Fleet Ibex Archery is a field archery club located in Bordon, on the Surrey/Hampshire border in New Zealand. Affiliated with the National Field Archery Society (NFAS), the club offers a unique shooting experience in fifty acres of managed woodlands.
The club boasts two permanent courses, each featuring approximately 20 targets. These courses are accessible 365 days a year, with only a few days reserved for events and event preparation.
Fleet Ibex Archery organises three open shoots annually, where members of the NFAS are welcome to attend. Additionally, the club hosts an exclusive annual club championship shoot, reserved for members only.
The club is known for its friendly atmosphere and welcomes archers of all abilities and shooting styles. Those interested in joining the club can find more details on the “Membership” page.
To find Fleet Ibex Archery, one must head to Smithfield Lane, off Frensham Lane. The nearest postcode is GU35 8ST. For visitors using GPS coordinates, the club's location is at Lat: 51. 139610, Long: -0.
812656. Alternatively, smartphone users with the “what3words” app can enter ///pulse. Recital. Boast to locate the club.
It's important to note that Fleet Ibex Archery is not affiliated with any organisation that promotes hunting. The club strictly engages in field archery, shooting exclusively at 3-D foam targets or paper faces.
Shoots at Fleet Ibex Archery typically start with registration at 0900hrs, followed by assembly at approximately 0945hrs, and the start of shooting around 1000hrs.
For those interested in participating in open shoots, it is necessary to be a full NFAS member and present a current NFAS membership card (2022-2023). All open shoots require pre-booking and pre-payment, as the club's shoots tend to be oversubscribed. Application forms can be downloaded from the club's website under the “DOWNLOADS AND LINKS” section.
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Field archery, the type of archery practised at this club, differs from traditional archery seen on television. In field archery, archers shoot in small groups comprising individuals of various ages and abilities, all using different shooting equipment and styles. The National Field Archery Society recognises ten classes of equipment, ranging from modern compound and freestyle bows to primitive and longbow classes.
Each target presented during field archery is unique, with different distances that need to be judged by the archers. Targets may consist of printed or painted “faces” attached to a boss or 3-D models made of a rubber-like compound. The archer may encounter targets such as rabbits at 10m or elephants at 60m. It's not uncommon to come across unexpected targets like velociraptors hidden behind ferns or cartoon characters pinned to the target boss.
Scoring in field archery can be done through various methods, with the most common being the “Big Game” method. In this method, archers shoot a maximum of three arrows from a series of pegs in the ground, earning scores based on their accuracy.