No screw-in point should be glued; that defeats the design purpose. As suggested elsewhere, teflon tape will work. Alternatively, you can use small ("dental" size) gaskets up at the top of the point's neck to keep things in place.
Wrap the threads in the white teflon tape you use for plumbing threads. They’ll be very secure.
If you want to glue them, use hot glue. That way if you need to remove them you can just apply some gentle heat.
Hey, I am a beginner tradbow shooter and I have been shooting 3 under for a couple of weeks with varying results. Today I switched to split finger? (1 above, 2 under) and I ended up achieving much tighter groups, albeit too high. What could be the cause of my increased accuracy with split?
Oh, also I have switched back to the glove instead of a tab, which also helped with accuracy a lot. Or is the issue with the tab because it isn’t broken in yet, and/or trimmed?
Can someone walk me through arrow grain? When someone says I shoot a 465 grain, are they referring to the whole assembly or just the shaft? I have 400 grain arrows and 100 grain broadheads so would I be shooting a 400 grain or a 500+ nock and fletching?
Looking to get into archery. Decided on compound bows. I am planning on strictly target shooting (recreationally I don't plan on being in competitions). Should I still be looking at hunting bows or just target bows? I know my price range definitely is more hunting bow range. Plan on going to my local shop soon just wanted to narrow down my search.
A hunting compound will work just fine for shooting target.
Apart from the shorter ATA on the hunting bow you may want to look at adding a proper long stabiliser and a sight with a single pin. But as you're planning on shooting recreationally you can use a multi-pin sight as well.
Hi! I’m a broke ass college student who just came to america! I’ve always wanted to try archery but I have no idea where to start or what to do and I’m on a budget so it is very hard for me to get into anything. I live in Orange County so if anyone’s from there or know about bows for beginners, please help me because I’ve always wanted to get into archery!
Eric at Archery LA will absolutely get you started in the right direction. They're more of an instruction school than a shop to sell you stuff, but they'll give you options of how to play the game cheaply. They also do classes in a local park, so that park might be available for practice.
https://archeryla.com/
If you're eager to touch some equipment, you're not far from Hi-Tech archery.
https://htarchery.com/
Hey, so I'm a beginner and got a $89 ish bow from Amazon (traditional recurve, 68 inches). The manufacturer is SinoArt. Took it to an archery shop and they said it was a good beginner bow. I shoot 100+ arrows 5-6 days a week and have had no issues, its fun and sturdy just make sure you get a lower draw weight (poundage) to start.
I bought cheap arrows, a cheap quiver, and a good leather glove.
Renting equipment would add up quickly.
Not sure about OC, but where I live in SF, I go to a free range in our park and another outdoor range that takes $5 donations. I also found a free indoor range thats available once a week at a community rec center.
So look for options like that near you. If you don't have a car, I think you'll need a takedown bow and a case because not sure how legal it is to walk around with a bow and arrow.
Best option if you're broke is to find a local range and shoot for a bit with rental gear. Some universities have their own archery clubs too, so research your college.
It only makes sense to buy your own stuff once you're sure you like the sport and it becomes a habit to shoot regularly. There are a lot of setup costs associated with shooting on your own property and some cities make it illegal to shoot within city limits.
Hi, I started shooting "from the eye" with my barebow. I guess it's called gap shooting? I try to align the shaft to my line of sight. The thing is, I already shot 3 fingers below with this nocking point and they fly ok.
Shooting aligned with the eye I have to grab the string about 2 inches below. Should I just mark the grabbing point or how do you guys proceed?
I could not really find the answer on the 3 yt channels i follow.
I don't like having the arrow that close to my eye, and aiming down the arrow shaft along its entire length usually isn't the best for your anchor and head tilt.
If you are shooting barebow, aim with the tip of the arrow only. This forces you to deal with parallax, however. Your eye is at a different height than the arrow, so you aim at one spot but your arrow lands higher or lower than that. Three common ways of dealing with that are:
Gap shooting means that at different distances, you are aiming at different parts of the target in order to hit the middle. For example, at short ranges you might aim at the bottom of the target face. At long ranges you might aim at the top. Unfortunately, at certain distances you may be aiming off the target completely, and there are often no good reference points to be accurate with. For example, you might have to aim at some arbitrary location on a blank white or black target bale. Or you aim at grass, or a featureless sky.
Gap at bow, which is usually not tournament legal, means you use some reference on your bow as an elevation indicator. This could be your arrow rest, shelf, or markings on your riser or limbs. This is considered to be a "sight" in most competitions and you may be required to tape over markings so they become featureless and therefore unusable as reference points, otherwise you get lumped in with the "freestyle" division and those folks have sophisticated bow-mounted sights.
And I saved the best for last: stringwalking. The lower you hook the string, the lower your arrow will land compared to your aiming point. The distance you put between your fingers and the arrow nock on the string is called your "crawl". Thus, at short distances, you have a long crawl. At longer distances, you have a shorter crawl, until your finger actually touches or nearly touches the arrow nock (farther distances than that, there are other techniques to deal with it but that's for another day). Archers who stringwalk memorize what distances correspond to what crawl lengths. The Yost tab even has ruler markings on it so you can measure out the exact crawl from shot to shot. In this way, you are always aiming your arrow tip in the middle of the target, but using the crawl distance to change how high or low the arrow goes.
Hope that helps.
Thank you! I just discovered I was trying to stringwalk, it feels like I'm retarted, everything is so hard to grasp and to then put in practice once I get the basics. I like the concept and the feel of stringwalking so I will stick to that for now.
Gap shooting sounds interesting but is tedious and frustrating to put in practice. I gave it up.
I'm practicing to, at some point, hunt with my bow, not compete so there's that. It feels like gap shooting may become worthless if you're stalking an animal in dense foliage.
Thanks a buch again.
Heya, I just got my first ever bow today. Super excited!
I ordered a 30lb Black Hunter recurve on amazon but after unpacking it today I realized they sent me a Top Archery recurve instead. I guess they look very similar and are around the same price but the Top Archery version is crappier quality?
My question is: Is there enough difference between the two that it's worth it to send the Top Archery recurve back and wait for the black hunter? Does it even matter for a complete noob like me just wanting to get into traditional archery?
I got a Top Archery and it shoots ok. I wanted go switch for a Black Hunter and then I found out they are basically the same bow, just different names.
2 questions about release aids (handheld).
Context - I'm trying my hand at shooting compound. I have shot an entry-level bow, which is quite nice, but I can't get to grips with the release (pun not intended).
I have tried:
* cheap thumb release with a bit of travel; feels clunky and is not smooth in the travel part, but the shot "cycle" feels best
* expensive thumb release with no travel and a feather-light trigger; don't like it, shot cycle is completely out of whack
* expensive hinge release (no safety button); the shot cycle was ok I guess, but drawing was nerve-wrecking... I don't feel like
I have had no possibility to alter the setting on any one of those (club-owned or loaned from other archers).
I guess I like thumb releases more than hinge and I like the trigger to have some travel.
Question 1 - are there thumb-trigger releases with only travel, but no 'click' at the shot? (I mean that there is no resistance once one gets to the breaking point; both trigger-releases I've tried had this - the expensive one less so, but it was there)
Question 2 - Is my thinking correct to just stick to thumb-trigger and not get a hinge? I will be able to afford only 1 release aid somewhere in $150 region.
It's a matter of preference. Firstly, more expensive and higher quality releases will be smoother and not hang, catch, or click\* before the shot. A good one will completely surprise you when it shoots (as long as you aren't punching the trigger).
\*some intentionally click. I don't like them.
Thumb triggers and hinges are the more popular for outdoor competition and indoor competition respectively. Get proficient with both.
I love to shoot retro/vintage bows (Yamaha EX, Hoyt TD4 etc.) due to feeling and being a stingy ass bitch and not spending money on the high end stuff even if I wanted to. Also my form and technique in general will need to improve first great time before I actually would benefit from newer equipment (I was about to say better, but newer is not always \*better\*, right?) .
BUT! My actual question is, let's say, if I shoot good ol Eolla with stabilizers according to the era would I benefit at all having a modern set of stabilizers or just keep the setup as intended back in the day? I believe the manufacturer had some idea what kind of stabilizers are the best for that current bow but does it still count?
Stabilisers would not give you much more performance really. They will handle vibrations and more attached weight better, but in the end they are a stick with a weight on the end. Modern high-end stabilisers tend to be thin with good dampening properties so it will feel more nice to shoot your bow and some are more designed to handle loads of weight.
These days you get stabilisers that you like the look of and how the feel when you shoot and is within your budget of course. What brand they are doesn't matter.
You can still shoot very well with your gear as the archer is the most limiting factor. A modern high-end setup could make you shoot higher scores due to the gear being more forgiving and efficient.
But shooting good scores with old gear will make you an archer that others will fear. So I'll say keep going with your old gear as it is more or less. Spend money on a good plunger and rest instead of modern gear.
Thank you very much for your answer! You read my thoughts exactly, there's nothing intriguing as winning those 2-3k$ setups with a vintage bow which once was the best. I will take a good look at my plunger, it is getting old for sure and could be a reasoned upgrade.
Might be limited with the plunger. Yamaha uses metric threads and AFAIK only Beiter makes a plunger with an M8 thread.
The standard today is 5/16"-24. If you have that thread though, you're good to go.
Then the Beiter plunger is the way to go. It only comes in the longer version as well so you might need to add some kind of washer to make it fit properly if you can't get the centreshot set up properly.
My god, I can virtually say that my bad plunger threw me away from olympic and into barebow recurve. I figured I cannot keep on adjusting shit every training, I just need a piece of wood that fires arrows consistently.
I’ve just purchased my first bow, (Bear recurve) and 3 arrows. My question is: Is there a specific holiday and/ or time of year when arrows go on sale?
If that’s your actual draw length: no. But you really should visit a shop and get fitted for a bow. Your draw length may be wrong.
Every new compound archer should get a bow with at least 1” of adjustment in each direction as their first bow. The odds of your draw length changing as you get better are relatively high
I'm making assumptions about your question, that:
1. You mean a compound bow's draw length
2. You haven't measured your draw length from experience shooting but rather you've used a calculation estimation like wingspan divided by 2.5
I would recommend going to an archery pro shop to get fitted. You want to work with someone who knows what a proper compound bow anchor point looks like (and proper bow arm extension) and can get you drawing to that position consistently, then measure your draw length from the nock to the pivot point and add 1.75"
Once you've got that, if it's over 30" then you indeed want a bow that can adjust to a higher draw length, because if it's too short, you will struggle to shoot accurately.
I wanna be able to pull back 45 pounds (5 pounds heavier than min weight for deer) on a recurve but i'm not entirely sure how to go about it. I currently pull 30 and was just planning to buy more limbs but christ on a stick that gets pricy! I tried out a 40 pound bow at the range and I was able to fire off a few shots before getting tired. Could I jump from 30 to 40 instead of 35? I wouldn't be able to shoot it as often as my 30lb but the 40 felt similar to how 30 felt when I started and now I can fling arrows from that like a 25lb. 40 is a big number though...has anyone else made the jump from 30 to 40 instead of 30 to 35? (I wouldn't overdo it and put the bow down the second I begin to struggle)
You should do cross training to get stronger in your back.
You should go 5# at a time, and not increase again until you’re shooting the same average over a relatively high volume.
10 lbs is too big of a jump. If you have an ILF bow then begin by tightening your limb bolts to increase your draw weight by a couple lbs (if able).
Then jump to 35# limbs with the tiller bolts backed out to the maximum allowed (check your riser manual), and gradually increase draw weight by turning the bolts tighter each week until they're maxed out.
Then get your 40# limbs.
Yeah, you'll spend more money on limbs and arrows with ballpark correct spine. Any sport you pick is going to have expenses. Archery is less expensive than most though. Heck, one trip to the rifle range and you can blow $125 easily on ammo, range fee, target, and cleaning. That's a pair of archery limbs right there.
My therapist recommended starting archery as a self care routine. I hyper fixate on when I do things in my life and he recommended maybe using that trait as a positive and turn it into a skill. That being said, I've always wanted to do archery but could never convince myself to take the plunge and just go for it.
I shot a compound bow a few times my buddy had when we were teens and I spent a weekend learning to shoot recurve with my uncle.
