Indoors

Big George

Supporter
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My club seems to break into those that spend most of their time shootIng, those that shoot and talk (more shooting than talking), those that talk and shoot (more talking than shooting), those that mostly talk but do shoot an end or two. Outdoors we all had our slots but if there wasn’t anyone after you you could shoot on. This worked for those that wanted to shoot and go and those that wanted a bit more social interaction.

not sure how this is goi g to work indoors where I suspect we will need to be a bit more strict on timekeeping plus for some reason we get more indoor shooters than outdoor.
 

AndyW

Well-known member
At the club where I shoot, the indoors was very well attended about 10 years ago. We had to split the days into three shifts to allow everyone a chance to shoot over the weekend.
I could imagine the same idea working now; small numbers shooting for a fixed length of time... probably shorter than normal.
I think it is a matter of seeing shooting indoors as being of value, other than just another chance to shoot a round for a score for a handicap.
The continuity it offers can establish a routine of attending the club, for archers who would, otherwise, hibernate.
Indoors may not be everyone's cup of tea, but much can be gained by using the time to refresh our shooting form with less distraction.
For some club members, the regular attendance can off set a tendency to find other things to do on archery days. A good number of archers never return to archery after a long winter doing other things instead.
All great points Geoff and I can see the value to some members. We suffer from a weird phenomenon whereby some members are happy to stay indoors and only ever attend "club nights" without ever going outside. To them this is archery and they are very happy pounding the same targets 10 - 25 yrds away - each to their own. Then there are a group of us who find this anathema and actually shoot in woods and go on comps etc. Never the twain I suppose.
I am at risk of hibernating for the foreseeable future as I tend not to practice and just go to shoots, take home a shiny and put Clara to bed for another couple of weeks - works for me. Pretty lazy I know but it's the consequence of shooting unsighted for years then putting a 5 pin sight on - simply don't need to put the effort in to retain the gap memory. Judge distance, put pin on target and if the distance was right you've popped it.
Jeez I sound like an arrogant k**b. Must, must, must become motivated to practice - but it's so nice at home on Sunday mornings.
 

AJBrady

Active member
We were shooting indoors at a local schol gym until last March, which was very nice in the depths of winter.

We shoot on a cricket pitch, and of our own volition banned all-carbon arrows. We also have very strict procedures regarding any lost arrows.

My previous club shot on a rugby ground. At a general committee meeting my father was presented with an arrow which had been discovered in the pitch by the groundsman. Very stern faces. As it happens it didnt match any of our members'arrows and had no name or number on it.

My father spent a day combing the 1st Team pitch with our metal detector, and with a very long face, took his findings along to the next meeting, which he plonked on the table with a thud. Absolutely no arrows or archery items, but over 20 metal studs from rugby boots and a damned great cast iron chair from a railway sleeper. (They'd used the sleepers to make one of those pushing training devices)

I'm pleased to say that they are still shooting there after almost 50 years
 

Hawkmoon

Member
For those that cannot shoot indoors over the winter and do not have the option to use their outdoor facilities because they are multi sport venues and taken over by rugby and football.

Many Cricket Clubs own their own grounds and these are not used all winter and generally big enough. Also for the cricket club it would be money they would not be expecting.
Most cricket pitches are in the middle of public spaces that cannot reasonably be controlled to make a safe range.
 

KidCurry

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AIUK Saviour
I don't think there will be any indoor shooting. To be honest I don't think outdoor shooting will be available for much longer either. I just did an extrapolation of the current cases trend and it seems we are back to the early march trend. Hopefully it will flatten out but I don't see any reason why it should.
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bimble

Well-known member
Supporter
Fonz Awardee
Ironman
AIUK Saviour
as a sign, the 20 cases per 100,000 which the Government is using as a limit to decide whether to have holiday makers needing to quarantine or not works out to 1904 daily cases in the UK... we had 1940 earlier this week and so if the current increase continues we will soon have a 7 day average of more than would require a quarantine if we were returning from a country with that rate.

And obviously testing rates would make an effect, but on the day of lockdown (March 23rd) there were "only" 967 new cases, a number we have been above for two-three weeks now...

I only spotted two biggish house parties going on during my walk last night... I'm sure we've NOTHING to worry about...
 

