had a new set of limbs arrive that day, so she wanted help in setting them up and checking the alignment. As I have been through this two or three times recently I was confident I would do it right but, in the event, the only adjustment needed was with the button to set the centre shot.
There were a couple of other archers on the practice range so I shot with them at 30yds, adjusting the clicker by small degrees and assessing where it went off in relation to my draw. During this process it became very obvious that keeping the front (left for me) shoulder down has a significant effect on draw length - when it is down, draw length is longer. I eventually found a position that the clicker would 'go' when I was drawn properly with my shoulder down. If I drew with my shoulder up, it was almost impossible to get the clicker to go, indicating that there is a problem. In this situation I lowered the bow and started the draw again.
Near the end of the session, after the other archers had finished, Mrs EA suggested I move really close to the target and try releasing with my eyes closed, getting used to the point at which the clickers goes. This was very odd to start with, but it soon became obvious that it not only gets you used to where in the draw the clicker will go, but also builds confidence. The grouping of the arrows on the boss showed that the clicker was doing its job. I look forward to shooting my next scored round to see if it makes a difference.
Over on the long range a couple of the 'wager ladies' were getting in some practice at 70m and doing very well, whilst another of the ladies broke the club record for the distance. Mrs EA is looking forward to shooting on the long range tonight. Game on, Martin!
Update Following some discussion on Facebook, another member lowered the bar a little and offered to donate £50 to the charity if any of the four ladies scored 50 or above in any end at 70m/80yds during a scored round. I thought this was a good idea, so I offered to do the same, and so did Martin, in addition to his original challenge.
For once the sun was out and it was very warm - T-shirt weather for a change. Some members even gave their [hairy] legs an airing, which led to an interesting wager (in aid of charity) later in the day. My shooting seemed to be a bit erratic, but my final score of 256 seemd to indicate that I had performed as well as could be expected, and better than my running handicap would predict. However, there had to be a stewards enquiry on my scoresheet, as I had not checked the adding-up carefully enough and had signed for 100 less than I had shot. As I was ineligible anyway, the committee showed some leniency. If I had been eligible, I would have ranked sixth with my handicap-adjusted score, which I am really pleased with. Even better, EA jnr came fourth overall.
The wager I mentioned earlier arose out of a discussion between Martin (shooting Compound) and the ladies. Martin had managed to score a gold on the wrong target, and was giving himself a verbal kicking, when one of the ladies said that they would be proud to shoot a gold at 80yds, never mid six of them. Now, the club has organised a shoot later in the year in aid of a charity very close to a couple of members, and Martin offered to have his legs waxed and donate £100 to the charity if any of the group of ladies shot a six-gold end at 70m/80m in a scored round with a recurve bow. The challenge has been duly accepted!
Although the field was open for shooting on Monday, the EA family had a day off, but we were back there on Tuesday evening. I wanted to set up my clicker and Mrs EA had a new set of limbs arrive that day, so she wanted help in setting them up and checking the alignment. As I have been through this two or three times recently I was confident I would do it right but, in the event, the only adjustment needed was with the button to set the centre shot.
There were a couple of other archers on the practice range so I shot with them at 30yds, adjusting the clicker by small degrees and assessing where it went off in relation to my draw. During this process it became very obvious that keeping the front (left for me) shoulder down has a significant effect on draw length - when it is down, draw length is longer. I eventually found a position that the clicker would 'go' when I was drawn properly with my shoulder down. If I drew with my shoulder up, it was almost impossible to get the clicker to go, indicating that there is a problem. In this situation I lowered the bow and started the draw again.
Near the end of the session, after the other archers had finished, Mrs EA suggested I move really close to the target and try releasing with my eyes closed, getting used to the point at which the clickers goes. This was very odd to start with, but it soon became obvious that it not only gets you used to where in the draw the clicker will go, but also builds confidence. The grouping of the arrows on the boss showed that the clicker was doing its job. I look forward to shooting my next scored round to see if it makes a difference.
Over on the long range a couple of the 'wager ladies' were getting in some practice at 70m and doing very well, whilst another of the ladies broke the club record for the distance. Mrs EA is looking forward to shooting on the long range tonight. Game on, Martin!
Update Following some discussion on Facebook, another member lowered the bar a little and offered to donate £50 to the charity if any of the four ladies scored 50 or above in any end at 70m/80yds during a scored round. I thought this was a good idea, so I offered to do the same, and so did Martin, in addition to his original challenge.
Saturday 4 May 2013
Six Gold End (but not mine)
Today I witnessed something that I understand is quite a rarity - an official six gold end. The GNAS (Archery GB) rules state that it must be shot in a scoring round and at a minimum distance of 80yds or 70m for gents, or 60yds/60m for ladies. As this was the first end of a Western it was at 60m, and shot by a lady archer, so it qualifies.
During this end the archer in question was having a problem with her clicker, which basically boiled down to her not setting it when nocking the arrow, which meant that she was last off the line and allowed Martin (coach and records officer) to watch her last couple of shots. He clearly had an inkling about what had just happened, but the rest of us were blissfully unaware until we got closer to the target. However, it quickly became clear that we were seeing something special and, after scoring everyone's arrows, we took some photos for the album.
Martin now has the task of getting this record officially recognised by GNAS so that the archer can be awarded a six gold end badge and given a mention in the magazine.
I am VERY proud to say that the lady archer is called Jane. a.k.a. Mrs EA.
During this end the archer in question was having a problem with her clicker, which basically boiled down to her not setting it when nocking the arrow, which meant that she was last off the line and allowed Martin (coach and records officer) to watch her last couple of shots. He clearly had an inkling about what had just happened, but the rest of us were blissfully unaware until we got closer to the target. However, it quickly became clear that we were seeing something special and, after scoring everyone's arrows, we took some photos for the album.
Martin now has the task of getting this record officially recognised by GNAS so that the archer can be awarded a six gold end badge and given a mention in the magazine.
I am VERY proud to say that the lady archer is called Jane. a.k.a. Mrs EA.
Tuesday 30 April 2013
Chilly Evening Warwick
Today was sunny and relatively warm, so I was looking forward to an evening's shooting. Again, the evening's round was a Warwick, dictated by the time of sunset. However, that chilly easterly wind was back with a vengeance to cool the extremities.
The Warwick round is two dozen arrows at each of 60yds and 50yds, so you barely have chance to settle into your stride before changing distance. Although I did have a sight mark for 50yds, the change in distance produced a dip in score, which didn't get any better in the last dozen.
Scores apart, I felt relatively settled and had some reasonable groupings on some ends, but with the odd outlier bringing the totals down somewhat. At the end of the round I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had chalked-up another PB, 46 points higher than my previous best. It was also a PB in terms of handicap, so that should bring my running handicap down somewhat, too.
It was still light on the drive home so I suspect that there will be some longer evening rounds in the coming weeks.
The Warwick round is two dozen arrows at each of 60yds and 50yds, so you barely have chance to settle into your stride before changing distance. Although I did have a sight mark for 50yds, the change in distance produced a dip in score, which didn't get any better in the last dozen.
Scores apart, I felt relatively settled and had some reasonable groupings on some ends, but with the odd outlier bringing the totals down somewhat. At the end of the round I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had chalked-up another PB, 46 points higher than my previous best. It was also a PB in terms of handicap, so that should bring my running handicap down somewhat, too.
It was still light on the drive home so I suspect that there will be some longer evening rounds in the coming weeks.
Monday 29 April 2013
One Windsor Last Week, Different Windsor This Week
From Windsor (the town with the castle) last week, Saturday saw me attempting my first Windsor round. This is by far the longest round I have yet attempted, with three dozen arrows each at 60yds, 50yds and 40yds; 108 in all. I was back to using 24lb limbs, having received my replacements from Archery World on Friday (I cannot fault their customer service and quick turn-around) so I decided to attempt the full distance rather than the lesser Short Windsor. These replacement limbs are definitely a looser fit in the riser compared to the cracked pair I returned, and are much easier to insert - more like the pair I had borrowed - so I suspect that there was some problem with tolerances on the original pair. For the last couple of shoots I have been using one of the club's long rod stabilizers and decided to go with the same one again, but did change to a longer one mid-round.
Once again I did not have sight marks for 60yds with my bow in its current configuration, so I had to make an educated guess from previous figures. What I was fairly confident of was that the sight needed to be fairly close to the riser otherwise I would run out of downward adjustment, so I used the second hole from the front. At shorter distances I can get away with using the third hole and, as I go up in draw weight I expect to be able to move the sight further from the riser to improve accuracy.
The first couple of sighters allowed me to adjust my sight sufficiently to hit the boss and the remainder used to do some fine tuning. At 60yds the variations in my technique seem to be more significant than any changes in sight adjustment so I left the vertical adjustment well alone. However, I did need to adjust the left/right position of the sight pin to bring the arrows in from the left.
The three dozen at 60yds went fairly well, considering that I had only attempted this distance a couple of times before, with an equal number of hits and misses. However, I totally lacked consistency with scores for each dozen being 24, 41 then 10. The change of distance to 50yds and the lack of an existing sight mark certainly had an effect with the first half dozen scoring only 26. I did manage to pull myself up somewhat later in the round with the second and third dozens scoring 64 then 46. My performance at 40yds was not really much better than 50yds, despite the change in distance, with the last three dozen scoring 46, 62 and 53, respectively. My final score of 372 has a handicap equivalent of 67, which is above my PB, but not totally out of the ball-park.
