Peace Week

Range set up: Monday July 29 at 9:30 am, you do not need to be in garb for this, it’s dirty work,
and we have a lot of equipment to move. Bring water, sunscreen and good shoes.


Because so many people want to be able to shoot during "Peace Week", we will have a portion of the Archery Range officially open on Jul 31, Aug 2nd, and Aug 4th (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday), from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm each day for practice and Royal Rounds. These peace week hours will allow more archery fun for all.

To keep peace weak archery going, we will need marshals to help staff the additional six 2-hour shifts. We would need a minimum of 4 marshals each shift. If you can, please consider volunteering some of your time pr recruit a marshal to help out.

All target archery marshals must attend any one of the marshal's orientation meetings listed in the Pennsic Thing (under archery track). Anyone wishing to be a Marshal In Training (MIT) is welcome and encouraged to attend. Most meetings are located in the Archery Marshal's tent on the archery range and are roughly about an hour.

War Week

During War Week, the Archery Range and Family Range will be open from 9 am - 5 pm (in general).

On Wednesday, August 9, the range will be closed for the Archery Champions' War Point shoot.

On Friday, August 9, the range is open at 9 for the last war point shoot, and closes for tear down at 1pm. From 1pm on we pack everything up, and we need and greatly appreciate volunteer help to get it done. We’re all a bit tired by the end of the war, and appreciate your assistance so this big job is done by
as many as possible.

Practice for the Populace War Point Shoot

War Point practice ranges will be open starting Sunday, August 6, from 9 - 11 am.

Youth Archery

Our younger archers (age 14 and under) are welcome and encouraged to practice on the practice ranges and take part in novelty shoots. Youth may shoot by themselves following Pennsic youth rules, and at the marshal’s discretion. Parents or other responsible parties may assist youth needing help on the shooting line, again at the marshal’s discretion. Everyone follows the same rules and may shoot the Populace War Points. Check out Pennsic University Thing for shoots that might be of special interest to younger archers.

Classes, Tournaments, Novelty Shoots

Regular war week activities for War Points for archery are the three populace shoots: Castle Clout Shoot, Advancing Soldier Shoot, and the Castle Window Shoot; and the Pennsic Archery Champions war point. Archers will have the opportunity to shoot each of the populace War Points up to a maximum of 5 times (once for each War Point day). If an archer wanted, they could shoot all their War Points in one day by shooting the Castle Clout Shoot 5 times, the Castle Window Shoot 5 times and the Advancing Soldier Shoot 5 times.


Archery War Points
The Pennsic Populace Archery War Points will consist of three separate shoots. The winning alliance for each shoot will be determined by the total number of points tallied by archers over the course of the War. Scores will be tallied each day and posted in the Marshals Tent.

Castle Clout Shoot: The target is the Himeji Castle, from Kyoto Japan . Archers will be shooting at about 100 yards into a picture of Himeji Castle, which will be within a castle wall arrangement of approximately 27 feet by 27 feet giving an approximate area of 729 square feet. There will be a moat monster protecting the castle in front at about 50 yards. This is an untimed shoot, archers are allowed 6 arrows or bolts. Scoring for this shoot is as follows:
1 point for inside the moat
2 points for hitting the moat monster
3 points for inside the castle - front wall does not count, back wall does
4 points for hitting objects inside the castle

Soldier Shoot: The archers will shoot 6 arrows/bolts, untimed, at the Soldiers that are invading.These targets will be set at approximately 15 yards, 35 yards, 45 yards and 55 yards. Any arrow/bolt hitting the painted portion of the target will score as follows:
1 point for the 15-yard target
2 points for the 35-yard target
3 points for the 45-yard target
4 points for the 55-yard target

Castle Window Shoot: This will be an untimed shoot at a castle window located between 25 and 35 yards limited to 6 arrows or bolts. The castle window will be at least 8 inches wide and 36 inches tall. There will be a picture of a demon looking out from inside the castle window. 1 point for each arrow/bolt inside the castle window 2 points for each arrow/bolt inside the object in the castle window