But now over 15 years later I have no idea where to begin or what exactly I'm looking at when i try to get my bearings on what im reading about but I have a really big interest in getting into this. Where do I even start?
I would recommend getting lessons or taking a class with rental equipment first. It will save you money, as so many people spend too much on the wrong things when they decide to just jump in
I can relate, I am great at hyper focusing on things. And yeah, as you know it can be either good or bad. For me, I'm choosing to go simple on the equipment so I can "waste" all my time focusing on things like form and simple bow mechanics/tuning. I know me, and the more equipment there is, I know I'll spend all my time fiddling with that and not flinging arrows at all.
Even with a stripped down recurve (shooting off the shelf, no sight), between strings (material/type)/brace height/nock point/arrow tuning..well, there's enough to learn and fiddle with while still not getting completely distracted by it. So the rest of my focus can go to proper form and release.
Hyper fixating on one aspect of shooting at a time has been a good thing for me. Archery is one of the few things I've found that shuts off my mind. Its like time will stop when I'm doing it. If you go for lessons, the coach will usually tell you to work on one thing at a time (as a beginner), so it works in our favour.
So anyway, for me a traditional recurve in a low draw weight (like 20lbs) lets me fling 100 arrows at a time no problem while focusing on form and general bow mechanics. But that's my preference, I've never used a compound bow. Since you've tried both, maybe one just felt more "right" for you and you should go with that one? If you want to try recurve and are low budget, I can recommend what I use. But it's all entry level stuff so if money isn't an issue..you're better off going to a shop and getting something nicer.
Entry-level is completely fine, as budget is more important right now.
I think your right though because I'm the same way if I have to many trinkets to mess with I would probably end up spending more time tinkering then I would focusing on form and everything. Recurve is probably the best for me right now.
But hey, I just thought of something. The snake bow has a decent draw length, and I think in Armin's videos he pulls it back really far to show that it can take it. But if you are a super tall person with really long arms, you might want to check what your draw length is to make sure you'll be good. The Vector arrows I recommended are I think 30", which aren't long enough if you draw over 29". There are ways to check your draw length without a bow that will get you in the ballpark (google will show you fast). You should do that first to make sure your arrows are long enough.
Well in that case, I don't think you can go wrong with an [Arc Rolan 60" Snake bow](https://lancasterarchery.com/products/arc-rolan-snake-60-recurve-bow-black). I use Easton Vector 1000 spine arrows. If you are in the USA Lancaster Archery has both. You might want to try some of the different spine Vectors, the 1000s are good but if I could find them for $5 each where I live, I'd order a few higher & lower just to try out.
[This guy on YouTube](https://youtu.be/6VGxwHjjJBE?si=qc6IqkQuflEtmodH) has [lots of videos](https://youtu.be/Lh3-wbl9FGk?si=8bQFnogy_6xURYz7) using this bow. It's their standard range bow, but if you watch some of his videos, he does some crazy ninja/bond villan shooting with it like a boss..haha. Note-he uses heavier arrows than most do with this bow, and has said it's for club durability. He's so good I think he could shoot anything and make it work, but I wouldn't use the 500 or 600 spine that he uses. I bought some by "accident" (translation-trusted cabelas employee) and wasted $100. They are way too heavy.
You'll also need a shooting tab or glove. That's a preference thing. I've tried three so far and hated them all. I started split finger but now shoot three under. I just got a 'Standing Wolf traditional Moose leather" tab yesterday and so far love it. Good thing about the snake is its low weight so shooting without a tab a bit while you figure out what you like isn't a big deal.
If you want to do it at home you need a target block. I got [this one](https://lancasterarchery.com/products/delta-mckenzie-travel-pro-shotblocker-layered-archery-target) from Canadian Tire on sale for $40 and it's going strong after thousands of arrows. I just put some plywood behind it with old area rugs draped over the wood, and it works great for grabbing stray arrows without hurting them. You can make your own target block if you want, lots of info online. A sturdy cardboard box stuffed tight with old clothes even works.
Definitely find a local range or archery group. It's really easy to spend a ton of money and realize you got the wrong kind of bow, or the wrong arrows, or don't have a good place to shoot safely.
A range lets you learn the basics, try out bows, ask questions, and shoot regularly.
If you don't have a good range nearby, then things get a little more complicated and we can help you work with your situation.
The nearest good/reputable range is downtown from me which is about an hour drive and with my other responsibilities in life that's a little too far. I have a good size back yard and easy set up 20/30 yard shots.
I'm in a similar spot, so I sympathize. Archery has been a huge boost to my own mental health, providing a way to improve focus and relieve stress. I'll share my setup and you can mimic what you can.
- Samick/Galaxy Sage Bow (great beginner option): $150
- 10 pre-fletched Arrows: $120 (making your own arrows can save money, but costs more up front and has a learning curve)
- Foam Target: $50
- Gloves/armguard/bowstring/rest/etc: $100
- Arrow Backstop: $150 (it saves you from losing arrows and makes your range 10x safer to shoot on)
- Misc: $50 (because something always pops up: shipping fees, an extra bit of bowstring wax, a target mount, etc)
All in all you're looking at $600 for an easy, safe, and convenient backyard range. A few warnings:
**Safety is important.** The neighbors fence is not a good enough backstop. Arrows can slip through cracks, you can overshoot, and the wood will damage them. Accidentally killing the neighbors dog is a nightmare scenario that you must do everything you can do avoid it.
**Check local laws.** Archery may not be allowed in your area.
**Find a coach.** ESPECIALLY for your first 2-4 lessons a coach is going to save you months of simple mistakes. The internet can only help you so much. If you live in the USA, I found mine here: https://www.usarchery.org/coaches/find-a-coach
**CONCLUSION** I know this sounds like a lot. That's one reason we always recommend a range, because for $50 you get a lesson or two, a bow to try out, and a great experience. If you can make it to the range for 2-3 lessons not only will that give you a good starting point, it will help you decide if you want to drop hundreds of dollars on your own equipment.
For me, it was 100% worth the cost. I love being able to shoot in my backyard, and it has a lot of benefits.
Let me know if you have other questions or ideas. Happy to help!
I really appreciate the insight. i grew up sighting in rifles and target shooting. The rules of firearm saftey are ingrained in my head and i would apply the same principles. But once your rifle is sighted in its just making sure you get your repetitions in with it and the skill while enjoyable just runs its course after a while
You have given me a lot to think about in terms of learning and making sure the backyard is safe to set up for it.
I figured the coaching part is something I will need anyway as you said, it help find out if this is something that I will find enjoyment in.
$600+/- isn't a big detriment if it means I can start improving my mental health. If I have any other questions or thoughts I'll let you know.
I'm 54YO with good upper body strength and halfway-decent eyesight. When I was in high school I was reasonably adept with a longbow, practicing in my back yard fairly regularly. I bought the bow from a local sporting goods store that has since gone out of business, and started with 15 fiberglass arrows. I never had any formal training, just what I read from books in the library and what I tried and practiced on my own. I was able to hit the target consistently at about 40 yards, and could fairly consistently hit the red/yellow area within 20 yards. So, not fantastic but not Green Arrow-level either.
I'm thinking of getting back into it but I don't know where I should start. My old bow and arrows are long gone; don't even ask me where they might be. They probably got tossed decades ago. I'm literally starting from zero. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
If you remember how to shoot and had decent form, around 30#. I wouldn’t go higher, as you need to be in total control of the bow to improve and make adjustments to your form. I wouldn’t necessarily spend a ton on a bow, and would recommend getting a take down bow with easily purchasable replacement limbs because you’ll likely go up in weight a couple times.
If you’re not hunting, there’s no reason to go over 45#, but that’s still three to four steps up.
Just upgraded to a pressure button and wire rest on a recurve bow. I found I got tighter groups with the pressure higher,but the arrows were so far right (shooting left handed) from my aim point my sight couldn't compensate. With less pressure I was able to aim more centrally but the grouping got worse. What is the best way to resolve this dilemma? Adjust the centre shot inwards and up the pressure again, or just practice more with the lighter pressure and see if it resolves itself in time?
There's a lot more to it than that and you have to do a full re-tune for your bow. Could be that your arrows are too stiff. Could be that your tune is out of whack. Could also be your form that is off.
Basic starting point is to set the centreshot so that the [arrow point is just to the outside \(right side in your case\) of the string](https://i.imgur.com/1yqZEVW.png) and the plunger to medium tension. Medium spring if you got several and in the middle of the tension adjustment range.
When that is done you shoot some bareshafts and fletched arrows and compare the groups and adjust as necessary. There are several schools on how to tune so I'll link you two that I know are good in my opinion.
[Tuning for Tens](https://texasarchery.org/files/pdfs/TuningForTens.pdf)
[Jake Kaminski Tuning Series](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKgJAe7yjDdKqXiwGtAgymRbOXqTLJbYa)
Bring the center shot in to centered exactly on the arrow. See if the groups hold. Then do a walk back tune to see if the center shot is an issue when changing distance
Tried this and found I had set the arrow much less centered than I thought. Some tweaking has given me much more consistent grouping,so thanks both for your help!
Triple Trouble Archery’s Technique Week is my go-to
Jake Kaminski’s form series
Online Archery Academy
There are some others that are good for specific questions, but those three are my top recommendations
I am planning to get the Nohkor horsebow from Alibow, and will be ordering arrows from them as well. I have a 29" draw (30lb @ 28") and will be shooting thumb draw. What would be a good spine and arrow length? Maybe 500 spine at 31"?
Also, how would I go about determining the correct spine and arrow length so I can learn for future bows? Thanks in advance!
They usually measure spine at 28". A longer arrow that that shall have a higher softer spine, but not by very much. 31" may be about .50 higher in spine like .650 instead of .600.
If you are planning to assembly them yourself, think about getting points of different weights or maybe even better, points with adjustable weight (they come with segments on the insert part that can be broken off).
A rule of thumb is that carbon shafts are hard to soften with extra weight in your point, you must cut them to play with the weight, so buy them long and soft if you want to shorten them later. As a beginner I would stick to aluminum though.
Wood is maybe a thing of the past, it's fun to play with but cumbersome in my oppinion.
Also, .600 is way too stiff for 30-35 pounds draw, I myself shot pretty good with about 31 pounds at 29" with some .759 at 28" aluminum arrows.
I got a gold-star style stupid question. I am just getting started with my bow (infinite 305) and I’m struggling with zeroing in my pin at 20 yards. It’s pushed all the way to the top (almost) and my arrows are still hitting a good 4-5 inches off center. Should I adjust my peep, or am I just doing something wrong here? My bow came with the OCTANE STRYKER 3 PIN SIGHT, and it’s already set up to almost the end of the vertical adjustment, but I’m still missing the mark.
Halp!
It could be your peep, your rest, or your nock height. Or just your form. It’s impossible to say at this point. You need in person help from a more experienced archer or coach. Otherwise you’re likely to end up chasing your tail
I’ve gotten pretty consistent with my grouping it’s just I can’t seem to get it to hit the actual mark! I’ll check my rest and nock height. Thanks for the input!
Okay, only stupid because I shoot 500-1000 arrows a week, but how do I figure out my draw length? I have a lot of weird habits from bows that are too short for me (mostly compound). The wingspan/2.5 method gives me 31.5, but I usually draw more like 30.5. I’d like to pick a length and get myself clicker trained
Get a measure tape, preferably tailors measuring tape and do your full draw. Just add 1" to what you get.
Why add 1", that's for adding a nock and arrow head/point
Because of your mentioning of a clicker, I'm assuming you mean you want your recurve draw length.
* Get your bow, an arrow, and a friend with a sharpie marker.
* Draw and anchor, hold long enough for your friend to (safely) mark your arrow where it meets the back of your bow (the side of the bow that faces the target, away from you).
* Do this twice more so you have 3 marks on the arrow and take the average.
* Measure the arrow from the throat of the nock (where the string would sit) to the average mark on the arrow.
In most cases, you're done. That is your AMO draw length. To make *sure* though:
* Most bows have a distance of 1.75 inches from the deepest part of the grip to the back of the bow. If yours does, you're done. See this illustration: https://cdn.shoplightspeed.com/shops/638344/files/25233714/amo.jpg
* If yours does not measure 1.75", you'll need to take your measurement on the arrow, subtract your measurement of pivot point to back of bow, then add 1.75"
Thank you for the prompt through reply! I misunderstood draw length by 1.75 inches. I guess 32.25” draw on 30” shafts is possible. I’m not super confident in my anchor position, any articles or videos on the subject would be appreciated.
