shoot rules

[Pete W]

Reading the posted rules for NALS it seems that many are going to be excluded from attending because of the bow and arrow choice they now have.
Does you bow fit the rules, center shot is the big item here and 3 piece bows.
Are you willing to change to wood arrows if you shoot carbon or alloy just for the shoot?
Here are the rules.

Bows :
Traditional longbows or those with reverse handles. The string must not touch limbs between nocks when strung.
Bows with bolt-on limbs, center shot or elevated rests are NOT permitted.
The minimum draw weight allowed is 40 pounds at the archer's draw length.
The minimum age for participation in the safari is 12 years of age.


 Arrows:
Arrows must be constructed of wood shafting and feather fletching. Aluminum, Carbon or other composite materials are not permitted. All are tipped with broad heads of a 2 blade design, except those being used for the bow bird competition where fields points are required

[bayoulongbowman]

That last question doesnt let you answer it right ....just my 2 cents....

[tamure]

I agree, I couldn't complete the poll because I couldn't answer the last question honestly. The only reason I'm not going to NALS this year is because it's too far away; it has absolutely nothing to do with my equipment.

I usually shoot a 3 piece takedown Pronghorn, but I'm more than willing to shoot a 1 pc longbow instead to go to NALS. It's too much fun to not go just because I can't shoot the pronghorn. Besides, to me, not all longbows are created equal, and NALS rules are just like other trad shoots where they divide people into "primitive" "recurve" "longbow" etc. *runs away from the can o' worms*

[Big Dave]

If you don't want to follow their rules you don't have to go.Whether or not you like their rules ,everybody shooting has to follow the rules. My 2 cents  

[Toxophilite]

I just shot in a big 3-D event this weekend which had specific rules similar to those above.  I like shooting r/d style bows with carbon arrows, so I did not enter the longbow class competition because of rules like, "strings only touching nocks" and "rests cut no closer than 1/8 of center", and "only wood arrows with 125 grain tips max".

Turned out the rules were not enforced.

People, shooting r/d & center cut bows & non-wooden arrows WON THE LONGBOW COMPETITION.

     

[Toxophilite]

Pete, I forgot to answer the questions!
Nope, I have a bow that fits the rules, but I don't shoot wood arrows...What are the rules for recurves or other categories?
In the 3-D event I mentioned earlier, you could shoot r/d, center cut longbows and non-wood arrows but were supposed to compete in their "recurve" division.

[JImmyDee]

Originally posted by Toxophilite:
I just shot in a big 3-D event this weekend which had specific rules *** "only wood arrows with 125 grain tips max".

I've shot at a number of clubs where longbow meant "wood arrows only" but the 125gr max caught me by surprise: is that common?

[BTW: they tell me such rules aexist because they "want to keep it traditional."  But they never disallow bows with fiberglass.  Hmm...]

[R H Clark]

I can understand strict rules for national and international competion where a title is on the line but don't think it is so important for a just for FUN shoot.If clubs are going to be restrictive they should have a different class everyone can shoot in. The 3-D shoots I have been to were only competing for a $5 trophy.I don't mean to take anything away from the honor of winning but feel everyone should relax and have fun.To answer the question,if there was no class to shoot my cut to center longbow with carbon arrows I wouldn't go.

[Matt E]

Those rules are almost identical to the original rules that were in place years ago.I don't have a problem with them because bows that didn't qualify were always allowed to shoot in another class. No one was turned away.....What I don't understand is why any one would want to shoot in a certain class with equipment that doesn't fall within the guide line set forth long before they chose their equipment? It don't make any sense to me?

[Toxophilite]

Jimmy, here were the rules on the "traditional" class in yesterday's shoot:  

TRADITIONAL LONGBOW: Longbow is defined as a bow when strung the string touches only the nocks of the bow. A bow at the shelf shall be cut no closer than 1/8 inch to the centerline of the bow. No sights, stabilizers, or counter balances shall be allowed. Arrow shafts shall have a MINIMUM of 125-grain points. Arrow shafts must be identical in length, weight, and color; except for normal wear. Arrow shafts shall be restricted to wood. Arrow shall be shot from the shelf or hand with no elevated rest. Must be shot with one finger above and two fingers below the arrow. Maximum 30 yards.
(I goofed--points were to be a MINIMUM of 125 grains).