The word which comes very much to mind with this round is 'consistency' (or, more correctly inconsistency). Given that I have only been shooting for a few weeks, perhaps I shouldn't be too hard on myself, but I need to improve my repeatability and consistency now that I have a fairly settled equipment set-up. (I have a long-rod stabilizer on order, but that should hopefully improve rather than reduce the situation). On a more positive note, I did post a couple of decent dozens at 60yds and 50yds so I just need to reproduce this a little more often - and perhaps not change the equipment mid-round!
Once again I did not have sight marks for 60yds with my bow in its current configuration, so I had to make an educated guess from previous figures. What I was fairly confident of was that the sight needed to be fairly close to the riser otherwise I would run out of downward adjustment, so I used the second hole from the front. At shorter distances I can get away with using the third hole and, as I go up in draw weight I expect to be able to move the sight further from the riser to improve accuracy.
The first couple of sighters allowed me to adjust my sight sufficiently to hit the boss and the remainder used to do some fine tuning. At 60yds the variations in my technique seem to be more significant than any changes in sight adjustment so I left the vertical adjustment well alone. However, I did need to adjust the left/right position of the sight pin to bring the arrows in from the left.
The three dozen at 60yds went fairly well, considering that I had only attempted this distance a couple of times before, with an equal number of hits and misses. However, I totally lacked consistency with scores for each dozen being 24, 41 then 10. The change of distance to 50yds and the lack of an existing sight mark certainly had an effect with the first half dozen scoring only 26. I did manage to pull myself up somewhat later in the round with the second and third dozens scoring 64 then 46. My performance at 40yds was not really much better than 50yds, despite the change in distance, with the last three dozen scoring 46, 62 and 53, respectively. My final score of 372 has a handicap equivalent of 67, which is above my PB, but not totally out of the ball-park.
The word which comes very much to mind with this round is 'consistency' (or, more correctly inconsistency). Given that I have only been shooting for a few weeks, perhaps I shouldn't be too hard on myself, but I need to improve my repeatability and consistency now that I have a fairly settled equipment set-up. (I have a long-rod stabilizer on order, but that should hopefully improve rather than reduce the situation). On a more positive note, I did post a couple of decent dozens at 60yds and 50yds so I just need to reproduce this a little more often - and perhaps not change the equipment mid-round!
Wednesday 24 April 2013
Warm Evening, Junior Warwick
Tuesday was such a lovely day here that it would have been absolutely criminal not to be outside enjoying the evening sunshine and shooting a few arrows. At the moment the light fades around 8pm local time, so there is only time for a short round, so a Warwick was in order. Although I have shot a couple of standard Warwick rounds (60yds/50yds), I was using a set of borrowed 22lb limbs (my own had been returned for replacement after finding a crack at the weekend) so I decided to join the youngsters on a Junior Warwick (40yds/30yds).
I made a pretty good start, being able to call 9-9-9 for the first three scoring arrows and generally maintained a reasonable average per end. I did have a slight dip immediately after the move forward to 30yds because of the lack of a sight mark at this distance, but managed to claw it back on the last dozen.
On one end my arrows were going consistently left. The reason was pointed out by someone who has noticed that my feet had not been in line with the target, but one was further forward than the other. I put this right on the next end!
We had a lovely sunset and finished in the twilight, still warm for a change. My final score was 277, which is a PB for this distance and double my previous best score. Pleased? You bet!
I am hoping my replacement limbs arrive in time for shooting on Saturday. Their initial delivery was. Quick so my fingers are crossed.
I made a pretty good start, being able to call 9-9-9 for the first three scoring arrows and generally maintained a reasonable average per end. I did have a slight dip immediately after the move forward to 30yds because of the lack of a sight mark at this distance, but managed to claw it back on the last dozen.
On one end my arrows were going consistently left. The reason was pointed out by someone who has noticed that my feet had not been in line with the target, but one was further forward than the other. I put this right on the next end!
We had a lovely sunset and finished in the twilight, still warm for a change. My final score was 277, which is a PB for this distance and double my previous best score. Pleased? You bet!
I am hoping my replacement limbs arrive in time for shooting on Saturday. Their initial delivery was. Quick so my fingers are crossed.
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| View from the field (Photo credit: Mark Carne) |
Tuning, Equipment Failure and Royalty
The components for my new arrows arrived last Wednesday, but I had to wait until Thursday to do the assembly. I ordered eight shafts but fletched only seven, leaving one unfletched for tuning. Having helped Mrs EA assemble her arrows a few months ago, and repaired EA jnr's defletched shafts, I was fairly comfortable with the process.
I first glued the points into the shafts using hot-melt glue (having heated the points first over a gas flame), rotating them as I they were inserted to spread the glue evenly. Excess glue was wiped off while it was still warm. Next I inserted the nocks into the other end of the shaft. I didn't have a special tool to do this, but used a hex key sized to fit the notch in the nock to apply pressure an a little rotation until it seated correctly. Finally I attached the fletches using superglue (aluminium shafts so this is safe) and with the aid of a fletching jig. I always started with the cock vane (gold one for me), followed by the two hen vanes. I only had to discard one vane, which got stuck to the fletching jig.
At the Saturday club session, Andy kindly agreed to help me set up my bow for the new arrows. First we checked the alignment of the string and limbs using a pair of limb-line gauges and a Mark I eyeball, and found that there was a slight misalignment. Limb adjustment with my riser is achieved by rotating the eccentric-cammed posts after loosening the lock bolt. A special tool is provided to help hold it in place when the lock bolt is tightened. After a couple of cycles of adjustment we managed to align everything.
Next was the centre shot adjustment where the pressure button is moved so that the right side of the arrow is immediately adjacent to the left side of the string when viewed from behind and the string is aligned through the centre of the bow. A little adjustment was necessary to make this right.
I shot a few dozen arrows to get the feel of them before firing the unfletched arrow, which flew fairly straight down the range for about two-thirds the distance before veering off left and embedding itself into the adjacent boss. Bear in mind that this was from 30yds, which is not ideal for this type of tuning but with others on the practice range I had to live with it. Andy suggested that the clearance between the riser and the arrow looked a little tight, so we tried opening it up a little by adjusting the limb tips left, and extending the button, but this only resulted in the arrow tip being way out to the left until I was at full draw. Not surprisingly we subsequently adjusted back to where we were.
The remainder of the session I used to practice correct draw with the aim of getting some decent groupings, and this did get better over time. However, when taking down my bow at the end of the session, I noticed that the upper limb had developed a crack where it fits into the riser (see photo). On Monday I contacted online retailer to arrange for a return under warranty (they were two weeks old and only shot four or five times) and they were posted on Tuesday. I am hoping to have replacements for the weekend, but had to borrow a pair of limbs to shoot on Tuesday evening.
There was no archery for us on Sunday as both of our children were playing with their Scout & Guide band for the annual St George's Day celebration of Queens Scouts at Windsor Castle. EA Jnr plays trumpet and his sister plays clarinet, and they have both been with the band for just over two years. Mrs EA and I were lucky to get tickets to the Quadrangle in the castle where the review of Queens Scouts takes place. The event is normally attended by HM The Queen, but this time the review was taken by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge (a.k.a. Kate Middleton) and, as might be expected, the event was covered by TV and print media. Kate volunteers as as a cub scout leader near her home in Wales and she made the time to speak with as many of the scouts as possible in the time. The UK Chief Scout, Bear Grylls, spoke to others on parade. This was a lovely day out for us and something our children will remember for a long time.
EA Jnr at bottom
...and between two big-uns in the Quadrangle
HRH took time to talk with the Drum Major
Wednesday 17 April 2013
Small or Far Away?
Over the past few weeks I have graduated in distance from 10m at the start of the beginners course up to 20m indoors and 60yds on the outdoor field. Before last week, the furthest distance I had attempted was 50m in a Short Metric round, but at the weekend I attempted 60 yards for the first time in a Warwick round. 60yds is just under 55m so I was confident of reaching the target, but I was initially surprised that scoring seemed a little easier despite the increase in distance.
The reason, of course, is perfectly clear : the Short Metric round is shot on an 80cm face whereas the Warwick round is shot on a 122cm face. This got me thinking about how much easier it is to shoot at a larger face and how far away does a 122cm target need to be to look like an 80cm target at 50m? To answer these questions, I had to dig into my memory for some high school trigonometry and algebra, as well as some basic physics. Here is my take on the problem.
The eye and brain interpret the size of an object from the angle it makes at the objective (the eyeball), so the wider the angle, the larger it looks and vice versa. Imagine drawing lines from the outside edges of an object back to the eyeball - the angle between the lines defines how large the object looks. A larger object far away can appear to be the same size as a smaller object which is closer. Father Ted explains it well, but Fr. Dougal doesn't quite get it...
I calculated the theoretical angle at the eye for an 80cm target at 50m, and a 122cm target at 60yds (54.86m) with the following results:
80cm face at 50m : 0.92°
122cm face at 60yds : 1.27°
This means that the larger face at 60yds appears almost 40% larger than the smaller face at 50m. No wonder it seemed easier! What has really surprised me is how small these angles are.
The other question was how far away would a 122cm face need to be to look the same size as an 80cm face at 50m. Doing the maths (math for my North American readers!) gives a result of 76m/83yds, but I am nowhere near being able to shoot that far yet, so won't be testing the theory in practice for a while yet.