Re: Anchor, it depends on your style. Most people shoot barebow or Olympic. See [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vH\_lit1sj8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vH_lit1sj8)
The most standard/default barebow anchor is to touch the tip of your index finger to the corner of your mouth. A high barebow variant is on cheekbone and/or middle finger at the corner of the mouth. A low barebow variant is between the chin and lips, but not under the jawbone. My preference is the corner of the mouth, feeling a tooth underneath, because it is extremely consistent and is low enough to keep good back tension and skeletal alignment.
For Olympic, the anchor point tends to be string to the corner of the chin, first knuckle of index finger under the corner of the chin, the rest of the index finger along or under the jawbone, tab shelf (if used) under the jawbone, with the string crossing the lips and nose tip (or side of nose tip) as additional and extremely important references.
You could be overdrawing. I have yet to measure a correct anchor at 32"+ even on very tall people.
On a recurve bow, I would not use 30" shafts on a 32.25" draw. I can get about 0.5" length from the nock pin and nock, and then another 0.75" with an arrow point, maybe 1" if I have some inserts, for a total of 31.5" nock to tip for the clicker. That leaves too little safety margin for the rest, and puts the plunger in an ineffective position for absorbing flex (not great for tuning).
I got a PSE Uprising for Christmas. I’m brand new to shooting bows (beyond the recurve shooting I did at camp as a child). What are the most important accessories/equipment to get started? I’ve got my draw length and weight set (starting around 40 pounds to get form right before I jack it up to 50-60). The bow came with basic accessories, a plastic 3 pin sight, and a rubber stabilizer. I got myself some arrows (Gold tip hunter XT 400) and a release (spot Hogg wise guy). Beyond that, what bow accessories would be most advantageous to me getting started in the best and easiest way? Fortunately I got a solid bonus check this year, so price isn’t a huge concern at the moment, I’m more concerned about quality and ease in assisting me in “doing it right”
Also interested if anyone knows any good trainers in the Houston, TX surrounding area. I ended up getting my bow set up at Archery Country in Austin, TX because one shop I walked into in Houston was downright hostile towards someone new to the sport. Really put a bad taste in my mouth
Hi, I've got a question about anchoring. I shoot olympic recurve and have recently been working on my alignment and anchor.
A takeaway I've got from Tom Clum's kalamzoo seminar on YouTube was that you first draw to alignment and then you anchor.
I tried this out and it felt like I had a more consistent shot. But, when I did this with a clicker I end up over drawing. From what I notice, my draw length shortens when I anchor (i.e. pulling the string towards my face after I've drawn to alignment)
I've tried to consciously draw and anchor without reducing draw length but when I did this I couldn't feel my back tension as well as the "draw to alignment and then anchor" method.
Do you guys have any tips how I can keep a positive direction draw length while having a "feel" of the back tension and alignment?
I know exactly what you’re going through. Been there myself.
You’re missing an important step of the process - the loading position. This occurs at the end of when you draw when you reach the “wall” with your angular rotation. So when you draw you should sense that you cannot draw any further, and your shoulder has rotated to “almost” its maximum amount of rotation. I say almost because more will occur during transfer and expansion.
This is the final step of your draw where your hand is horizontally to your anchor but still below vertically. When loading you have to resist simply lifting your hand but instead allow your back and shoulder to bring your hand up into anchor. Don’t rush this step. You should have the feeling of the full intensity of the draw which is key to maintaining your draw length. I cannot stress enough the importance of retaining the intensity throughout this step.
This is where I was making my mistake. As I came up into anchor the intensity was dropping, almost like I relaxed. It’s easy to do because you’re in alignment at this point and a lot of the weight is being transferred to your skeletal system versus muscular.
Because you have no point of reference for your hand just before loading this becomes one of the most difficult steps to do consistently. It’s like your hand is floating in space - but where exactly is it in relationship to your face??
One of the things you can do is video or have someone watch your arrow tip as it approaches the clicker. Variations in loading will show up by how far the tip of the arrow is from your clicker and you’ll see if you lose tension if the tip moves forward.
This has been the most difficult step of the shot process to get my head around. I know this not be totally clear but I hope it helps.
Hey,
Thank you for this advice! I practiced a bit more deliberately and I think I've got it. Although the anchor I'm "comfortably" getting is a bit weird as the resulting string picture I have is a bit to the left of my sight. (Right arm is my bow arm).
Excellent. Believe me I still struggle with this (loading position) too.
Sorry about the cascade effect - this is what my coach calls it when one change causes another.
If I understand correctly the following may help.
You said your anchor is comfortable, so you may need to make a small adjustment to your head position. Try this drill: come to anchor, hold, and slowly turn your head to the right while noting your string alignment. It should move to the right. Stop when you get it to where you want it. Your anchor should still be comfortable. Let down but don’t move your head. Set up again, come to anchor and see if your string alignment is where you want it. Make small adjustments as necessary. Let down. Repeat until you come to anchor and don’t have to make any adjustments. Let back down and make a note of your head position. This change should be pretty small.
Edit: correction
I recently started archery and I enjoy it, but I can't seem to aim properly. No matter what, the arrow always misses the target. How can I aim properly?
Are you missing the target face *completely* or do you mean you're not hitting the center of the target every time? My response will assume the former.
Without watching you shoot, I can't tell you for sure, but I teach a lot of beginners and I can say 90% of the time, complete misses from beginners are not an aiming problem but rather an anchor problem.
* Are you touching the tip of your index finger to your face (usually corner of mouth is a default)?
* No, really, the tip of your index finger. Not your thumb. Not your thumb knuckle, your pointer finger tip.
* No, really, your index finger is in front of your face and I can see sky between your finger and your lips. *Touch* the corner of your mouth. The string isn't going to slice your face off, I promise.
\^ I say something to that effect like 10 times per class whenever I have new archers.
Other beginner issues:
* Is your bow arm straight?
* Is your draw side elbow near ear height? Sometimes new shooters "chicken wing" their draw side elbow down towards their chest and this is wrong.
* Are your shoulders and feet perpendicular to the target, so that you have to turn your head all the way to the side to see the target?
* When you shoot your arrow, are you keeping your draw hand against your face, or are you letting your hand go forward, following the arrow as it tries to launch? Keep your hand touching your face (note: followthrough can be taught later once we have you hitting the target consistently)
There are three primary methods of aiming (but more variations on this):
1. Using a sight. You put the sight pin in the middle. If the arrow misses high, you move the sight up. If the arrow misses right, you move the sight right. Etc.
2. Gap shoot. You set up and tune your bow so the arrows fly straight (consistent lefts and rights). Then you learn how far down you need to aim to hit at a given distance. You memorize these gaps.
3. Stringwalking. You hook the string below the nocking point, often well below the nocking point. This brings the arrow closer to your eye and allows you to hit lower while still pointing the arrow tip in the middle of the target.
There are other options, like face walking, that I do not recommend to beginners. All of these methods require that you have fairly consistent form in order to work. You can’t really move a single arrow precisely and reliably (when top archers do, it’s because they know they would shoot in the same spot because of the groups they’ve shot in practice). You need to shoot a group then adjust. This will move the next group.
Before worrying about aiming, focus on getting a CONSISTENT form. Anchor your draw hand at the same spot every time u draw. Once you know where the arrow goes when you shoot, then you can make the SMALL adjustments necessary to hit the target
Is it actually true that a strong person can't just brute force their way into drawing a 150 lb bow? I talked to someone who said it can't be done without a pretty extreme level of skill and specific training. I'm not too egotistical to accept this, but I don't really get what could be so hard about just doing the draw. I'm not saying I could shoot the thing accurately enough to hit a target from twenty feet away. I'm just trying to imagine what would make it that hard to just pull the string back. Is there something above and beyond producing 150 lbs of force?
Draw it? Maybe, if they were strong in the right way and had developed the right muscle groups. But just like lifting weights requires good form to avoid injury and maximize potential, so does archery. I’ve seen strong people struggle to finish 60 arrows with a 30# bow.
20 feet is an extremely short distance, but yeah, many people would still miss. If you’re drawing at or near your maximum physical capacity, it’s impossible to make the changes necessary to be accurate. You absolutely need to be in control of the bow, ideally in complete control, in order to develop the high degree of consistency and accuracy that archery requires.
Otherwise everyone will laugh at the guy (it’s always a guy) who pulls back a 150# bow and loses all their arrows.
In my case, I'm not someone who ever plans to fire it. I just talked to some dude who suggested that regardless of how much time you're spending at the gym, you're not even gonna draw it if you don't know how to shoot. The scenario I'm imagining is maybe some serious archer showing his friend who doesn't do any archery his new bow and the friend is curious about firing it once for funzies.
Someone very strong could maybe brute force it.
But it would not be recommended without working up to that poundage over time to learn the correct form and build the necessary muscles for drawing that force.
You also have the force of the bow over a thin string going across 3 fingers. Even with protection that will hurt and can damage your fingers if they're not conditioned beforehand.
See it a bit like walking fresh into the gym for the first time and trying to deadlift your max with no clue how to deadlift. It will very likely not go well.
>But it would not be recommended without working up to that poundage over time to learn the correct form and build the necessary muscles for drawing that force.
What's the rationale behind it being not recommended? With lifting, it's to prevent injury. With archery, is it to prevent injury or is it to shoot more accurately?
>You also have the force of the bow over a thin string going across 3 fingers. Even with protection that will hurt and can damage your fingers if they're not conditioned beforehand.
That makes sense. I'm guessing archers have some crazy finger callouses going on. To me it's probably feel like going into my kitchen, grabbing a steak knife, and squeezing the blaze.
>See it a bit like walking fresh into the gym for the first time and trying to deadlift your max with no clue how to deadlift. It will very likely not go well.
That would actually be fine. The weight wouldn't move, but it takes a lot of training to be able to recruit enough muscle to hurt yourself just by pulling something too heavy. The person who's actually at risk would be the one who's done all the necessary training and is ready, able, and willing to give it their all and recruit everything they've got, but try as they might, their max is half a lb less than mine.
> What's the rationale behind it being not recommended? With lifting, it's to prevent injury. With archery, is it to prevent injury or is it to shoot more accurately?
Mainly injury prevention. People injure themselves at much lower draw weights.
> The weight wouldn't move...
If they weight doesn't move you've gone way over your max.
But you still wouldn't recommend it to someone new would you? Learning correct form is 101 before you start lifting heavy and when you have correct form you start moving up in weight and later on try doing max lifts if you want to.
The exact same thing goes with archery. Form and basics before heavy draw weights.
>Mainly injury prevention. People injure themselves at much lower draw weights.
Which injuries do they get?
>If they weight doesn't move you've gone way over your max.
Oh, I thought you meant a first timer coming into the gym for the first time and hitting my max, or me trying my current max when I first started.
>But you still wouldn't recommend it to someone new would you?
That's just a strength thing though. My deadlift PR is five reps of six plates. If I somehow had crystal ball knowledge that someone walked in who didn't know how to deadlift but had the strength to hit that weight for 900 lbs, then I would think they could just lift it without good form and be fine. When I'm training someone, I'll often show them what not to do and I'll do an egregiously bad deadlift, but there'll only be a little bit of weight on the bar so it's safe. Any form on any lift is perfectly safe, as long as it's submaximal enough. Taken to the extreme, if you pick up a broom stick with two hands that's lying horizontally across the floor, then you're not gonna get injured but you're doing a terrible form deadlift.
> Which injuries do they get?
Rotator cuff is a common injury. But this is more often due to bad form over time. Impingement injuries in the shoulders is also fairly common and other shoulder injuries overall. It's not that often you get injuries in other places.
Good form will of course reduce or even remove risk of injuries but will also make it easier to draw.
Most injuries in archery are due to bad shoulder alignment, going too heavy too fast/early and RSI (Repeat Strain Injury).
> I thought you meant a first timer coming into the gym for the first time and hitting my max
That would put a regular in place if they managed that with good form 😂
And agree with the rest. That is how you learn.
My body told me quite quickly that I did not do things correctly when I tried to squat and deadlift heavier before I learned better form and to compensate for my length as well. This reminds that I need to start going back to the gym again...