AndyW

Well-known member
As long as we're not approaching an overwhelmed NHS situation I think they will continue with the unspoken "herd immunity agenda". Just don't tell the sheep chaps.
Our darling little petri dishes are back in the incubators now as well so we will wait for it all to kick off again. If not I'm sure there's a few more bread and circuses tricks they can pull to bump up the rate - another Rishi's meal deal anyone?
 

Bandit

Active member
As long as we're not approaching an overwhelmed NHS situation I think they will continue with the unspoken "herd immunity agenda". Just don't tell the sheep chaps.
Our darling little petri dishes are back in the incubators now as well so we will wait for it all to kick off again. If not I'm sure there's a few more bread and circuses tricks they can pull to bump up the rate - another Rishi's meal deal anyone?
I work at a Hospital in Leeds. It's never been "overwhelmed". Last count for covid cases was 3
 

KidCurry

Well-known member
AIUK Saviour
We need to take the recent warning by Chief Medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam about Covid rates increasing, extremely seriously. Yesterday we had 2900 ish new cases. These cases took a week to two weeks to incubate so this figure is people who contracted covid at least a week ago. They do not include asymptomatic or people who are so mild they don't bother with testing, typically 50%. So this time last week there were, conservatively, nearly 6000 people contracting the virus. Current curve shows a doubling each week so yesterday we probably had 12000 new infections and by this time next week this will increase to 24000 infections/day. We can check this data next week, but 'next week' is always too late.

I've just paid my AGB subs and am keeping my finger crossed, but I'm not optimistic and I'm not expecting to be shooting over the winter :(
 
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AndyW

Well-known member
I work at a Hospital in Leeds. It's never been "overwhelmed". Last count for covid cases was 3
Not my point, the government have done a decent enough initial job but the way they are proceeding now is contra to the stated goal.
The numbers announced after my post speak volumes. I'm not at all comfortable with policies which incentivise increased social mixing such as the "meal deal" ( it smacks of bread and circuses ) but I understand that certain things must happen such as work and children must go to school as the lesser of two evils. Granted my post was on the acidic side but being serious I cannot get the initially toyed with policy ( quickly back pedaled ) of herd immunity out of my thinking. A succession of peaks and troughs culminating in a majority exposure whilst not stretching NHS capability to breaking point.
Logically, very sensible but not acceptable on a personal level. Worryingly, it's exactly what I would do if I was in charge and I would proceed in exactly the same way. I would do a Marcus Aurelius though and employ someone to whisper in my ear - we are following the science????.
 
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malbro

Instinctive Archer
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
My local target archery club is unable to find a suitable site for this winter as the normal site is shared with a rifle club and the site will have to be upgraded before it is regarded as suitable for use, probably some time in 2021. I will not be renewing my with membership of the AGB and will concentrate on field shooting.
 

hooktonboy

The American
Ironman
American Shoot
I think an indoor "season" is looking very unlikely for most of us - so many rely on school facilities and I think they have enough on their plate right now.
Oddly, for me and "my" archery it might just be a good combination - the necessity of shooting indoor rounds outdoors plays into my desire to be outside, but also offsets the issue of shoulder injury and low (recurve) bow weight to a good extent. A small "silver lining" to be sure.
 

Geophys2

Active member
AIUK Saviour
My target club has its own dedicated indoor facility, and have put out a set of guidelines for our indoor season. However, a 1/2hr drive each way for a one hour time slot in an indoor and therefore higher risk setting is not really all that attractive. Particularly so when my 3D NFAS club is open four days a week during daylight with 40, 3D targets in a lovely woodland setting, For the foreseeable future I think that is where I'll get my archery fix.
 

Geophys2

Active member
AIUK Saviour
If I need a 'target' fix I can always take the barebow and shoot a Portsmouth on our practice butts.
 

chrisgas

Supporter
Supporter
At home I can shoot 10m indoors. For shooting outdoors in winter I have a snug outside for the cold winter days with a rocket mass heater for covid days 5 bums. Can shoot 100m with 30m firing line. Last year we suffered a catastrophic flood that stripped 3000 tons of soil off and along our land and it has taken a year to get things back to somewhere near where we were. All I need now is a few clubs to use my facilities.
 
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