Shooting safety

[steve morley]

After a couple of accidents and a few near misses over the last couple of years, :mistake: archers in the UK are asking for a minimum shooting standard to enter into any National field tourney, at the moment archers have to either of shot a previous champs or produce six score cards from normal open tourneys.

I myself have suggested that archers need to be certified by a local club official as being a proficient and a safe shot, not just for the champs, but to enter any tourney. Another suggestion was to have a minimum score to enter a champs or elimination\qualifying shoots, this didn’t go down to well as the NFAS is a very social society and some archers are saying this suggestion is too elitist.

I wanted to ask if there are any restrictions\standards for entering tourneys in the USA, I’m also looking for ideas and suggestions from you guys as well. :help:

[Torsten]

Hello Steve,

I am living in Finland.
There is a clear tendency here to involve becoming hunters in a test: 3 shots at 10 -15m distance, 3 shots at 15-20 m distance into a target with the diameter of 20 cm. Not bad but not easy as well.
The tests will be made during bigger shooting competitions, they are supervised and controlled officially and you will be registrated when passing. You have 3 chances per day. Cost is quite reasonable.

I am convinced that in future the tests will become obligatory. This year is my turn. At home this is easy, during the test not easy on the nerves at least.
PM me if you have any further questions.

Best regards,
Torsten

[BowDonkey]

I hope a few others answer this. Some of the most reckless, stupid things I've seen were at shooting ranges. With firearms it was generally old people and the macho image type guys. Where archery was involved it was that same know it all type personality. I would leave it up to the individual range, club whatever to see to the safety issue. It seems like at every shoot there is 1 or 2 jacka$$es. I better stop now, I'm going to get wound up. Good question, tough answer. I'd say we can start by taking the most flagrant violaters and caneing them in public. Or maybe break all there fingers so they can't shoot a bow again. Remove there trigger finger, whole hand for the second violation. These are probably the same people who drive drunk, hot rod on public roads, throw there empty beer bottles on the road behind them. Bunch of useless, worthles examples of humanity. Every community has a few, I'm sorry to say. Lock em up for a long time, let them think about it.

[pondscum2]

dang it , bowdonk, i wish you'd stop soft-peddling & say it outright! hard to read between your lines when you go at something from an oblique angle like that... :highfive: ps2

[Heathen]

Bow control is the answer.

Start with a 10 arrow quiver limit, no flash hiders or bayonet lugs on Warf bows, and limit the import of foriegn made risers and limbs. :cheers:
Problem solved :2cents:

Jim

[Desert Archer]

I have sort of a knee jerk reaction against the European (no offense to England or Finland guys) approach of regulating everything. Probably comes from my years in law enforcement. Saw way too many examples where having a law against something or a license to do it didn't guaranteed the results.

A better solution, in my mind, is for the sponcering orginization to have very strict safety rules, VERY strictly inforced. Steve, you didn't say what these unsafe/dangerous incidents were but if it was a case of someone shooting in the wrong direction on the range or shooting when someone was down range, or what ever it might have been...throw them out of the orginizationa and ban them from competition for life. It wouldn't take more than one or two of those kind of examples and the message would be loud and clear.

YMMV, Dave

[tuffshot]

If I read your post right Steve, the beginners are the problem and everyone has to start somewhere. I know it distracts from the competition but a newguy with a bow needs help but just does not know where to get it. But when an usafe act occures he gets more attention than he needs.

If the safety infractions are from older members that should know better and should be corrected on the spot. We used to have range officers just for the practice range but with lack of participation a newbe has to watch and learn on his own. Another problem is pride, no one wants to be labled as a newbe and figure until they do something stupid no one will notice them at all.

[thisbucks4u]

I hate to be an arse..........but- It is up to the range to set up a safe course. If you overregulate things you will retard the amount of new archers. Unless of course this is your intent, then I say go for it!

Every target on a course must be set with the worst case scenario in mind. Now if your speaking of field archery it seems to me that this would be overly simplistic.

[steve morley]

Thanks, always good stuff from you guys.

I’m safety\range officer at our new club, added a couple of rules where newbies aren’t allowed to shoot our course alone or attend tourneys until they have been passed by us as proficient shots, they must also have a understanding of NFAS safety rules.

The standard being suggested is for an ability to shoot above certain score, I think this is wrong because it wouldn’t make it fair to the newbies, kids and Ladies with low poundage bows, I much prefer to know the archers I’m shooting with are being educated responsibly by their own clubs and have an understanding of their own limitations and knowledge of safety rules. The biggest issue was archers spotting downrange to see if the arrow has scored, this has been banned, which is a step in the right direction. :)

[Floxter]

I have to agree with Desert Archer. I don't think proficiency tests will do anything to limit the knuckle heads and might weed out some potentially good archers. If someone is guilty of willful range violations they should simply be banned in the future.

