Field Archery as possible diversification option for woodland

[Fieldarcher]

I am trying to promote awareness of the hobby of field archery and as both a registered field archery coach, medal winner and national coach trainer for the sport, I’m pretty involved already.
I wonder if any of you have considered renting your spare, possibly empty woodland to field archers. If not, can I suggest you spend a few moments reading this and become aware of the possibilities. You might be pleasantly surprised. My apologies if this sounds like a bit of a sales pitch but please stick with me and it might prove beneficial.
Field archery is a discipline of archery where targets are set in woodland rather than an open field, which is more commonly associated when archery is mentioned. Largely thanks to coverage of Olympic archery events in recent years.
Field archery on the other hand provides a unique experience for the archer to test their abilities in a natural environment. Open to all ages and abilities it provides a great family activity promoting an active lifestyle. I'm sure some of you may have heard of recent medical reports which suggests being out in nature can be of benefit for our own mental health too.
I feel it is very important to stress that we do not hunt animals in any form. Hunting with a bow and arrows in the UK was outlawed decades ago.
As field archers we are always searching for supportive landlords who we can work with to create a field archery woodland to support local clubs or national society competitions. In fact there are clubs across the country with competitions being held most weekends.
I am in contact with groups of archers searching for suitable woodland to house a field archery clubs and hoping someone here maybe able to help.
What we can offer a landlord? Field archery is far less noisy, damaging or intrusive to the environment than other activities often practised in woodland like paintball or motor-cross. Our goal is to maintain the woodland seeking to set targets in a natural environment, working with the terrain and landscape. A key part of field archery is working with the terrain to make the most of it whilst retaining the natural charm and beauty. There are other possible benefits to the land owner as woods that are occupied by club tend not to suffer from unwanted attention such as fly tippers or vandals.
In an uncertain economic environment such diversification could prove beneficial, providing some income for unused land along with the knowledge you have custodians helping maintain the environment.

I've included a link to an online blog (Off the Arrow Shelf) which provides a useful insight into field archery from the archers prospective. Along with a link to the National Field Archery Society website which is one of the governing bodies where you will be able to see the regulations and policies.
National Field Archery Society - http://www.nfas.net/home.asp
Off the Arrow Shelf - https://offthearrowshelf.wordpress.com/
I hope this has sparked your interest and should you like some more information please drop me a line. I’ll be more than happy to discuss things further or provide you with more information.
Thank you for your time.
Rob

 

[Fieldarcher]

I'm just bumping this back up as we are still in search of suitable land, if anyone can help.

 

[Loftyrules]

How much do you pay?
How often do you need access
How many people at once/spread of people on a set day etc?

 

[Fieldarcher]

How much do you pay?
How often do you need access
How many people at once/spread of people on a set day etc?

Hi Loftyrules

How much do you pay?

I'd avoided mentioning money as my experience of rental on woods shows the rental prices varies greatly dependent on the location and agreement with the land owner.
Yes some clubs pay a few thousand pounds over the year but these tend to have large areas of land, access, parking areas, buildings and agreements that allow them to fell trees or do pretty much anything etc.
Others pay a few hundred in return for maintaining the woodland for the land owner etc. Some pay next to nothing but in return maintain the fence line, and do the land maintenance so it varies greatly

How often do you need access
Access wise do you mean physical access i.e. tracks or access as in time periods? Again this is dependent on the agreement.

A few clubs I know have 24 / 7 access to their wood all year round. Another has 24/7 from End of Feb to End of October, and weekend access over the winter months. Though they both pay a few thousand a year for their site and have a couple of containers and large parking area.

Other clubs I know only have access at weekends, but in turn pay less rental. I know one that rents from a school so have access weekends and out of term time.

Physical access wise its normally a track to the wood for vehicles to be able to take the wood to take targets and / or people. Effectively a route to and from and somewhere suitable to parl.

How many people at once/spread of people on a set day etc?

Normal club days would see between 5 and 30 people, though if the club is running a competition you could have up to 150 maybe 200 people. Most clubs run 1-3 competitions a year to bring in funds to cover rental costs etc.

I hope this makes sense and covers what you would like to know. If you have any further questions drop me a line or message me on here.

 

[OutdoorTim]

Correct me if I seem critical but you are renting a woodland not taking over the management ffs .Tracks in on top seem a bit ott .Many conservation grants don’t permit access other than on foot which would defeat the exercise .

 

[Fieldarcher]

Correct me if I seem critical but you are renting a woodland not taking over the management ffs .Tracks in on top seem a bit ott .Many conservation grants don’t permit access other than on foot which would defeat the exercise .

Dear OutdoorTim

As I tried to explain in my earlier post, the amount of support / management provided by the club is dependent on the landowner. Some are more than willing for clubs to take on more management of the land, whilst others rather do it all themselves. Allow me to give you some examples of initiatives undertaken by a few clubs I am aware of.

• Sourcing and planting new hedgerows to border the land.
• Replacing fence lines after they had fallen into disrepair and targeted by fly tippers. I’ve known clubs to repair drystone walls after years of neglect.
• Removal of trees that are either dead or dangerous. Some landlords are more than willing to have someone remove such trees if they are suitably qualified.
• I’ve worked with one site and a colleague who has experience with managing land occupied with wild deer, to ensure club activities did not impact on the wildlife.

As for the comment on tracks in. I was trying to explain potential different access levels. Some have pre-established tracks that are then maintained in cooperation with clubs

I hope this explains things more clearly.

