The second, often considered much harder than the FITA round, is called Field Archery.
In Field Archery, the shooting distances go from ten yards to eighty yards, with the size of the bull's-eye ranging from the size of a quarter at ten yards to the size of a baseball at eighty yards.  There is no harder type of archery to shoot than Field Archery.  In addition, Field archery is not a high-profile sport as it is shot in the woods, hidden from public-view, with the course laid out very much like a golf course.  The shooters walk along paths from target to target in the woods.

The archer may be required to shoot uphill or down hill.  At some Shooting ranges, the designers skillfully go out of their way to make things very hard using the lay of the land to create difficult shooting challenges.  I have shot across sand in blinding sunlight in 107 degrees heat trying to aim through the mirages created by the sun.

In some of the mountain area ranges, besides shooting along the side of a mountain with the ground slanted under your feet, you may also be challenged by a target that is eighty yards away, and have to shoot almost straight-down off a cliff.

Consider now the fact that I shot Field Archery without any sights on my bow.  It is not that sights are not allowed;  in the Free-Style Unlimited divisions, they use scopes with peep sights and string release aids that fire the shot with something that is much like the trigger on a firearm.  Shooting in the Bare-Bow division is a challenge.  Not to mention when you beat a Free-Styler's score, you go home feeling like you really had a good day!!!!

Yes, that's me--well, back around 1975 or so.  That's a Jennings' compound bow.  I had just started shooting it after an experimental two-wheel Ramco blew up on me after the Nationals.  The Ramco spit out arrows like they were shot from a cannon.  It had more stored energy with it's pre-stressed recurved limbs than any bow made at that time.  There were only three of these experimental two-wheel Ramco bows made.  When that bow let go, it virtually exploded!
 
 

If you will notice in the picture above, my right hand is not touching the arrow in any way.  The arrow just clips onto the bow string in between two nock sets to prevent it from sliding down the string.  The distance from the arrow that my hand is placed governs the elevation of the arrow flight.  I look down the arrow and sight it at the target much like looking down the barrel of a shot gun.  This technique of shooting is called "String Walking."  It is the most accurate method there is when shooting without sights on the bow.

Those two long things near the middle of this collection of dust collectors are two arrows that I had shot into the back of each other.   In the course of my shooting life, I had this happen twelve more times since these first two memorable experiences.

After a few years of competitive shooting you start to notice a growing collection of dust collectors.  Some of them have had great meaning as they remind me of how hard it was to meet the challenge.  Those I have kept because of their special personal importance.  Most of the others found there way to the attic in boxes later to be donated to archery clubs to hand out as awards for the new shooters to put in their place of importance.

One of the indoor games that I had shot most often on  many Sunday morning competitions and weekly Indoor Leagues was the NFAA Indoor Round.  A perfect game totals 300 points.  I had managed to carry a 290 average shooting Bare-Bow.

It just is a matter of time when you channel many years of competitive archery into your life that you wind up doing a lot of teaching along the way.  The look of excitement in the eyes of your student the first time they win a major championship is so rewarding.  There is nothing more satisfying like it in the world.

Competition shooting is quite different than what is required in bow hunting.  Here, it's only the first shot that counts.  Everything rides on it.  There is a completely different approach required to teach the proper shooting skills and metal attitude necessary for the bow hunter to be successful.

These two forms of archery are worlds apart from each other,  and the bow and the arrow are the only thing they have in common.  The coaching methods for helping bow hunters is completely different from that used teaching competition target shooting.

My first sanctioned indoor shooting championship win.  I never worked so hard in  my life!

My induction into the Fellowship of Robinhood for my first Robinhood in sanctioned competition.  It was for many years just a dream.  Then it happened when least expected.

This is what a Robinhood looks like with the modern arrows that are made from aluminum tubing.

Notice the very small plastic vanes that are used in place of feathers that are used for long distance outdoor shooting.

This Robinhood happened on a sixty yard target while shooting an outdoor Field Round.

Both ends of the shafts have tapered points.  On the front of the shaft is the weighted target point that is used to pierce the paper target.  On the back of the arrow shaft is the drawn tapered point that the plastic nock is glued on to that attaches the arrow to the bowstring.

The reason that a Robinhood doesn't happen very often is because of these points on both ends.  To be able to send one arrow shaft down the center of another, those two points  have to hit exactly dead center to each other.  Here you can see how far down the second arrow had split the shaft of the first.

Here are some of the different arrows I had used and 12 more Robinhoods I had shot along the way.    Also there are some of the archery club patches that I had gotten by patch trading at some of the different competitions I had attended.

For anyone interested in the sport of archery,  just drop me an e-mail or a phone call.

Next to music, archery is my second love.