It is now summer, which in Ireland means the weather likes to behave in more of a bipolar manner. Summer in Ireland is different from the other two seasons – I’m convinced we don’t really get Spring, just a mildish end to Winter – in that it moves away from consistent dull, wet, or cold weather and throws in searing heat at random intervals.
This is the time of year when field archery becomes an extreme sport for people like me, with our phoenix-fire coloured hair, and ivory-pale skin. And no, the magazine does not compensate me for covering shoots at this time of the year, as I expose myself to such harm.
Of course, the obvious advantage here: the birds moult, and I get a fortune of feathers.
Our shooting environments bloom with all manner of wildflowers, delivering glorious swaths of colours, bring in more flickering bursts of colour with butterflies, dragonflies, and adding a harmony of buzzing creatures and an orchestra of bird calls.
On the weekend of the 10th and 11th of May, I was at the Bluebell Shoot at Loughbrickland, in County Down, hosted by Ballyvally Archers. This was an Arrowhead Shoot, and these are often tantalising for many archers – even wood shooters like me. (Not to sound lamentable but I do hope World Archery will get their act together and put together a scoring system for traditional shooting styles.)
I pulled on my back quiver, replete with badges, filled with arrows embellished by rook feathers – rook feathers found at this very venue. For me, Loughbrickland, may as well be another home game.
Naturally those glorious crows were making themselves known as we entered their domain. They are by the standards of crows rather singular; imposing, black tipped, beaks and a rolling sheen of all the colours found in a summer’s night. Ravens are magnificent, don’t get me wrong, but they get too much coverage.
Naturally my first act – after registering – was to walk the lanes next to the practice bosses to pick up any feathers worth cutting into fletches.
Equipment inspection is always peculiar for a longbow archer I find. I’ve gotten my own equipment inspection down to thirteen seconds. I mean it’s a length of wood. Not to oversimplify longbow, in some respects it’s a very integrate shooting style, and does more than any other shooting style to portray the artistry within archery. Yet, what is a judge looking for? Cracks in the wood, fraying string, and looking out for artificial aiming sights I’m sure, but what else is there?
And, by longbow I am referring to Dimah, my English longbow which I have missed shooting like an artist missing having a muse. My expedition with flatbows has been thorough, fun, and opened up an opportunity to assess the introduction of the yellow peg. Yet, there is nothing like shooting an English longbow. No other bow type has melded itself to my form and instincts like it.
Instead of shooting the blue peg, I stayed with the yellow, under World Archery rules. Archery GB still retains the blue peg for longbow, though I’m not sure why. Something I shall have to look into.
I won’t repeat what I have said about the yellow peg in previous articles, but for traditional archers, those with their wooden bows and wooden arrows, it’s a great peg.
As we waited for the competition to begin, sunglasses on, hiding in the small amount of shade available, Susan Agnew and I talked cats and books, and she looked on in horror as I told her that I have never read Lord of the Rings, or seen the films. It’s a failing, yes, but who amongst us is perfect? Certainly not a recurve archer…
Ballyvally members made up the majority of the entries, with my own club, Lough Cuan Bowmen, in second place. I was sporting the club shirt, though more out of practicality than anything. It’s breathable, light, and blue works with my hair. I’m not fond of the massive swan on the front however – I’m surprised we don’t get bread thrown at us.
Overall, the entry for the weekend was large, and like I mentioned earlier, Arrowhead awards will bring people in. A fine idea, and an ambitious feat for any archer on a mixed round; the agony of a marked round with the occasional unmarked target for a breather.
At the end of day one, a member of my shooting group, Keith, was only 2 points from the green badge – a devastating, taunting, blow. But, as I said to him, it’s an excuse for a drink. You get your arrowhead, a celebratory drink is called for, and if you don’t, a commiseration drink is in order. Win, win.
Day one was not an easy affair. There was something about the targets – each just out of reach of letting us shoot our best. Starting on a moderately distanced multiple is, in the grand scheme of it a pleasant way to begin. However, everybody’s arrows were landing just shy of the points they wanted.
