CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON

Let us Begin

I shall spare you the customary introductions to archery. For you would not be here reading these words if the art had not already perked your interest. One need not investigate the matter with great meticulousness to know that archery is a very ancient practice, used by man for hunting, warfare, meditation and sport. Nor do I need to tell you why you and others like you favour traditional over modern forms, though it is quite inevitable that I will touch upon these subjects if you stay with me long enough.

I shall begin with the various kinds of traditional bows, their advantages and disadvantages, notwithstanding variations in quality and design. This is to help you decide your weapon of choice, though there is no reason, other than lack of resources, that you should not possess and use more than one. Let it be said, however, that for a beginner, it is advisable to spend considerable time with one particular bow before trying to master another, since bows which require different techniques and which shoot different distances with varied power, will demand constant change in the archer’s method, which makes mastering proper form more difficult.

The Flat Bow

“Flat bow” is a generic term for bows which are shaped much like a straight piece of wood when unstrung. The term “stick bow” is also used (at least for more primitive versions). It defines almost any bow which is not a recurve shape (more on recurves later). Flat bows may or may not have a shelf, or rest, upon which the arrow sits when shooting. Many archers favour bows with rests or shelves, as this provides the archer with the means of greater accuracy and consistency. Bows without rests, such as English longbows or horse bows, require that the arrow be placed on the bow hand, with one’s knuckle acting as the rest, or shelf. It is advisable for the archer to wear a glove on the bow hand, as the feathers can leave painful cuts as they fly across the hand when leaving the string.

Archers who shoot bows without an arrow rest often cant the bow when shooting so that the arrow does not fall off the knuckle (other bows are usually held upright when shot).

Flat bows vary in size, depending on the height and choice of the archer. Like all bows, flat bows come in various poundages: the higher the poundage, the more power stored in the bow, and the harder it is to pull the bow to full draw. But more on power later.

The Longbow

Longbows, while they are sometimes placed in the general category of flat bows, deserve a category of their own, not least because many archers favour the longbow due to its significance in English military warfare. There is no clear definition of the longbow, but technically a longbow is any bow that is taller than the user.

The legacy of the longbow is inextricably linked with the military strategy for which it was invented and employed by Welsh and English archers. The war bows of yore possessed a draw weight of at least 100 ibs. The training required for archers was not so much to become extremely accurate as it was to acquire enough strength to repeatedly pull the bow to full draw. Many archers in ranks with bows of such a poundage, shooting arrows with arrowheads designed to pierce chainmail or plate armour into the air, with the intention of raining down hundreds of arrows upon the enemy, was an effective military strategy at Agincourt, after which the longbow became somewhat legendary amongst the English.

Despite its legacy, and though I am sure to incur the wrath of longbow admirers, it is my opinion that the longbow has no advantage over other bows when it comes to target archery or field archery. While I have yet to shoot a longbow beyond 40 ibs at a draw of 28 inches, it is my experience that recurve bows and horse bows of a lower poundage can reach greater distances than longbows and most other flat bows.

If one’s primary interest is target archery, the only great disadvantage to a longbow is transporting the weapon from place to place. If one wishes to indulge in hunting, a longbow can be difficult to shoot from discreet places, due to its size. The longbow was certainly not designed for hunting.

The Recurve Bow

Perhaps the most common bow in our day is the recurve bow. This is the design of many modern bows, such as those used by Olympic athletes, but it is also the shape of many wooden bows. The advantage of the recurve is that the limbs are thin and flat, and toward the end of the limbs, the bow curves away from the archer. When the bow is strung, this recurve shape adds velocity to the shot, providing the archer with the ability to shoot greater distances, depending on the poundage of the weapon. Generally, a recurve bow will shoot greater distances than a longbow or flat bow of equal power.

A further advantage of many a recurve bow over the longbow is that the arrow rests closer to the centre. This means that the arrow does not need to flex around the bow as much as it does with a longbow when loosed (this flexing to and fro in flight until the arrow straightens is called the “archer’s paradox”, a subject to which we may return in future). Shooting from closer to the centre makes accuracy and consistency easier to master, and also makes picking the right arrows for the bow simpler.

