Zombie Apocalypse - Some Archery fun

I came across another archers blog (return to archery) and found the coolest thing ever! I need not say much more than Zombie targets!!!

Picture from return to archery

Clout and field shoots are fun but trickier to arrange and at our club we are often thinking about how to make target archery more fun (especially for the juniors). 

Although designed and sold for gun shooting, I came across these fantastic alternative targets and after visiting the dealers web site found out they were even cooler than just zombie pictures. After all, any one can type zombie into Google and print out some target faces. These are targets with a difference - they come with "VisoColor" technology. This basically means that kill shots produce a green circle (where your arrow hits), yellows are wound shots and white circles indicate a miss or accidental hostage shot.    

The targets can be brought here and they come in a variety of different designs at 18" by 12". A mix pack of 6 will set you back just under $10

I have been told many times that the purpose of archery is to prepare for that impending zombie apocalypse.... so for all the male archers here you go :P.

    

Come try Archery for free during Archery GB Big Weekend (UK)

Have you been inspired by Olympic archers, or just fancied picking up a bow and giving archery a go? Well now you can come try archery for FREE with no obligations and under the guidance of experienced coaches at one of the  Archery Big Weekend  events near you.

The Archery Big Weekend event is taking place from 25th to the 27th August 2012 all over the UK at several archery clubs from Middlesbrough to London and Cornwall. 

No experience required

Free

Everyone can shoot 

(Check with your local event in case they are unable to provide services for disabled or very young archers)

Beginners course shown above, but be prepared for the Archery Big Weekend events to be packed with people so come prepared with drinks and food.

This is not only a great opportunity to give Archery a go, but would also make a fantastic family day out during the school holidays. All events will be run by experienced coaches who will be able to provide a safe environment and if you find your self hooked event organisers can give details about joining your local club. You can just turn up on the day without prior booking but local club secretaries can be contacted if you wish to find out more first.  

For further information, including location and dates of participating clubs, visit the Archery GB web site

If you think your club would be interested in participating in this event and attracting new members all the relevant information, including application forms and a guide can be found on the Archery GB web site here. 

Week 8 - 14 August 2012: Visionary 8 x 21 Binoculars

Visionary 8 x 21 Binoculars £15.66 down from £19.73!  Merlin Archery 

If your shooting target or hunting binoculars are extremely handy for any serious archer. If you can't afford a standalone scope this is the next best thing. These  binoculars will do the job and are currently on sale at Merlin Archery for one of the best prices I can find (new) on the internet. These binoculars are rubber covered with 8 x magnification coated lenses, a 21mm diameter objective and 7° field of view. This product typically comes with neck chord/strap and case and 10 year grantee, but please check with Merlin Archery for exact specifications. It weighs 170g, measures 90x90x40 mm and can be used for other things apart from archery so is great value for money

Why you should check carbon arrows before you shoot....

Went to the club for this weekends shoot & any chances of shooting a personal best went out the window when I had to claim a miss as my arrow exploded 3 dozen in!

I shot my arrow as normal and although it sounded a little odd I had no idea what had just happened until I went up to score my arrows. There was a little rattle, as if my long rod was loose, but apart from that I was none the wiser. Half way up the field I heard my name being called  from near the shooting line and was amazed to see the nock end of my arrow being held up.... but with the rest of the arrow missing! The rest of the arrow had made it almost to the target - shame I would have loved to claim a score with half an arrow! 

As far as I am aware the arrow hasn't been shot into the wood bit of the target, though as it would have been shot from my new bow, it may have been buried in the ground during sight marking testing. The bow appears to be fine and there are no marks to suggest that I shot the arrow wrong/ie not on launcher etc. It is amazing to think that just shooting an arrow that is week (for what ever reason) can snap it in two, with even the metal on the inside being bent!

A little note if this happens to you - don't touch the broken bits as the carbon arrows can give you very nasty splinters.

Just have to hope that this doesn't happen at the competition next week!

Week 7 - 6 August 2012: PSE - RTS - Rally 2012

PSE Compound RTS Rally 2012 + starter kit £300 from BowSports 

I have added this to my weekly bargains because it is such a versatile compound. Great for new archers wishing to try their hand at compound and handy for fast growing juniors! The RTS rally gets its versatility from its wide range of draw lengths possible. From a little 18" draw length all the way to a lengthy 31" makes this bow accessible to most, if not all,  archers. 

Another great thing about this compound is the wide range of poundage options and is available in 15-30#, 18-60# and 20#70. Just  remember the bow will perform best at its max and 70# is above the legal UK target. Also only available in mossy oak break-up infinity camo - so check you competition rules before buying.  

A brace height of 7.5" makes this a very forgiving bow, resulting in less arm slaps - always nice. The bow also comes with lots of extras to get you going including Gemini sight, quick shot whisker biscuit, mongoose quiver, peep sight, nock loop and peep wheel.

Olympic Archery Diary Women finals - 2 August 2012

Today we saw the women 1/8 eliminators from 9am and in this competition the archers shoot 3 arrows each set and the highest scorer gets 2 points, or 1 point each for a draw. The winner is the first archer to a total of 6 points. Two Korean women, Lee Sung Jin and KI Bo Bae, thrashed their opponents 6-0, Urantungala Bishindee and Hayakawa Ren, respectively (Mongolia and Japan). Schuh Berengere (France) and Perova Ksenia (Russia) won their matches against Choi Hyeonju (Korea) and Rochmawati Ika Yuilana (Indonesia), respectively,  by a single point. Chen Ming (China), Tan Ya-Ting (Taipei), Kaine Miki (Japan) and Christianesen Carina (Denmark) were knocked out.

The quarterfinals began at 2pm and with no close matches Lroig Khatuna (USA), KI Bo Bae, Roman Aida (Mexico) and Avitia Mariana (Mexico) soared easily through to the semifinals. These 4 archers then battled it out for the 3 medals. Avitia Mariana won bronze in her match against Lorig Kahatuna due to the Americas unfortunates arrows, even hitting a 6 inthis bronze medal match! The pressure must have also gotten to Roman Aida as she also shot a 6, leaving her with a silver medal and her opponent, KI Bo Bae with the gold. 

Final results = KI Bo Bae - Gold, Roman Aida - Silver and Avitia Mariana Bronze   

For results see the Olympic archery official page