[Archers] Trying to make some sense...

[Garth G. Groff]

Lord Christophe and friends,

A couple of months ago I had just set up our practice range which is on 
a gas line right-of-way. Unfortunately, part of the safety zone overlaps 
a neighbor's property, but our host has worked this out with the 
neighbor. I just had the range ready when the neighbor drove his tractor 
with a mowing machine behind onto the safety zone. He stopped and looked 
at me, as I made bow drawing motions. He waved then made his own bow 
drawing motion, and drove off. Five minutes later he was back for 
another pass, then another. At that point I shut down the range (I was 
hearing thunder anyway). Now it is the guy's property, but either he's 
is stupid or cloddish, or both, since obviously he understood we were 
about to shoot. (Sigh!).

Because of weather (and this bozo) we haven't held practice since March, 
and because of Pennsic we won't shoot this month either. (Another 
sigh!). I'm sure glad we have paid access to a 20-yard indoor range at 
the Hunt'nShak. There we just get interupted by good ole boys who want 
to buy fancy bows with training wheels and need to test them out. At 
least Lady Sarah and I can impress them with bare bow shooting, 
something most of them have never tried and some have never even seen.

Kind regards,


Lord Mungo Napier, Shire of Isenfir Target Archery Marshal

John Atkins wrote:
> Fen,
> I completely agree with your points below.  I underscore your comment 
> that many autocrats do not fully understand the archer's need for a 
> large area for SAFETY sake.  Unfortunately archery is too often stuck 
> in the "back 40" out of sight and out of mind.  But your point of 
> working with the autocrat is a good idea for working out a solution 
> suitable to all.  And I would recommend that contact begin long before 
> the actual event, in the planning stages.  In the case of a hostile 
> autocrat you could perhaps just have them go down range and hold a 
> paper plate in front of their chest!  :-)  (Archer humor there.)  I 
> should think that as Atlantia is known for its archers that raising 
> the issue of a hostile autocrat to higher levels would get some 
> satisfaction.  But I also go back to "you can't fix stupid."  At one 
> event at the Elkin Castle site we were doing a clout shot the full 
> length of the range when I heard someone chopping wood in the woods 
> behind the target we were shooting at.  I called a hold and sent a 
> fellow marshal down to tell the person they were on a live archery 
> range.  About 30 minutes later the marshal returned.  When asked why 
> it took so long they responded that the wood chopper said they would 
> only be a few minutes!  Some times just continuing to shoot would 
> really clean up the gene pool.  The paperwork is really a hassle 
> though!  Did I mention you can't fix stupid?
>  
> But this leads into another but closely related subject I would like 
> to bring up here for discussion.  At Pennsic a few years back the East 
> king came to the range to meet the archers before the masters shoot.  
> He confessed that, as a heavy fighter, he always thought archery was 
> really easy.  He decided to give it a try for himself.  Because of 
> this he had a whole new appreciation of what archers can do and the 
> skill required.  Perhaps this display of skill is something we should 
> all think about trying to incorporate into the shoots we plan.  Think 
> of ways to involve more of the non-shooting populace in a skillful 
> way.  At Gulf Wars this is the idea behind the Grand Exhibition 
> Tournament held in front of the fort on the battle field.  It pits the 
> best archers of each attending kingdom against each other in a high 
> skill tournament format in front of the populace.  Simply stated, it 
> brings archery out from the "back 40" for the populace to see.  If we 
> can do things to help destroy the myth that archery is easy and anyone 
> can do it, we may gain a bit more respect from otherwise hostile 
> autocrats.
>  
> Just some thoughts,
> cog

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