The reason, of course, is perfectly clear : the Short Metric round is shot on an 80cm face whereas the Warwick round is shot on a 122cm face. This got me thinking about how much easier it is to shoot at a larger face and how far away does a 122cm target need to be to look like an 80cm target at 50m? To answer these questions, I had to dig into my memory for some high school trigonometry and algebra, as well as some basic physics. Here is my take on the problem.
The eye and brain interpret the size of an object from the angle it makes at the objective (the eyeball), so the wider the angle, the larger it looks and vice versa. Imagine drawing lines from the outside edges of an object back to the eyeball - the angle between the lines defines how large the object looks. A larger object far away can appear to be the same size as a smaller object which is closer. Father Ted explains it well, but Fr. Dougal doesn't quite get it...
I calculated the theoretical angle at the eye for an 80cm target at 50m, and a 122cm target at 60yds (54.86m) with the following results:
80cm face at 50m : 0.92°
122cm face at 60yds : 1.27°
This means that the larger face at 60yds appears almost 40% larger than the smaller face at 50m. No wonder it seemed easier! What has really surprised me is how small these angles are.
The other question was how far away would a 122cm face need to be to look the same size as an 80cm face at 50m. Doing the maths (math for my North American readers!) gives a result of 76m/83yds, but I am nowhere near being able to shoot that far yet, so won't be testing the theory in practice for a while yet.
Tuesday 16 April 2013
Measuring for Arrows
In my last post I briefly discussed measuring for my set of arrows, but I missed a couple of important points so thought I would expand on the process in a separate post.
For the last few weeks I have been shooting a combination of different arrows. Martin loaned me a set that I could use at our temporary indoor range, whilst at the club field I used a set of club arrows. Martin's arrows are relatively stiff for my bow, with the result that they tend to fishtail significantly on release (the time I didn't fit the pressure button didn't help, either). The arrows I use at the field are a closer match but still not ideal. They are also too long for me and, as I intend to use a clicker before long, I decided it was high time to get my own set of arrows.
Last week I emailed Andy and Martin with what information on my estimated draw length and draw weight and asked advice on the types of arrow I should be considering. With the help of Mrs EA, I measured the distance from arrow nock to the button at full draw to be about 27¼", and I am using 24lb limbs. Limb draw weight is measured at 28" draw length, and you theoretically lose 2lb for every inch less draw length under 28", so my estimated draw weight was around 22lb. However, I had fallen into the trap of using the distance from arrow nock to the button as my draw length, when it is more correctly the distance from arrow nock to the back of the bow (the far side of the riser), which is often estimated as an extra 1¾". So, my draw length is actually 29", which means that I am pulling closer to 26lb on 24lb limbs. Do you find this confusing? I certainly did!
Given the information above, Andy plugged the numbers into his shaft selector app, which came up with a range of possibilities from basic aluminium through to more expensive carbon arrows. I had already decided to go for Easton Platinum Plus XX75 mid-range aluminium arrows that are likely to see me through my first season without costing the earth and which may have reasonable resale value when the time comes to upgrade. The selection software indicated a size 1913 shaft, which has a spine of 0.733 and is in group T4 on the Easton shaft selection chart. It is actually at the lower end of stiffness values in this group (the lower spine value the higher the stiffness - it is a measure of bendiness) and is only slightly stiffer than a size 1816 arrow with a spine of 0.756 and sits in group T3. Andy argued that this may be a better compromise as it is less prone to damage and opting for a slightly shorter 28¾" length would raise the stiffness a little anyway. Being an engineer I always like to "measure twice, cut once", so I arranged for Andy to check my measurements at the weekend.
After the Warwick round on Saturday, Andy double-checked my draw length (27¼" from nock to button) and also checked the actual draw weight of my bow at this draw length, which averaged out just over 25lb. Andy was dead right! We rechecked the charts and concluded that 1816 Platinum Pluses would be fine, and a cut length of 28¾" or 29" would allow the use of a clicker once the point was in place. A quick check with Martin confirmed the decision.
A number of people have warned me against buying ready-made arrows from online retailers, as they have a tendency to become de-fletched rather easily. Having helped Mrs EA fletch her arrows,and refletched EA jnr's arrows a number of times, I have no qualms about assembling them myself from the component parts. I had already done some research and priced shafts, vanes and points from a number of retailers so I started at the cheapest and worked up. Some retailers were discarded because they were quoting extended delivery and one of them appeared to offer only standard lengths (no way of defining the cut length). Other retailers were just too expensive. I finally placed an order with Bowsports on Saturday evening for shafts cut to 28¾", Plastifletch EP-23 vanes (gold cock, blue hens), Easton G-nocks and Easton Nibb points (and a sneaky new bow stand for Mrs EA to make best use of the delivery charge). I got an email today (Tuesday) to say that ParcelForce will deliver on Wednesday. Fletching will have to wait until Thursday as Wednesday is my regular bellringing practice night! It looks like Saturday will be spent tuning and I must remember to leave one shaft unfletched.
I am looking forward to having a complete kit of my own and finally settling down to improving my handicap.
For the last few weeks I have been shooting a combination of different arrows. Martin loaned me a set that I could use at our temporary indoor range, whilst at the club field I used a set of club arrows. Martin's arrows are relatively stiff for my bow, with the result that they tend to fishtail significantly on release (the time I didn't fit the pressure button didn't help, either). The arrows I use at the field are a closer match but still not ideal. They are also too long for me and, as I intend to use a clicker before long, I decided it was high time to get my own set of arrows.
Last week I emailed Andy and Martin with what information on my estimated draw length and draw weight and asked advice on the types of arrow I should be considering. With the help of Mrs EA, I measured the distance from arrow nock to the button at full draw to be about 27¼", and I am using 24lb limbs. Limb draw weight is measured at 28" draw length, and you theoretically lose 2lb for every inch less draw length under 28", so my estimated draw weight was around 22lb. However, I had fallen into the trap of using the distance from arrow nock to the button as my draw length, when it is more correctly the distance from arrow nock to the back of the bow (the far side of the riser), which is often estimated as an extra 1¾". So, my draw length is actually 29", which means that I am pulling closer to 26lb on 24lb limbs. Do you find this confusing? I certainly did!
Given the information above, Andy plugged the numbers into his shaft selector app, which came up with a range of possibilities from basic aluminium through to more expensive carbon arrows. I had already decided to go for Easton Platinum Plus XX75 mid-range aluminium arrows that are likely to see me through my first season without costing the earth and which may have reasonable resale value when the time comes to upgrade. The selection software indicated a size 1913 shaft, which has a spine of 0.733 and is in group T4 on the Easton shaft selection chart. It is actually at the lower end of stiffness values in this group (the lower spine value the higher the stiffness - it is a measure of bendiness) and is only slightly stiffer than a size 1816 arrow with a spine of 0.756 and sits in group T3. Andy argued that this may be a better compromise as it is less prone to damage and opting for a slightly shorter 28¾" length would raise the stiffness a little anyway. Being an engineer I always like to "measure twice, cut once", so I arranged for Andy to check my measurements at the weekend.
After the Warwick round on Saturday, Andy double-checked my draw length (27¼" from nock to button) and also checked the actual draw weight of my bow at this draw length, which averaged out just over 25lb. Andy was dead right! We rechecked the charts and concluded that 1816 Platinum Pluses would be fine, and a cut length of 28¾" or 29" would allow the use of a clicker once the point was in place. A quick check with Martin confirmed the decision.
A number of people have warned me against buying ready-made arrows from online retailers, as they have a tendency to become de-fletched rather easily. Having helped Mrs EA fletch her arrows,and refletched EA jnr's arrows a number of times, I have no qualms about assembling them myself from the component parts. I had already done some research and priced shafts, vanes and points from a number of retailers so I started at the cheapest and worked up. Some retailers were discarded because they were quoting extended delivery and one of them appeared to offer only standard lengths (no way of defining the cut length). Other retailers were just too expensive. I finally placed an order with Bowsports on Saturday evening for shafts cut to 28¾", Plastifletch EP-23 vanes (gold cock, blue hens), Easton G-nocks and Easton Nibb points (and a sneaky new bow stand for Mrs EA to make best use of the delivery charge). I got an email today (Tuesday) to say that ParcelForce will deliver on Wednesday. Fletching will have to wait until Thursday as Wednesday is my regular bellringing practice night! It looks like Saturday will be spent tuning and I must remember to leave one shaft unfletched.
I am looking forward to having a complete kit of my own and finally settling down to improving my handicap.
Sunday 14 April 2013
Sight Marks? What Sight Marks?
This weekend was one of contrasts and was defined, like much of this year, by the weather. Saturday dawned bright and sunny but by the time we had to leave for the field, light rain was falling and we were in two minds whether to shoot at all. My keenness won over Mrs EA's reticence so off we went. The scheduled round on the short range was a Windsor, but the club captain decided that nine dozen arrows was not a good idea given that the rain was expected to get worse and the wind was building. He concluded that a Warwick was a better idea in the circumstances, but I was a little unsure of shooting 60yds - further than I had ever tried before. Having done a bit of conversion, I found that 60yds is less than 5m over my previous longest distance of 50m, so I decided to give it a go.
