Our annual Autumn One Arrow Challenge turned out to be even more of a challenge this year – the challenge being just getting there in the first place.

Storm Angus did his best to deter or wash away our visitors but, Hey! - Rough Tough Field Archers are not so easily deterred. In the end 44 from a booking of 61 braved the entrance to the car park and then shot round our course of 38 x 3D’s, all cunningly placed by our devious course setters.

A welcoming fire on arrival and the hot refreshments provided all day by Claire, Paul and Anne kept everyone going.

A big thank you to the refreshment team and the course team (Bernie, Terry, Martin, Wally etc) for making everyone welcome and well fed.

Our shoots in 2017 can be found on our website and also the NFAS shoot list.

Download the shoot report here

Our summer shoot proved to be another fine and sunny day shooting amongst Magna Carta’s dark rhododendron strewn woodlands.

The contrast of light and dark, flat and steep continue to provide opportunities for sneaky “where the **** is it!” and tight window “You have got to be joking!” type shots that Magna is now well known for.

On the day 50 archers booked and shot the course set out by Wally, Bernie, Paul & Clive and comprised 41 X 3D targets over 38 pegs.

Wally excelled himself with his inventive new moving 3D target which, judging from the shouts and curses, was enjoyed by many.

A big thank you to:

• Those MCFA club members that volunteered their time to help set up the course and marshal throughout the day.
• The refreshment team of Paul, Clare and Anne who provided hearty high quality food and drink throughout the day.

Our next shoots are:

• Friendly (Bring your own refreshments): Saturday August 6th 2016
• Autumn Open Shoot (One Arrow): Sunday November 20th 2016

Download the shoot report here

At the preparation stage in early July this looked set to be our best shoot of the year with nearly 80 archers booked in, a great course set by Wally and the rest of the team, refreshments all ready and 41 sneaky targets all waiting to missed (but only just of course!).

Then came the rain.

On Friday we had a months’ worth of rain in 24 hrs and although it cleared on Saturday it came back with a vengeance on the day of the shoot - like stair rods at times!

Although we had some cancellations and no-show’s we still had nearly 60 archers plus our own club members who braved the conditions in our dense and often steep and slippery woodland. A few retired, partially drowned, but the rest soldiered on and in fact after lunch the rain cleared and although it remained grey and chilly it was at least dry – unless of course you were hunting lost arrows in the rhododendrons!

3D’s ranged from the tall standing bear up an impossibly steep hillside, several fan shots, a predator and prey shot, down to the tiny ‘Mrs Tiggiwinkle’ hedgehog at only a few yards away. Robo Duck stayed away on this occasion as he didn’t want to get rusty!

As this was Magna Carta 800 celebration year, Wally had obtained two special painted hessian faces, one of King John waving his money and clutching the Great Charter and the other, one of the Barons, obviously looking for King John.

Wally had entered into the spirit of the day by tuning up as King John in a ‘costume’ which included a very fetching pair of black tights which, from the back, revealed more of Wally than he perhaps intended.

Votes of thanks go to the course setters already mentioned, the refreshment team of Claire, Anne and Paul and our land owner for allowing us to hold these events.

Of course the biggest ‘thank you’ – considering the conditions on the day – must go to the gallant band of visitors, some of whom had travelled a considerable distance to shoot our course.

We look forward to seeing you all again at our next shoot.

Download the shoot report here

It hardly seems a year since we lost the use of about 1/3 of the woodland we had enjoyed for so long. However the general consensus of those who attended out latest shoot was ‘less is more’ and that Wally can be just a sneaky and devious in his course setting regardless of how much space he has to play with.

About 100 archers turned out for our end of season event including many regulars and a fair few new to our distinctive woodland with it’s dips and folds, open spaces and dense and unforgiving Rhododendrons. Wally had set a challenging but ‘hittable’ course of 36 mixed 3D’s and hessian faced targets.

The weather stayed on our side all day (the sun even came out at one point) and the food factory run by Paul, Clare and Anne provided a constant stream of hot and cold food and drinks throughout the day. In fact Anne’s cakes proved such a hit that they not only sold out but Anne received at least three proposals of marriage there and then!

Shoot like this don’t just happen and a large thank you must go to the rest of the MCFA members who turn out for work parties and on the day to support the event and make sure our visitors go home happy.

Finally I would like to extend a very big thank you to all those visiting archers who have attended our shoots throughout the year – often travelling a considerable distance to do so. Without your support and comments we would not be able to put on the shoots that you enjoy.

Have a good Christmas and New Year. We look forward to seeing you and your friends in 2012.

Download the shoot report here

Our November shoot very nearly didn’t happen this year. About three weeks before the shoot date, part of the woodland we shoot over was sold and the new owner announced that he wanted all the targets out immediately. When he was asked for a few weeks grace as we had a major competition coming up he calmly told us to cancel it! Enter our Fairy Godmother in the form of Wally who spent the next two weeks virtually single handed hauling 60% of the course out of the now off limits land and redesigning the course with new placements, access ways and course marking. Thanks also to the team of six members who did the final prep’ the day before the shoot to ensure that we had 36 targets ready to face the 100 plus archers who turned up the following day.