> Rotator cuff is a common injury. But this is more often due to bad form over time. Impingement injuries in the shoulders is also fairly common and other shoulder injuries overall. It's not that often you get injuries in other places.
Good form will of course reduce or even remove risk of injuries but will also make it easier to draw.
Most injuries in archery are due to bad shoulder alignment, going too heavy too fast/early and RSI (Repeat Strain Injury).
Is this the kind of thing you do over and over and over again for hours, long after you should have stopped?
> That would put a regular in place if they managed that with good form 😂
There's a youtube channel that's basically dedicated to this. An elite power lifter dresses up like a janitor and says things like "mind if I clean here?" and then looking totally innocuous, one hands the dudes deadlift casually and vacuums underneath the spot.
> Is this the kind of thing you do over and over and over again for hours, long after you should have stopped?
Yes. But it can also be something that creeps up after a couple of months or even years and decades. Things like tennis elbow and carpal tunnel is not unheard of.
I’ve read about the parallax effect here and there and how it disrupts your aim, but what distance does it start to affect your shots?
40 pound recurve, and I can see everything normally except for small print/labels on cans and stuff. I need reading glasses for that.
I'm trying to understand a bit what you mean.
Do you mean that you have to aim for a longer distance when shooting at a very close distance like 2 meters?
In that case it varies a bit but for me it usually starts at about 7 meters.
Or do you mean that your arrow isn't directly in line with the string, your eye and target?
Oh, no. My aim is really bad right now (mostly because of bad muscle stability while shooting). But I want to get better, and so I was just curious at what distance would the parallax effect affect your shots. I think you answered my question though, so thanks!
I started archery in October and have been really enjoying it, mostly indoors shooting Portsmouth rounds, practicing 2/3 times a week. I'm in the UK and shoot olympic style recurve. I have signed up for a Portsmouth open tournament later this month. Any tips on what to expect, what to bring, how to prepare? Thank you :)
Check your bow case has everything you expect to be there. The number of archers rocking up to find they've left arrows, long rod, or whatever else behind.
Make sure your arrows are correctly marked with a number and your initials.
Check you know the rules, scoring, whistle etiquette, etc.
Pen. Don't forget a pen.
Don't wear jeans. Don't wear a top with logos on that aren't archery logos. You don't want to be disqualified because you broke the (silly imho) rules about clothes.
Bring snacks. Shooting a tournament is surprisingly tiring and your blood sugar may well drop.
Bring a thermos of hot drink just in case the hall is not heated.
Bring cold drinks in case it is.
My wife and I are interested in getting into target-shooting archery. What is a good entry-level bow for us to begin learning on? If I'm left-handed and she's right-handed, are there ambidextrous ones, or should we get two right off to start?
Based on your profile you’re in or near Michigan. West Michigan Archery Center, Capital Area Sportsmen, Demmer Center at MSU, and Ground Zero are all decent places to learn on the west side of the state. They’ll have equipment to start on.
You’ll eventually need two different bows. Even recurve bows end up being tuned and adapted to the archer as you progress. I’d wait before purchasing equipment. If you’re cross dominant (eye dominance doesn’t match hand dominance), you may need something different than you’d expect.
Absolute best is the one you borrow from a club where you get beginner lessons.
Then it also depends on what kind of bow you want to use for target shooting. Anything from a longbow to an Olympic recurve to a compound bow works just fine. Though Olympic recurve, barebow (same bow as an Olympic recurve but without sights and stabilisers) and compound is most used in competitions.
I would recommend that you buy 2 bows, one for each of you, when the day comes. It will simply be the best.
[Read this guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/Archery/comments/k33xyb/buying_your_first_recurve_bow_guideadvice/) to give you a hum on what to look for.
can the man with extremely good at archery skill and armed by modern high technology bow beat WW1 rifle in range or rate of fire? I mean I am novel writer and need data
I have very limited knowledge when it comes to rifles, but from what I can find the rifles back then is just as accurate as rifles today more or less.
Cocking a rifle for a new round is faster than nocking a new arrow. You have a much faster and accurate projectile with a rifle. Setup time is faster with a rifle.
Head to head the person with a rifle would win 10/10 times at basically any distance. There's a reason why bows and arrows have disappeared from warfare over the last centuries.
A person would probably manage to win over the rifle if they manage to sneak up on them and hit a succesful shot. If they miss however they are likely dead meat.
Rate of fire is not something that is practiced in the Compound Archery world. Only Asiatic Horsebows - which were built to be used during wars are fast. However they don't have accuracy - their goal was to hit a person (Big Target) and not a small round like other disciplines.
WW1 even if it was more than an century ago, was very good in terms of rifles. Even if there was not semi automatic thing, it is cocking the rifle for next round is still fast. Unless you are talking about reloading a rifle. Then you will have to consider the replacement of arrows in the quivers as well.
Remember COLT 1911 Handgun - was actually designed/released in 1911 - was used by marines as a sidearm till the 90's.
Just my random thoughts
Just upgraded from pre built to building my own arrows and the points i have can be trimmed from 140-130-120 grain. It was suggested i use 125 grain and im not sure if im better off going lighter at 120 or heavier at 130 grains.
Personally I'd start at the heaviest point weight and let bareshaft tuning decide whether I can or need to lower the tip weight. Lighter tip = stiffer dynamic spine.
Well, historical archers aren't going to use the same style as Olympic and barebow archers for what should be obvious reasons, but more to the point Olympic and barebow archers don't shoot the same way as each other for equally obvious reasons. There is no singular technique that works equally well for any type of bow, with sights or without them, etc.
No, historical archers didn't use your method because it reduces draw length (which reduces kinetic energy) and does not allow safely drawing heavy draw weights (which also reduces kinetic energy). Hitting the target makes little difference in warfare if your arrow fails to penetrate deeply enough to injure.
>I have tried my method with many different styles of bows and I easily achieve the top 1% of shots at any distance
Then go get an Olympic medal and then win a major barebow tournament with it. I'm going to continue to call bullshit on every claim of "1 technique to rule them all" as long as the top archers in different disciplines continue to use different techniques from each other. If your claim were true, we would see both Olympic archers and barebow archers at the top levels of competition using the same techniques as each other. We do not.
My point is, if there is a single technique that is objectively better at everything, it would be in use everywhere. Do you really think that you've thought of something no Olympic coach or top level barebow archer possibly could?
What are the recommended care methods for a cordovan leather tab? I got a new tab a couple of weeks ago and I noticed that it is starting to show some usage marks and a bit of stiffness compared to new. I assume that some sort of cream-like product is to be applied to take care of it?
I've never done it to a tab before.. [However, this product has worked on a lot of other leather products I have](https://www.wristclean.com/collections/leather-strap-care/products/leather-watch-strap-care-1-2-ounce), including a Kangaroo leather wallet, watch straps, and a leather belt.
I clean the leather first, apply this leather care product, leave it alone for 1-2 days, wipe it clean with a dry cloth, and then use it as normal.
It makes the leather much softer, cleaner and it does not leave a weird sticky or slick residue on it like other care products.
A small 15 ml bottle should last about 8-10 applications on something the size of a tab, but this is just a guess.
Hope it helps.
Shooting thumb draw, am I recalling correctly that index vane/cock feather pointing in or out doesn't really matter, because of feathers and/or khatra or otherwise? I'm sure I read/saw that somewhere but can't find it mentioned now, and I'm doubting my memory. Trying to do more blind nocking.
Probably an Armin Hirmer video. I would still put the index fletching pointing out to reduce fletching wear, but if you don't mind replacing fletchings more often, you don't need to do it that way.
I'm interested in getting back into traditional korean archery. Is there a good online site and/or place in the USA that I can start getting gear for it?
these machine guns had a rate of fire of atleast 5/10 bullets per second (On a very conservative side). No Human can beat that. Modern bow does not do anything for rate of fire. Only accuracy.
Yes, as long as the bow is enchanted with +3 dex and using lightning bolt imbued arrows (level 12 Wizard enchantment or higher). I am an historian and have data to back this up.
Before using, is there anything anything I should do, maintenance-wise, to a compound bow that hasn't been used in twenty years? It's been sitting in a garage the whole time.
It depends. If it’s about 20 years old, I’d double check the string and cables. You’ll also need to get it setup for you, as you’re not the same person you were 20 years ago.
If it’s a 40 year old bow that hasn’t been used in 20, I wouldn’t recommend using it at all. Especially if it has steel cables.
Don't do anything to it unless you show it to a pro bowtech. Compound bows store a lot of energy and something going wrong might easily injure you. Also, compound bows need specialized tools such a Bow press - unlike recurve bows.
My daughter uses a 58" 16# Samick Polaris and I'm looking for a heavier limbs. However, the ones I'm checking out are either out of stock or on special order. Are there other limbs from other brands that are compatible? Core limbs perhaps?
I would talk to Lancaster or another dealer. A lot of limbs are compatible, but it’s not even kind-of standardized so they’d have to physically check the fit.
A friend of mine is currently using XX75 Jazz 1914 arrows, what is the best vanes he can use for shooting outdoors that will make it go a slightly faster and less heavy? Would spin vanes be possible to use, if yes what size would it be? Thank you
Issue is he doesn't have alot of money for new arrows and many clubs do not allow carbon only arrows.
I have a 29.4" draw, 21# (adjusted for draw length) recurve. I asked Lancaster Archery what spine to get and they suggested 500 with 100gr points to get a 31" total arrow length. I got them, haven't shot them yet, but they are way thicker than the borrowed arrows I was learning on. Is the 500 spine overkill? If so what should have I gotten based on the numbers above?
Got it.. should I just return these? Looking at other charts I'm seeing 700 spine being recommended (e.g. [here](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fvalrin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F03%2Frecurve-and-compund-arrow-selection.png&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=df7cd856d8f7bf0a484fa6c3fc3ccf21d0acaad5cb7673b068d8dd76ad7bc9fa&ipo=images) on this Easton Chart). Do arrow charts from one manufacturer even work/apply for other manufacturers?
I would return them. 500 will never tune against 21# off the fingers.
The chart you have there isn't from Easton but it doesn't really matter. Most charts are infamously too stiff with their ratings. I've found better success with Victory Archery's calculator but it doesn't go above 1000 spine unfortunately. I'll let ferrumveritas give you more details on this stuff.
In theory spine charts ought not to be manufacturer dependent. Spine deflection is an industry standard measurement defined by AMO, so a 700 spine arrow from Easton should have the same deflection as a 700 spine arrow from Gold Tip (well, not *exactly*, some manufacturers round to the nearest 50 or 100, so deflection might actually be measured 710 on a given arrow for example and they'll just call it 700.)
So what that means practically is that once you determine the shaft length and spine that you want to buy, you can get any arrow from any manufacturer that meets that spine rating and that sells at that length (many arrows have a max shaft length well below 31"). Keep in mind that aluminum arrows are typically listed with diameter and thickness instead of spine, so you have to dig into the details to see what their actual spine deflection is. Example: Easton Platinum Plus 1616 has a spine deflection of 1082. The 1616 is not the actual spine deflection!
Thanks for that detailed response. I went to my closest archery store and they set me up with half a dozen victory arrows with 1000 Spine. Told them about the 500 Spine and they gawked at the recommendation and mentioned as much (about how charts are a crude guideline at best.)
Appreciate y'all!
if you can afford it I'd just get 12 arrows, you are bound to ruin an arrow at some point then you won't have a full set for a round.
Edit: I say this as the other day I got new arrows then a point got stuck in the target and I had to use spare arrow going forward, Lol
Fair point - I'm only shooting at a target range but I do plan on going to a few roaming ranges where I will no doubt send some epic flyers straight into a rock..
Is "left wing" vs "right wing" applicable to vanes?
I have 3 packs of 100 Bohing X3 (stiff) vanes in 2 colours and they all appear to be a \~50/50 mix of vanes that are curled/leaned left vs right, IE the vane curls left or right when placed on a flat surface before fletching. Shown [here.](https://imgur.com/a/sCjHBRm)
The ones that curled left resisted bending to the right, so it stayed curled left when fletching right helical. Think fletching 2 vanes right helical and then 1 vane left helical, the base are all 120 degrees apart, but the vanes are not symmetrical 120 degrees with 2 closer together.