I am learning that it is important to record sight marks for each of the distances you have shot so that you can set the sight next time out. I have been doing this but, to date, they have been of limited use as I keep changing the specification of the bow as I buy my own equipment. Today was no exception, as I have just bought a new sight, having found the Cartel sight that I had been using was difficult to to adjust and screws would quickly shake loose. The new sight is a SF Premium Carbon sight (in blue to match he riser colour). This is the same model used by Mrs EA, but have noticed that there are minor differences in construction between the model years. I am expecting only one more disruption of sight marks shortly as I have just ordered my first set of arrows (more of this later).
Although the temperature was into double-figures, the persistent rain combined with the strong wind served to make the round fairly unpleasant and more than once we wished we had stayed at home. However, being British we soldiered on to the end! Sixty yards actually felt a lot easier than 50m, as a Warwick round is shot on 122cm faces, rather than the 80m faces used in the Metric I round (but with 5-zone scoring, of course). Getting the sight right was not a problem in the end, taking only two misses before hitting the boss.
The first two dozen at 60yds seemed to go very quickly. I was again working on getting my draw right, going through the correct sequence to get to the point of release. This seems to be getting easier and more repeatable, but my accuracy is still not brilliant. I am sure that this will come with practice and experience. The final two dozen at 50yds seemed almost as difficult as the longer distance, perhaps because the rain was lashing down by this time. My hands got very wet and started to slip on the bow handle, and the platform tab rubbed on my softened skin and drew blood - my first injury. Later, at home, I checked the score to see what handicap it would give and was pleasantly surprised to find that it matched my personal best. Not bad given the conditions.
After the round, Andy kindly helped me measure-up for correct arrow length. We had been pinging emails backwards and forwards during the week discussing the types and spine of arrows that I should consider to match my bow and take into account increasing draw weight over the coming months. We had settled on Easton Platinum Plus xx75 1816 arrows, which have one of the higher spine values in group T3 on the Easton chart, but needed to check that my assumptions on arrow length were correct. We used a measuring arrow and confirmed that the distance from nock to button at full draw was 27.25", giving a minimum arrow length of 28.25". Andy advised that I should allow for an increase in draw length and advised that a cut length of 28.75" or 29" would allow the use of a clicker once a point had been added. Later that afternoon I priced the components for a set of eight arrows on a number of retailer websites and placed an order, and I am hopeful of delivery later this week. Maybe I will have them ready for next weekend.
Sunday morning was totally different to Saturday. Although there was a stiff breeze, the temperature at 10am was up around 15°C and the sun was out. Not only did I not need thermals, but I didn't need a sweater, either. I had to be home by midday, so I decided to spend the morning on the practice range, getting used to the new sight and trying to improve my consistency and groupings. I was fairly happy with the results, but there was a noticeable drop-off in consistency towards the end of the session, which I put down to fatigue. I am still getting used to the heavier limbs and I have yet to develop the strength and flexibility in my back and shoulders, so perhaps this is not surprising.
I am learning that it is important to record sight marks for each of the distances you have shot so that you can set the sight next time out. I have been doing this but, to date, they have been of limited use as I keep changing the specification of the bow as I buy my own equipment. Today was no exception, as I have just bought a new sight, having found the Cartel sight that I had been using was difficult to to adjust and screws would quickly shake loose. The new sight is a SF Premium Carbon sight (in blue to match he riser colour). This is the same model used by Mrs EA, but have noticed that there are minor differences in construction between the model years. I am expecting only one more disruption of sight marks shortly as I have just ordered my first set of arrows (more of this later).
Although the temperature was into double-figures, the persistent rain combined with the strong wind served to make the round fairly unpleasant and more than once we wished we had stayed at home. However, being British we soldiered on to the end! Sixty yards actually felt a lot easier than 50m, as a Warwick round is shot on 122cm faces, rather than the 80m faces used in the Metric I round (but with 5-zone scoring, of course). Getting the sight right was not a problem in the end, taking only two misses before hitting the boss.
The first two dozen at 60yds seemed to go very quickly. I was again working on getting my draw right, going through the correct sequence to get to the point of release. This seems to be getting easier and more repeatable, but my accuracy is still not brilliant. I am sure that this will come with practice and experience. The final two dozen at 50yds seemed almost as difficult as the longer distance, perhaps because the rain was lashing down by this time. My hands got very wet and started to slip on the bow handle, and the platform tab rubbed on my softened skin and drew blood - my first injury. Later, at home, I checked the score to see what handicap it would give and was pleasantly surprised to find that it matched my personal best. Not bad given the conditions.
After the round, Andy kindly helped me measure-up for correct arrow length. We had been pinging emails backwards and forwards during the week discussing the types and spine of arrows that I should consider to match my bow and take into account increasing draw weight over the coming months. We had settled on Easton Platinum Plus xx75 1816 arrows, which have one of the higher spine values in group T3 on the Easton chart, but needed to check that my assumptions on arrow length were correct. We used a measuring arrow and confirmed that the distance from nock to button at full draw was 27.25", giving a minimum arrow length of 28.25". Andy advised that I should allow for an increase in draw length and advised that a cut length of 28.75" or 29" would allow the use of a clicker once a point had been added. Later that afternoon I priced the components for a set of eight arrows on a number of retailer websites and placed an order, and I am hopeful of delivery later this week. Maybe I will have them ready for next weekend.
Sunday morning was totally different to Saturday. Although there was a stiff breeze, the temperature at 10am was up around 15°C and the sun was out. Not only did I not need thermals, but I didn't need a sweater, either. I had to be home by midday, so I decided to spend the morning on the practice range, getting used to the new sight and trying to improve my consistency and groupings. I was fairly happy with the results, but there was a noticeable drop-off in consistency towards the end of the session, which I put down to fatigue. I am still getting used to the heavier limbs and I have yet to develop the strength and flexibility in my back and shoulders, so perhaps this is not surprising.
Friday 12 April 2013
Relax
Although the outdoor season has officially begun, the club officers made the very sensible decision to move the two weekday evening sessions indoors for reasons of temperature and available daylight. The third Portsmouth round of my short career awaited.
This was to be the first proper indoor round with the new, heavier limbs on my bow and I was back to using the borrowed arrows as we were away from the clubhouse. The first hurdle I had to cross was the lack of any sight marks at this distance because of the new limbs, so the six sighters were used to best effect. I was determined to put into practice the advice I had been given the previous weekend, and to concentrate on stance and correct draw, keeping everything in line and using my back correctly. Unfortunately, this had a horrendously negative effect on my score, with arrows pinging all over the face or, a couple of times, missing the boss altogether. There were a few reasonable shots which felt right, and I did manage three tens, but my final score was 50 points below my best in that round, and the first time I had actually made negative progress.
Of course, this all felt truly awful at the time, and there was the inevitable feedback loop of worrying over what had gone wrong rather than forgetting it and trying to do it right next time. If I was to describe the round, I would say it was 'unsettled'. I am still trying to analyse what made a shot bad, whilst still trying to concentrate on the 'right' technique. It is quite telling that one of my better scores was achieved when I was not really thinking, but one of the coaches spotted that my draw arm had not come back far enough. If concentrating on technique is making my score worse, then where is the incentive to do it right?
The answer, of course, is that you will eventually reach a point where your 'bad' technique starts to have a more negative influence and will eventually limit your possibilities unless it is corrected. This is true for most things in life - you need firm foundations to build something that will last. I have the same approach when I am teaching people to ring church bells for the first time; if you don't sort out your technique early on, it will limit you in the future. I was lucky to have had some excellent advice in my early ringing career, and I try to pass it on to my learners thirty years on (including EA jnr).
Over the last few weeks my equipment has changed almost every session as I build up my own kit (new sight this weekend - no sight marks again!), but I will shortly be at the point where these variables can be forgotten. Then I probably need to chill out a little and just work on getting the basics right for a while, regardless of what the scoresheet says.
This was to be the first proper indoor round with the new, heavier limbs on my bow and I was back to using the borrowed arrows as we were away from the clubhouse. The first hurdle I had to cross was the lack of any sight marks at this distance because of the new limbs, so the six sighters were used to best effect. I was determined to put into practice the advice I had been given the previous weekend, and to concentrate on stance and correct draw, keeping everything in line and using my back correctly. Unfortunately, this had a horrendously negative effect on my score, with arrows pinging all over the face or, a couple of times, missing the boss altogether. There were a few reasonable shots which felt right, and I did manage three tens, but my final score was 50 points below my best in that round, and the first time I had actually made negative progress.
Of course, this all felt truly awful at the time, and there was the inevitable feedback loop of worrying over what had gone wrong rather than forgetting it and trying to do it right next time. If I was to describe the round, I would say it was 'unsettled'. I am still trying to analyse what made a shot bad, whilst still trying to concentrate on the 'right' technique. It is quite telling that one of my better scores was achieved when I was not really thinking, but one of the coaches spotted that my draw arm had not come back far enough. If concentrating on technique is making my score worse, then where is the incentive to do it right?
The answer, of course, is that you will eventually reach a point where your 'bad' technique starts to have a more negative influence and will eventually limit your possibilities unless it is corrected. This is true for most things in life - you need firm foundations to build something that will last. I have the same approach when I am teaching people to ring church bells for the first time; if you don't sort out your technique early on, it will limit you in the future. I was lucky to have had some excellent advice in my early ringing career, and I try to pass it on to my learners thirty years on (including EA jnr).
