After WFH ... SFH?

Toto, I don't think we're in Cumbernauld any more!

On Friday 24th January 2025, Storm Éowyn hit the UK. The Met Office said it was the strongest storm to hit the UK in a decade with thousands of homes in Britain and Ireland without power for some considerable time. Also a casualty of the 114mph winds was Palacerigg Field Archery course, the weekend winter home of Geo and John. The forest, the course is normally sheltered by, literally blew over. Health and Safety concerns closed the range till it was made safe .. but even then our dodgy duo had to be ordered off the range having got there and set up to shoot the morning after the storm before the range captain, who lives locally, arrived to close it down! Yes they are that menta .. dedicated.

So they have no-where to go shoot on Sundays .. or do they? Where there's a (should be) committed archer, there's a way. They opened their own club .. in John's garden!

Home archery, or Shooting From Home (SFH) if you like, is something you have to be careful with. You are off the AGB reservation when you shoot at home. You have no insurance, no risk assessment, no line captain keeping you right and safe. But home archery is something that a large number of people get up to and was especially popular during Covid. We can't stop you shooting at home but if you are going to do it, be mindful of these considerations:

Welcome to John's Archery Shack

Always consider where the arrow is going if it misses the boss and the path it takes to get to the boss. You don't want overshoots/pass-throughs going into neighbour's property or into neighbours for that matter. Also you don't want a family member accidentally stepping out the back door and into the middle of your live archery range. So secure access to where you are shooting and make sure you have a solid backstop in case of those one in a million mess ups.
Unless you own significant property, obviously space is going to be a constraint. Blank boss shooting at just a few meters distance is something that can be done in very tight spaces, is considerably safer .. and just as good for your archery! Enough headroom for the bow and enough width to fit in a boss and you are good to go. However, remember safety. Shooting in the hall towards the front door is not advised if a bad release gives the amazon delivery driver or the postman a hell of a fright! (Pets, children and forgetful spouses also need to be considered)

Obviously Captain Sausage is on hand to do the catering

Then there's noise and disturbance. Here you need neighbours who aren't overly concerned with the TWANG THUD of archery. Worse still is if a neighbour becomes "concerned" and phones the police. You aren't on very solid ground here if you are causing "fear and consternation" but then again "intent" is important in UK law. Specialist insurance is available but even that has some pitfalls for shooters at home. We know of several archers shooting into their garages who got a visit from the police. They weren't stopped from their shootie but that AGB card and impassioned explanation of how awesome archery is can be a lifesaver.
Next, bosses take up space. You may have issues putting a boss somewhere it isn't a giant pain the quiver. If you leave them outside, you need to protect them from the elements - waterlogged bosses don't stop arrows very well. If you get a small boss to minimize storage issues, you increase the chance of a miss and the subsequent difficult conversations noted above.
Finally, if you aren't an experienced archer, you might be making a god awful mess of your form with no experienced archer/coach or even John around to say "gonnie no do that". Worth considering these issues before trying home archery. In today's cancel/ban everything culture, lets not get archery a bad name.

Back to our homeless archers noted above. If you've been checking out the pics, you can see what's been set up here to mitigate any issues. John has a shed. In the shed is an archery target bag and a foam boss - one behind the other - ensuring no passthroughs. John is close to the front door of the shed which channels his shot. The shed doors add extra protection for several feet left and right. Distance to the boss is less than 5m. The roof is quite high in relation to the aim point so protecting the vertical dimension. The weather was heaving it down during this session yet our archer is safe from wet slippery hands with the gazebo. The Decathlon base seconds tent to the left gives protection from the prevailing wind ... and obviously hosts the range's kitchen and seated viewing/criticizing area. These are experienced archers and while they have covered their bases, there's no complacency. It's the most alert they've been in years!

Palacerigg will be back up come the spring and well lit evenings, meaning the double act will naff off back to their natural habitat. Which will, by then, probably be a great relief to John's neighbours. Having an infestation of rabid archers near you can't be much fun especially if its these two. However, until Palacerigg rises once more, the legend of John’s Garden Range will no doubt grow — much to the despair of his neighbours.

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Extremely funny but cautionary tale about home archery during the dark days of Covid.
John has another shed ... John "two sheds" Strang
For anyone wanting to shoot on John's range ... his home address and combination to the shed's padlock is available from Geo in exchange for a small monetary consideration.