Target Archery?

Padrig · Post by **Padrig** » Sat Mar 20, 2004 3:05 am

I am interested in target archery. Any advices, pointers, websites, personnal experiences, etc... Mainly on what kind of bow to start with and at what draw weight?

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Thomas H · Post by **Thomas H** » Sat Mar 20, 2004 3:27 am

what kind of bow is up to you. there are a variety of bows to choose from and they all have their good and bad sides to them. personally i prefer a longbow. it is just satisfying to see the destruction you can cause to a target with a bit of wood you shaped yourself.
as for draw weight i'd go with whatever is best for you. a grown man should be able to pull around 40-45lbs. the way that amount feel depends completely on the bow that you use.
1. ultra modern composite bows have pulleys that reduce the feel from about 40 to 30lbs.
2. Recurve bows that pull 40 feel and look better than composite bows but i feel they are a bit fiddly. You have to unscrew the limbs every time to put it back in its case.
3. on a longbow 40lbs feels like 40lbs. longbows are very satisfying to shoot and are generally cheaper than the afformentioned ones. longbows are good because you can make the bow, arrows and quiver youself with instructions from the net.

hope this helps. just choose what you think is best for you. as i live in the uk i only have access to british clubs and am not much help for americans.

Alcyoneus · Post by **Alcyoneus** » Sat Mar 20, 2004 3:51 am

Start with something no more than 30-40#. It will be easier to draw for a longer period of time, allowing you to shoot more arrows, and giving you more consistency over your session.

Ron · Post by **Ron** » Sat Mar 20, 2004 5:29 pm

I second what Alcyoneus said. I started with a 35# as an adult & shot that for a while. Then I moved up to a 45# bow. Most of my bows are around that weight. I have an English longbow that is about 55#, but I can't shoot it for as long. An I have time to shoot, I'd just as soon shoot a lighter bow for longer than a heavier bow for less time.

You will use muscles in your chest & back that you never knew you had, and you really should start light.

Here are a few archery sites to whet your appetite:

www.krackow.com
www.primitivearcher.com
www.horsebows.com
www.ponybow.com
www.intlhorsearchery.com

www.krackow.com in particular, has a lot of historical background with their bows.

Padrig · Post by **Padrig** » Sun Mar 21, 2004 2:28 pm

Thanks for the tips and the the links.

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Karl Helweg · Post by **Karl Helweg** » Tue Mar 30, 2004 1:00 pm

I've turned a few scores in over the years and noticed a lot of high scores (IKAC) coming from 32# recurves and 38# longbows. The first "trick" to these numbers is that these odd poundages are not "off the shelf" bows but rather custom made. The best crossbow scores seemed to come from 125#-150# which were often production bows but this could just indicate good flat shooting at these poundages.

Check with a local archery shop and ask them to help size you up. Even the on-line shops above can be very helpful. Get good arrows and practice. Hope to see you on the range.

Tim Merritt · Post by **Tim Merritt** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 2:21 pm

Thomas--careful when talking to Americans and referring to longbow. I'm American but started archery with an English longbow when I lived in the UK and participated in several field archery shoots there. I recently moved back to the states and wanted to continue shooting field archery, so I signed up for a "traditional" archery event listing my category as longbow. When I showed up, there were about 50 people in the same category, but not one person had a bow like mine! They were all laminated with arrow shelves, fixed nocking points, pulled olympic style... This American "longbow" in the UK events has a different category called "hunting bow" if I'm not mistaken (and the Brits also call it an American longbow). But yes, the "English" longbow is simple, rewarding, instinctive shooting and I wouldn't do any other. Be careful when starting, my 50# bow seemed reasonable but I hurt my shoulder within a month and couldn't shoot for weeks.

Karl Helweg · Post by **Karl Helweg** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 3:12 pm

Tim - Although I was the Drachenwald CGA I still interchange the D-longbows with American flat bows. I'd be happy to see more of either at SCA events. Sorry to hear that your hurt, have you considered a nice period crossbow? Also, the InterKingdom Archery Competition (IKAC) Period Division rules have changed to more what you expected. There is also a Period Crossbow Division. Do you mind telling where you live so that I might try and tempt you out onto the range?

Tim Merritt · Post by **Tim Merritt** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 4:49 pm

Thanks for your concern, Karl, all healed up and fine. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m not in the SCA or any reenactment group, but since moving from the UK I still canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t get enough of history and enjoy perusing various discussions, sitesÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ I actually have shot with a local group on the California Central Coast, San Luis Obispo area (West, Tarnmist) about 3 timesÃ¢â‚¬â€

Target Archery?

Target Archery?

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