3D Archery competition

Last weekend, we went to a 3D archery competition. Here's more about the sport and our day.

(My boyfriend with his compound bow.)

3D archery is where you shoot at 3D fake animals at various ranges. You generally don't know the range of the animal, so you'll have to estimate that and adjust your shot accordingly. These contests are mostly held in woods, where people lay out a trail to follow and shoot the various animals you encounter.

This was my very first competition and I didn't take my bow with me for this one. I wanted to see what it was all about and I wanted to check out how far away the animals would generally be. My bow isn't very strong (because I'm not very strong), so long ranges are too hard for me.

I also wanted to check out how far we would have to walk on such a day. I think we spend about 7 hours on the competition. Most was spend outside in the woods with two small breaks at the club house.

We woke up early that day and drove to the contest area. We all gathered up at the club house, where we heard what target we would start at. Then, we walked to the starting target.

Our group was me, my boyfriend, his father, two of his father's friends who practice here a lot and two of his father's aquiantances. The six of them were all competing. Two with compound bows and four with recurve bows.

This poor fox would have to endure a lot of arrows that day.

There are quite a lot of different targets, but all are fake animals. Foxes, deers, badgers, bears, cougars, but also snakes, birds, etc. They are all in various sizes and usually, the bigger the size, the further away the animal.

The circle in the middle (where you see most arrow holes) is the 'killzone'. Hitting the animal there will give you the most points, as this is where the vital organs generally are and it would most likely be a killshot. You usually get three shots, where the first hit counts and gives you the most points (a regular hit gives less points than a killshot). There were a couple of 'Hunter' targets, which is where you only get one shot.

I felt quite sad for this little guy! It was way too cute to shoot!

Most targets stand still, but there were also a few moving targets. The hardest one was a bird that would swing ('fly') past. It was the fastest moving target in the contest.

Seeing as it's all taking place inside a forest, the surrounds are pretty nice! The mud, however, is less nice. Luckily, my boyfriend's father had already advised us to wear boots.

My boyfriend did really well in this competition and he hit most targets with his first shot! The other guys did the same, but hey, they've been doing this for years!

After we hit all targets, my boyfriend and me drove back home while the others waited for the end of the competition. My boyfriend's father brough home the first price again.

I have to say, I managed to keep myself going in the woods quite well! I wasn't sure how tired I would get, but I only got tired at the end. It was very cold though, so I was really happy I didn't compete. This way, I could wear my big gloves all the time!

Around easter, we'll go to a competition in the Ardennes and I'll bring my bow for that one. I hope the weather will be better by then and I want to train some more before that. I'm looking forward to it!

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Thanks to my boyfriend for being my model!

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