Welcome to Overton Black Arrows Archery Club

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We had an amazing turnout for the UK 3D Championships in July this year.

Making it one of, if not the, largest AGB recognised 3D Event in the UK to date, something we're very proud of. Hopefully, if we get to hold the event again, we can have more than 100 competitors complete the event, having had a 106 strong entry list, exactly 100 archers completed the event.

The results of the event are available here.

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Getting ever closer is the English Field Championships which we're proud to be hosting in September at our, cough cough, gently sloping venue called The Warren.

The 24 target course is set to be crammed full of 96 archers (or more) making their way around the three loops of 8 targets, taking breaks after target 8, 16 and 24, at the tea tent, so waiting groups can then head onto the course.

The 96 available spaces for the event were booked a few months ago and so the 19 archers on the waiting list will no doubt be keeping their fingers crossed they make the event which will likely have at least 3 waiting groups, enabling up to 108 archers to take part, but if we can run more than 3 waiting groups and possibly allow all 19 archers on the waiting list to go into waiting groups, it could potentially make it the largest Field Competition in terms of competitor numbers this year.  Watch this space!

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Dates for our Next Beginners Course, or Courses, will hopefully be announced soon

Our Spring 2025 Beginners Course took place during April & May with all those completing the course gaining a pass and a certificate to enable them to join an AGB club of their choice. Many, we're pleased to say, have chosen to join Overton Black Arrows as they will get free membership for the rest of this year to continue their archery journey.

If you are interested in trying archery, please see the BEGINNERS page. for more information.​

If you'd like to put your name down for a Beginners Course, please use the CONTACT page and use 'Beginners' or 'Coaching' from the drop down list and we'll get in touch.

We currently have over 30 people on the waiting list, so whenever the date(s) are announced, places are likely to fill up fast, so when you get an email to say places on the course(s) are available to book, make sure your you book your place as soon as you can to avoid disappointment.

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I've brought a bow and want to practice with it ...

Whilst it is possible to teach yourself to shoot, there are all sorts of things that can go wrong with this!  Where will you shoot this lethal weapon?

An official range has a minimum length of 100m and a width that includes a sizeable safety area either side of the targets.

Are you insured? ... Are your neighbours happy? ... Is your equipment even fit for purpose?

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A potted history of Overton Black Arrows [OvBA]​

"Overton Archers" were originally established in 1962. Another archery club was established in the local area, the "Black Arrows". Then, by 1975 it was realised the members of both clubs was almost identical and so they merged and became "Overton Black Arrows".

Overton Black Arrows want to allow members to enjoy all aspects of the sport of archery from beginner tuition, recreational archery through to competing and coaching. The club is affiliated with Archery GB [AGB], Southern Counties Archery Society [SCAS] and the Hampshire Archery Association [HAA].

OvBA have a target archery range, a field archery range and over the winter months have access to an indoor facility too.

Members currently shoot a variety of disciplines including; Target, Field, 3D and occasionally Clout using; American Flatbow, Barebow, Compound, Horsebow (Asiatic), Longbow, Recurve and Traditional bows. Some equipment is available for novices to use until they develop sufficient technique, before maybe continuing their journey with a hire bow before going on to purchase their own equipment. Coaches and members at the club are a great source of knowledge of what equipment to consider buying and where to buy it.

Members shoot regularly all year round at our outdoor range in Laverstoke (between Overton and Whitchurch) and during the indoor season the club shoots one evening a week at an 18 metre indoor range in Whitchurch, typically from early September to the end of March. We also meet on a regular basis at our Field Archery course, The Warren, in Kingsclere throughout the year to shoot Field and or 3D archery, although tickets to shoot at our Field and Indoor venues need to be booked.

Details of when we can use The Warren and our Indoor venue appear on our Events page as and anyone wanting to shoot at either must book on to a session to ensure insurance cover is maintained.