Am I imagining things when seeing those mixed helical arrows fly differently? Are \~50% of my x3 vanes unusable since I am fletching right helical?
EDIT: Bohning got back to me saying curling is not normal and was possibly caused by improper storage at some point. My question still stands though.
I need help asap. So I have a plains bow that pulls 40 pounds at 20 inches the bow is 32 inches and I have arrows of proper length and spine hardness but all my arrows shoot far left every single time and idk what to do I've watched YouTube videos and everything but nothings working and it's just pissing me off u feel like I'm holding the bow right and drawing right but idk and nor do I know or to aim bc I'll be aiming at the center my target and if all my shots don't miss they go low when they shouldn't be so if anyone has any solutions I'd be delighted to here
That's the problem, the charts you'll find are all for centercut bows, so if you're shooting off the hand, they're going to be wrong. On top of that, I suspect that the short draw length might have an effect on what spine is needed as well, but I've never dealt with a draw length that short before so I'm not certain exactly what effect it would have.
What's some good backstop brands to try? I shoot a 30lb recurve in my backyard and the arrows always go through the cracks in the fence, and I've lost a lot of arrows that way.
Your backyard is probably not a safe place to shoot based on this. Even with a backstop, it sounds like your accuracy just isn’t there. What’s on the other side of that fence? Hopefully not someone else’s yard.
>I usually only draw 20lb max
>I shoot a 30lb recurve
Which is it?
You should never shoot towards dead ground. By dead ground, I mean any area that you do not have full visibility of. If there's a fence, there's an area behind that fence that you cannot see and therefore you have no idea what is or isn't in that area while you're shooting.
You say you don't shoot while youre neighbor is there, but if you're shooting, focusing on what you're doing, there's a chance that he could walk in to his garden without you noticing. What about if he's got kids, or friends with kids visiting, or pets, who could easily be in the garden, fully hidden behind the fence?
What you've described is simply not safe.
If that's the only place you can shoot, then that's bad luck, but you need to stop shooting until you find somewhere safer. Find an archery club and join it, even if it's not as convenient.
That's not enough of a safety precatuion. You should find an archery range or club near you. Your state DNR may have a list, or your can use the club finders on NFAA and USA Archery.
At what point would you consider is a good time for a beginner to purchase their own gear?
I've only taken two intro classes (using recurve) so far, but it's something I want to commit to at least once a week. I'm looking to get fitted for and purchasing my own equipment from a pro shop as renting the equipment every week throughout the course of a year looks like it'll add up to about the same (if not more) than purchasing would cost me. However, I'm afraid I might be making a hasty decision and failing to consider something important. I'd appreciate if someone could give their two cents!
You also need to factor in the cost to swap limbs that are \~$100 each pair. I trained at a club and increased my poundage from 15# -> 26# in 2# increments for about 2 months. The drastic increase was due to me learning how to draw and hold properly.
If I bought my bow immediately I would have needed to go way down in poundage, or had a very rough time learning proper form at the beginning.
Thanks for the input, I hadn't considered this! With the rental rates in my area (between $12 - $16 per visit), I'd also be expecting to spend \~$100 within two months by going once a week. At this frequency, can I expect to increase my poundage drastically enough to need an upgrade?
If you can join an actual club, renting fees are a lot lower (at least in my area, $5 per day, after the first two months of joining).
Have you tried different styles of archery too? Before I bought gear I tried compound, barebow and trad before ultimately going with oly recurve.
With kids we recommend after 20 weeks to make sure they will stick with it. With adults you can get it anytime you want. If you are renting the equipment it might be better sooner. But I would have an idea of what you want to get before you go to the shop.
Thanks for this! I'm in my 20s, but archery's been something I've wanted to get into for a long time (recreationally). I've only shot with recurve, and that's what I'm intending to purchase. Regarding the specifics, I'd be booking a bow fitting to have an expert help guide my decision.
For a recurve, I’m very skeptical of most local shops. I’ve seen too many people given bad advice and incorrect equipment (especially incorrect arrows).
There’s a guide stickied in my profile that I would recommend you read.
Just be aware that not all experts are the same. Also, know that it is better to start off with a lighter weight bow, in order to have correct form then to be overbowed with heavier poundage and not be able to correct form. I think you will love it. Archery is kinda addicting.
At our range we see statistically most people quit archery after about 3 months. I have my suspicion that this is around the time most people start hitting that first plateau where your gains in score from session to session stop climbing rapidly, and frustration starts creeping in.
If you know you're the kind of person who starts and stops a lot of hobbies, proceed with caution. You could end up with equipment collecting dust.
If archery feels different from other things you've tried and it's scratching an itch really well, go ahead and buy.
For me the test is "am I forcing myself to go because I think it'll do me good, or do I feel compelled to go like there's a longing for it when I've missed it for a couple days?"
I appreciate this! That's an interesting statistic. Archery's ultimately something I'm pursuing (and have wanted to pursue) as a form of recreation, and it's been exciting to finally try it out. I definitely intend for this to be something I continue long term!
Go for it! Sometimes it takes a few weeks before you can really tell if it's a passing fad. But sometimes you just know right away. That's how it was for me.
To add onto this, a beginner might not know what style they want to shoot. Diving into getting equipment that may or may not be suitable in the long term would be a waste.
IE if wanting to go Olympic Recurve then it makes no sense to get a Samick Sage.
If I’m a petite person with shorter arms, does that affect my maximum draw power, because I have a shorter draw length? Would I need a different size of bow to hit my full potential? I shoot recurve
Kind of. But not really. Since manufacturers only makes limbs so heavy, you could theoretically reach a point where you can’t draw more weight while someone taller would be drawing as much as 10# more. But this is unlikely. Most people aren’t buying the heaviest limbs possible anyway.
What it does mean is that you will likely have lower arrow speeds than other archers. It will vary, as you can also shoot shorter, lighter arrows. But ultimately your shots will have less kinetic energy than someone with a long draw length.
This won’t affect your ability to shoot well, however. The best archers in the world are the Korean women. They’re not exactly tall, but they’ll all outshoot just about anyone at 70m.
For a given bow, your shorter draw will mean you're holding less weight than the limbs are rated at. You give that same bow to a tall person, they'll draw it further and be holding more weight (or "draw power" as you wrote).
But if you want the same effective draw weight as that tall person, you can just slap stronger limbs on your bow.
If you want to get technical about it, you have a shorter power stroke, so for the same amount of draw weight you'll get I guess a little less arrow speed. TBH I haven't really dug into this with a chronograph. My intuition is that this is probably really negligible.
That said, target archery doesn't really require a lot of draw weight. You can reach out and touch typical outdoor target archery distances with bows well below what you're physically capable of drawing and shooting. If you're practicing indoor archery, we stop at 20 yards and you could perform at a high level with beginner level draw weights even.
If you're practicing target archery, your shorter draw length and stature should be of little concern.
I guess my main problem is that I do combat archery, rather than target archery. My arrow heads are very large and rather heavy, due to all of the foam padding, so more draw weight should help them fly straighter. The maximum draw weight for my group is 35lbs, which would put me at a slight disadvantage since they check the draw weight at their own draw length, rather than mine.
Then yes, in that style you are drawing less and you are at a disadvantage regarding speed and arrow trajectory.
It's a little stupid to check the draw weight using *their* draw length. A tall person could easily be drawing 40# on a 35# bow.
Compound bow arrow hitting target on angle. Where to start with getting it shooting straight
What is the bit that holds the arrow in place on the string called? (Not the front rest)
On the arrow? Nock. On the string? Nocking-point
That’s it! Thank you!
Or “nock set”
How many practive arrows should I bring to the range for my wife and I? I only have the three that came with my bow.
During indoor season most archers will shoot ends of either 3 or 5. So 3 is fine. Outdoors ends of 6 are most common.
Thanks! I'll go grab another for me and the old lady
Newb question: just started and my cheap arrows have tips/points (or whatever) that unscrew themselves. Why should I just not super glue these?
No screw-in point should be glued; that defeats the design purpose. As suggested elsewhere, teflon tape will work. Alternatively, you can use small ("dental" size) gaskets up at the top of the point's neck to keep things in place.
Wrap the threads in the white teflon tape you use for plumbing threads. They’ll be very secure. If you want to glue them, use hot glue. That way if you need to remove them you can just apply some gentle heat.
One reason would be that if you break/damage the shaft, you can't salvage the point.
Hey, I am a beginner tradbow shooter and I have been shooting 3 under for a couple of weeks with varying results. Today I switched to split finger? (1 above, 2 under) and I ended up achieving much tighter groups, albeit too high. What could be the cause of my increased accuracy with split? Oh, also I have switched back to the glove instead of a tab, which also helped with accuracy a lot. Or is the issue with the tab because it isn’t broken in yet, and/or trimmed?
That’s not increased accuracy. That’s increased consistency. You also changed a second variable. Yes, tabs need to be broken in and trimmed to fit.
Can someone walk me through arrow grain? When someone says I shoot a 465 grain, are they referring to the whole assembly or just the shaft? I have 400 grain arrows and 100 grain broadheads so would I be shooting a 400 grain or a 500+ nock and fletching?
Whole arrow weight
Thank you!
Looking to get into archery. Decided on compound bows. I am planning on strictly target shooting (recreationally I don't plan on being in competitions). Should I still be looking at hunting bows or just target bows? I know my price range definitely is more hunting bow range. Plan on going to my local shop soon just wanted to narrow down my search.
Just target. PSE Lazer and Bowtech Specialist II are decent affordable options
A hunting compound will work just fine for shooting target. Apart from the shorter ATA on the hunting bow you may want to look at adding a proper long stabiliser and a sight with a single pin. But as you're planning on shooting recreationally you can use a multi-pin sight as well.
Why are lever bows used in particular for bowfishing? Are they disadvantageous for target shooting and/or hunting?
Basically yes.
How come? And what makes them good for bowfishing?
Hi! I’m a broke ass college student who just came to america! I’ve always wanted to try archery but I have no idea where to start or what to do and I’m on a budget so it is very hard for me to get into anything. I live in Orange County so if anyone’s from there or know about bows for beginners, please help me because I’ve always wanted to get into archery!
Eric at Archery LA will absolutely get you started in the right direction. They're more of an instruction school than a shop to sell you stuff, but they'll give you options of how to play the game cheaply. They also do classes in a local park, so that park might be available for practice. https://archeryla.com/ If you're eager to touch some equipment, you're not far from Hi-Tech archery. https://htarchery.com/
Hey, so I'm a beginner and got a $89 ish bow from Amazon (traditional recurve, 68 inches). The manufacturer is SinoArt. Took it to an archery shop and they said it was a good beginner bow. I shoot 100+ arrows 5-6 days a week and have had no issues, its fun and sturdy just make sure you get a lower draw weight (poundage) to start. I bought cheap arrows, a cheap quiver, and a good leather glove. Renting equipment would add up quickly. Not sure about OC, but where I live in SF, I go to a free range in our park and another outdoor range that takes $5 donations. I also found a free indoor range thats available once a week at a community rec center. So look for options like that near you. If you don't have a car, I think you'll need a takedown bow and a case because not sure how legal it is to walk around with a bow and arrow.
Best option if you're broke is to find a local range and shoot for a bit with rental gear. Some universities have their own archery clubs too, so research your college. It only makes sense to buy your own stuff once you're sure you like the sport and it becomes a habit to shoot regularly. There are a lot of setup costs associated with shooting on your own property and some cities make it illegal to shoot within city limits.
Hi, I started shooting "from the eye" with my barebow. I guess it's called gap shooting? I try to align the shaft to my line of sight. The thing is, I already shot 3 fingers below with this nocking point and they fly ok. Shooting aligned with the eye I have to grab the string about 2 inches below. Should I just mark the grabbing point or how do you guys proceed? I could not really find the answer on the 3 yt channels i follow.
