Come try Archery and thrown Weapons at our Practice!

Archery practices are generally Saturday afternoon year-round (indoors in winter, outdoors in summer) weather permitting. Thrown Weapons practices are generally Tuesday nights (outdoors) weather permitting. The latest information on our practice (location, last minute cancellations) can be found on our Facebook group or on the main page in our Calendar (under “Upcoming Activities”).

Target Archery

[Borrowed from the SCA Newcomer’s Portal which also has great information and resources available.]

One of the most important skills throughout the timeframe that we recreate, archery was used for hunting, practice, and especially war. Archery played an important role in many a battle and many cultures depended upon their innovative and skilled archers for defense as well as a means of conquest.

In order to be as true to times as possible we try to use materials and methods available to period archers. This includes a focus on natural materials such as wood and feathers in our bows and arrows. Some modern types of equipment like compound bows, are not allowed in our archery activities to keep the playing field more level and medieval.

In addition to the traditional target archery competitions where points are scored by shooting at a bullseye, the competitions for target archery are often designed to mimic situations faced by medieval archers. These might include 3-D or 2-D animal targets set at unknown ranges to demonstrate hunting prowess. Alternatively, a set of targets might be made to represent the slots on a fortress, the objective being to try to shoot the “archers” within the walls of a fortification under siege. Novelty targets will sometimes be encountered; blow out a candle with an arrow without hitting the candle itself, hit your target paddle to trip a swinging bar to block your opponent’s paddle from falling before they can shoot it, or get the best poker hand by skill or luck.

Thrown Weapons

In addition to the target competition found in archery, we also recreate additional target weapons styles. At many Baronial events, you can find opportunities to try throwing common medieval weapons such as axes, knives, and spears, all in a safe, monitored environment.

We have loaner bows and arrows as well as thrown weapons available for you to try it out. Contact the Archery Marshal for more information, or just come out to one of our weekly practices.