I understand we have a few archers in the Skjaldborg, so I thought I'd make a thread for us! It'd be nice if we could all get together and share our experiences with the ancient art of using a stick and a string to propel a bit of wood into something far away, and what it's evolved into. Traditional, Recurve, Compound, all welcome! I'll start. I got into archery in the summer of last year (got a beginner's recurve from my mother as a present). I tried recurve first and decided I wanted to try a more basic style of shooting, and eventually realized what I was looking for was a barebow of some kind. I went for the Mongolian style of shooting in the end due to personal preference (mainly fascination with the Mongols) and got my first horse bow in the winter. I opted for a 25# at 27" Scythian design, wood with fibreglass coating, no frills, just your basic barebow. I shoot right-handed, with the arrow on the right side of the bow and resting on the V formed by my thumb adjacent to the middle segment of my forefinger, using my thumb (aided with a thumb ring) to draw, and no anchor point. I really love shooting. For me it's more about the feeling of the thing and enjoying the shooting itself rather than trying to be as accurate as possible. I also enjoy the flexibility a horse bow gives me; since there's no anchor point and the bow is so short, I can shoot from any position, really, and frequently do. I have fun sometimes by shooting an entire end facing away from the target and twisting around to face it (the 'Parthian Shot', minus the horse of course). Here's a picture of my bow. Ignore the accessories. So, feel free to share your own experiences with archery here! -Deathwatch
Hi! I didn't know we had archers in our ranks! And while I may think it is sacrelige for someone from the UK to use anything but Yew Longbow, I am glad to see another archer! Actually, your Mongolian bow sounds like a blast, especially being able to more easily pull off things like the parthean shot....which it occurs to me I have never tried...something I should. Although i was into archery for a number of years as a kid, I sort of never got back into it for a while (guns are mostly to blame...they're so awesome...). However, a few years back (2008), I started to get back into it, mostly wanting to do some bow hunting (I consider it much more sporting than using a rifle). So, I picked up a Bear Showdown. I went ahead and had them add the kisser button, and that loop for a release, as well as a compensator, whisker biscuit, and a nice sight. They set it up for 70#, and boy does it make arrows FLY. It's kind of rediculous. As accurate as my 1911 at short range lol. I only went hunting with it once (didn't get anything cause of my buddy's nerves...long story lol), but enjoyed it a lot. But it kinda felt like cheating, so I grabbed a PSE Longbow (wolverine I think? Or was that the kid's version...I never remember the names...had to look up the name of my Bear bow lol), at 30# draw so I could shoot it all day and not care, just get used to the sightless/stickbow feel again- plus, my then-gf could shoot it (but not many times lol). Had a blast with it, and I mostly prefer to shoot stickbow now, though i'm nowhere near as good with it. But there's something about it, it seems more pure. What I'd really like is to get a nice TRUE longbow, no curvature, just a heavy-poundage stickbow in the old style...Yew is too expensive but a lot of the substitutes would work just fine for me. But it's a blast isnt it? I love how you can actually trace the projectile all the way home- it really adds the the experience of it all. Idk, there's just something about it, n'es-ce pas?
Oh yeah, has anyone read any of Bernard Cornwell's books? His Thomas of Hookton series is really good, featuring an English archer as the protagonist. And the book Agincourt is just incredible! (archer is the protagonist again)
Whoa, whoa, whoa, what is that compound cheater stuff?! ...says the one with the olympic recurve with stabilizer and sight and all that.
Hey I ain't nocking it! (archery pun! ha!) Just saying it felt a little too much like shooting guns. In all fairness though, I love my Bear compound bow, though I've come to prefer a more organic style. But in the end the archer is still the one that has to keep it all level and still while it shoots. It's definitely not cheating...but as a shooter it felt like it lol. How long you been arching?
In my opinion there's a sort of scale for bows that goes from completely unaided to as-aided-as-possible, with the latter being rather more difficult to define (I could build, essentially, a crossbow that does all the work for me, but then would it still be me doing the shooting? Does it have to be me who holds the bow or just draws it? etc. etc.). Traditional bows without any aids are at the lower end of the scale while compounds are higher up, going higher the more aids you add. Western (Olympic) recurves are somewhere in the middle. Honestly I think you should shoot whatever you find enjoyable and sod competition and standards. Whether that means more or less aids is irrelevant.
Shit shooting is extremely difficult to judge for accuracy, due to the mobility of the target substance. Also, if you're not throwing your unfletched arrows, you're not traditional enough.
Here is my bow though i only got six months practice with it before it went into storage along with my pc. Now there both out i have joined my local archery club. http://www.silverarrowarchers.com/. Nearly every nember use's a Longbow! I am hoping to move up to the 122lb at 34'' version of my bow. http://www.greenmanlongbows.co.uk/i...w gallery/gallery 064/Gallery 064 page 01.htm
I don't currently own a bow but went shooting with a friend who used to live near me a couple times. Something about recurves is really beautiful to me, but beyond the curve I think I'd avoid any other shooting aids if I were to get one. Sadly I think the range for archery in my area closed down, otherwise I'd consider getting one.
