Are you a "serious" archer?

[Deadeye Doc]

After reading AIUK for the last month or six weeks I am still in the dark as to how many of the members are what might be called "serious" archers. I know that there have been threads concerning "What is archery to you? and so on but I wonder how many shoot for fun or to get away from the humdrum nature of "Life, the Universe, and Everything", or shoot to compete, either against others or themselves?

[robtattoo]

Doc. Out of the choices above, which do you class as 'serious'?
I shoot every day, but I don't shoot specifically to be better than anyone else. I'm not a competetive archer, I do not shoot in competition (as such) yet I consider myself to be a 'serious' archer. I shoot for the love of it & for the fun of it, yet I do not consider anyone who shoots just for the fun to be any less serious than myself.

I think I'm trying to say (in far too many words ) Define 'Serious Archer' without insulting or upsetting anyone

[Alex Greig]

I started for fun and found it was a great stress relief etc.

Now though I shoot to compete against others and myself, and have bought a flatbow to enjoy myself and have fun.

[Deadeye Doc]

Originally Posted by robtattoo

Doc. Out of the choices above, which do you class as 'serious'?
I shoot every day, but I don't shoot specifically to be better than anyone else. I'm not a competetive archer, I do not shoot in competition (as such) yet I consider myself to be a 'serious' archer. I shoot for the love of it & for the fun of it, yet I do not consider anyone who shoots just for the fun to be any less serious than myself.
I think I'm trying to say (in far too many words ) Define 'Serious Archer' without insulting or upsetting anyone

AhHA! I think that you can be as "serious" as you like. You can define it any way you like. There's no reason that you can't have fun at the same time as competing, and that's why you can choose multiple answers above. For example, I shoot both for sheer enjoyment - the sun is on my back (well, not today) and the birds are bollocking each other - and to get away from my job. But I also shoot to compete with myself. The "Hook" in the word serious got you thinking. Of course we can all call ourselves serious. I wonder how many compete and with whom?

[geoffretired]

I think I could be described as a serious archer. I take it seriously. If I get TP I am seriuosly concerned about getting rid of it. If my technique is not up to the usual standard, I am serious enough to work on it until something improves. I read about it and think about it when I am behind the line or not shooting. It is a big part of my free time.
Having saoid all that, I am also very serious about enjoying it. It is superb fun, just shooting. I would shoot just for the pleasure of clearing arrows from the bow.

[disbloke]

Seems to me that your poll could be a little bit off the mark. When your choices are fun, get away from it all, competing against self/others I would imagine that the majority of people who feel themselves to be a "serious" archer would check all the boxes. Even dare I say it a large proportion of those who aren't in to it "seriously"!

How many of us here are there that don't shoot because we enjoy it, it allows us to lose ourselves in the processes of shooting the bow whilst measuring our ability based on how we fair against the last time we shot and the people around us?

Let's be honest now, can anyone out there hold their hand on their heart and say that they are not bothered when they shoot poorly, for no good reason, compared to how they feel they normally shoot?


P.S. think i come under the "serious" category.......

[Shirt]

Generally, I try and shoot seriously. At the moment, however, my middle finger is naffed and I'm doing it mainly because it beats revision.

[grantwomack]

All of the above. I want to make it all the way (what exactly does that mean with archery?) but I also do it for stress relief and because I just love it!

[pwiles1968]

Another Vote for all of the Above, I shot yesterday on my own in the wind and rain, just because I wanted to shoot, I shot today towards my first handicap, I was trying to beat a previous personal score and beat the guy I was shooting with.

[Macbow]

All of the above - it's fun but to get good takes serious work and I want to get good.