Our third target was fierce. It combined a vicious blend of distance and slope which combined to create the necessary level of disparagement to stay the archer’s confidence. It was an eighty face, so you can imagine the distance whatever peg you shoot.
If an uphill slope is planned, you want the archer to feel as if they are about to topple over, as they tilt back. Devious, yes. But this is field archery.
I like to steady myself by bending my back leg, and that helps get a bit more bendiness from my waist.
Naturally, none of us shot that one well.
Our saving grace were the bunnies, which pushed our scores up – apart from the 15m bunny, obviously.
As the day went on, we did adapt to the course, squeezing a few more points out of the targets. Keith was sweating, and it was not the heat. Each target was challenging his desire to get an arrowhead. Each time we added the scores to our cards he was doing the maths on how much he needed to average per arrow.
After shooting an eighty face, we were looking for one of Keith’s arrows. It was found by his daughter – Lough Cuan Bowmen’s Junior Development Officer. However, as often happens when looking for arrows, I spied another in the dirt.
When I inspected it for a name, it read Steven Cross. Not only was he a member of my club, but he was also in my shooting group. The arrow had been lost who knows how long ago.
It is sod’s law that you will find someone else’s arrow when looking for your own. Throughout the day we found numerous arrows. At one point I looked down to see two arrows buried under a small branch.
Now the positive news is that Jorden McBroom, the burly lookin’ frontiersman of Lough Cuan Bowmen, achieved his green arrowhead for compound.
Entering the final target of the day, Jorden needed 14 points and managed to shoot 18. Goodness me.
At the end of the first day, we still had all our arrows, but no high scores. Some might call that breaking even.
Day two was just as sunny and hot. Not since a 3D hosted by Slaney Archers had I been so exposed to such temperatures whilst shooting. In my flask was not coffee, but water and frozen slices of lemon. The irony here is that such a combination tastes the best when drunk in such heat.
Joining my shooting group was the third member of the Hendersons, Travis. Between the father, son, and daughter, and my bearded-up self, we looked not unlike Harry and the Hendersons running about the forest (if you’re under 35, you’ll have to look that up).
As a side note, I’d just like to say: John Lithgow, what a great actor.
Anyway…
Travis can shoot with an unshakable focus and get his arrows flying straight. I don’t know how he does it, but it is a result of that neuroatypical brain of his.
For most, the second day did not see much of an increase in scores, and for others they saw a decrease in scores. However, for whatever reason, I was more focused and better attuned to the shooting environment. I always joke that the first day gets you warmed up.
Whilst on day one I shot 169 with my English Longbow, this was added to by 25 points, for 194 on day two. Day one was a personal best for a mixed round, only to be broken on day two.
It was still challenging, and I was not shy of misses. One target, the full 40m for yellow peg, saw a 5, M, M. My first arrow struck the 5, and I said, “That’s going to be hard to follow.” Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut, as the next arrows went wide, right and left, respectively.
Taylor Henderson was one of the few to significantly improve on their first day too. Still a few points shy of an arrowhead, she added a heap of points to her day one score. Any errors, or second guessing, or faltering in confidence had been fixed, removed, and erased for day two.
Whilst her day one bunnies showed a struggling archer, her day two bunnies held a great many more hits, and higher scoring arrows. Longer range targets saw more arrows pinned to their rings, as Taylor discerned distances with greater accuracy, assessing her gaps to a finer degree.
Our juniors will learn a great deal from her.
To sum up: a crow colony’s worth of feathers found, one minor fall, many arrows reunited with owners, grey hairs discovered, two PBs shot, it was determined that the Sherlock Holmes stories were at their peak prior to The Reichenbach Falls, no heat stroke, no arrows lost, no arrows broken, aching feet because I wore the wrong footwear on day one, The Man with the Golden Gun determined as the best Bond film, great turn out for Lough Cuan archers, and much bling taken home by Lough Cuan archers.
Keep an eye on Facebook for posts on Ballyvally’s next shoot – and don’t forget that this summer they will be hosting their infamous Mulligan Hunting Trails!
