Welcome

Hardy Country Bowmen shoot from Spring to Autumn In secluded gardens in Milborne St Andrew, approximately 7 miles NE of Dorchester, Dorset. In the winter we tend to move indoors to the nearby Piddlehinton gym* (see Club Shooting Times below). However, shooting may continue outdoors when weather permits.

 

About us
We are a small, friendly target archery club with some thirty members covering a wide spectrum of age and occupations. The club was renamed in 2014 from "Crossways Archers" because there were no further links to Crossways village, where it was founded. As the club remains in Dorset, it was decided to change the name to one that represented a club within the "Hardy" county boundary.

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Bow styles vary from the English Longbow and modern recurve, to the mechanical wizardry of the compound.

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All bow styles used within the club grounds follow the "Rules of Shooting" stipulated by the UK's archery governing body, Archery GB
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Club Shooting Times
Normal outdoor club shooting days are Sundays between 10:00 and 16:00 (10:00-12:00 from late October to late March, when availability will be notified on a week by week basis).
 

Indoor shooting sessions at Piddlehinton Gym are currently on a fortnightly basis on Thursday evenings, 7pm to 9pm, from April 10th, 2025 (small fee payable at each session). From late October until late March regular Sunday afternoon indoor  sessions (2pm to 4pm) also take place at no extra cost to members.

Want to learn?
Archery may be one of those activities of which you've said "I've always wanted to do that". Well you can! We also offer tuition in "Target Archery" and "have a go" sessions for groups during holiday periods and the summer months. Beginners' courses are available in the gardens so if you feel like having some fun and fresh air the 2025 course start dates will be March 30th and September 7th.

Check out our Beginners' Courses page for further details and  get in Contact!

 

Tuition may also continue through the winter period should there be enough interested parties (i.e. four or more people).

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Club shoots

The club holds monthly competition shoots for members which are as much social gatherings as they are gentle competitive archery! They provide a taster of tournament archery within the familiar setting of the club's facilities. New for 2024, we ran an Outdoor League based on the best four scores from seven competition shoots from April to October. And a new Indoor League ran for the 2024/25 winter season, best four scores from seven rounds over five events, one event a month from November to March. The 2025 Outdoor League kicks off on April 27th.

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Award schemes
We also run some of the popular indoor and outdoor badge awards schemes, allowing members to track their progress shooting different rounds at different distances. Click on Award Schemes for more information.

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The club operates under the rules of the national governing body for the sport, Archery GB (formerly known as the Grand National Archery Society, GNAS) and is affiliated at a regional level to the Grand Western Archery Society (GWAS) and at county level to the Dorset & Wilts Archery Association (DWAA).

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*22.8.23
The gym at Piddlehinton reopened after renewal of the roof and other refurbishments on Monday August 28th, Bank Holiday Monday. Hardy Country Bowmen were represented at the event chatting about the club and offering Have a Gos too!

See the Blackmore Vale Magazine's story HERE.