Over the last few weeks my equipment has changed almost every session as I build up my own kit (new sight this weekend - no sight marks again!), but I will shortly be at the point where these variables can be forgotten. Then I probably need to chill out a little and just work on getting the basics right for a while, regardless of what the scoresheet says.
Tuesday 9 April 2013
Sunshine
What a difference a week makes! This weekend I was lucky to be able to shoot arrows on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. Both times the sun was out and although the temperature was just into double figures (°C) it made for a far more pleasurable experience than the previous week (see Wind).
My archery weekend started on Friday when my new limbs were delivered. I have opted for a pair of SF Premium medium length limbs giving a draw weight of 24lbs on a 25" riser. Note to online retailers: can you PLEASE work together to standardize on the description of limb length and draw weight? I had incorrectly ordered the wrong size from a different retailer and it took almost a week to get the order amended and the limbs removed (they didn't stock the size/weight I needed). I also had a new string to fit, as the original one made by Martin seemed a little short, needing very few twists to achive the desired bracing height of 23cm. So I fitted the limbs to the riser, attached the string, marked the nocking point with a bow square and marked the nocking point with dental floss kept in place with superglue. I was very careful and was pleased with the result, so I removed the string. At this point Mrs EA took a look at the new limbs and pointed out that the one marked 'Upper' usually goes at the top......
On Saturday, after a couple of hours maintenance, I moved onto the practice range to try and get used to the new, heavier limbs. I also tried out some club arrows which were more suited to my draw weight. The EA family were playing musical limbs: I had my new ones, Mrs EA had borrowed a set of 26lb limbs to try, and EA jnr decided to tryout Mrs EA's 22lb limbs.
The afternoon session was spent concentrating on my draw technique, trying to follow the valuable advice of the coaches. There were times when it felt as though I was attempting to put my body in positions that it was not designed to do! The basic take-aways for the afternoon were
- keep the front shoulder down
- use the shoulders and back to bring the arms into line at full draw
- keep the head still during the draw. Move the bow not the head
The Sunday morning round was a Short Metric. You may recall that the last time I attempted this, I had only two hits at 50m, so I was hoping for better this time. The sighters were much needed as I had no sight marks since changing to heavier limbs, but managed to hit the boss reliably in the first half-dozen. During the round I made an effort to put the previous day's advice into practice and I think it paid off, although I have to admit that my back and shoulders were becoming tired towards the end of the round. I was pleased with my score of 51 at 50m, as this was 43 more than I managed last time. My total of 159 for the round was equal to my PB in handicap terms, which can't be too bad. However, I checked the required score for a GNAS 3rd class classification and found that it is 334, so I have a very long way to go before I reach that level. It does seem relatively harder for gents to obtain classification scores than ladies or juniors of similar experience, and many other club members seem to agree. The classifications for juniors also seem to have very large step changes across the age boundaries, which means that an 11 year old and 12 year old of similar ability might end up with dramatically different classifications. It would be interesting to find out how the classification scores and boundaries have been arrived at.
Sunday night : needed a nice hot bath then crashed into bed...
My archery weekend started on Friday when my new limbs were delivered. I have opted for a pair of SF Premium medium length limbs giving a draw weight of 24lbs on a 25" riser. Note to online retailers: can you PLEASE work together to standardize on the description of limb length and draw weight? I had incorrectly ordered the wrong size from a different retailer and it took almost a week to get the order amended and the limbs removed (they didn't stock the size/weight I needed). I also had a new string to fit, as the original one made by Martin seemed a little short, needing very few twists to achive the desired bracing height of 23cm. So I fitted the limbs to the riser, attached the string, marked the nocking point with a bow square and marked the nocking point with dental floss kept in place with superglue. I was very careful and was pleased with the result, so I removed the string. At this point Mrs EA took a look at the new limbs and pointed out that the one marked 'Upper' usually goes at the top......
On Saturday, after a couple of hours maintenance, I moved onto the practice range to try and get used to the new, heavier limbs. I also tried out some club arrows which were more suited to my draw weight. The EA family were playing musical limbs: I had my new ones, Mrs EA had borrowed a set of 26lb limbs to try, and EA jnr decided to tryout Mrs EA's 22lb limbs.
The afternoon session was spent concentrating on my draw technique, trying to follow the valuable advice of the coaches. There were times when it felt as though I was attempting to put my body in positions that it was not designed to do! The basic take-aways for the afternoon were
- keep the front shoulder down
- use the shoulders and back to bring the arms into line at full draw
- keep the head still during the draw. Move the bow not the head
The Sunday morning round was a Short Metric. You may recall that the last time I attempted this, I had only two hits at 50m, so I was hoping for better this time. The sighters were much needed as I had no sight marks since changing to heavier limbs, but managed to hit the boss reliably in the first half-dozen. During the round I made an effort to put the previous day's advice into practice and I think it paid off, although I have to admit that my back and shoulders were becoming tired towards the end of the round. I was pleased with my score of 51 at 50m, as this was 43 more than I managed last time. My total of 159 for the round was equal to my PB in handicap terms, which can't be too bad. However, I checked the required score for a GNAS 3rd class classification and found that it is 334, so I have a very long way to go before I reach that level. It does seem relatively harder for gents to obtain classification scores than ladies or juniors of similar experience, and many other club members seem to agree. The classifications for juniors also seem to have very large step changes across the age boundaries, which means that an 11 year old and 12 year old of similar ability might end up with dramatically different classifications. It would be interesting to find out how the classification scores and boundaries have been arrived at.
Sunday night : needed a nice hot bath then crashed into bed...
Wednesday 3 April 2013
Wind
Monday 1st April is a Bank Holiday (public holiday) in the UK, so what better than to use it for the first outdoor contest of the new season? This was a club handicap contest for the Collingwood trophy, and is a round of 5 dozen arrows shot from 30m on an 80cm face. The handicap figures were those achieved in three or more 'Frostbite' rounds over the previous winter season. Although I was ineligible for the overall trophy (not enough Frostbite scores) I took part just for the fun of it.
Observers of trends in UK meteorology will also be well aware that Bank Holidays usually mean some form of inclement weather, and this day was no exception. The day started fairly dull and still but, throughout the morning, the wind increased, blowing way the clouds to give some sunny intervals, but settling on a speed that could be described as challenging. The maximum temperature was also only 5°C, which must have resulted in a sub-zero figure after wind-chill effects - it certainly felt like it - and you will not be surprised to hear that thermal underwear was still required (still not shot without it - is this a record?). The reason for the unusually cold weather is that the wind had come south from the arctic, made a right-turn over continental Europe and whipped-in over the North Sea before making landfall. The club field, on the northern edge of the North Downs at an altitude of around 90m, has a lovely view over central London, but this has the downside of having no high ground between us and the Thames estuary, so we get the full force of an easterly wind.
More than one person said that this was the windiest they could ever remember whilst shooting and others declared that it would be a great leveller. Being a newcomer with limited experience, I nodded in agreement and just continued to shoot to the best of my ability, but it soon became apparent that thee conditions were challenging to many on the line. The first clue was when two of the juniors gave up shortly after sightseers and retired to the relative warmth of the clubhouse. Then one of the experienced compound archers retired: he released just as the wind gusted and pushed his arrow off the rest, sending it directly into the ground in front of him and breaking it into two pieces. With his arrows at £15 a time, I think I would have retired at that point, too! A similar thing happened to the only other compound archer, but he was lucky and came away with his arrows intact (and the medal for the best compound score).
Everyone was struggling - novices and old-hands alike. The wind was consistently strong, but there would also be stronger gusts that felt like someone was pushing you in the back (as a right-handed archer). It was even difficult to keep the arrow still enough to nock it on the string. When at full draw, holding still to aim was all but impossible, and long rod stabilisers seemed to be more of a hindrance than a help to those who were using them. A number of bows were blown over when on their stands, damaging their settings and we were advised to point them into the wind to reduce the risk.
Nineteen people made it to the end of the round and assembled in the clubhouse for some very welcome hot drinks and cake (courtesy of Mrs EA) to await the results. Medals were awarded for highest scores ins number of categories, and the ladies' competition was very close, with only four points separating the top three. The overall result takes into account the Frostbite handicap or the season, and this year it was won by a very surprised Mrs EA! I had the lowest actual score of the day but apparently I shot better than my current outdoor handicap, so it's not all bad. At least I remembered to put all the bits on my bow this time!
When I let it be known that his post would be on the subject of wind, there was the inevitable question: indoor or outdoor? Baked beans were also mentioned. So now is the ideal time to recount an incident that happened a few weeks ago during an indoor session. I had just put my new bow together and was shooting some trial arrows at the end of the line when I noticed a commotion further along. It seems that a gentleman archer had 'let one go' on the line, which would have been fine, except that he said 'pardon me' with a bit of a delay. This was too much for two lady archers, who were in stitches, barely able to control themselves, and it took one of them at let half a dozen attempts to get off her last arrow. No names but she makes excellent cakes....
Observers of trends in UK meteorology will also be well aware that Bank Holidays usually mean some form of inclement weather, and this day was no exception. The day started fairly dull and still but, throughout the morning, the wind increased, blowing way the clouds to give some sunny intervals, but settling on a speed that could be described as challenging. The maximum temperature was also only 5°C, which must have resulted in a sub-zero figure after wind-chill effects - it certainly felt like it - and you will not be surprised to hear that thermal underwear was still required (still not shot without it - is this a record?). The reason for the unusually cold weather is that the wind had come south from the arctic, made a right-turn over continental Europe and whipped-in over the North Sea before making landfall. The club field, on the northern edge of the North Downs at an altitude of around 90m, has a lovely view over central London, but this has the downside of having no high ground between us and the Thames estuary, so we get the full force of an easterly wind.
