Any archery guru types out there? ? ?

[bambodoggy]

Hey all,

I was out with a mate of mine the other week and he had a rather natty modern copy of a horse bow that was very light and very fast to shoot....and I nearly ordered one yesterday, however, while wondering through mountains of archery sites I came across this:

http://www.merlinarchery.co.uk/compact-folding-survival-bow.html#

And wondered if this might be a good idea. I'd want it mainly for target shooting with maybe a little roving....and who knows, if in a country that allows it, maybe even a little hunting from time to time.
Does anybody that knows about archery have any thoughts on this bow as a stick it in the side of my Bergen and use as a bit of a toy with maybe further uses where possible? If anybody has one and can give feedback I'd be grateful but if not then thoughts and comments from experienced archers would be helpful too.

Be interested to hear thoughts on draw weight too....I was thinking of getting the 50 but am open to the 40 or 60 if anyone can give sound reasons why/why not.

Many thanks in advance,

Bam.

 

[mrcharly]

Absolutely no advantages in going over 50lb, imo. You end up needing to use heavier shafts and piles so the arrows aren't any faster. Heavy bow weights are for hunting when you need a heavy arrow for the penetration. Not applicable in this country or for hunting animals smaller than deer.

Personally don't like the look of the bow you've linked to. I wouldn't buy something so extreme unless I could have a test shot with it.

 

[Dave Budd]

I agree with all that Charly has said.

In addition, (aside from the fact that the bow is ugly as sin), the short limbs and long riser will make it uncomfortable to shoot as well as being difficult to be consistent with. Get a proper bow

The horse bows are very popular these days (certainly in live role play groups). I had one when there was only one UK importer back in the 1990's. I used it as my toy bow when I wasn't feeling in the mood to shoot my proper bows in competition. I say toy bow, but that wasn't because it was slow (it was 45lb), but because compared to my other bows it was inaccurate. Lovely thing to shoot though

You could get a short horse or even the little Korean recurve if you are after short and light weight, either would make a better roving, target or hunting bow than that thing. A flat bow (AFB) would be light and though longer than the others, it is straight and so easier to carry

 

[dwardo]

I have never shot or seen the bow in person so take this with a pinch of salt.
Compact it is granted but you always lose something when you compromise. I would imagine the bow has pretty poor performance judging by the limb length and configuration.

Suppose it would be a laugh to play with but I would personally get bored with it after a while. Should imagine giving the following of this type of thing you could always shift it on.

Weight wise considering efficiency I would want as high as I can handle, too high and you lose the fun factor when your back and shoulders wear out.

 

[Dave Budd]

there is no point having a heavy draw weight if you can't control it. A lot of native hunters around the world use bows of less than 40lb any way. The Yanks have to have heavier of course :rollyeyes: If you can hit you target then the sharp point does the work unless you need a heavy arrow to get through the thick hide of a rhino. Faster bows will have flatter trajectory, which will aid in aiming and consistancy, but a fast bow is not always heavy. A recurve at 40lb is faster than a longbow at 40lb after all

 

[ozzy1977]

that heap is designed for the zombie apocalypse/ prepper sort, if you want to do some archery get a proper bow, for around £100 you can take your pick of flat bows, hunter recurve and if portability is important 3 piece take down bows from the likes of Ragim, Buck Trail and Samick, most of which Merlin sell, but the best advice would be to try before you buy and join a club, look here http://www.nfas.net/home.asp.

 

[dwardo]

there is no point having a heavy draw weight if you can't control it. A lot of native hunters around the world use bows of less than 40lb any way. The Yanks have to have heavier of course :rollyeyes: If you can hit you target then the sharp point does the work unless you need a heavy arrow to get through the thick hide of a rhino. Faster bows will have flatter trajectory, which will aid in aiming and consistancy, but a fast bow is not always heavy. A recurve at 40lb is faster than a longbow at 40lb after all

I was thinking more weight to help out with the rubbish performance. I have a bow rack full of bows that I no longer shoot as they are too heavy. That and I am shooting stumps and paper not moose

 

[santaman2000]

there is no point having a heavy draw weight if you can't control it. A lot of native hunters around the world use bows of less than 40lb any way. The Yanks have to have heavier of course :rollyeyes:.....

Most states have a minimum legal draw weight for hunting. Some of the Western states such as Wyoming where the animals tend to be larger (buffalo, elk, cougar, etc.) the minimum legal is often 40 pounds.

I need to look it up to be sure, but IIRC the minimum legal here in Florida is 35 pounds.

If the OP wants to hunt with his bow (while traveling where such is legal of course) he should first check the applicable laws of the local jurisdiction to learn all the legal details (minimum draw weights, use of sights, broadhead restrictions, etc.) It usually is more complicated than simply "bowhunting is legal."

 

[bambodoggy]

Great replies fellas, many thanks and just the sort of info I was hoping for

Agreed that it looks like a zombie killer and that did put me off but I thought if I don't ask you lot then I'll never be sure it isn't what I want.