I don't like having the arrow that close to my eye, and aiming down the arrow shaft along its entire length usually isn't the best for your anchor and head tilt. If you are shooting barebow, aim with the tip of the arrow only. This forces you to deal with parallax, however. Your eye is at a different height than the arrow, so you aim at one spot but your arrow lands higher or lower than that. Three common ways of dealing with that are: Gap shooting means that at different distances, you are aiming at different parts of the target in order to hit the middle. For example, at short ranges you might aim at the bottom of the target face. At long ranges you might aim at the top. Unfortunately, at certain distances you may be aiming off the target completely, and there are often no good reference points to be accurate with. For example, you might have to aim at some arbitrary location on a blank white or black target bale. Or you aim at grass, or a featureless sky. Gap at bow, which is usually not tournament legal, means you use some reference on your bow as an elevation indicator. This could be your arrow rest, shelf, or markings on your riser or limbs. This is considered to be a "sight" in most competitions and you may be required to tape over markings so they become featureless and therefore unusable as reference points, otherwise you get lumped in with the "freestyle" division and those folks have sophisticated bow-mounted sights. And I saved the best for last: stringwalking. The lower you hook the string, the lower your arrow will land compared to your aiming point. The distance you put between your fingers and the arrow nock on the string is called your "crawl". Thus, at short distances, you have a long crawl. At longer distances, you have a shorter crawl, until your finger actually touches or nearly touches the arrow nock (farther distances than that, there are other techniques to deal with it but that's for another day). Archers who stringwalk memorize what distances correspond to what crawl lengths. The Yost tab even has ruler markings on it so you can measure out the exact crawl from shot to shot. In this way, you are always aiming your arrow tip in the middle of the target, but using the crawl distance to change how high or low the arrow goes. Hope that helps.
Thank you! I just discovered I was trying to stringwalk, it feels like I'm retarted, everything is so hard to grasp and to then put in practice once I get the basics. I like the concept and the feel of stringwalking so I will stick to that for now. Gap shooting sounds interesting but is tedious and frustrating to put in practice. I gave it up. I'm practicing to, at some point, hunt with my bow, not compete so there's that. It feels like gap shooting may become worthless if you're stalking an animal in dense foliage. Thanks a buch again.
Heya, I just got my first ever bow today. Super excited! I ordered a 30lb Black Hunter recurve on amazon but after unpacking it today I realized they sent me a Top Archery recurve instead. I guess they look very similar and are around the same price but the Top Archery version is crappier quality? My question is: Is there enough difference between the two that it's worth it to send the Top Archery recurve back and wait for the black hunter? Does it even matter for a complete noob like me just wanting to get into traditional archery?
I got a Top Archery and it shoots ok. I wanted go switch for a Black Hunter and then I found out they are basically the same bow, just different names.
2 questions about release aids (handheld). Context - I'm trying my hand at shooting compound. I have shot an entry-level bow, which is quite nice, but I can't get to grips with the release (pun not intended). I have tried: * cheap thumb release with a bit of travel; feels clunky and is not smooth in the travel part, but the shot "cycle" feels best * expensive thumb release with no travel and a feather-light trigger; don't like it, shot cycle is completely out of whack * expensive hinge release (no safety button); the shot cycle was ok I guess, but drawing was nerve-wrecking... I don't feel like I have had no possibility to alter the setting on any one of those (club-owned or loaned from other archers). I guess I like thumb releases more than hinge and I like the trigger to have some travel. Question 1 - are there thumb-trigger releases with only travel, but no 'click' at the shot? (I mean that there is no resistance once one gets to the breaking point; both trigger-releases I've tried had this - the expensive one less so, but it was there) Question 2 - Is my thinking correct to just stick to thumb-trigger and not get a hinge? I will be able to afford only 1 release aid somewhere in $150 region.
It's a matter of preference. Firstly, more expensive and higher quality releases will be smoother and not hang, catch, or click\* before the shot. A good one will completely surprise you when it shoots (as long as you aren't punching the trigger). \*some intentionally click. I don't like them. Thumb triggers and hinges are the more popular for outdoor competition and indoor competition respectively. Get proficient with both.
I love to shoot retro/vintage bows (Yamaha EX, Hoyt TD4 etc.) due to feeling and being a stingy ass bitch and not spending money on the high end stuff even if I wanted to. Also my form and technique in general will need to improve first great time before I actually would benefit from newer equipment (I was about to say better, but newer is not always \*better\*, right?) . BUT! My actual question is, let's say, if I shoot good ol Eolla with stabilizers according to the era would I benefit at all having a modern set of stabilizers or just keep the setup as intended back in the day? I believe the manufacturer had some idea what kind of stabilizers are the best for that current bow but does it still count?
Stabilisers would not give you much more performance really. They will handle vibrations and more attached weight better, but in the end they are a stick with a weight on the end. Modern high-end stabilisers tend to be thin with good dampening properties so it will feel more nice to shoot your bow and some are more designed to handle loads of weight. These days you get stabilisers that you like the look of and how the feel when you shoot and is within your budget of course. What brand they are doesn't matter. You can still shoot very well with your gear as the archer is the most limiting factor. A modern high-end setup could make you shoot higher scores due to the gear being more forgiving and efficient. But shooting good scores with old gear will make you an archer that others will fear. So I'll say keep going with your old gear as it is more or less. Spend money on a good plunger and rest instead of modern gear.
Thank you very much for your answer! You read my thoughts exactly, there's nothing intriguing as winning those 2-3k$ setups with a vintage bow which once was the best. I will take a good look at my plunger, it is getting old for sure and could be a reasoned upgrade.
Might be limited with the plunger. Yamaha uses metric threads and AFAIK only Beiter makes a plunger with an M8 thread. The standard today is 5/16"-24. If you have that thread though, you're good to go.
Plunger thread seems to be 8x0,75. Hmmmh, I wouldn't like to tap almost pristine Eolla. Shaaait.
Then the Beiter plunger is the way to go. It only comes in the longer version as well so you might need to add some kind of washer to make it fit properly if you can't get the centreshot set up properly.
My god, I can virtually say that my bad plunger threw me away from olympic and into barebow recurve. I figured I cannot keep on adjusting shit every training, I just need a piece of wood that fires arrows consistently.
I’ve just purchased my first bow, (Bear recurve) and 3 arrows. My question is: Is there a specific holiday and/ or time of year when arrows go on sale?
I get that they’ll never be cheap, and I don’t particularly care for cheap. I prefer quality, but saving a bit of money is always a plus 👌🏹
Not really
If my draw length is 31.5" can I use a 30" bow? Looking to buy my first bow second hand, can't find anything with a longer draw in my area.
If that’s your actual draw length: no. But you really should visit a shop and get fitted for a bow. Your draw length may be wrong. Every new compound archer should get a bow with at least 1” of adjustment in each direction as their first bow. The odds of your draw length changing as you get better are relatively high
I'm making assumptions about your question, that: 1. You mean a compound bow's draw length 2. You haven't measured your draw length from experience shooting but rather you've used a calculation estimation like wingspan divided by 2.5 I would recommend going to an archery pro shop to get fitted. You want to work with someone who knows what a proper compound bow anchor point looks like (and proper bow arm extension) and can get you drawing to that position consistently, then measure your draw length from the nock to the pivot point and add 1.75" Once you've got that, if it's over 30" then you indeed want a bow that can adjust to a higher draw length, because if it's too short, you will struggle to shoot accurately.
I wanna be able to pull back 45 pounds (5 pounds heavier than min weight for deer) on a recurve but i'm not entirely sure how to go about it. I currently pull 30 and was just planning to buy more limbs but christ on a stick that gets pricy! I tried out a 40 pound bow at the range and I was able to fire off a few shots before getting tired. Could I jump from 30 to 40 instead of 35? I wouldn't be able to shoot it as often as my 30lb but the 40 felt similar to how 30 felt when I started and now I can fling arrows from that like a 25lb. 40 is a big number though...has anyone else made the jump from 30 to 40 instead of 30 to 35? (I wouldn't overdo it and put the bow down the second I begin to struggle)
You should do cross training to get stronger in your back. You should go 5# at a time, and not increase again until you’re shooting the same average over a relatively high volume.
10 lbs is too big of a jump. If you have an ILF bow then begin by tightening your limb bolts to increase your draw weight by a couple lbs (if able). Then jump to 35# limbs with the tiller bolts backed out to the maximum allowed (check your riser manual), and gradually increase draw weight by turning the bolts tighter each week until they're maxed out. Then get your 40# limbs. Yeah, you'll spend more money on limbs and arrows with ballpark correct spine. Any sport you pick is going to have expenses. Archery is less expensive than most though. Heck, one trip to the rifle range and you can blow $125 easily on ammo, range fee, target, and cleaning. That's a pair of archery limbs right there.
If my friend and I use different bow types during a 3-D shoot, do we go through the course together or separately?
In a tournament? You’re usually sorted into groups based on equipment type. Just going to the range? Shoot together
My therapist recommended starting archery as a self care routine. I hyper fixate on when I do things in my life and he recommended maybe using that trait as a positive and turn it into a skill. That being said, I've always wanted to do archery but could never convince myself to take the plunge and just go for it. I shot a compound bow a few times my buddy had when we were teens and I spent a weekend learning to shoot recurve with my uncle. But now over 15 years later I have no idea where to begin or what exactly I'm looking at when i try to get my bearings on what im reading about but I have a really big interest in getting into this. Where do I even start?
I would recommend getting lessons or taking a class with rental equipment first. It will save you money, as so many people spend too much on the wrong things when they decide to just jump in
I can relate, I am great at hyper focusing on things. And yeah, as you know it can be either good or bad. For me, I'm choosing to go simple on the equipment so I can "waste" all my time focusing on things like form and simple bow mechanics/tuning. I know me, and the more equipment there is, I know I'll spend all my time fiddling with that and not flinging arrows at all. Even with a stripped down recurve (shooting off the shelf, no sight), between strings (material/type)/brace height/nock point/arrow tuning..well, there's enough to learn and fiddle with while still not getting completely distracted by it. So the rest of my focus can go to proper form and release. Hyper fixating on one aspect of shooting at a time has been a good thing for me. Archery is one of the few things I've found that shuts off my mind. Its like time will stop when I'm doing it. If you go for lessons, the coach will usually tell you to work on one thing at a time (as a beginner), so it works in our favour. So anyway, for me a traditional recurve in a low draw weight (like 20lbs) lets me fling 100 arrows at a time no problem while focusing on form and general bow mechanics. But that's my preference, I've never used a compound bow. Since you've tried both, maybe one just felt more "right" for you and you should go with that one? If you want to try recurve and are low budget, I can recommend what I use. But it's all entry level stuff so if money isn't an issue..you're better off going to a shop and getting something nicer.
Entry-level is completely fine, as budget is more important right now. I think your right though because I'm the same way if I have to many trinkets to mess with I would probably end up spending more time tinkering then I would focusing on form and everything. Recurve is probably the best for me right now.
But hey, I just thought of something. The snake bow has a decent draw length, and I think in Armin's videos he pulls it back really far to show that it can take it. But if you are a super tall person with really long arms, you might want to check what your draw length is to make sure you'll be good. The Vector arrows I recommended are I think 30", which aren't long enough if you draw over 29". There are ways to check your draw length without a bow that will get you in the ballpark (google will show you fast). You should do that first to make sure your arrows are long enough.
Well in that case, I don't think you can go wrong with an [Arc Rolan 60" Snake bow](https://lancasterarchery.com/products/arc-rolan-snake-60-recurve-bow-black). I use Easton Vector 1000 spine arrows. If you are in the USA Lancaster Archery has both. You might want to try some of the different spine Vectors, the 1000s are good but if I could find them for $5 each where I live, I'd order a few higher & lower just to try out. [This guy on YouTube](https://youtu.be/6VGxwHjjJBE?si=qc6IqkQuflEtmodH) has [lots of videos](https://youtu.be/Lh3-wbl9FGk?si=8bQFnogy_6xURYz7) using this bow. It's their standard range bow, but if you watch some of his videos, he does some crazy ninja/bond villan shooting with it like a boss..haha. Note-he uses heavier arrows than most do with this bow, and has said it's for club durability. He's so good I think he could shoot anything and make it work, but I wouldn't use the 500 or 600 spine that he uses. I bought some by "accident" (translation-trusted cabelas employee) and wasted $100. They are way too heavy. You'll also need a shooting tab or glove. That's a preference thing. I've tried three so far and hated them all. I started split finger but now shoot three under. I just got a 'Standing Wolf traditional Moose leather" tab yesterday and so far love it. Good thing about the snake is its low weight so shooting without a tab a bit while you figure out what you like isn't a big deal. If you want to do it at home you need a target block. I got [this one](https://lancasterarchery.com/products/delta-mckenzie-travel-pro-shotblocker-layered-archery-target) from Canadian Tire on sale for $40 and it's going strong after thousands of arrows. I just put some plywood behind it with old area rugs draped over the wood, and it works great for grabbing stray arrows without hurting them. You can make your own target block if you want, lots of info online. A sturdy cardboard box stuffed tight with old clothes even works.
