BHA Training Site

Archery Operating Procedure

Archery

​Operating Procedure

Range set-up

  • Minimum dimensions Minimum 100m or 50m beyond target (whichever the greater). 25m to either side of outer targets.  Indoor range position targets in front of curtain.
  • Marking out Use natural boundaries, hedges/fences or set out rope line.  Indoor lines already painted on floor.
  • Shooting line Shooting line clearly marked and set out quivers on line
  • Waiting line 5 metres behind shooting line
  • Target distance 10 metre for beginners, increase to 15m for improvers
  • Safety signs Safety signs to be hung on rope line and in the area of shooting, where people may be walking

Briefing

  • Hazards Shooting someone/self, standing on a fallen arrow, carrying arrows
  • Range markings No shooting unless standing at shooting line,  arrows to be left on shooting line not brought to waiting line
  • Whistle signals 1 whistle = shoot, 2 whistles = collect, long blast, “Stop!”, “Cease” = stop shooting & lower bow
  • Eye test Check eye dominance
  • Arm braces Place arm brace on bow arm – opposite of dominant eye
  • Bows Stringing (if necessary), correct hold
  • Finger position Correct finger position on bow – finger tips middle three fingers
  • Arrows Index flight/feather, nocks. Measure arrows to archers

Demonstration

  • Position on line Stand with bow arm towards target on foot either side of shooting line. Don’t twist to face target
  • Bow Bow held beside body, like carrying a suitcase
  • Loading arrow Arrow placed over bow, on outer side of limb, nock fitted to string index feather away from bow
  • Draw Three fingers on string, draw back to reference point on face. Shoulders relaxed, elbow high.
  • Sighting Arrow will tend to fly high from this bowing position so aim lower on the target. Sight along string
  • Release Fingers should open and hand should continue back away from string finishing behind ear.

Group Shooting

  • Stance Bring half the group to the shooting line and get them standing correctly.
  • Arrows Check they have the correct arrows
  • Begin shooting One whistle blast and they can start shooting independently three arrows. Deal with those that can’t load the arrows to start with, then look at bowing technique
  • Collection When they finish their arrows they should place their bow on the ground, when all have finished blow two blasts and WALK forward to collect arrows.
  • Swap groups Groups swap over – change bows/braces in necessary – remind them to go to correct arrows.

Collection

  • Arrows in target Place hand on target at base of arrow. Other hand on arrow close to the target and pull out
  • Arrows in ground Don’t lift arrows in grass as they can break, pull them out in the direction they entered.
  • Own arrows Only collect your arrows, otherwise someone can end up looking for arrows that have already been collected
  • Carrying Arrows Group tips together and hold in hand – walk like sergeant major
  • Lost arrows Always find missing arrows – they present a danger if left in the ground.  If is holding up a session, make a note to search later
  • Scoring UK standard scoring method: Gold=9, Red=7, Blue=5, Black=3, White=1;

Common Faults

  • Loading arrow
    • The bow arm should stay holding the bow beside the body – watch for changing hands
    • Arrow twisted so index flight in wrong position
    • Arrow placed on wrong side of bow
  • Arrow falls off
    • Twisting string by gripping string with fist or by tensing fingers.
    • Thumb placed on nock
    • Holding arrow not string
    • Nock too loose on string – poor arrows – lightly nip top of arrow with first two finger tips
  • Short draw length
    • Poor strength (young children) choose smaller bow
    • Fear of bow – encourage
    • Body facing target or twisted towards target
    • Shoulders closed – open shoulders and raise elbow
    • Floating hand – hand to reference point on face – should be able to ‘kiss’ string
  • Missing target
    • Falls short: because of short draw length or forward release – hand should finish behind ear when arrow released
    • Over the top: deliberately trying to shoot too far.  Hand too low – bring to reference point
    • Releases too quickly and doesn’t sight at all
    • Moves too quickly once released
    • Over compensating after each shot – aim for consistency of grouping before trying to adjusting aim too much
    • Can be painful – holding bow too tight, tension in shoulders, bowing elbow is forward. Rotate hand on grip

Training

Training is centre-based led by Alex  (Archery UK, Archery Leader qualified)

Other Forms of Archery

Clout Archery

Involves shooting as close as possible to a flag or target on the ground.  Use tyres placed at each end of the field and tag arrows.  Shoot towards one tyre and then towards the other.  Closest arrow wins

Archery Golf

SImilar to clout archery but with longer targets, can literally be played on a golf course.  Hang the golf targets on trees/fence around the BHA area.  Multiple shots can be taken to reach the target.  If the archer can tag the target while holding the arrow without moving their feet that counts as the final ‘tap in’ shot and a final shot with the bow need not be taken.  Keep score on each target – scorecards can be printed here. scorecards.pdf

Field Archery

Animal targets or fun targets can be set up around the field – milk crates are good.  Use tag arrows and try and knock them down.  Re-set for each archer.