Archery.
Today, i got the bow out. It was a little dusty and it’s been a month or more since i last released the beast. This is my Martin Alien Rytera. i purchased the bow second hand knowing that this bow was one of [and still is considered by some] to be the best hunting compounds ever made. i was also aware that this bow had been sent to America to a tuning specialist and was “crackerized”. i shoot on full power which means it has a 70lb draw weight and the draw length is set at 29.5 inch.
The right to bear arms has been removed here in Australia and you do not require a licence to own a bow - yet. When building all the cages for @minismallholding, i made sure i left myself an archery shooting range so that i could practice at home. i set up a new target and fired off several quick shots at 20m to check everything was still ok.
My grouping was off to the left, so i removed the sight and re-installed.
This fixed the accuracy - Not too shabby to say it’s been a month, i would shoot more, but 20m is now way too close for me, i would just smash arrows.
i do most of my shooting at “Archery Park”, which can be found at 203 Piggot Range Road, Clarendon, which being South of Adelaide is over an hour’s travel for me.
The prices are very reasonable if you have your own equipment
When we get there we tend to hit the range to get our “eye in”, we start at 40m.
I shoot 5 arrows from 40m to see how thing are set and to check if i need to make any adjustments.
A little low, but all looks ok, so i continue to shoot until i’m happy that my arrow grouping is ok.
i then move back to 50m and fire off more shots:-
Besides dropping two shots - i see that my grouping is off to the left, i know it’s not the bow, it’s me – my anchor point was slightly off.
Shooting at this range accurately can be very hard due to the sight on the bow appearing to be as large as the target and it’s a hot one today – everything is getting hot to the touch.
I then focus on my stance and check all my basics are correct before shooting a few more arrows.
Not too shabby for 50m, time to hit the course for some fun.
The course we have chosen today is called the Glades.
There are a number targets on this course, and they have different distance markers so a novice might shoot at 20m and an experienced archer may shoot at 50m.
This is target number one, and is typical for the glades the range is 45m.
Heres my daughter @izzydawn showing how it is a fun for all activity.
Shooting on target number 4
We all have a shot or two
Another on the spot for me.
And here’s my mate Simon shooting his 50lb Martin recurve.
A perfectly timed photo by @izzydawn - catching the arrow leaving the bow.
Here’s one of the 60m shoots.
Excellent, another couple on target
A double target at 30m.
With a couple more arrows on the dot.
And our last target for the day at 45m.
A perfectly timed photo of another arrow in flight from @izzydawn
And that was it, not even halfway through the course, we were done – it was 46°C today in the shade - way too hot to continue... getting soft in my old age :) So we went to the pub for a nice cool drink of lemonade and a snack.
Hope you liked my first archery blog :)
Fantastic I felt like I was living with you.hehe...
I loved the archery so much when I was young and we were making the bow ourselves using rubber of the wheels and a twig of the tree...and making arrows by the cane and screws and pen cover ... and choose the target by ourselves... It was very dangerous but very enjoyable.
Wonderful, you should give it a go again - you may just love it :)
Bloody softy, too hot. Bahhh.
Nice shooting mate. I got to get me a recurve, last one had a couple of issues after a child closed a car door on one of the arms.
Izzy certainly manages to get some good photos.
Not illegal yet, but I found a roo the other day, gut shot and decapitated, in the middle of Canberra. If too many idiots behave like that, it won't be long until they are.
To say I was angry would be an understatement.
Thanks Andy :) yeah Izzy seems to be a natural with the camera - some days :) With regards the roo, it seems to be an Australian thing where there is little or no respect for any wildlife. What is considered the norm here would land you with a hefty fine or even in prison in the UK. When these low IQ 'knuckle dragger's are confronted, they have no clue that what they are doing is wrong - they even try and justify their actions by saying "it's the LAW". it's very sad.
That's some mad skills, mate. You and @galenkp would get along famously.
It's great to see some other archers on steemit. Do you do any bowhunting over there? I was always curious if there are many bow & arrow hunters in Australia? Thought you might like this too https://steemit.com/hunting/@huntbook/the-stick-and-string-a-few-words-on-my-weapon-of-choice