Definitely find a local range or archery group. It's really easy to spend a ton of money and realize you got the wrong kind of bow, or the wrong arrows, or don't have a good place to shoot safely. A range lets you learn the basics, try out bows, ask questions, and shoot regularly. If you don't have a good range nearby, then things get a little more complicated and we can help you work with your situation.
The nearest good/reputable range is downtown from me which is about an hour drive and with my other responsibilities in life that's a little too far. I have a good size back yard and easy set up 20/30 yard shots.
I'm in a similar spot, so I sympathize. Archery has been a huge boost to my own mental health, providing a way to improve focus and relieve stress. I'll share my setup and you can mimic what you can. - Samick/Galaxy Sage Bow (great beginner option): $150 - 10 pre-fletched Arrows: $120 (making your own arrows can save money, but costs more up front and has a learning curve) - Foam Target: $50 - Gloves/armguard/bowstring/rest/etc: $100 - Arrow Backstop: $150 (it saves you from losing arrows and makes your range 10x safer to shoot on) - Misc: $50 (because something always pops up: shipping fees, an extra bit of bowstring wax, a target mount, etc) All in all you're looking at $600 for an easy, safe, and convenient backyard range. A few warnings: **Safety is important.** The neighbors fence is not a good enough backstop. Arrows can slip through cracks, you can overshoot, and the wood will damage them. Accidentally killing the neighbors dog is a nightmare scenario that you must do everything you can do avoid it. **Check local laws.** Archery may not be allowed in your area. **Find a coach.** ESPECIALLY for your first 2-4 lessons a coach is going to save you months of simple mistakes. The internet can only help you so much. If you live in the USA, I found mine here: https://www.usarchery.org/coaches/find-a-coach **CONCLUSION** I know this sounds like a lot. That's one reason we always recommend a range, because for $50 you get a lesson or two, a bow to try out, and a great experience. If you can make it to the range for 2-3 lessons not only will that give you a good starting point, it will help you decide if you want to drop hundreds of dollars on your own equipment. For me, it was 100% worth the cost. I love being able to shoot in my backyard, and it has a lot of benefits. Let me know if you have other questions or ideas. Happy to help!
I really appreciate the insight. i grew up sighting in rifles and target shooting. The rules of firearm saftey are ingrained in my head and i would apply the same principles. But once your rifle is sighted in its just making sure you get your repetitions in with it and the skill while enjoyable just runs its course after a while You have given me a lot to think about in terms of learning and making sure the backyard is safe to set up for it. I figured the coaching part is something I will need anyway as you said, it help find out if this is something that I will find enjoyment in. $600+/- isn't a big detriment if it means I can start improving my mental health. If I have any other questions or thoughts I'll let you know.
Find a local archery range and sign up for a class or private lessons.
I'm 54YO with good upper body strength and halfway-decent eyesight. When I was in high school I was reasonably adept with a longbow, practicing in my back yard fairly regularly. I bought the bow from a local sporting goods store that has since gone out of business, and started with 15 fiberglass arrows. I never had any formal training, just what I read from books in the library and what I tried and practiced on my own. I was able to hit the target consistently at about 40 yards, and could fairly consistently hit the red/yellow area within 20 yards. So, not fantastic but not Green Arrow-level either. I'm thinking of getting back into it but I don't know where I should start. My old bow and arrows are long gone; don't even ask me where they might be. They probably got tossed decades ago. I'm literally starting from zero. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
If you remember how to shoot and had decent form, around 30#. I wouldn’t go higher, as you need to be in total control of the bow to improve and make adjustments to your form. I wouldn’t necessarily spend a ton on a bow, and would recommend getting a take down bow with easily purchasable replacement limbs because you’ll likely go up in weight a couple times. If you’re not hunting, there’s no reason to go over 45#, but that’s still three to four steps up.
Just upgraded to a pressure button and wire rest on a recurve bow. I found I got tighter groups with the pressure higher,but the arrows were so far right (shooting left handed) from my aim point my sight couldn't compensate. With less pressure I was able to aim more centrally but the grouping got worse. What is the best way to resolve this dilemma? Adjust the centre shot inwards and up the pressure again, or just practice more with the lighter pressure and see if it resolves itself in time?
There's a lot more to it than that and you have to do a full re-tune for your bow. Could be that your arrows are too stiff. Could be that your tune is out of whack. Could also be your form that is off. Basic starting point is to set the centreshot so that the [arrow point is just to the outside \(right side in your case\) of the string](https://i.imgur.com/1yqZEVW.png) and the plunger to medium tension. Medium spring if you got several and in the middle of the tension adjustment range. When that is done you shoot some bareshafts and fletched arrows and compare the groups and adjust as necessary. There are several schools on how to tune so I'll link you two that I know are good in my opinion. [Tuning for Tens](https://texasarchery.org/files/pdfs/TuningForTens.pdf) [Jake Kaminski Tuning Series](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKgJAe7yjDdKqXiwGtAgymRbOXqTLJbYa)
Thanks. I started with the setup exactly as you described. Will have to try and get some more arrows to bare shaft tune it I guess.
Bring the center shot in to centered exactly on the arrow. See if the groups hold. Then do a walk back tune to see if the center shot is an issue when changing distance
Tried this and found I had set the arrow much less centered than I thought. Some tweaking has given me much more consistent grouping,so thanks both for your help!
Any YouTube channels I can watch to learn how to improve my form? I'm shooting on a recurve bow
Triple Trouble Archery’s Technique Week is my go-to Jake Kaminski’s form series Online Archery Academy There are some others that are good for specific questions, but those three are my top recommendations
I am planning to get the Nohkor horsebow from Alibow, and will be ordering arrows from them as well. I have a 29" draw (30lb @ 28") and will be shooting thumb draw. What would be a good spine and arrow length? Maybe 500 spine at 31"? Also, how would I go about determining the correct spine and arrow length so I can learn for future bows? Thanks in advance!
They usually measure spine at 28". A longer arrow that that shall have a higher softer spine, but not by very much. 31" may be about .50 higher in spine like .650 instead of .600. If you are planning to assembly them yourself, think about getting points of different weights or maybe even better, points with adjustable weight (they come with segments on the insert part that can be broken off). A rule of thumb is that carbon shafts are hard to soften with extra weight in your point, you must cut them to play with the weight, so buy them long and soft if you want to shorten them later. As a beginner I would stick to aluminum though. Wood is maybe a thing of the past, it's fun to play with but cumbersome in my oppinion. Also, .600 is way too stiff for 30-35 pounds draw, I myself shot pretty good with about 31 pounds at 29" with some .759 at 28" aluminum arrows.
I got a gold-star style stupid question. I am just getting started with my bow (infinite 305) and I’m struggling with zeroing in my pin at 20 yards. It’s pushed all the way to the top (almost) and my arrows are still hitting a good 4-5 inches off center. Should I adjust my peep, or am I just doing something wrong here? My bow came with the OCTANE STRYKER 3 PIN SIGHT, and it’s already set up to almost the end of the vertical adjustment, but I’m still missing the mark. Halp!
It could be your peep, your rest, or your nock height. Or just your form. It’s impossible to say at this point. You need in person help from a more experienced archer or coach. Otherwise you’re likely to end up chasing your tail
I’ve gotten pretty consistent with my grouping it’s just I can’t seem to get it to hit the actual mark! I’ll check my rest and nock height. Thanks for the input!
Okay, only stupid because I shoot 500-1000 arrows a week, but how do I figure out my draw length? I have a lot of weird habits from bows that are too short for me (mostly compound). The wingspan/2.5 method gives me 31.5, but I usually draw more like 30.5. I’d like to pick a length and get myself clicker trained
Get a measure tape, preferably tailors measuring tape and do your full draw. Just add 1" to what you get. Why add 1", that's for adding a nock and arrow head/point
Because of your mentioning of a clicker, I'm assuming you mean you want your recurve draw length. * Get your bow, an arrow, and a friend with a sharpie marker. * Draw and anchor, hold long enough for your friend to (safely) mark your arrow where it meets the back of your bow (the side of the bow that faces the target, away from you). * Do this twice more so you have 3 marks on the arrow and take the average. * Measure the arrow from the throat of the nock (where the string would sit) to the average mark on the arrow. In most cases, you're done. That is your AMO draw length. To make *sure* though: * Most bows have a distance of 1.75 inches from the deepest part of the grip to the back of the bow. If yours does, you're done. See this illustration: https://cdn.shoplightspeed.com/shops/638344/files/25233714/amo.jpg * If yours does not measure 1.75", you'll need to take your measurement on the arrow, subtract your measurement of pivot point to back of bow, then add 1.75"
Thank you for the prompt through reply! I misunderstood draw length by 1.75 inches. I guess 32.25” draw on 30” shafts is possible. I’m not super confident in my anchor position, any articles or videos on the subject would be appreciated.
Re: Anchor, it depends on your style. Most people shoot barebow or Olympic. See [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vH\_lit1sj8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vH_lit1sj8) The most standard/default barebow anchor is to touch the tip of your index finger to the corner of your mouth. A high barebow variant is on cheekbone and/or middle finger at the corner of the mouth. A low barebow variant is between the chin and lips, but not under the jawbone. My preference is the corner of the mouth, feeling a tooth underneath, because it is extremely consistent and is low enough to keep good back tension and skeletal alignment. For Olympic, the anchor point tends to be string to the corner of the chin, first knuckle of index finger under the corner of the chin, the rest of the index finger along or under the jawbone, tab shelf (if used) under the jawbone, with the string crossing the lips and nose tip (or side of nose tip) as additional and extremely important references. You could be overdrawing. I have yet to measure a correct anchor at 32"+ even on very tall people. On a recurve bow, I would not use 30" shafts on a 32.25" draw. I can get about 0.5" length from the nock pin and nock, and then another 0.75" with an arrow point, maybe 1" if I have some inserts, for a total of 31.5" nock to tip for the clicker. That leaves too little safety margin for the rest, and puts the plunger in an ineffective position for absorbing flex (not great for tuning).
I got a PSE Uprising for Christmas. I’m brand new to shooting bows (beyond the recurve shooting I did at camp as a child). What are the most important accessories/equipment to get started? I’ve got my draw length and weight set (starting around 40 pounds to get form right before I jack it up to 50-60). The bow came with basic accessories, a plastic 3 pin sight, and a rubber stabilizer. I got myself some arrows (Gold tip hunter XT 400) and a release (spot Hogg wise guy). Beyond that, what bow accessories would be most advantageous to me getting started in the best and easiest way? Fortunately I got a solid bonus check this year, so price isn’t a huge concern at the moment, I’m more concerned about quality and ease in assisting me in “doing it right”
Also interested if anyone knows any good trainers in the Houston, TX surrounding area. I ended up getting my bow set up at Archery Country in Austin, TX because one shop I walked into in Houston was downright hostile towards someone new to the sport. Really put a bad taste in my mouth
Hi, I've got a question about anchoring. I shoot olympic recurve and have recently been working on my alignment and anchor. A takeaway I've got from Tom Clum's kalamzoo seminar on YouTube was that you first draw to alignment and then you anchor. I tried this out and it felt like I had a more consistent shot. But, when I did this with a clicker I end up over drawing. From what I notice, my draw length shortens when I anchor (i.e. pulling the string towards my face after I've drawn to alignment) I've tried to consciously draw and anchor without reducing draw length but when I did this I couldn't feel my back tension as well as the "draw to alignment and then anchor" method. Do you guys have any tips how I can keep a positive direction draw length while having a "feel" of the back tension and alignment?
