Bow and arrows for the field novice

[RobD]

Soon I am moving house to a more semi-rural locality with more open woodland and I am really keen to develop my interest in using the bow and arrow. I love the traditional style of bow - without sounding too cheesy or corny - the Robin Hood longbow type.

Sorry about this description - I am a novice when talking about bows. At heart I am a traditional type of bushcrafter, hence the idea of field archery really appeals to me.

Could anyone point me in the direction of a good starter kit or set I could look at getting to develop my skills. If anyone knows of any field archery groups in the North West close to Preston ish this would be great as well. I like the idea of learning from interested and experienced people.

All help appreciated.

Rob

 

[dwardo]

I guess it depends on how "traditional" you want to go.
To me "traditional" is a self bow. One piece of wood bow. Not a laminate, and certainly not bamboo backed. But a lot of folk will disagree and thats cool.

Some consider a traditional longbow shaped bow as in long, thin and deep bellied bow, English/Victorian/mary rose style bow of any wood construction to be traditional and thats cool too.

Cost is a major factor. Believe it or not a traditional longbow type be it laminated or self bow will set you back a lot more cash than a glass bow. Also if you are looking for wooden arrows they can also be more expensive.

My advice would be to shoot a cheap glass bow for a bit and get down to a local field archery club for a weekend taster/intro session and see if you like it. Then decide what kit you want to go for.
Or even better build you self one, happy to give as much advice as you need,.

 

[JonathanD]

I'm with Dwardo. Start with a laminate Samick or glass bow and work your way up to the traditional one piece long otherwise you'll find it hard work and not enjoy it as much. You'll lose and break a load of arrows before you become proficient.

 

[ozzy1977]

Have a look at the NFAS website, you will find a list of the field archery clubs and contact details all of them will run taster and beginners courses.

 

[Tank]

Go have a word with your local club. I have started at my local club and they have been great and very welcoming. They have done a beginners course for very little money and allow you to use their kit until your comfortable and know what you want..

 

[RobD]

Thanks dwardo - clearly more to think about than I had imagined.

Thanks Ozzie for the heads up about the NFAS. Searched their site and there is a club fairly close to me! Will check it out once I am back from my summer hols with the family.

 

[kungaryfu]

Go have a word with your local club. I have started at my local club and they have been great and very welcoming. They have done a beginners course for very little money and allow you to use their kit until your comfortable and know what you want..

+1 with tank
Ive started out with a cheap takedown bow from merlin archery (about 60 quid) and have now moved on to a flatbow/longbow from blackbrook bows that im just getting used to using (well, i was at least, i havent been for about 3 months due to work).
Archery is soooo much fun you will love it even with the cheapest kit!!

 

[Wishingonastar]

Hi RobD,
My hubby and son went the route of joining a local taget archery group. The beginners course let them try all the usual bows and although the 9yr old was desperately in love with the longbow thats a lot of custom made bows for a growing boy at £200 a pop. So they put up with barebow for a while until that sad little face drove the hubby to do some research and had a go himself at making one. Now we have about 9 longbows and a home made 'Shaftomatic 3000' for arrows 😃. They also shoot field with the same club as one of the members has a bit of woodland, so even if you can't find a local field archery club, still do target. Archery is after all the art of repetition.
Get yourself, or the library may be able to get hold of it, 'The Bowyer's Bible'. Don't worry about volume 4 to start with. These books are a wealth of information on every bow ever made in the known universe, across all time, by proper people. Then find the person who takes care of the hardwood at a timber merchant and have a nice chat with them about cheap off cuts, but know what you are looking for in the grain first! Give them beer and Christmas cards as they will make a journey into bow making a much more pleasant and affordable experience. Our first longbows cost £13 to make out of ash off cut and my son had a go at making his own on that first before trying the expensive wood and laminate ones. He's also made his friends flatbows as gifts which is a great way to get some practice in if you have any nieces and nephews and will obviously delight the parents.... There's plenty of info out there on making your own arrows too. Hubbies next project, once competition worthy laminate number three is out of the way, is a Holmgaard bow from wych elm......
I hope this helps.