Safety Considerations

From Netherhall Archers

Archery is a projectile sport. Like javelin, discus or hammer, it involves building up a store of energy and then unleasing that energy into a projectile. Once the projectile is in motion, it will not stop unless something gets in its way. Never loose sight of the fact that a bow is a lethal weapon. Even the lightest bows used by young children can inflict serious injury. Having said that though, there has not been a single recorded fatality in target archery in the UK for hundreds of years. That is because a number of safety procedures including these ones have been universally applied.

In the US where bowhunting is legally permitted, there are between three and six fatalities a year, usually due to people falling out of trees (bowhunting is illegal in the UK and most of Europe). Precisely because the safety measures below are widely followed, UK target archery is regarded as a very safe sport. People realise the arrow in flight is potentially dangerous but can become complacent about other risks. Injuries tend to occur because people become complacent with the equipment e.g not properly setting up a target stand which then collapses on someone. For this reason, we do not allow younger juniors to do certain things such as move the heavy targets. It is probably true to say that there are more injuries due to getting splinters from wooden target stands than there have been injuries from arrows.

There have been about 20,000 archers in the UK for hundreds of years. Making a few assumptions, that corresponds to at least 480 MILLION arrows shot in the UK in the last ten years without a fatal injury. Golf can be more dangerous! So, these DOs and DONT's have been shown to work. Please make sure you are not the one who breaks that enviable safety record.

On a club target day, the field captain is the final arbiter of ths GNAS Rules of Shooting that provide the basis for safety rules and wider considerations. This is however a weighty tome and (it is generally regarded that) the essential aspects are:

Don'ts

• DON'T step over the shooting line either for shooting or arrow retrieval unless the field captain or judge has blown the whistle.

1. one whistle to start to shoot.
2. two whistles to retreive arrows .

• DON'T nock an arrow unless you are standing astride the shooting line, facing the targets.
• DON'T point either end of an arrow towards yourself or anyone else.
• DON'T pull carbon or carbon/aluminium arrows with your bare hands - use an arrow puller, usually made of rubber. Carbon fibre shards can really hurt if they get under your skin.
• DON'T directly approach a target when retrieving arrows. They are best approached from the side.
• DON'T shoot a damaged arrow nock.
• DON'T raise a bow to any greater an angle than that necessary to reach a given distance. Accidentally loosing an arrow from a high mid-draw can send it on a high trajectory than can go outside of the shooting range.
• DON'T distract a fellow archer on the shooting line unless you have reason to believe an accident is about to happen.
• DON'T run on the shooting range.
• DON'T stay out in the open or under trees during an electrical storm.

Do's

• DO IMMEDIATELY stop shooting and come down from the draw if anyone shouts "FAST", "STOP" or the whistle is unexpectedly blown - in an emergency, usually three blows or one long blow
• DO only have one foot over the shooting line when shooting your arrows. The shooting line is usually marked with a white line on grass or with tape or paint on the floor during indoor shooting.
• DO step back from the line after you have shot your arrows.
• DO ensure you are using a suitable bracer at all times.
• DO always use a bow stringer when setting up a recurve or longbow. The only exception is the 'walk-through' technique for longbows (as ably demonstrated by Steve Parrott). Compound bows are permanently strung and should only be serviced by people trained to do so.
• DO lightly flex carbon/carbon-aluminium arrows after shooting them and listen for cracking sounds that are the warning of imminent failure. They can fracture without you realising it. When you next shoot them, this can happen. (For those of a fragile disposition, this photograph is on another page. The poor unfortunate depicted was not a member of Netherhall Archers, nor did the incident occur at any shoot we have been involved in.)
• DO ensure recurve limbs are properly seated.
• DO ensure strings are properly seated before use.
• DO frequently check strings (and compound bows strings and cables) for signs of wear and fraying. Replace as soon as any defect becomes apparent.
• DO ensure ALL arrows are collected from the shooting range (indoors or outdoors) before leaving the range.
• DO ensure no-one is behind you before pulling arrows from bosses.
• DO look down as you walk between bosses to make sure you do not trip on a stray arrow sticking out of the ground.
• DO use two people to safely lift or lower a target boss onto/from the stand.
• DO tighten stand bolts before raising a boss and ensure the stand is stable and when outdoors, secured to the ground.
• DO use projectile nets when available.