The hunting is very unlikely...but mentioned because it "might" happen one day....but only with locals that know the laws and permit status etc.

I'm prob going to get the same one my mate has as I've fired it and liked it...it was Korean iirc. I seem to think his was a 40lb bow but I'd have to check with him.
Take down isn't important really.....my compound bow fits inside my plce Bergen anyway just about and easily with the string off and limbs unbolted.

I'm not a novice archer by any standards but neither am I into the technicalities of archery, hence my request for your input.....I don't really do "clubs", no offence to those that do, just not my thang

Many thanks all,

Bam.

 

[Dave Budd]

interesting to know, thanks Since it's not legal in the UK and I have no intention of travelling around to go hunting (not that I would turn it down should I happen to have the opportunity), I've never looked into the legal aspects in other countries. I knew about restrictions on broadhead types, but that was it. I was at a competition years ago where we all had our bows put through a chronogrpah to make sure they were under a certain speed; apparently some of the compounds used in hunting elsewhere are putting arrows out too fast for the targets that were set out!

 

[ozzy1977]

Plenty of info about hunting in Europe here http://www.europeanbowhunting.org/

 

[mrcharly]

I was at a competition years ago where we all had our bows put through a chronogrpah to make sure they were under a certain speed; apparently some of the compounds used in hunting elsewhere are putting arrows out too fast for the targets that were set out!

When I moved to the city, many years ago, I took my 65lb laminate flatbow with me and joined a target shooting club. Only way I could get to shoot.

That bow didn't put out anything fast, but the 3/8" wooden shafts with field piles made a real mess of straw targets and frequently went right through. The end of my shooting there came when I missed the target completely, hit the wooden stand and broke it, causing the straw boss to fall on and break a number of other people's arrows. Although they were very good about it, I didn't feel like showing my face again.

 

[ozzy1977]

The NFAS whose rules I shoot under have a speed limit of 300fps, this will only be achieved by mega powerful compounds and cross bows, Olympic style recurve are only around 200fps

 

[Dave Budd]

Charly, I've seen similar things happen with the big carbon line cutters used for indoor target I saw a butt come down at an outdoor target shoot during windy weather; 6 archers had just finished their end (12 arrows each) and were walking up to it when a gust took the butt down. It didn't just wipe out all of their arrows, but rolled down the hill and took out the next butt down too! :O

The opposite end of the arrow spectrum was more my problem when I shot carbons, mine were like needles and passed through any slightly worn butts. Mind you I don't think I've shot a straw butt since I gave up target shooting back in the late 1990's, its all foam and cardboard in field (where I swiftly turned to ali's anyway).

 

[Quixoticgeek]

I am a long bow shooter. I have a 35lb ash self bow that I use for several different uses. It is my bow of choice for shooting people (blunt arrows, reenactment context), as well as general target shooting. It's not very manoeuvrable, it can be a pain with thick walls and weird crenelations. But there is a beauty to shooting such a simple bow.

I would like to add a horse bow to my armoury, but have yet to find the one I like (or the money for it...).

I shoot with 11/32" Port Orford Cedar shafts.

I have used bows of 20lb to 45lb, all work fine for simple target shooting. When choosing a bow, pick a draw strength you can draw, there is no point having a 80lb bow if you can't actually fire it safely and accurately.

That said, I know Slovakia has a minimum draw strength of 50lb for bow hunting.

Julia

 

[dwardo]

As a general rule the longer the bow the more the limbs give better stability in shot, more forgiving.

 

[boatman]

I can't get on with longbows under 50lbs, lighter weights feel soft. An exception, oddly, are the 10 to 20 lb plastic ones we use in our Have-A-Go archery.

 

[Robby]

Sweet jeez, that has to be the ugliest bow I have ever seen! Can't help but think it looks a bit twangy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8WZe887AKQ

The reviewer seems happy enough with it but I reckon, as someone else has already mentioned, you can get a pretty good take down recurve bow for the same price, if not less. One that would be smoother and probably a deal more forgiving. But it comes down to personal choice and taste really. I've shot recurve, compound and Longbow. I will admit to being a huge fan of the simple English Longbow though so I may be a tad prejudiced.
It just seems a little too gimicky for me.

 

[bambodoggy]

I've ordered my new bow now, I went for the same as my mate, a Samick SKB 50 with a 40lb draw.

Just gotta wait for it to arrive now

Many thanks for all the replies and input, much appreciated

Cheers,

Bam.

 

[boatman]

I am a long bow shooter. I have a 35lb ash self bow It's not very manoeuvrable, it can be a pain with thick walls and weird crenelations.

A thought on shooting arrows from castles. It might appear difficult and restrictive to shoot from an arrow slit or the angled sides of crenellations but they are designed to interdict specific areas in front of the castle to the exclusion of other areas covered by other archer's positions.