Are they so different after all?

Archery and Riflery are two of the most popular activities here at Foley. They are obviously different but can be linked as the two most prolific projectile sports here that campers can sign up for. Although, they do have very similar scoring systems with one biiiig difference that I will touch on below. It’s inevitable every summer I hear a camper ask the question, “Why can’t we score Archery like Riflery?!” Let answer this question today, go through the differences and learn some cool things about both these camp activities…

 

 

What’s what?

We describe Archery like this on our website:

“Take aim at the Camp Foley Archery Range. Learn safety, equipment use and selection, proper stance and shooting procedure and how to score targets. All equipment is provided. Earn awards based on the Camp Archery Association from Bowman (basic) to American Archer (advanced).”

Archery has been around since the 50s and has always been a staple of summer camps. Kids at Foley use recurve bows ( as opposed to compound) and shoot at Olympic size archery targets with 5 colors, yellow is the bullseye! Archery is an activity where the awards can be worked on and achieved throughout many years at camp. For example in Fencing, if you do not complete all the steps to earn your basic award, you have to start over the following summer to prove your skill shave not waned. Not so in Archery, because we keep track of awards using score cards. This is the same at Riflery!

This is what our website has to say about Riflery…

“Campers learn safe use of .22 caliber rifles and 20 gauge shotguns and respect for all firearms at Riflery and Trap. Foley’s Riflery Range is a 50-foot, regulation size range where campers can progress through the stances – prone, sitting, kneeling and standing – to earn awards. At the Trap Range, electric clay pigeon throwers can be adjusted to suit different ability levels. At Riflery and Trap, campers lean safety rules, proper techniques and scoring and always wear proper eye and ear protection. All equipment is provided. Campers are required to buy shells for trap.”

We go into more detail for Riflery, as it always seems that parents have more questions when an activity involves a more high powered weapon. But just like at Archery we take safety very seriously on the Rifle range. And just like at Archery, riflery takes lots of practice and patience to get good at. These two sports teach campers to respect high profile equipment, trust their reflexes, and develop more skills. There is a reason these are two of the most popular activities!

 

What’s different?

The biggest difference and what has most campers asking “Whhhhy is it like this?!” is the exact way we score points and earn awards at each activity. At riflery you need 10 target s with a certain amount scored on each one. For example, when going for your first award in Riflery, called Target Shooter #1, you must score 20 points on 10 targets. So when you are up at archery shooting two targets at a time, if you shoot well, it should take you 5 rounds to earn it. Let’s say you don’t score at least 20 on a target, you can discard that target and keep shooting until you get all 10 that have at least 20 points on them. Not so at Archery….

 

What’s up with Archery?

At archery, we do use score cards just like riflery. But! When going for any archery award, the rounds must be scored CONSECUTIVELY to count! To use Archery’s first award as an example, called the Yeoman, you must earn 100 points in 5 rounds, shooting 6 arrows a round. Once you start scoring in archery, you must continue scoring for all 5 rounds or start over entirely. To score 100 in 5 rounds, you need to average 20 pints a round. So if you unfortunately shoot poorly one round and miss all 6 arrows, you have to score that 0 or start your rounds over again.

 

Why do we do this?

We have a reason for the madness I promise! We want to see your CONSISTENCY through your years at archery. As campers develop their archery skills, they should be perfecting their archers stance and pull back technique to get optimal accuracy. This is not to say that consistency is not important in Riflery, but in a different way. It is impossible to have a consistent rifle’s stance because the shooting positions in Riflery change as you progress through the awards, adding a different kind of challenge not found at Archery.

 

Let’s Wrap it Up

Now hopefully you understand the reason behind the two scoring systems and have learned some cool things about these two activities. Hopefully this has encouraged you to give one of them a try if you haven’t already! And if you have not registered yet, do it today!! Link is HERE.