More than one person said that this was the windiest they could ever remember whilst shooting and others declared that it would be a great leveller. Being a newcomer with limited experience, I nodded in agreement and just continued to shoot to the best of my ability, but it soon became apparent that thee conditions were challenging to many on the line. The first clue was when two of the juniors gave up shortly after sightseers and retired to the relative warmth of the clubhouse. Then one of the experienced compound archers retired: he released just as the wind gusted and pushed his arrow off the rest, sending it directly into the ground in front of him and breaking it into two pieces. With his arrows at £15 a time, I think I would have retired at that point, too! A similar thing happened to the only other compound archer, but he was lucky and came away with his arrows intact (and the medal for the best compound score).
Everyone was struggling - novices and old-hands alike. The wind was consistently strong, but there would also be stronger gusts that felt like someone was pushing you in the back (as a right-handed archer). It was even difficult to keep the arrow still enough to nock it on the string. When at full draw, holding still to aim was all but impossible, and long rod stabilisers seemed to be more of a hindrance than a help to those who were using them. A number of bows were blown over when on their stands, damaging their settings and we were advised to point them into the wind to reduce the risk.
Nineteen people made it to the end of the round and assembled in the clubhouse for some very welcome hot drinks and cake (courtesy of Mrs EA) to await the results. Medals were awarded for highest scores ins number of categories, and the ladies' competition was very close, with only four points separating the top three. The overall result takes into account the Frostbite handicap or the season, and this year it was won by a very surprised Mrs EA! I had the lowest actual score of the day but apparently I shot better than my current outdoor handicap, so it's not all bad. At least I remembered to put all the bits on my bow this time!
When I let it be known that his post would be on the subject of wind, there was the inevitable question: indoor or outdoor? Baked beans were also mentioned. So now is the ideal time to recount an incident that happened a few weeks ago during an indoor session. I had just put my new bow together and was shooting some trial arrows at the end of the line when I noticed a commotion further along. It seems that a gentleman archer had 'let one go' on the line, which would have been fine, except that he said 'pardon me' with a bit of a delay. This was too much for two lady archers, who were in stitches, barely able to control themselves, and it took one of them at let half a dozen attempts to get off her last arrow. No names but she makes excellent cakes....
Thursday 28 March 2013
Wonky Arrows
I had been looking forward to shooting on Tuesday evening after the weekend's wash-out - Saturday was rained-off and a Palm Sunday scout church parade kept me busy on Sunday morning. So when EA jnr came in from school and announced that he needed cakes for a school bake sale the next day, Mrs EA had to swing into action and magic-up three dozen chocolate cupcakes (or fairy cakes if you prefer the traditional, English name). This left us a little short of time to eat and get changed (thermals and plenty of layers) and out to the indoor range. We also made the very brave decision to leave icing and decorating the cakes to EA jnr and his older sister while we were out - this does not make for a stress-free start to the evening!
We arrived just in time to set up and we shot two lots of three sighters. I needed to adjust my sight a long way to the left before I was happy with it. The round itself was fairly uneventful, and I managed to keep the scoring under control, with only a few minor errors. I managed a total of 338 points, including two tens, which is three points lower than the previous Portsmouth using a club bow. I know that quite a lot of my wayward shots were due to simple variations in anchoring point, or how I was using my back and shoulders, but I think that some of it is due to the arrows I am currently using. No matter how I release, the arrows do not fly on a straight trajectory, but fishtail all the way down the range, which I am convinced is increasing the size of the grouping.
The arrows are on short-term loan until I get my own set and are Easton Platinum Plus XX75, size 1916. They are a little on the long side for me but I don't think that matters too much. What I believe matters most is the size, so I decided to investigate a bit further, having been pointed in the right direction by Martin, followed by some Googling. There are a lot of very technical articles out on the web (who remembers when it was called the Information Superhighway?) and I have referenced one in an earlier post, but it all seems to boil down to getting the right arrows to match both the bow and yourself.
The parameters that are most important are draw length (your measurement) and draw weight (bow measurement) and from this you can use manufacturers' tables to find which of the arrows are most suitable for your bow. My estimated draw length is around 27" and I am currently using a bow with a nominal draw weight of 22lbs at a draw length of 28". To correct for a shorter draw length I need to subtract 2lb for every inch less than 28", giving an actual draw weight of 20lb (you add 2lb per inch over 28" if your draw length is longer). The ideal arrow length is at least one inch longer than your draw length, so my ideal arrow length would be 28".
I downloaded the Easton Target Arrow Selection Chart and looked-up what arrows would suit my bow as it stands now. Although the chart looks complicated, it is packed full of information and is actually fairly easy to use once you have your basic measurements:
Oh, and guess what I found in the case at while putting away the bow? My pressure button! Its absence may have had something to do with my accuracy, but I'm not sure how much. That's what you get for rushing!
Postscript
Although we had been expecting armageddon, the kitchen was fairly tidy when we got home. Only a slightly sticky floor required immediate attention. And the cakes were yummy!
Update Sat 30 March
I urge you to read Martin's comment below. It explains a lot, not least why he is the coach and I am very much the novice....
We arrived just in time to set up and we shot two lots of three sighters. I needed to adjust my sight a long way to the left before I was happy with it. The round itself was fairly uneventful, and I managed to keep the scoring under control, with only a few minor errors. I managed a total of 338 points, including two tens, which is three points lower than the previous Portsmouth using a club bow. I know that quite a lot of my wayward shots were due to simple variations in anchoring point, or how I was using my back and shoulders, but I think that some of it is due to the arrows I am currently using. No matter how I release, the arrows do not fly on a straight trajectory, but fishtail all the way down the range, which I am convinced is increasing the size of the grouping.
The arrows are on short-term loan until I get my own set and are Easton Platinum Plus XX75, size 1916. They are a little on the long side for me but I don't think that matters too much. What I believe matters most is the size, so I decided to investigate a bit further, having been pointed in the right direction by Martin, followed by some Googling. There are a lot of very technical articles out on the web (who remembers when it was called the Information Superhighway?) and I have referenced one in an earlier post, but it all seems to boil down to getting the right arrows to match both the bow and yourself.
The parameters that are most important are draw length (your measurement) and draw weight (bow measurement) and from this you can use manufacturers' tables to find which of the arrows are most suitable for your bow. My estimated draw length is around 27" and I am currently using a bow with a nominal draw weight of 22lbs at a draw length of 28". To correct for a shorter draw length I need to subtract 2lb for every inch less than 28", giving an actual draw weight of 20lb (you add 2lb per inch over 28" if your draw length is longer). The ideal arrow length is at least one inch longer than your draw length, so my ideal arrow length would be 28".
I downloaded the Easton Target Arrow Selection Chart and looked-up what arrows would suit my bow as it stands now. Although the chart looks complicated, it is packed full of information and is actually fairly easy to use once you have your basic measurements:
- Find the table headed Correct Arrow Length for Target - Field - 3D
- Find the Recurve Bow column on the right-hand side
- Move down the column until your draw weight is in the correct range (top row for my 20lb bow)
- Move left along this row until you get to the figure under the arrow length (28" for me)
- Read off the Group identifier - T2 in my example
- In the lower part of the table, find the section headed with the Group identifier (T2 here). This section lists the arrows that suit your measurements
- Find the model of arrow using the code (key at bottom of table) and read off the size. For Easton Platinum Plus XX75 arrows (code 75), the ideal size for me would be 1716.
The four-figure Easton size codes are a bit odd. The first figure is the outside diameter of the shaft in 64ths of an inch. The second figure is the thickness of the tube material in thousands of an inch. Note that there is a column labelled Spine, which is a measure of the stiffness of an arrow. The lower the number, the stiffer the arrow and higher numbers mean more bendy arrows. Why is this important? With a recurve bow, an arrow must bend to allow it to pass around the riser after release, but is must not bend too much. As draw weight increases, the forces on the arrow increase correspondingly, so a stiffer arrow is needed to resist these forces. If you look at the arrows I am currently using, they are in the last row of Group 6 and, reversing the order we used above, you can see that they are better matched to a bow with a draw weight of between 41 and 45lbs. This tallies with the ideal arrows being narrower than the loan set. I won't be buying arrows until I have settled on a draw weight and bought suitable limbs, but I now know how to find the right match.
Oh, and guess what I found in the case at while putting away the bow? My pressure button! Its absence may have had something to do with my accuracy, but I'm not sure how much. That's what you get for rushing!
Postscript
Although we had been expecting armageddon, the kitchen was fairly tidy when we got home. Only a slightly sticky floor required immediate attention. And the cakes were yummy!
Update Sat 30 March
I urge you to read Martin's comment below. It explains a lot, not least why he is the coach and I am very much the novice....
Monday 25 March 2013
The Perils of Scoring
OK, so it's fairly straightforward and well within the abilities of someone with basic numeracy skills, but why does filling-in an archery scoresheet seem so tricky? Granted, I am fairly new to the game but I make some very basic errors that reduce my final score. A good example was my recent Short Metric I round, where I had only one scoring end at 50m : 44MMMM giving 8 points. What did I do? Only used the Hits column instead of the end total, robbing myself of 75% of the points at that range!