Parking was also going to be an issue but Chris our landowner was happy to allow us to use one of the top paddocks – except it rained quite a bit in the days leading up to the shoot and the hill was getting a bit slippery. Nevertheless, on the day most of the archers managed the hill climb and probably enjoyed the additional, unexpected challenge of rally-cross style driving.

Wally had laid a mixed course of 36 assorted, 3D, 2D hessian and paper faces, all cunningly set to challenge and confuse ranging from a large browsing Zebra to a very skinny Meerkat.

There were a few anxious moments regarding the ‘saddle shot’ with several variations of seating position by those who fancied a bit of horse archery.

Robo Duck also made a re-appearance – close enough to the club hut to raise a cheer or two at the distinctive sound of pile on steel although there was an optional ‘Chicken Shot’ for the…..chickens.

We would like to extend a big thank you to all our visitors who kindly brought in the 3D’s at the end of the shoot – it certainly made our job a lot easier. Catering was of the usual high standard with food provided throughout the day by Claire, Paul and Anne. Finally, thanks to Chris Butcher for allowing us to continue using his land.

Download the shoot report here

A happy band of archers arrived for MCFA‟s summer shoot to find a brand new car park cunning concealed right next to the registration area – at the top of the hill! However, this new facility is only temporary as it forms the base of a new Menage or horse training area.

Contrary to rumour, MCFA has settled into a very good working agreement with the riders who stable and ride their horses on the site and the prospects for a long and mutually beneficial relationship seem good. Membership is up and the course gets better each year.

Which brings me to….. “WALLY’S WILDERNESS WANDER”

Over the past couple of months Wally had single handedly re-set the targets ready for this shoot and, in typical Wally style, these were diabolically placed. Never really stretched, all very hittable and almost all producing groans of “how did I miss that?!”

The course comprised a range 38 of realistically placed 3D‟s, superb painted hessian faces and a few big game paper faces all cunningly concealed in the undergrowth with just enough dead ground or foliage to confuse and distract. Despite this, and the ever present Rhododendrons with their arrow attracting tendencies, every one seemed to have had a really good day and the range of excuses was inventive to say the least.

Catering was provided by the usual team of Paul, Claire & Anne and the new range of china tea & coffee mugs instead of plastic beakers went down really well – as did all of the food.

Thanks also to Chris and Mark for helping with the work on the day and also to Chris Butcher for allowing us to continue using his land.

Some memorable pictures from the day are below

Download the shoot report here

It was with some relief that, following last years Foot and Mouth fiasco, we were able to confirm that our spring open shoot was able to go ahead. Archers who had booked for the October shoot had been contacted and were automatically transferred to this one and, along with all the rest who it seems had been waiting patiently for our ground to re-open, made an impressive entry of 106 pre-booked archers on the day.

It is a tribute, I hope, to our growing reputation for ‘interesting’ (some call them ‘challenging’) courses, friendly faces and good food that people had travelled some considerable distances to get here including all round the South East coast, Oxford, down into Dorset and even as far as Mongolia – although it should be pointed out that Yi was already in the area so I suppose that doesn’t count!

The course setters headed by Roger had planned yet another devious and sneaky course of 40 – mostly 3D or cut-outs, all in cunningly placed situations which although not at any great distance, proved able to fool most of the people for most of the time. This, coupled with shooting to wound lines, kept the top scores in the mid 500/600’s – no mean achievement considering the layout and topography of our ground and cries of “How did I miss that!” seemed to be the most common comment of the day. ‘Robo Duck’ made his usual appearance – albeit in a supporting, not Robo Duckscoring, role and the clang of spent arrows (including a flint tip!) resounded at intervals throughout the day.

However, this did not detract from peoples’ enjoyment and the weather, which had been really wet the day before, was kind with clear skies and sun developing as the day wore on.

Catering was of the usual high standard with food provided by Claire and Paul ably assisted by the rest of the Porter clan whilst Anne’s fruit cake was being bought in lots of three or more in case it ran out before the end of the day! Thanks must also go to the unsung hero’s in the club who turned out on work parties or who performed other duties on the day. You know who you are – “Thank You!”

All in all our first shoot of the year was a great success and bodes well for the remaining five as many archers have already booked ahead for some if not all the others.

Download the shoot report here

80 archers travelled through the fog to attend our first Annual Charity Shoot in aid of the Edward Bright Fund. We had a sometimes challenging course laid by Roger and Wally, helped by club members and even seconded family members where extra muscle were needed.

Catering, as always, was excellent with archers generously throwing their change, and more into the charity collection pot conveniently positioned in the middle of the catering window! We were privileged to have Chris Boyton and Andrew Hall sharing their individual skills and knowledge throughout the day with demonstrations of bow making and fletching and At one target, with the shot over a recently dried up pond, 3 archers took a short cut and nearly disappeared in the swamp. Their good natured reaction, and relief on getting back to the tea tent in one piece, was an example of the mood of the day and prize giving took place with lots of smiling faces and a pleasant sunny afternoon.

With the land owner generously allowing the shoot to take place without the usual charge an amazing £600 was raised for Edward. Well done everyone and we hope to see you all again at our Christmas Friendly on Saturday December 13th.

Download the shoot results