Traditional Archery

Source: Uploaded by user via Lindsey on Pinterest I found this on Pinterest. I assume it's in reference to the Hunger Games.

I got to work on axe and knife throwing on Saturday at an SCA event. Oh how I wish I had my own practice area, because I'm right on the verge of improving. I can hit the target 9 times out of 10.  I just can't get much to stick. I have to work on the rotation.The highlight of my day was when I hit the target with a axe from 20 yards away and got it to stick. It wasn't a bull's eye but it was on there. An archer in the archery competition. Nice quiver Axe throwing competition. Axe throwing Awesome dragon quiver made by my friend Santiago. Japanese Dragon Quiver Me at the end of the day.

I'm happy to report that I threw an axe from 20 yards yesterday and it stuck! I'm sure that if I had a place to practice regularly and my own equipment I'd improve so much. With knives I stuck two in a row and I'm proud of that. I hit the target almost always but getting things to stick is another story. My aim is good. I need to work on my rotation.

The long awaited Chamberlin Ranch shoot has come and gone. With a couple of weeks passed I can finally take a few minutes to sit back and talk about it. This shoot is held on a large private ranch just a couple miles outside Los Olivos, CA. There are no facilities on the ranch other than a couple water spigots and the road into the area used for the shoot is graded dirt. Everything works fine... until something unplanned for happens. We pulled up to the gate into the ranch on Wednesday afternoon. I'd hoped to get there Tuesday but getting everything together took a day longer than I expected. The little section of dirt between the paved road and the iron gate was extremely muddy. That's when I first began thinking that this could be interesting. As I opened up the gate a fellow wandered over from a tractor parked inside the gate and asked me if I had 4wd on my truck or 2wd. When I allowed that I had two wheel drive he said, "well, you're not going to make it. Go as far as you can and when you get stuck I'll hook up the tractor and pull you the rest of the way." I got all of ten feet inside the gate before I was spinning the wheels. He backed up and we hooked up for the ride. Once at the top of the hill he unhooked us and went back to the gate to await the next arrival, leaving us to slip and slide down the road into the little valley where the shoot is held. We scooted right past the small practice course alongside the road and two groups of archers stopped to watch and wave encourgement. I hollered out the window to one group and asked if anyone remembers an "E" ticket? The rest of the day went about as normal, we found the spot we wanted to set up in and got the truck unloaded. Gary and Diane came over to greet us. They'd gotten in on Tuesday before the rain and hadn't had any issue with their motorhome on the road in. Thursday and Friday had some rather poor weather with plenty of rain, some wind, and more than a little thunder and lightening. I saw a couple canopies get loose and at least one motorhome awning was flipped over the top of the rig. I was pretty glad that we'd lined out our canopies well and staked the tent tightly. As had been predicted, Saturday and Sunday had great weather. The road quickly began to dry out and was completely useable by the time we left Sunday afternoon. The road condition was very unfortunate. The tractor wasn't available the whole time and a number of people ended up camping at the front gate so they could walk into the shoot area. A few lucky folks were able to have their gear ferried in by 4wd pickup and just parked their cars at the gate. Most unfortunate were the people who decided the conditions weren't right for them and turned around to go home. I could hardly blame them, camping at the road and then walking in wasn't what most folks were prepared to do... and the rain Friday really was pretty heavy at times, not everyone is prepared to spend time in weather like that. The folks who run the shoot have said that they will not be caught unprepared like that again and the road will be well graveled to ward off any mud issues next year. It was a good shoot for me. I sold some arrows, sold out (again!) on beef jerky, and got some great compliments on my work. We got wet, we dried out, we slept poorly, and then slept some more. I didn't get to shoot any of the courses but I got to meet and speak with a number of great folks so that made up for the personal lack of archery. I can hardly wait for next year! The next shoot we have coming up is the Conejo Valley Archers 21st Annual Pacific Coast Traditional Challenge. This is a very fun shoot and is much closer to home for most of us. I'll be getting there Friday afternoon to set up the booth and establish camp at the adjacent county park. I'll be a great weekend! Happy Archery!

Lots of archery clubs hold 3D shoots throughout the year. Most of the shoots are mixed, with traditional archers participating amongst compound archers. In itself, there is certainly nothing wrong with that. I'm not one of those guys who says cables and pulleys make it an arrow launching device rather than an actual bow. But still, sometimes it's fun to do a shoot with just our own folks wandering around. The shot set ups on a traditional-only shoot are sometimes a little different with most of them being hunting scenarios appropriate for traditional equipment. You don't see a whole lot of 60yd shots. There also seems to be more shots with something in the way like a tree that you have to shoot around or a bush that you need to kneel to shoot under. Sometimes there is even a shot where you have to lie down on a scrap of carpet to shoot under a low slung rope. Conmpound archers don't seem to get into shots like these. They generally like their shots straight, clear, and long. Many archery clubs hold a yearly traditional only shoot sometime during the year. In my mind, the best one of the year for the southern and central California area is the Chamberlin Ranch Traditional Rendezvous. And guess what? It's coming up soon! This year the Chamberlin shoot will be held April 14, 15. Although, many of us get up there a few days earlier to squeeze as much fun as possible out of the event. I'll probably be getting there about Tuesday or Wednesday. The shoot is held on a private ranch just north of the small town of Los Olivos, which is somewhat north of the beautiful little town of Solvang. The area is full of wineries, antique shops, and lots of wonderful little shops carrying who-knows-what. Some of the shoot participants have wives who look forward to the shoot just as much as their husbands so they can shop and wine taste while their hubby shoots arrows. Of course, some of those wives shoot arrows too and they look forward to the shoot for the same reasons as their husbands do. Click the flyer for the larger version... For more information about the shoot go to the Traditional Bowhunters of California website. Happy archery!

First of all, my most profound thanks to everyone who participated in this arrow raffle. We had local SCA folks who knew Njall from back when he and Allesaundra lived here, there were SCA folk from out of state, and non-SCA participants both local and not so local. In all, thirty three people entered into this raffle. Some people got one entry and some got more. A couple people made very generous contributions and then told me that they just wanted to help, they did not want to be part of the actual drawing. Seeing as how a large portion of the event was for the Queen, I asked Her Majesty Cassandra if she would draw the ticket. The winner of the arrow raffle was Lady Cecelia Medici, who was present to hear her name called out. Again, thank you to everyone who participated in the raffle. My expectations were far outstripped. Happy archery!