[Bowcephalus]

Separate the new shooters from the regulars during an initial re-hash of range rules for everyone, long enough for a quick "check out", including everyone in the general safety briefing...Best done before each event......Warn 'em and watch 'em......They'll either earn trust or earn the bench......Everybody watches everybody.......

[Eaglearcher]

Steve
Im not sure what accidents you are referring too, i can only assume they are NFAS related. The subject of regulation and testing is always a contentious one when relating to a friendly sport such as ours and like yourself, over the last couple of years i think that i have come across an adequate solution to the problem.
One of my responsibilities in my club is to introduce all new members to the club and teach them basic shooting form. This usually takes about four hours and covers the rules, regulations and aims of the EFAA, IFAA and the club, general shooting safety and etiquette, and a lesson in basic shooting tecnnique. No one is allowed to join the club untill they have taken this course and no one is deemed to have passed this course until i feel that they can safely shoot up to 20 yards with some degree of confidence. This does not mean that they should be accurate at this distance but that they should have a degree of confidence which means that they are comfortable and in control of their equipment and themselves. Over the last year or so I have written down this course and the EFAA have accepted it as a standard. Along with another long serving, respected archer, i now teach the training course to senior members of other clubs in the EFAA and our aim is to ensure that all clubs give their novice members the same minimum standard of tuition when they start. This should ensure that all archers in the organisation are aware of their responsibilities, the rules and regs and pose no threat to their fellow archers.
Given this minimum standard there should be no need for any regulation at competitions and any infringements of safety cannot be passed off under the excuse of ignorance of the rules.
I am also in agreement with you in that such infringemets should be dealt with swiftly and the archer concerned should be left in no doubt about the severity of the situation.

[Viper]

Steve -

My old ranger never had an accident due to a loosed arrow. The only accident I recall was a self inflicted arrow wound by a guy trying to extract an arrow from a piece of wood whist standing behind the arrow. The nock went into his leg about 1/2".

Memories.

The older ranges were well policed as far as safty goes. Not for proficiency, per se, we had a practice area for new comers, but for basic safety. Anyone nocking an arrow before EVERYONE was behind the shooting lines, meet with a verbal reminder or warning pretty quickly. These days, that's not the case. The "traditionalist" (not all but a lot) seem to think nothing of nocking an arrow a few feet behind the shooting lines, then walking up to the line and doing a 270 or 360 in the process. The range I go to isn't policed very well. This year alone there have been a few cases where kids have let fly with people down range. One kid said "I didn't see them there". I told him, that was because he didn't bother looking. His father could have been a stonger with him, I though.

Anyway, guess bows aren't really weapons, and most folks are there just to have fun, so not that big a deal, huh :sbrug: ?

Viper out.

[tuffshot]

I was at a shoot one time and a group of young people were behind us. At approx 20 years of age they were not supervised but out having a good time. While standing at the stake at full draw and getting ready to relaease the arrow one of them went under the caution tape that marked the trail and started to walk right in front of me. It was early spring and the folage of the thicket in front of me allowed me to see movement thru the brush. I had to drop the bow in a hurry and cancel the shot to keep from shooting him. :mad:

Needless to say after the scolding :cussing: he got from me we never heard another word out of that group the rest of the shoot. And they started paying more attention to what was going on.

[DAS]

Maybe I missed something, but it sounds like the problems aren't really due to a lack of shooting ability, but rather, a case of stupidity. Even among guys who have shot a long time there is always the guy who is happy to put a beer can on his head and say "go for it!". I don't know any way to get rid of stupid people short of requiring a psych evaluation. It sounds to me like a good orientation / safety class would do a lot more than a shooting test.
Or how about this! Have a shooting test and ask for volunteers to put the can on their head! The problem will take care of itself! :mistake:

[Viper]

Das -

That was my point. It has nothing to do with how good or bad you are. If the arrows are always pointed down range and there no one standing there at the time, the only thing that gets hurt is someone's ego.

Viper out.

[DAS]

Viper,
Exactly. A simple missed shot should never result in a hazardous situation unless the course is very badly designed!

[Viper]

Das -

Or managed!

The range I use the these days, is the back of a pretty large spirting goods store. Pretty decent set up, but no formal supervision. We try to police ourselves, but there are always a few who don't get it.

One range officer whould go a long way.

Guess that's my grip for the week. :2cents:

Viper out.