Matt, you hit it on the head...My aggravation with the situation was that the stated rules were ignored by many, including the officials.  The #1 "trad" shooter, shooting a center cut r/d bow & aluminum arrows, would have been #1 in either class. The guy who finished 2nd shot a center cut r/d bow & aluminum arrows, 3 under. The guy who should have won the "trad" class was 3rd, I think.

I guess everybody was O.K. with this, because I didn't hear of any protests or anything.  Stuff like this just bugs the C--P out of me--is that a bad thing?

[Big Dave]

Yeah! Toxophilite ,it bugs me to when the rules are ignored.If they are going make them, inforce them.      

[Pete W]

The whole point was to get feedback on the number of shooters that would like to attend the longbow Safari but can not because their longbow or arrow does not conform. If we look at todays bows very few meet these requirements, and not everyone can go and get a new bow just to attend 1 shoot like NALS.

I talk to many that want to attend and don't because of the restrictions for this NON SCORING weekend.

I also hear from many that nobody checks the bows anyway.
 Competing in a shoot with score keeping it is reasonable to have these rules for seperating Recurve class bows and traditional bows,as todays longbows are every bit equal to the recurves.

By openly opening up the field to allow any longbow and any arrow more could attend without the fear of being turned back at the end of a long journey . Rules that are not sensible  are not going to promote the sport or encourage people to participate.
 Another rule that makes me winder about is the one that you have to have 40# at your draw length.HMMMM Does this get checked? That would take a lot of time. Does it make sense? The hunting regs in Alberta say 40# at 28" to be legal, so your wifes legal hunting bow that conforms in every way but draw weight will not be allowed to be used in a target fun shoot, but she can legaly hunt with it.

Rules that are not enforced need to be droped, or they can become subject to abuse. If a person is not liked by an official for any reason they can be tossed out for not having a legal Safari Bow, but if they are liked the rules can be ignored. This is not a good thing.

We have bows that comply and arows of wood, so we can and will attend . I do know of bows that have been shot at previous safari events that do not meet the requirements,and nothing was said. I have been told by an official verbaly that we can shoot the 3 piece bows also, but when i asked about the rules he said he never heard that 3 piece bows were not allowed.

It is to bad the moderators moved this thread to a forum that will not allow the poll to run. I was wanting to show the officials of NALS the results.

[tamure]

Maybe you can ask the mods to allow it back into the Pow Wow. Speaking of rules... why aren't polls allowed in this forum?

Although I do not agree that they should necessarily allow all sorts of bows, I agree that whatever equipment rules they decide on should be enforced and enforced equally. Even though NALS is non-scoring, the whole purpose of the rules (it seems to me) is to create and preserve an atmosphere of "the old days," to promote interest in the classic longbow, maybe even to honor Howard Hill. Apparently they've chosen that objective over attracting a large crowd. That's their prerogative.

It annoys me that NALS is in Alberta this year, because that effectively means I can't go (although I would like to go eventually). It's just too far away and would be too expensive. But again, that's their prerogative.

[DesertDude]

Just my take on it Pete. First let me say that my set up doesn't conform to the rules set forth by NALS.  Would I change, I would shoot what is required by the rules for this event. When I first started some 20 years ago, this was a big event. All the Longbows guys that started me back then loved this event. They loved the idea of longbows, wood arrows and broadheads.  Over the years the longbow and arrows have really changed. I feel that if you want to shoot this event, then shoot what the people who started this event wanted. A Longbow with wood arrows. If rules need to be modified( weight of bow ) then approch them with an idea. I just think that they should keep this event as close to the way it started.

Note... I love the idea of supporting Traditional archery and getting more people together. So I can see both sides,  Pete......Mark