Unfortunately, we cannot simply turn up at The Warren and practice our Field, or 3D, archery whenever we want, but we do get to shoot there plenty of times throughout the year.

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Shooting Times

'Club Night':

• Wednesday from around 6:00pm to dusk (Laverstoke Range) in spring & summer (outdoors) and if light allows even if we're shooting 'Indoors' at Testbourne.

• Wednesday normally 7:00pm to 9:30pm (Testbourne School Sports Hall) in the autumn & winter (indoor season only - typically early September through to the end of April).

What 'other' days/times and places can I shoot as an OvBA member:

• At The Warren field archery course (Kingsclere) when available and providing you've booked a ticket to shoot, includes 'Warren Only' members.

• Members can shoot at any time at our Laverstoke range, as long as the range rules are complied with and you can see all of the overshoot when you're on the shooting line.

Please see our Contact page for location details and maps.

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​Want to do more Field & 3D shooting/competitive practice?

Towards the end of the year we typically start a Winter Field League, which has been growing in popularity in recent years. This is intended to give archers an opportunity to take part in and try out Field and or 3D archery in a fun league. Sure, most archers keep score, but it's not mandatory. The WFL typically runs over five shoots and is an ideal introduction to shooting Field and 3D competitively, as well as to keep fine tuning your Field and 3D shooting skills. Plus you can always pick up tips and tricks from other archers while you're there.

The 1st and 3rd shoots (typically November and January) are normally WA12 Field courses half marked distances, half unmarked distances.

The 2nd and 4th shoots (typically December and February) being WA12 3D courses, all unmarked distances.

Then a 5th shoot (typically March) is normally a combined WA12 Field course with half marked and half unmarked distances, plus a WA12 3D course, all unmarked distances. Both courses being shot in the same session.

More details will appear on our events page later in the year.

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​The Warren​ & Peter Hastings Woods, plus The Combe on occasions

The full OvBA Field Course venue has three distinct areas:

The Warren, 12acres ish, which can be described as a curved dead end valley with many steep slopes.

The Woods, 7acres ish, of sloped woodland, some level ish areas, lots of shade but and some steeper slopes too.

The Combe, another 12acres ish, plenty of slopes (again) with part of it resembling a steeply sloped natural amphitheatre.

The venue, as a whole, represents a challenging environment for even the most seasoned field archer, one of just a couple of venues in the UK with long steep slopes to enable some really challenging shots to be put on, all we're really missing is a pond/lake to shoot over/towards, and a cliff/sheer drop to shoot near vertical downward shots off of.

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As a club, Overton Black Arrows were delighted to have archers shooting the whole venue, which only tends to happen when we host the All British & Open Field Championships.

We hope whenever you shoot any area of our field course venue you won't be disappointed with it and hope you felt challenged shooting it!

Hopefully, everyone leaves with a smile on their face, even if one or two competitors may leave an arrow, or two, in storage somewhere within the venue!  But, don't worry, someone will likely find it, although we can't say when, but most arrows stored there do get found ... eventually.

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Beginners Course

  Our Beginners Courses typically take place in Spring and Autumn and they tend to fill up quickly due to a long waiting list.

An 'Ad-Hoc' Beginners Course for an individual, or couple, may be possible please use the Contact page and select 'Beginners'.

Please see the EVENTS and/or the BEGINNERS page for more details.​

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I've brought a bow and want to practice with it ...

Whilst it is possible to teach yourself to shoot, there are all sorts of things that can go wrong with this!  Where will you shoot this lethal weapon?

An official range will include a sizeable safety area beyond it's furthest marked/allowed as well as safety areas either side of the range where targets are located.

Are you insured? ... Are your neighbours happy? ... Is your equipment even fit for purpose? ... Always ask the question "Where can the arrow go if I miss, or my equipment fails?" and if the answer is into someone else's property, then you need to find somewhere else to practice, or better still, join Overton Black Arrows and use our facilities.