Archery

[Gumbob]

Hi peoples

I have noticed there are a few people here who are into archery. Its something I have always fancied a go at myself. So...with that in mind I decided to make a bow today. Followed a few links on here (Thanks Stovie) and made a bow from some pieces of cane. I made a bow just under 6 feet long using 4 pieces of cane. Unfortunately I used pieces that are a bit too thick and the bow has come out too strong. I'm a reasonably fit and strong person (practiced martial arts for years and still weight train) but find it just too difficult to pull back fully. Here's the funny bit (NOT!!!)....I should have tried it out before spending 2 hours wrapping it fully with string .

Anyhow...I find I can pull it back far enough to fire it although its not easy nor comfortable but both me and my son (who is 15 and bigger than me) still spent an hour with it in the garden tonight and had great fun . We used a couple of old cardboard boxes flattened out for a target and we both even managed to hit it a few times. Mind you the garden is only 25 yards long . You should see the state of our hands with blisters though

Here's the thing though.....I think I'm hooked!!!

Before today I had only ever fired a toy bow when I was a kid and I have just spent the last 3 hours surfing archery sites.

So before I put the credit card into meltdown mode I need to ask a few questions from those who know better....

1. What is the best 'type' of bow for a begginer to learn with? (I was thinking of a recurve bow). Maybe something like this http://www.merlinarcherycentre.co.uk/acatalog/Polaris_Recurve_Archery_Bow_-_Adult.html

2. I really like the idea of field target. Would a recurve bow be suitable for this (if I can find a club in the area)?

3. Are there other bows I should be looking at without spending too much initially, incase the novelty wears off. SWMBO seams to think this is a possibility.

Many thanks in advance for any info.......Gumbob

ps. I will be having another go at making one in the next couple of weeks

 

[Bardster]

Personally I dont like the modern take down recurves and shoot a longbow but for fun i have one of these http://www.merlinarcherycentre.co.uk/acatalog/Grozer_Old_Scythian_primitive_Bow.html
and for field archery i dont think you can go much wrong with an american flat bow such as http://www.merlinarcherycentre.co.uk/acatalog/Wolf_-_American_Longbow.html
there are some good prices on that site too - good find

 

[Gumbob]

Personally I dont like the modern take down recurves and shoot a longbow but for fun i have one of these http://www.merlinarcherycentre.co.uk/acatalog/Grozer_Old_Scythian_primitive_Bow.html
and for field archery i dont think you can go much wrong with an american flat bow such as http://www.merlinarcherycentre.co.uk/acatalog/Wolf_-_American_Longbow.html
there are some good prices on that site too - good find

Thanks for the reply Bardster. Both of those look good. I especially like the American Flat Bow. It looks ...well.....'like a bow'

Cheers...Gumbob

 

[Pandabean]

I have done archery for about three years now, one and off for the past year. I use a modern recurve and have shot a few times with a longbow. I suggest the best advice from me would be to join a club with some qualified coaches. They can teach you a lot.

A tip is to keep the elbow (drawing arm) raised when drawing the the string back and try and get the shoulder muscle to take the weight rather than your bicep. Also drawing your hand back to a common anchor point will also help improve your accuracy, i.e. under the chin It does take practice to get it fully onto your shoulder muscles.

Do this for most of your life and you will look like quzimodo.

 

[stuartmac5]

Hi Gumbob,

You should look for a NFAS (National field Archery Society) club and go and have a go. They will take you through the basics and you can generally have a shot of a few different classes of bow.
You can shoot longbows, recurves or compound bows, or a primitive homemade bow.
http://www.nfas.net/nfas_aboutthenfas.asp

 

[2blackcat]

Try a few before you buy
Don't be too eager to buy one yet as practice will improve strength and change draw length. Being under-bowed is as bad as over-bowed. A decent coach will guide you
A beginners course is a good idea (as mentioned before)

There seem to be more target archery clubs around so it may be easier to find one of those closer to home. That depends on where you live I suppose

 

[waylander]

I cant reccomend joining a begginers course enough, I've been shooting for 2-3 years now, after doing my begginers course at one of the only club's in my area that would conduct a course, which btw is required to join the Grand National Archery Society who provide our very important insurance, I joined the club. By going to the club I was able to use the recurve (which I now shoot) and try out a compound or longbow if I had so wished as the members are extrememly friendly and have let begginers try them to see if they like that style.
If you do plan on just buying a bow and using it yourself the merlin seems fine, I started with a rolan recurve at about the same price and now shoot a KAP winstar recurve.
btw my club is called Durham City Archers, oh and as Pandabean said keep your elbow up as you can do serious damage to yourself if you dont do it correctly, your arm should be as level as you can get it.

 

[bent-stick]

I agree with all this. Join a club. There's a list of field archery clubs on www.nfas.net. In general we are a friendly bunch and you'll get coaching and they'll make sure you are safe. A field archery day out is a walk in the woods with a few arrows pinged. You'll be smiling for a week after your first time out.

 

[Rob]

I agree - find a club (or let someone find one for you) and go from there. They should be able to get you started and then let you try a range of kit before you decide to splash the cash.

 

[Bardster]

Totally agree with everyone above, should have put it in my post but got carried away looking at the bows

 

[Exbomz]

And if you really want to go primitive: http://www.sptradarch.org/index.html.

 

[bent-stick]

And if you really want to go primitive: http://www.sptradarch.org/index.html.

Ooops yes, forgot SPTA - even though I'm a member.

 

[Dave Budd]

I've been shooting for nearly 13 years and I've shot most types of bow at one time or another. Generally people start on a recurve, not becuase it is better than others or coz it's cheaper, but it does have benefits when learning. Such as the fact that for a relatively low draw weight you can have a very good cast, which means that you are able to hit further targets more easily. They also are (to a greater or lesser extent) generally more forgiving of poor technique when learning.