I can think of a few good reasons why this could have happened and I would be very surprised if more experienced archers reading this do not recognize at least one of them. The first is that I took over scoring duties after the initial scorer retired through injury; the ends had not been totalled at that point so I filled them in. Secondly, it was perishingly cold and intermittently raining. It seems that my brain really doesn't work very well in inclement weather. Thirdly, my scores for this distance were: MMMMMM; MMMMMM; MMMMMM; MMMMMM, 44MMMM; MMMMMM - I think the two hits somehow had a much larger significance than the actual scores, so I subconsciously used 2 instead of 8. Finally, I didn't have this much trouble before I picked up a bow myself, and did the scoring for Mrs EA and EA jnr, so I can only conclude that my 'men cannot multitask' genes are having an effect.
Joking aside (yes, that mutitasking comment WAS a joke!), it is very different scoring at the same time as shooting a round yourself; there are so many more things to think about: am I missing high or low? Where did those missed arrows go? What did I score? Does my sight need adjusting? Is 50m a step too far with an 18lb bow? Why did you not pick up the scoresheet from the waiting line? When will it be Spring? etc....
Scoresheets themselves seem to be set out to bamboozle you, too. Who has not written the second end of a dozen underneath the first end instead of to the right of it? Some scoresheets have a row per end, which confuses the poor beginner even more. Not to mention columns for Hits, 10s, 10+X, X! Sure, it will get easier over time, but it is perplexing at first.
I have also learned that accuracy is essential not only in recording and totalling scores, but also in providing details of the round, otherwise the club Records Officer is liable to be using a lot of red ink! Recently I shot a Junior Warwick round and thought I had done reasonably well. Unfortunately I had circled Short on the scoresheet, and added an annotation jnr so it was recorded as a Short Junior Warwick and I was given the appropriate handicap for that round. Why did I circle Short? I first thought this round was a Short Warwick (so I circled Short) but was then corrected that it was a Junior Warwick, so I added the Jnr annotation but forgot to delete the circle round the Short.
Of course, all of this can be easily avoided by using a smartphone app and using that to record your scores. Unfortunately, this can only be done in addition to paper scoring, not instead of paper scoring (at least at my club), so just introduces one more thing to do (see male mutitasking, above). I did try it on one round when I was not scorer, but managed to delete the whole round when attempting to edit one end, so it is not infallible.
I guess I am resigned to the fact that this scoring business will become second nature over time and not to get too wound-up about it. Any errors will get lost in the overall statistics over the years, and will certainly lose the significance they have now.
I can think of a few good reasons why this could have happened and I would be very surprised if more experienced archers reading this do not recognize at least one of them. The first is that I took over scoring duties after the initial scorer retired through injury; the ends had not been totalled at that point so I filled them in. Secondly, it was perishingly cold and intermittently raining. It seems that my brain really doesn't work very well in inclement weather. Thirdly, my scores for this distance were: MMMMMM; MMMMMM; MMMMMM; MMMMMM, 44MMMM; MMMMMM - I think the two hits somehow had a much larger significance than the actual scores, so I subconsciously used 2 instead of 8. Finally, I didn't have this much trouble before I picked up a bow myself, and did the scoring for Mrs EA and EA jnr, so I can only conclude that my 'men cannot multitask' genes are having an effect.
Joking aside (yes, that mutitasking comment WAS a joke!), it is very different scoring at the same time as shooting a round yourself; there are so many more things to think about: am I missing high or low? Where did those missed arrows go? What did I score? Does my sight need adjusting? Is 50m a step too far with an 18lb bow? Why did you not pick up the scoresheet from the waiting line? When will it be Spring? etc....
Scoresheets themselves seem to be set out to bamboozle you, too. Who has not written the second end of a dozen underneath the first end instead of to the right of it? Some scoresheets have a row per end, which confuses the poor beginner even more. Not to mention columns for Hits, 10s, 10+X, X! Sure, it will get easier over time, but it is perplexing at first.
I have also learned that accuracy is essential not only in recording and totalling scores, but also in providing details of the round, otherwise the club Records Officer is liable to be using a lot of red ink! Recently I shot a Junior Warwick round and thought I had done reasonably well. Unfortunately I had circled Short on the scoresheet, and added an annotation jnr so it was recorded as a Short Junior Warwick and I was given the appropriate handicap for that round. Why did I circle Short? I first thought this round was a Short Warwick (so I circled Short) but was then corrected that it was a Junior Warwick, so I added the Jnr annotation but forgot to delete the circle round the Short.
Of course, all of this can be easily avoided by using a smartphone app and using that to record your scores. Unfortunately, this can only be done in addition to paper scoring, not instead of paper scoring (at least at my club), so just introduces one more thing to do (see male mutitasking, above). I did try it on one round when I was not scorer, but managed to delete the whole round when attempting to edit one end, so it is not infallible.
I guess I am resigned to the fact that this scoring business will become second nature over time and not to get too wound-up about it. Any errors will get lost in the overall statistics over the years, and will certainly lose the significance they have now.
Thursday 21 March 2013
New Bow - New Challenges
Last Tuesday the postman delivered my riser. It is a 25" Sebastian Flute* [SF] Premium model, which was offered for sale on eBay on a buy-it-now at £85 and had been on my short-list of possibles to buy new. The description said it was bought in February and was in excellent condition so, with a £25 saving over a new riser as an incentive, I took the plunge. In true Royal Mail style, it arrived with the end ripped off the carton, but a quick message to the seller confirmed that the contents were intact. As the riser was used, the arrow rest (SF premium) was already attached, and the button (also SF Premium) was included, together with spare springs and the tools. Apart from a couple of very small marks, it could easily pass as new, so I am very pleased with it.
I had already been in touch with Martin, one of the club coaches, to ask advice on buying kit, and he had offered to loan me a set of limbs that he keeps for training. I have shied away from buying limbs too quickly as I have only ever used an 18lb training bow, and know that moving up in poundage is not altogether straightforward. By borrowing this set of limbs (SF Premium) I can start to judge what draw weight limbs I should buy for myself.
Martin also offered to make me a string and loan me a set of arrows he had spare. Mrs EA had already given me a spare sight (Cartel Q-sight) so I was in a position to start using my own (most of it!) bow. I pre-arranged with Martin to assist me with setting-up for the first time at the indoor club session on Tuesday evening. I have seen this done before when Martin helped EA jnr set up his bow for the first time almost a year ago but, to be honest, I had forgotten a lot of it.
First Martin explained the various parts of the riser including the sight mounting holes, the position for the arrow rest (already fitted, of course), where the stablizer is mounted and the pockets for the limbs. This riser takes standard International Limb Fitting (ILF) limbs, which allows you to mix and match risers and limbs from any manufacturer. (Although I have seen a couple of warnings about some manufacturers [HOYT] going slightly away from the standard on some of their equipment). Each limb is marked with the length (Short, medium, long) and the draw weights on each of 25" and 23" risers, as well as Top or Bottom. This set of medium limbs has a draw weight of 22lb on my 25" riser giving a 68" bow, but a draw weight of 24lb on a 23" riser, giving a 66" bow. The slots in the limbs fit under the large washer, and the locating pin in the riser slides into the dovetil at the end of the riser. What I didn't realise at first was that the locating pin had a push-down pin in the centre, which must be pushed down to get the locater to slide into the dovetail. When properly inserted, the limbs are a very loose fit in the riser but the spring-loaded pin prevents the limbs from just sliding out.
Next came the string, which Martin had made to order that afternoon out of blue and white strands - 10 of each colour - and he explained that less strands could be used to allow for nocks with narrower throats. Using a bow stringer I attached the string and then we checked the bracing height, which I am told should be around 22.5cm to 23cm. The bracing height is the distance between the centre of the arrow rest and the string when the bow is not drawn, and is most easily measured using a bracing height gauge, which clips onto the string. We found that the bracing height was a little high, which is resolved by unstringing the bow, removing a few twists from the string and then measuring again after restringing the bow. It took a few iterations, but we eventually got there! The other important measurement is the location of the nocking point on the string, which should be 4mm above the point at which the arrow sits on the rest. The bracing height gauge has this conveniently marked on it so that when the long arm of the gauge is sitting on the arrow rest, the nocking point can be read next to the string. Thankfully Martin had already marked the nocking point on the string with pieces of dental floss & superglue and a quick check showed it was in exactly the right place.
Now it was time to check that the string and limbs were properly aligned. To do this, Martin clipped a string alignment gauge to each of the limbs, close to the riser. With the bow supported, stand back and see that the string passes through the centre marking on each of the gauges, and also through the hole in the middle of the riser. Thankfully this was fairly close and, as these limbs were only going to be used by me for a short time, we accepted the status quo. If there is any misalignment, it can be resolved by adjusting the limb attachment bolts on the riser.
The pressure button was next. This screws into the riser from the right (RH bow) so that the spring-loaded plunger protrudes by the arrow rest. A knurled nut allows you to adjust how far the plunger protrudes and the knob can be fixed into place with a grub screw. To adjust the button, clip an arrow on the string and place it n the rest with the bow supported vertically. It also helps if a stabiliser is fitted to the front of the riser. Once the arrow is loaded, stand slightly back and sight the string along the centre of the bow and see where the point of the arrow is. Ideally it should be about one arrow-width to the left of the string and if it is not, screw the button in to adjust it left, or out to move it right. Once in the right place, hold it still and turn the knurled nut so that it is tight against the riser and then tighten the grub screw with the supplied hex key. Ideally the button should be kept in the riser, but my case won't allow it, so it will have to be attached and removed each time I shoot.