 

[flowerpot]

What is the minimum size wood? I do know a place where this takes place,
but I'm pretty sure it is a rare estate where there is no shooting, at least there wasn't, don't know what will happen now the old boy has died and there is a new heir in charge. So the archers have access all year round and have targets dotted around the woodland. I can't see that there is much nuisance to the landowner, although of course they want to know who is in their wood.

Where you have a keen shooting estate I expect you would have to keep away during the pheasant shooting season.

 

[Fieldarcher]

What is the minimum size wood? I do know a place where this takes place,
but I'm pretty sure it is a rare estate where there is no shooting, at least there wasn't, don't know what will happen now the old boy has died and there is a new heir in charge. So the archers have access all year round and have targets dotted around the woodland. I can't see that there is much nuisance to the landowner, although of course they want to know who is in their wood.

Where you have a keen shooting estate I expect you would have to keep away during the pheasant shooting season.

Ideally you want to have about 8-10 acre as this allows for a full course. It really depends on the nature of the terrain.
I know of a couple of clubs that share their woods with shooting groups

 

[OutdoorTim]

Dear OutdoorTim

As I tried to explain in my earlier post, the amount of support / management provided by the club is dependent on the landowner. Some are more than willing for clubs to take on more management of the land, whilst others rather do it all themselves. Allow me to give you some examples of initiatives undertaken by a few clubs I am aware of.

• Sourcing and planting new hedgerows to border the land.
• Replacing fence lines after they had fallen into disrepair and targeted by fly tippers. I’ve known clubs to repair drystone walls after years of neglect.
• Removal of trees that are either dead or dangerous. Some landlords are more than willing to have someone remove such trees if they are suitably qualified.
• I’ve worked with one site and a colleague who has experience with managing land occupied with wild deer, to ensure club activities did not impact on the wildlife.

As for the comment on tracks in. I was trying to explain potential different access levels. Some have pre-established tracks that are then maintained in cooperation with clubs

I hope this explains things more clearly.

Not really mate and probably why you are still searching .
Most farmers are very sceptical of taking on anyone with a view to them making changes however small ,especially if you intend to do the work as a measure of goodwill .Sounds strange but these things have a habit of biting a landowner on the arse ie “We’ve done this ,so expect that “etc .”We did that therefore it’s our to take “etc .
Good luck but don’t be throwing too much charity about ,makes the rest look bad lol.

 

[Fieldarcher]

Not really mate and probably why you are still searching .
Most farmers are very sceptical of taking on anyone with a view to them making changes however small ,especially if you intend to do the work as a measure of goodwill .Sounds strange but these things have a habit of biting a landowner on the arse ie “We’ve done this ,so expect that “etc .”We did that therefore it’s our to take “etc .
Good luck but don’t be throwing too much charity about ,makes the rest look bad lol.

If this is the case , I can’t help think it’s kind of sad that our attempt to offer help and demonstrate genuine interest in working for mutual benefit might be seen in a negative way. I guess it maybe as you say if landowners have had “We’ve done this ,so expect that “etc

All I can say is our offers are genuine. I appreciate your time in responding and your input. I will pass on your thoughts to overs in the team. Thanks OutdoorTim

 

[OutdoorTim]

Just keeping it real mate ,dosnt mean you won’t find anything just an insight in case you don’t .

 

[Fieldarcher]

Just keeping it real mate ,dosnt mean you won’t find anything just an insight in case you don’t .

Trying our best too ?
Let's hope we are lucky. Fingers crossed

 

[gatepost]

Sorry to spoil the party, we set up a field archery site some yrs ago, we had a local club who we worked with, and a field archery group who also used the site, It can work well, we all learned the art and one daughter got quite good, BUT, no offence, trying to keep frustrated middle aged men dressed in fatigues who did nothing but complain about the angle of every target , (unless they put it just where they thought it should go), so it ended up a continuous battle of wits, with me constantly suggesting that they all just came and enjoy shooting some arrows, instead of casting a critical eye over each others work, in the end I told them all to B off, waste of time as an earner, but as a sport great fun. Just to add the positioning of the targets was nothing to do with me!!

 

[Fieldarcher]

Sorry to spoil the party, we set up a field archery site some yrs ago, we had a local club who we worked with, and a field archery group who also used the site, It can work well, we all learned the art and one daughter got quite good, BUT, no offence, trying to keep frustrated middle aged men dressed in fatigues who did nothing but complain about the angle of every target , (unless they put it just where they thought it should go), so it ended up a continuous battle of wits, with me constantly suggesting that they all just came and enjoyed shooting some arrows, instead of casting a critical eye over each others work, in the end I told them all to B off, waste of time as an earner, but as a sport great fun.

I have been shooting for a few years and I know the sort of conversations that you are talking about as I've seen this happen.
Fortunately the team I work with currently are all experienced archers and course players. Some of us have set national championship courses.
This greatly reduces the friction. The sport is hugely enjoyable as a whole.

 

[gatepost]

You may have come down and competed on our course? Deer Park Archers, quite a few yrs ago, I thought as a lay man we had the making of a cracking and challenging course, a great sport with a second to none heritage.

 

[Fieldarcher]

You may have come down and competed on our course? Deer Park Archers, quite a few yrs ago, I thought as a lay man we had the making of a cracking and challenging course, a great sport with a second to none heritage.

Not one I've shot sadly ? I'm sure I would have enjoyed it