BLUE Lake Archers backed up a local indoor event with something completely different – a field archery event.
A World Archery 18 metre round was on offer Friday night, with a small field of three archers competing.
But what they lacked in numbers they made up for with a close contest.
With a maximum score of 600 points off the bow, the WA 18 has a sting in the tail for compound archers who are limited to a smaller 10 point scoring zone compared to other bow types.
All three archers were equipped with compound bows and the tally of 10-point arrow scores was thin on the sheets.
The night ended with a spread of only six points covering the group.
Paul Freeman and Len Bayley fell just short of catching Graham Lock, who claimed both the best off-the-bow score and clinched the adjusted score win for the night.
Sunday was a first for the Blue Lake Archers, scheduling their normal weekend event at another club.
Greater Hamilton Archers hosted a Field Archery event at their picturesque Cavendish Field archery course on the banks of the Wannon River.
Billed as a picnic day the event attracted 16 archers, several of whom were field archery novices.
Ben Kilsby was the most experienced of the three Blue Lake Archers members who attended, with Paul Freeman and Graham Lock first-time novices on the day.
Field Archery differs from normal target archery where the archers shoot three arrows, then move cross country to another nearby target, all in a natural bush setting.
A total of 24 targets are scored for a full event which is split into two 12-target rounds.
Distances vary from as little as 10 metres all the way to 60 metres and utilise four different sized target faces.
Kilsby finished the day second on adjusted scores, while Lock and Freeman could only claim off-the-bow scores as neither have a field archery handicap rating.
Results
Results
WA 18 metre Indoor, handicap scored, benchmark 600 points: Graham Lock 586 (off-the-bow 554); Paul Freeman 584 (525); Len Bayley 582 (488).
Greater Hamilton Archers picnic Field archery event. World Archery Field 24 target marked distance, handicap scoring. 16 archers on the course: Ben Kilsby 461 (off the bow 359) – second place; Graham lock 318 (off the bow only) – 12th place; Paul Freeman 288 (off the bow only) – 13th place.