I had already screwed the sight bracket onto the riser, so it was a simple matter of attaching the sight with the knurled screw and I was ready to go! I had a dozen or so test draws in front of a mirror without any arrows loaded to check that I was happy with the draw before joining the rest of the members on the line to shoot some arrows for the first time with my own bow.
Arrows 1 and 2 flew directly over the boss, so I adjusted the sight up a long way. The next arrows thankfully hit the boss, if not the target. Although this bow nominally has a draw weight of 4lbs more than the training bow, I found it very comfortable to draw and the action is certainly a lot smoother than the trainer. I suspect that the limbs are adjusted to the minimum weight, so it's possible that I was drawing a pound or two less than the rated 22. I will probably adjust this up over the next few sessions as I get used to drawing more weight.
Over the next 30 or 40 minutes, I shot alongside the other members, most of whom were scoring a Portsmouth round. At the other end of the range, EA jnr was shooting just to practice, and managed a cracking two arrows at one point - it was a shame about the third. After a while I was getting some reasonable groupings and everything felt very comfortable.
The only real problem was that the arrows tended to snake in the air, which Martin suggested was probably due to the arrows being the wrong stiffness for the bow, being more suited to a bow of a higher draw weight. Arrows are made from a number of different materials with a range of outside diameters and varying wall thicknesses, and these variables combine to define the stiffness of the shaft. The shaft stiffness must be matched to the length of the arrow (draw length of the archer) and the draw weight of the bow to achieve the optimum flight characteristics. The physics of this is quite complex, but you could try reading this article. Thankfully arrow manufacturers supply cross reference tables that allow you to select suitable arrows based on draw length and draw weight. I know these arrows are not ideal, but they will suffice until I buy my own set, and they will perform better as my draw weight increases.
I am very grateful to Martin for loaning me his limbs and arrows, and for his guidance on equipment and taking me through the setup. The other coaches and members have also given advice when asked and I have found this invaluable. Buying your first equipment really is a minefield and you can easily make expensive mistakes or end up with unsuitable equipment that may hold you back. I know that coaches are discouraged from recommending equipment to new starters, probably to preclude any possibility of financial gain, but I can see some new starters feeling cast adrift in the minefield of equipment after a beginners course. I am lucky in having two archers already in the household so have someone to keep me on the right track, and I am confident enough to ask for advice from others, but this probably not a common situation.
Hoping for good weather this weekend so that I can get some practice in on Saturday. Sunday is out this week - church parade with the scouts!
* When I see or hear Sebastien Flute, I can't help thinking of the character Sebastian Flight in the comedy series The High Life, and his catch-phrase 'oh deary me'. A work colleague also pointed out that there is a Sebastian Flyte in Brideshead Revisited. I suspect that the name of Alan Cumming's high-camp steward is no coincidence.
I had already been in touch with Martin, one of the club coaches, to ask advice on buying kit, and he had offered to loan me a set of limbs that he keeps for training. I have shied away from buying limbs too quickly as I have only ever used an 18lb training bow, and know that moving up in poundage is not altogether straightforward. By borrowing this set of limbs (SF Premium) I can start to judge what draw weight limbs I should buy for myself.
Martin also offered to make me a string and loan me a set of arrows he had spare. Mrs EA had already given me a spare sight (Cartel Q-sight) so I was in a position to start using my own (most of it!) bow. I pre-arranged with Martin to assist me with setting-up for the first time at the indoor club session on Tuesday evening. I have seen this done before when Martin helped EA jnr set up his bow for the first time almost a year ago but, to be honest, I had forgotten a lot of it.
First Martin explained the various parts of the riser including the sight mounting holes, the position for the arrow rest (already fitted, of course), where the stablizer is mounted and the pockets for the limbs. This riser takes standard International Limb Fitting (ILF) limbs, which allows you to mix and match risers and limbs from any manufacturer. (Although I have seen a couple of warnings about some manufacturers [HOYT] going slightly away from the standard on some of their equipment). Each limb is marked with the length (Short, medium, long) and the draw weights on each of 25" and 23" risers, as well as Top or Bottom. This set of medium limbs has a draw weight of 22lb on my 25" riser giving a 68" bow, but a draw weight of 24lb on a 23" riser, giving a 66" bow. The slots in the limbs fit under the large washer, and the locating pin in the riser slides into the dovetil at the end of the riser. What I didn't realise at first was that the locating pin had a push-down pin in the centre, which must be pushed down to get the locater to slide into the dovetail. When properly inserted, the limbs are a very loose fit in the riser but the spring-loaded pin prevents the limbs from just sliding out.
Next came the string, which Martin had made to order that afternoon out of blue and white strands - 10 of each colour - and he explained that less strands could be used to allow for nocks with narrower throats. Using a bow stringer I attached the string and then we checked the bracing height, which I am told should be around 22.5cm to 23cm. The bracing height is the distance between the centre of the arrow rest and the string when the bow is not drawn, and is most easily measured using a bracing height gauge, which clips onto the string. We found that the bracing height was a little high, which is resolved by unstringing the bow, removing a few twists from the string and then measuring again after restringing the bow. It took a few iterations, but we eventually got there! The other important measurement is the location of the nocking point on the string, which should be 4mm above the point at which the arrow sits on the rest. The bracing height gauge has this conveniently marked on it so that when the long arm of the gauge is sitting on the arrow rest, the nocking point can be read next to the string. Thankfully Martin had already marked the nocking point on the string with pieces of dental floss & superglue and a quick check showed it was in exactly the right place.
Now it was time to check that the string and limbs were properly aligned. To do this, Martin clipped a string alignment gauge to each of the limbs, close to the riser. With the bow supported, stand back and see that the string passes through the centre marking on each of the gauges, and also through the hole in the middle of the riser. Thankfully this was fairly close and, as these limbs were only going to be used by me for a short time, we accepted the status quo. If there is any misalignment, it can be resolved by adjusting the limb attachment bolts on the riser.
The pressure button was next. This screws into the riser from the right (RH bow) so that the spring-loaded plunger protrudes by the arrow rest. A knurled nut allows you to adjust how far the plunger protrudes and the knob can be fixed into place with a grub screw. To adjust the button, clip an arrow on the string and place it n the rest with the bow supported vertically. It also helps if a stabiliser is fitted to the front of the riser. Once the arrow is loaded, stand slightly back and sight the string along the centre of the bow and see where the point of the arrow is. Ideally it should be about one arrow-width to the left of the string and if it is not, screw the button in to adjust it left, or out to move it right. Once in the right place, hold it still and turn the knurled nut so that it is tight against the riser and then tighten the grub screw with the supplied hex key. Ideally the button should be kept in the riser, but my case won't allow it, so it will have to be attached and removed each time I shoot.
Arrows 1 and 2 flew directly over the boss, so I adjusted the sight up a long way. The next arrows thankfully hit the boss, if not the target. Although this bow nominally has a draw weight of 4lbs more than the training bow, I found it very comfortable to draw and the action is certainly a lot smoother than the trainer. I suspect that the limbs are adjusted to the minimum weight, so it's possible that I was drawing a pound or two less than the rated 22. I will probably adjust this up over the next few sessions as I get used to drawing more weight.
Over the next 30 or 40 minutes, I shot alongside the other members, most of whom were scoring a Portsmouth round. At the other end of the range, EA jnr was shooting just to practice, and managed a cracking two arrows at one point - it was a shame about the third. After a while I was getting some reasonable groupings and everything felt very comfortable.
The only real problem was that the arrows tended to snake in the air, which Martin suggested was probably due to the arrows being the wrong stiffness for the bow, being more suited to a bow of a higher draw weight. Arrows are made from a number of different materials with a range of outside diameters and varying wall thicknesses, and these variables combine to define the stiffness of the shaft. The shaft stiffness must be matched to the length of the arrow (draw length of the archer) and the draw weight of the bow to achieve the optimum flight characteristics. The physics of this is quite complex, but you could try reading this article. Thankfully arrow manufacturers supply cross reference tables that allow you to select suitable arrows based on draw length and draw weight. I know these arrows are not ideal, but they will suffice until I buy my own set, and they will perform better as my draw weight increases.
I am very grateful to Martin for loaning me his limbs and arrows, and for his guidance on equipment and taking me through the setup. The other coaches and members have also given advice when asked and I have found this invaluable. Buying your first equipment really is a minefield and you can easily make expensive mistakes or end up with unsuitable equipment that may hold you back. I know that coaches are discouraged from recommending equipment to new starters, probably to preclude any possibility of financial gain, but I can see some new starters feeling cast adrift in the minefield of equipment after a beginners course. I am lucky in having two archers already in the household so have someone to keep me on the right track, and I am confident enough to ask for advice from others, but this probably not a common situation.
Hoping for good weather this weekend so that I can get some practice in on Saturday. Sunday is out this week - church parade with the scouts!
* When I see or hear Sebastien Flute, I can't help thinking of the character Sebastian Flight in the comedy series The High Life, and his catch-phrase 'oh deary me'. A work colleague also pointed out that there is a Sebastian Flyte in Brideshead Revisited. I suspect that the name of Alan Cumming's high-camp steward is no coincidence.
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