Managed to rise and shine quite early to make the most of an overcast but very still morning. Simon was especially eager to get out and try his new longbow and I wanted to try the clicker on my recurve bow. It's amazing how much 'feel' the longbow has compared to a modern recurve. Not surprising really when you bear in mind it's one piece of wood rather than various layers of composite materials bolted together. Our success rate in hitting the target at 60 yards with the longbow probably peaked at 50%. 
I'm not sure Simon will let me play again though after I shattered an arrow on the target stand. This was all the more upsetting because it happened to be the one that he had spent 3 hours making, rather than one of the 'bought' practice arrows. Makes you wonder though why knights went to the trouble of wearing metal suits of armour. Apparently wood is equally effective at repelling arrows! It is also worth noting that without a traditional full arm bracer, the bowstring can be a painful reminder of the kinetic energy in a 40lb bow. Given that this bow has the ability to shoot well over 100 metres it is difficult to imagine how 16th century bowmen could ever draw and aim a 160lb bow.
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