While the vast majority of modern recurve bows are “take-down” bows (meaning the limbs can be detached from the handle, or “riser”), wooden or “traditional” recurves, which seem to be highly favoured by field archers, can be either “one-piece” or “take-downs". The take-down bow has two advantages over the one-piece bow. The first is, of course, ease of transportation. The second is that as one gradually increases his strength and ability to shoot higher poundage bows, the archer can, in many cases, acquire new limbs without having to acquire an entirely new bow. Naturally, this is a more affordable investment if one is a novice.

The Horse Bow

The horse bow is the original recurve, but it has yet a greater advantage over other recurve bows. When unstrung, the limbs curve away in the opposite direction from the archer. In some cases, as with many Turkish bows, the limbs form a C-shape when unstrung. The bow is strung in the opposite direction, towards the archer. This means that a great deal of power is stored in the bow when strung, even more so than other recurve bows, which are fashioned in that shape, providing only a little extra power in the limbs when strung. Moreover, because a great deal of power is already stored in the bow when strung and due to its short length, it is much easier to pull a horse bow than it is to pull other bows of a higher poundage.

It is for these reasons that the horse bow was very effective in warfare in Eastern Europe and the Far East. It was designed to be used by soldiers on horseback. The shortness of the bow provided ease of movement, while its power and easy draw meant that archers could shoot at great speed with enough power to pierce armour at short distances. The Huns were particularly noted for the rapid shooting of their mounted archers, while the Parthians became known for turning in their saddles and shooting toward the enemies behind them while on the move. This became known as a “Parthian shot”.

Some horse bows are asymmetrical. That is to say, the bottom limb is shorter than the top limb. This is particularly useful for horseback archery, as it provides greater ease of movement about the horse. But it also provides an extra “flick” to the arrow when shot.

It is very difficult to acquire consistency with a horse bow. As we have seen, these bows were designed for rapid shooting at various moving targets all around the archer. It is therefore little wonder that it is not often the weapon of choice for target archers. However, its small size and its power make it a reasonable choice for field archery, where one has to constantly adjust to targets of numerous sizes at various distances.

One cannot leave the subject of horse bows without referring to methods of arrow release. The authentic method for shooting a horse bow is considerably different to Western forms of archery. Eastern archers used what is called the thumb release, also called the Eastern or Mongolian release. This is in opposition to what is called the Mediterranean, or Western release. The Mediterranean release is pulling the string to full draw with the first three fingers, with the arrow in between the index and middle finger. The arrow is pulled back to what is called an anchor point (usually the corner of the lip or under the chin). The draw hand is then loosened, and sometimes drawn back to a second anchor point (such as the back of one’s ear). These anchor points assist the archer in maintaining consistent accuracy.

The Eastern release is very different, and often requires (at least for high poundage bows) a thumb ring. The archer, using his thumb pulls the arrow back to his anchor point, using the index finger, or index and middle finger, to lock his thumb into place, and then releases the arrow. The advantage of this technique is that there is less twist on the string than there is with the Western method, thus providing a cleaner release and therefore greater accuracy. However, many horseback archers draw back to and release from the breast rather than from the face or chin. While this certainly makes sense for horseback archery, where movement would make a normal anchor point difficult to control, it does make consistency more difficult.

How Much Power Do You Need?

It is important when one begins archery that (s)he begins with a low poundage bow. To shoot with a bow that is too great a struggle to pull to full draw persistently will lead to the novice developing bad form, or no form at all. This is called being “over bowed”. While it is undoubtedly a costly process, one must gradually adjust from lower to higher poundages, in 5 ib increments. When considering the poundage one would like to reach, (s)he should do so after considering the purpose of one’s archery. For hunting, 40 ibs is the minimum (but one must also consider the appropriate arrows, since arrowheads for target archery are designed to create minimal damage). In terms of distance, the power of the bow is not the only factor to consider. Every bow shoots differently, and some fly faster but penetrate less deep (this also depends on the arrow, of course). For target and field archery, if one wishes to shoot 30 yards or more, 35 ibs is usually sufficient, though again this depends on the bow: horse bows and recurves generally require less power than flat bows and longbows for the same distances.

What, no Crossbows or Compound bows?

Both crossbows and compound bows fall outside my field of experience and interest. Crossbows are entirely different weapons for which the methods of archery described herein have no bearing. As for compound bows, these are far too modern to earn a place in writings on traditional archery. So weep and lament, ye lovers of crossbows and confounded compounds! What ye seek will not be found here.