I would definately join a club and go on a begginers course. That way you get to learn with club kit without spending out yourself, most clubs also have a variety of bows to try out (you may be able to borrow a club longbow, flatbow or compound as well as the recurve that you will most likely learn with. You also get to learn about how to maintain and select the equiptment. Not forgetting ofcourse things like shoot etiquette and safety

There are 3 main societies that you will need to join when you sign up to a club. Normally only one society for the club, but each one deals with different types of archery..

National Field Archery Assoc (NFAS) - field archery with animal tartgets at unknown distances
English Field Archery Assoc (EFAA)- field archery, mostly round b/w targets (some animal too) at marked distances
Grand National Archery Society - Target archery, static big rounds at marked distances on a flat field.


I started with GNAS and target archery and was getting bored until I discovered the other two Target is the most expensive form and the most regimented (I almost got disqualified at a shoot because my trousers were the wrong shade of white ) Last time I joined the GNAS were nearly double the cost for membership of the other two, the shoots were also double the cost.

I prefer NFAS myself becuase it is much freer than the EFAA style of shooting, the targets are more fun too I think. Though I do enjoy EFAA too, very good for training and disciplin coz of the marked distances, so if you can it's worth doing both.

I would suggest you find a field club, most field clubs support both styles and field archers are generally more fun than target (just my opinion). Depending on where you live you may find more of one type than the other. For example here is Devon there is a dominance of NFAS, whereas when I lived in Essex there were more EFAA. So I joined both back then and went to lots of other clubs shooting

in a nutshell, find out what clubs are in your area nad decide which type of archery appeals to you most. Then go along and speak to people, look around if you can too. Sign yourself up for a bieginners course and take it from there

n.b. don't worry about feeling like a kitten with the new bow. I once taught a body builder to shoot and he couldn't draw my 45lb recurve! wimp You use very different muscles shooting than you do anything else. Try using your back and shoulders not your arms

oh and erm, please don't try to 'fire' your bow, there is no gunpowder in it, so you should be shooting it sorry bugbare of mine that

 

[Gumbob]

oh and erm, please don't try to 'fire' your bow, there is no gunpowder in it, so you should be shooting it sorry bugbare of mine that

I do appologise

There is a club in Ayr which is pretty near me. I think its purely target archery from what I can find out. There is an NFAS club, which I think would suit me better but its about 30 miles away . I will look into it a bit more before I commit to buying a bow etc...

Thanks again....Gumbob

ps...Are you the same 'Dave Budd' from the British Blades site? (if you don't mind me askin

 

[Dave Budd]

That's ok, I forgive you

Yep, it's me from BB. I've always signed in to forums as my own name because I would only forget what I had called myself otherwise!

It's a shame that there isn't a field club nearer to you, but on the bright side, there may be target archers at the club who also shoot field but need somewhere to practice. That's how I got into field, the nearest club to me was miles away and i didn't have a car at the time. Fortunately a lady named helen Dicker (now remarried, can't remember her new name) joined the club adn rescued me

I've not shot seriously for 4 years (since moving to Devon) coz I've been too busy and too poor. This year I plan to get out there again, but i have the same trouble my nearest club (NFAS) is twenty odd miles away. I don't mind travelling a long way for a days shooting at a competition (read social gathering), but not just to practice So my plan is to join as an indipendent and practice at home, sorta.

I'm lucky that my job allows me to do things I like. I'm running a couple of archery related courses this year (arrow making in a couple of weeks and bow making in April -specialist guest tutor ), so it's given me the perfect excuse to lay out my own field archery course in the woods where i teach! was out setting stuff up to day and I'm VERY excited!

Whatever you end up doing, I hope you enjoy yourself. Even if you join the target club but only use it as a place to learn the skills and the practice, you can still go to field archery shoots as long as you join the right organisation.

 

[Gumbob]

Whatever you end up doing, I hope you enjoy yourself. Even if you join the target club but only use it as a place to learn the skills and the practice, you can still go to field archery shoots as long as you join the right organisation.

Thats not a bad idea I did notice the one near me runs beginner courses so it might make sense to go along and have a look at least.

You are a very lucky man to have a job doing something you enjoy. My Gandpa once told me "find a job you love and you'll never work another day in your life". Of course at the time I was too young to undestand what he meant. I know now though!!
I hope your courses go great and I'm sure you'll have a ball at your own field archery course....wish I was closer

Thanks again, and I'll let you know how things progress.

Cheers....Gumbob

 

[Gumbob]

Here's a link to a club near me. Have a look and let me know what you think.

http://www.freewebs.com/ayrac/index.htm

Thanks again lads.....Gumbob

 

[gregorach]

Yeah, field archery seems to be pretty rare in Scotland, unfortunately. Even target clubs seem to be a bit thin on the ground if you don't have a car...

 

[waylander]

Ive not shot any other type than target archery but I must admit I love it, I wouldn't mind trying a bit of field archery but to me that would just be a bit of fun. On a related note, has any one got any classifacations in it? I only ask because I recently obtained archer 3rd class, I know its not terrific but I missed alot of the scoring sessions due to work and hangovers lol.

 

[Rob]

Certainly on the NFAS side, there are no classifications in the way that target has them. There are local variations - Cloth Of Gold have what they call "maser Hunter" which needs you to achieve over a certain score in your class.


There are the national champs events, which I haven't entered for years. I usually end up around the middle of the pack when it comes to results - but I measure my success on having a good day in the woods and coming home with as many ofmy arrows as possible