Shooting

 Shooting should only be done at a location that has been approved by GNAS.

Note: Hunting in the UK with a bow and arrow is illegal, due to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 5 (birds) and 11 (animals).

Technique

Once you've done your beginner's course it's a question of perfecting your technique.

You know the basics, but chances are you won't shoot this way, and not with a longbow.

You'll find that most archers will stop and give advice, even if it's not wanted! All I can suggest you do is to listen, try out what they suggest, and see if it works for you. Just don't try new techniques in the middle of a round unless you really don't care about your handicap!

When you shoot a longbow, you should always remember that they are not like recurve or compound bows, the longer you hold them to aim, the more likely you are to damage the bow. As you draw the bow, the wood also starts to take the strain, and adapt to the new position, so the longer you hold it, the poundage starts to drop. This will affect your range, which means all your careful sight-marks will be useless.

You should try to get your sight-marks in mind, aim, draw, check the sight-mark, then loose, all within a short period of time.

My sight-marks used  to be to the right of a target, and quite far off. This is because I shot from the side of my jaw, not the side of my mouth.

I've now changed this so it's at the side of my mouth, and although I'm still on the edge of the target, it's closer than before. It also means I can use a Band to get the distance right.

There are two usual methods for sighting: using a band, and point of arrow.

Band: Mark on the bow, usually a rubber band or 'o' ring. You line it up with the target, and shoot. For longer distances it can be impossible to use, it is too low to be able to use effectively.

Point of arrow: You sight down the arrow, and choose a fixed point to sight the arrow against. This can be a problem where you are shooting at short distances, you then require a sight mark on the ground, where as a band can be moved up. I've seen plenty of cases where the mark gets kicked or moved.

Tip: Remember, when you move your sight mark, if you are falling short of the target, move the sight mark up.

If you are too high, move the sight mark down.

And don't assume because the sight mark worked once it will always work, things change. You have to be prepared to be flexible.

Clothing

For clothing you need to check with your club, as most have their own livery. Most of the time this will only be required during club competitions.

My club, for example, insists on white or green shirt and trousers. The green is quite specific, it has to be a dark green.

I got caught out on one of my first handicap shoots, I was wearing blue jeans because no-one told me you needed white or green trousers, and it meant that I didn't get placed.

Terminology

The Shooting Line is the mark that you go up to to shoot from. It is bad form to cross this line until the target captain allows you to. If you drop an arrow out of reach you should shout FAST! before trying to retrieve it.

FAST! is what you should if you drop an arrow or a small child/dog/adult wanders into harms way.

A Round is a set number of arrows that you shoot and record your score against. Each round is slightly different, a National for example is 4 dozen at 60 yards, then 2 dozen at 50 yards. You always have 6 sighter arrows at the start of each round.

You should be aware that different rounds have different requirements, the target face may be smaller, or have a different scoring method depending on the round, and the bow you use.

An End is the arrows you shoot before scoring. This can vary according to the round, in most examples it is 6, but it could be 3 or 5. If you shoot more than allowed, your highest scoring arrow is rejected.

Bouncer is the term for arrows that rebound off the target. Usually you can shoot another arrow, but only if it was observed. This is why it's a good idea to have spare arrows close to the shooting line! Just be sure it bounced, if it didn't then you loose the highest score.