Archery

[Melissa15]

Bows and the like are only something I have read about & planned on buying & learning to use several different times, but always ended up buying other things since I don't have a garden & wasn't too keen on practising in my front room. Now I think it's long overdue and I need to learn some more real skills besides gardening, my prepping has almost been limited to knowledge and stores.

The closest archery club is in a neighboring town and their beginners course (have to finish this first) is £70 for two one & a half days. Their courses are then £30 for an hour (or £50 for two people, may be able to persuade someone to come). I wasn't expecting these prices, is this generally the cost?

I think I would have to go to learn the basics there until I'm confident and then use someone I knows garden...or a quiet field which are few & far between near me. That's a lot of money that I could use for other things even if were talking just 2 hours a week. The next closest clubs I found with a quick search are 'archery party' clubs aimed at children. Can someone recommend a place somewhere near Bedfordshire?

I was looking forward to when I actually went and learned this with like minded people but it seems i'll be doing it on my own if these are the prices.

Any quick tips or specific bows to look at as a complete beginner? Thanks

[SecretPrepper]

im not far from bedfordshire in herts. There are a few around. I know there are some in stevenage.I think thats a standard starting price

[uks]

Melissa I think these are roughly the prices that they charge. But how long will it take you to learn to become effective at using the bow correctly by yourself. These people will be able to get you to hit the target very quickly, they will be able to get you to a high standard of bow handling. Think of it as a investment as one of your preps.

[Scythe13]

Join an archery club, they cost like £5 a time.

Better than that, go to Beardy's meet in April and we'll teach you what we know.

[Tartar Horde]

(11 March 2013, 23:16)Melissa15 Wrote: Bows and the like are only something I have read about & planned on buying & learning to use several different times, but always ended up buying other things since I don't have a garden & wasn't too keen on practising in my front room. Now I think it's long overdue and I need to learn some more real skills besides gardening, my prepping has almost been limited to knowledge and stores.

The closest archery club is in a neighboring town and their beginners course (have to finish this first) is £70 for two one & a half days. Their courses are then £30 for an hour (or £50 for two people, may be able to persuade someone to come). I wasn't expecting these prices, is this generally the cost?


I think I would have to go to learn the basics there until I'm confident and then use someone I knows garden...or a quiet field which are few & far between near me. That's a lot of money that I could use for other things even if were talking just 2 hours a week. The next closest clubs I found with a quick search are 'archery party' clubs aimed at children. Can someone recommend a place somewhere near Bedfordshire?

I was looking forward to when I actually went and learned this with like minded people but it seems i'll be doing it on my own if these are the prices.

Any quick tips or specific bows to look at as a complete beginner? Thanks

That seems expensive to me as most training should be done as part of learning to shoot in an archery club anyway, and that should be covered by your fees. Any decent Archer would show you very quickly the basics of safety and how to shoot correctly and it will not take three days and a further £30 an hour there after. May I ask if the club you visited was a "target" archery club or a "field" archery club as the former can tend to be a bit pricey sometimes as they have to rent buildings etc to shoot in.
I would check to see if there are any Field archery clubs near you by checking the NFAS(national Field Archery society uk) they have a list of clubs with contact numbers. Hope this helps you.

[Melissa15]

I'm going to spain in April so can't make the meet, and I do plan to learn at a club first like you said uks. Just went back on the site since you asked about target/field Horde & I must have been tired last night because it does say theres an indoor range and field available for £4 an hour. The other prices are obviously for lessons. Thanks

[Scythe13]

(12 March 2013, 13:03)Melissa15 Wrote: I'm going to spain in April so can't make the meet, and I do plan to learn at a club first like you said uks. Just went back on the site since you asked about target/field Horde & I must have been tired last night because it does say theres an indoor range and field available for £4 an hour. The other prices are obviously for lessons. Thanks

Remember to get a forearm guard!, and....since I'm assuming you're a woman (Melissa15) you can get boob-braces (I don't know their proper name). Basically, when you let go of the string, the string doesn't move smoothly forward. It actually snakes off your fingertips and makes an S curve that can hit your body twice. For women, it can hit the breast and forearm, while for men not having the same amount of breast tissue the string is likely to only hit the forearm. This is why the rumour of the Amazonian women cutting off their left breast, so that they could shoot better.

[PrepperJohn]

Our archery club charges £30 for a six week beginners course. After that you join the club which is about £60 a year and you go to the club and shoot. Any further training is given for free by the other members if you ask for help

The prices you were quoted seem a tad expensive to me

Good luck. It is a fantastic sport and a skill that may save your life one day

[BeardyMan]

Just looked at my local club, you have to be a member of GNAS before they'll let you play! Or you have to do their beginners course (fully booked until May!) All I want to do is go and shoot, I don't want to fanny around with competitions or joining things. Think I'll just try and hire a field off someone once a week and do it myself.

[bigpaul]

whats wrong with your back garden to practise, just make sure the dog and sid are out of the way!!