Ullr’s Games: A Known World Archery Challenge This is an archery shoot that is put on by the combined efforts of the Kingdoms of the Known World. It will be held on the middle Saturday (August 3) of Pennsic War 51, consisting of 10 target stations. They will be arranged so they can be shot and retrieved individually. This will allow for the shoot to flow better and archers to spend more time shooting and less waiting around. Targets will come from different kingdoms. The theme for this second shoot is “Games”. Targets might be different medieval games, card games, or even a take on the Olympic Games. You’ll have to try it to find out what our creative target makers devised.
We will be giving out a prize for each of the RR ranks from Archer (RR average of 20-39) to Grand Bowman Elite (100+ RR average). A prize will also be given to the peson who designed the best

1. Bows

   1. No compound bows are allowed.
   2. Adjustable or fixed sights may not be attached to hand bows. Marks on limbs are allowed.
   3. There are no draw weight limits for target archery bows.
   4. No modern spring/flipper rests or plunger buttons are allowed.
      1. Wire rests are not allowed.
      2. Simple one-piece plastic attachable rests are allowed.
      3. Plastic or nylon bristle rests are allowed.
   5. Bow straps are allowed.
   6. No stabilizers, clickers, or modern string release devices are allowed.
   7. Bows with cut-out risers (i.e.: those you can see through from the side) must have the openings covered so as to present a solid surface and an appearance more in keeping with medieval archery.
   8. Bows made of PVC are not allowed.

2. Crossbows

   1. No center-shot or split prod styles are allowed.
   2. No compound prods or break-cocking styles are allowed.
   3. No ballistae of any kind are allowed on the archery range.
   4. Rear peep sights may be attached, but front sights are not allowed.
   5. Limb coverings are not required.
   6. Slings may be attached to the bow, but may not be used as an aid in shooting.
   7. Stocks made from any material other than wood must be covered and any cut outs (other than the hole that secures the prod to the stock, the binding bridle) that you can see through from the profile must be filled and/or covered to appear more in keeping with medieval archery.

3. Strings

   1. All strings must be appropriate for the bow type and weight.
      1. Strings may not be constructed of material prone to failure, such as natural sinew or gut.
      2. Linen, silk and artificial sinew strings are acceptable, if they are constructed properly.
      3. Strings that have become knotted or those that have been repaired by knotting strands together are not allowed. This rule does not forbid those string designs that incorporate knots in their original design.
   2. A nocking point may be attached to the string.
      1. Both metal and tied-on nocking points are acceptable.
      2. A single nocking point is allowed. The nocking point may consist of one or two locators, which may be of any type.
      3. The locators may not extend above or below the arrow nock in such a way as to allow them to be used as sighting mechanisms.
   3. String silencers may be used.
   4. It is strongly recommended that the ends of the string be served, and that a serving cover the nocking area of the string. It should be noted that Japanese and Flemish style strings, which are rarely served at the ends, are acceptable.
   5. Metal crimp on strings are not allowed on bows over 15 pounds and then for youth only. (See exceptions below). Peep sights mounted on the strings are not allowed.

4. Arrows and Bolts

   1. All shafts shall be of wood.
   2. No broadheads or tips that cause excessive damage to targets shall be used.
   3. Fletching:
      1. Arrows shall be fletched with natural feathers, or any period material, no plastic vanes
      2. Bolts may be fletched with any period material.
   4. Nocks for arrows may be of any material.
   5. End caps, rings, or wrapping are not required for crossbow bolts.

5. Miscellaneous Equipment

   1. Any type of quiver may be used, with the exception of those that attach to the bow.
   2. It is strongly recommended that an armguard or bracer be worn.
   3. A glove or finger tab may be used.
   4. All equipment should adhere to the spirit of medieval archery.

6. Exceptions !

   1. Exceptions to these rules may be granted by the Archery General of Æthelmearc, Captain General of Archers East Kingdom, Deputy Earl Marshal for Target Archery Middle Kingdom, Pennsic Archery Coordinator, or their designated deputies.