3D Shoots: The Good & The Bad

[WyoStillhunter]

#3879

I attended two 3D shoots in the last few weeks. One was poorly done and that club will not be named. The other was very well done. I could only shot on Saturdays and had no interest in entering a score. My goal was to get some high quality practice and have fun.

The unnamed shoot had totally unreasonable shot ranges for traditional equipment unless I moved up to the youth stake. In my opinion shooting from most of the other stakes was unrealistic/unethical with any type of bow. If the targets had been bulls eyes I would have no complaint about the extreme ranges. But with 3D (game animal) targets the message was all wrong. The other aggravation was that several targets were positioned against rocks and boulders such that a miss would destroy the arrow. What does that say to kids, new shooters, or anyone except elite shooters?

The second shoot, put on by the Cheyenne Field Archers, offered a choice of two courses. I did not walk the A course but was told ranges went out to 60 yards. The B course was completely separate. It was designed for traditional equipment and for all “fun” shooters. It was terrific: uncrowded, realistic, and the ranges were reasonable. Shooting that 40 target course was worth every penny of the $20 fee.

[David Coulter]

#24770

I’ve only attended a few shoots, but have had really good experiences. The Appalachian Bowmen of Sussex County, NJ puts on a really nice shoot at the Whittingham Wildlife Management Area near Newton, NY. They have a traditional only shoot in the Spring and a mixed shoot coming up on the 17 & 8th of August. I only attended the traditional shoots so far. Excellent course and a really nice crowd. I shot a few times at the West Caln Sportsmen’s Club near Coatesville, PA. Another great crowd and really nice courses. This one is a PA Longbow Association event. The PLA is a great group. They have another shoot on the 16, 17, 18 of August at Delta-Peachbottom in York County, PA. I have not attended that one in privious years, but might try to get down this year.

dwc

[Jason Wesbrock]

#24969

I’ve spent a lot of time helping set up 3D shoots at my former club (can’t do it at the new club due to my work hours). Unfortunately, target distances are one of those things where you just can’t please everyone. If I set the traditional stakes at what most would consider normal hunting distances (20 yards and under) folks would complain the course was too easy and boring. If I set them further, a totally different group of people would complain they were too far away.

The easy solution was to mix them between short, medium, and long, and tell everyone if they wanted to shoot competitively to shoot from the trad stakes. If they just wanted to shoot for fun, they were free to shoot from any point along the line of shooting stakes to the target they desired (stay in line for safety). If a person isn’t shooting for competition, I don’t care if they shoot every target from five yards. When my daughter first started shooting that’s exactly what I did with her, void her score card and let her get closer.

Shooting through trees and with rock walls behind targets is another matter entirely. A person can set a challenging course without making it and arrow-breaker. I often wonder if the people who set up such shots actually shoot their own courses. It’s really not in a club’s best interest to purposely irritate shooters, but sometimes you have to wonder if they understand that fact.

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