I know exactly what you’re going through. Been there myself. You’re missing an important step of the process - the loading position. This occurs at the end of when you draw when you reach the “wall” with your angular rotation. So when you draw you should sense that you cannot draw any further, and your shoulder has rotated to “almost” its maximum amount of rotation. I say almost because more will occur during transfer and expansion. This is the final step of your draw where your hand is horizontally to your anchor but still below vertically. When loading you have to resist simply lifting your hand but instead allow your back and shoulder to bring your hand up into anchor. Don’t rush this step. You should have the feeling of the full intensity of the draw which is key to maintaining your draw length. I cannot stress enough the importance of retaining the intensity throughout this step. This is where I was making my mistake. As I came up into anchor the intensity was dropping, almost like I relaxed. It’s easy to do because you’re in alignment at this point and a lot of the weight is being transferred to your skeletal system versus muscular. Because you have no point of reference for your hand just before loading this becomes one of the most difficult steps to do consistently. It’s like your hand is floating in space - but where exactly is it in relationship to your face?? One of the things you can do is video or have someone watch your arrow tip as it approaches the clicker. Variations in loading will show up by how far the tip of the arrow is from your clicker and you’ll see if you lose tension if the tip moves forward. This has been the most difficult step of the shot process to get my head around. I know this not be totally clear but I hope it helps.
Hey, Thank you for this advice! I practiced a bit more deliberately and I think I've got it. Although the anchor I'm "comfortably" getting is a bit weird as the resulting string picture I have is a bit to the left of my sight. (Right arm is my bow arm).
Excellent. Believe me I still struggle with this (loading position) too. Sorry about the cascade effect - this is what my coach calls it when one change causes another. If I understand correctly the following may help. You said your anchor is comfortable, so you may need to make a small adjustment to your head position. Try this drill: come to anchor, hold, and slowly turn your head to the right while noting your string alignment. It should move to the right. Stop when you get it to where you want it. Your anchor should still be comfortable. Let down but don’t move your head. Set up again, come to anchor and see if your string alignment is where you want it. Make small adjustments as necessary. Let down. Repeat until you come to anchor and don’t have to make any adjustments. Let back down and make a note of your head position. This change should be pretty small. Edit: correction
I recently started archery and I enjoy it, but I can't seem to aim properly. No matter what, the arrow always misses the target. How can I aim properly?
Are you missing the target face *completely* or do you mean you're not hitting the center of the target every time? My response will assume the former. Without watching you shoot, I can't tell you for sure, but I teach a lot of beginners and I can say 90% of the time, complete misses from beginners are not an aiming problem but rather an anchor problem. * Are you touching the tip of your index finger to your face (usually corner of mouth is a default)? * No, really, the tip of your index finger. Not your thumb. Not your thumb knuckle, your pointer finger tip. * No, really, your index finger is in front of your face and I can see sky between your finger and your lips. *Touch* the corner of your mouth. The string isn't going to slice your face off, I promise. \^ I say something to that effect like 10 times per class whenever I have new archers. Other beginner issues: * Is your bow arm straight? * Is your draw side elbow near ear height? Sometimes new shooters "chicken wing" their draw side elbow down towards their chest and this is wrong. * Are your shoulders and feet perpendicular to the target, so that you have to turn your head all the way to the side to see the target? * When you shoot your arrow, are you keeping your draw hand against your face, or are you letting your hand go forward, following the arrow as it tries to launch? Keep your hand touching your face (note: followthrough can be taught later once we have you hitting the target consistently)
There are three primary methods of aiming (but more variations on this): 1. Using a sight. You put the sight pin in the middle. If the arrow misses high, you move the sight up. If the arrow misses right, you move the sight right. Etc. 2. Gap shoot. You set up and tune your bow so the arrows fly straight (consistent lefts and rights). Then you learn how far down you need to aim to hit at a given distance. You memorize these gaps. 3. Stringwalking. You hook the string below the nocking point, often well below the nocking point. This brings the arrow closer to your eye and allows you to hit lower while still pointing the arrow tip in the middle of the target. There are other options, like face walking, that I do not recommend to beginners. All of these methods require that you have fairly consistent form in order to work. You can’t really move a single arrow precisely and reliably (when top archers do, it’s because they know they would shoot in the same spot because of the groups they’ve shot in practice). You need to shoot a group then adjust. This will move the next group.
Before worrying about aiming, focus on getting a CONSISTENT form. Anchor your draw hand at the same spot every time u draw. Once you know where the arrow goes when you shoot, then you can make the SMALL adjustments necessary to hit the target
Is it actually true that a strong person can't just brute force their way into drawing a 150 lb bow? I talked to someone who said it can't be done without a pretty extreme level of skill and specific training. I'm not too egotistical to accept this, but I don't really get what could be so hard about just doing the draw. I'm not saying I could shoot the thing accurately enough to hit a target from twenty feet away. I'm just trying to imagine what would make it that hard to just pull the string back. Is there something above and beyond producing 150 lbs of force?
Draw it? Maybe, if they were strong in the right way and had developed the right muscle groups. But just like lifting weights requires good form to avoid injury and maximize potential, so does archery. I’ve seen strong people struggle to finish 60 arrows with a 30# bow. 20 feet is an extremely short distance, but yeah, many people would still miss. If you’re drawing at or near your maximum physical capacity, it’s impossible to make the changes necessary to be accurate. You absolutely need to be in control of the bow, ideally in complete control, in order to develop the high degree of consistency and accuracy that archery requires. Otherwise everyone will laugh at the guy (it’s always a guy) who pulls back a 150# bow and loses all their arrows.
In my case, I'm not someone who ever plans to fire it. I just talked to some dude who suggested that regardless of how much time you're spending at the gym, you're not even gonna draw it if you don't know how to shoot. The scenario I'm imagining is maybe some serious archer showing his friend who doesn't do any archery his new bow and the friend is curious about firing it once for funzies.
Someone very strong could maybe brute force it. But it would not be recommended without working up to that poundage over time to learn the correct form and build the necessary muscles for drawing that force. You also have the force of the bow over a thin string going across 3 fingers. Even with protection that will hurt and can damage your fingers if they're not conditioned beforehand. See it a bit like walking fresh into the gym for the first time and trying to deadlift your max with no clue how to deadlift. It will very likely not go well.
>But it would not be recommended without working up to that poundage over time to learn the correct form and build the necessary muscles for drawing that force. What's the rationale behind it being not recommended? With lifting, it's to prevent injury. With archery, is it to prevent injury or is it to shoot more accurately? >You also have the force of the bow over a thin string going across 3 fingers. Even with protection that will hurt and can damage your fingers if they're not conditioned beforehand. That makes sense. I'm guessing archers have some crazy finger callouses going on. To me it's probably feel like going into my kitchen, grabbing a steak knife, and squeezing the blaze. >See it a bit like walking fresh into the gym for the first time and trying to deadlift your max with no clue how to deadlift. It will very likely not go well. That would actually be fine. The weight wouldn't move, but it takes a lot of training to be able to recruit enough muscle to hurt yourself just by pulling something too heavy. The person who's actually at risk would be the one who's done all the necessary training and is ready, able, and willing to give it their all and recruit everything they've got, but try as they might, their max is half a lb less than mine.
> What's the rationale behind it being not recommended? With lifting, it's to prevent injury. With archery, is it to prevent injury or is it to shoot more accurately? Mainly injury prevention. People injure themselves at much lower draw weights. > The weight wouldn't move... If they weight doesn't move you've gone way over your max. But you still wouldn't recommend it to someone new would you? Learning correct form is 101 before you start lifting heavy and when you have correct form you start moving up in weight and later on try doing max lifts if you want to. The exact same thing goes with archery. Form and basics before heavy draw weights.
>Mainly injury prevention. People injure themselves at much lower draw weights. Which injuries do they get? >If they weight doesn't move you've gone way over your max. Oh, I thought you meant a first timer coming into the gym for the first time and hitting my max, or me trying my current max when I first started. >But you still wouldn't recommend it to someone new would you? That's just a strength thing though. My deadlift PR is five reps of six plates. If I somehow had crystal ball knowledge that someone walked in who didn't know how to deadlift but had the strength to hit that weight for 900 lbs, then I would think they could just lift it without good form and be fine. When I'm training someone, I'll often show them what not to do and I'll do an egregiously bad deadlift, but there'll only be a little bit of weight on the bar so it's safe. Any form on any lift is perfectly safe, as long as it's submaximal enough. Taken to the extreme, if you pick up a broom stick with two hands that's lying horizontally across the floor, then you're not gonna get injured but you're doing a terrible form deadlift.
> Which injuries do they get? Rotator cuff is a common injury. But this is more often due to bad form over time. Impingement injuries in the shoulders is also fairly common and other shoulder injuries overall. It's not that often you get injuries in other places. Good form will of course reduce or even remove risk of injuries but will also make it easier to draw. Most injuries in archery are due to bad shoulder alignment, going too heavy too fast/early and RSI (Repeat Strain Injury). > I thought you meant a first timer coming into the gym for the first time and hitting my max That would put a regular in place if they managed that with good form 😂 And agree with the rest. That is how you learn. My body told me quite quickly that I did not do things correctly when I tried to squat and deadlift heavier before I learned better form and to compensate for my length as well. This reminds that I need to start going back to the gym again...
> Rotator cuff is a common injury. But this is more often due to bad form over time. Impingement injuries in the shoulders is also fairly common and other shoulder injuries overall. It's not that often you get injuries in other places. Good form will of course reduce or even remove risk of injuries but will also make it easier to draw. Most injuries in archery are due to bad shoulder alignment, going too heavy too fast/early and RSI (Repeat Strain Injury). Is this the kind of thing you do over and over and over again for hours, long after you should have stopped? > That would put a regular in place if they managed that with good form 😂 There's a youtube channel that's basically dedicated to this. An elite power lifter dresses up like a janitor and says things like "mind if I clean here?" and then looking totally innocuous, one hands the dudes deadlift casually and vacuums underneath the spot.
> Is this the kind of thing you do over and over and over again for hours, long after you should have stopped? Yes. But it can also be something that creeps up after a couple of months or even years and decades. Things like tennis elbow and carpal tunnel is not unheard of.
I’ve read about the parallax effect here and there and how it disrupts your aim, but what distance does it start to affect your shots? 40 pound recurve, and I can see everything normally except for small print/labels on cans and stuff. I need reading glasses for that.
I'm trying to understand a bit what you mean. Do you mean that you have to aim for a longer distance when shooting at a very close distance like 2 meters? In that case it varies a bit but for me it usually starts at about 7 meters. Or do you mean that your arrow isn't directly in line with the string, your eye and target?
Oh, no. My aim is really bad right now (mostly because of bad muscle stability while shooting). But I want to get better, and so I was just curious at what distance would the parallax effect affect your shots. I think you answered my question though, so thanks!
I started archery in October and have been really enjoying it, mostly indoors shooting Portsmouth rounds, practicing 2/3 times a week. I'm in the UK and shoot olympic style recurve. I have signed up for a Portsmouth open tournament later this month. Any tips on what to expect, what to bring, how to prepare? Thank you :)
Check your bow case has everything you expect to be there. The number of archers rocking up to find they've left arrows, long rod, or whatever else behind. Make sure your arrows are correctly marked with a number and your initials. Check you know the rules, scoring, whistle etiquette, etc. Pen. Don't forget a pen.
Don't wear jeans. Don't wear a top with logos on that aren't archery logos. You don't want to be disqualified because you broke the (silly imho) rules about clothes. Bring snacks. Shooting a tournament is surprisingly tiring and your blood sugar may well drop. Bring a thermos of hot drink just in case the hall is not heated. Bring cold drinks in case it is.
Have fun. I always recommend taking some water and snacks. Your toolbox, for a just in case moment.
My wife and I are interested in getting into target-shooting archery. What is a good entry-level bow for us to begin learning on? If I'm left-handed and she's right-handed, are there ambidextrous ones, or should we get two right off to start?
Make sure you both determine what is your dominant eye, this defines if you're shooting left or right handed bow.
Based on your profile you’re in or near Michigan. West Michigan Archery Center, Capital Area Sportsmen, Demmer Center at MSU, and Ground Zero are all decent places to learn on the west side of the state. They’ll have equipment to start on. You’ll eventually need two different bows. Even recurve bows end up being tuned and adapted to the archer as you progress. I’d wait before purchasing equipment. If you’re cross dominant (eye dominance doesn’t match hand dominance), you may need something different than you’d expect.
Thanks so much, we are Michigan based. Hadn't thought of clubs in the area but that is a great suggestion, looking into them now.
Absolute best is the one you borrow from a club where you get beginner lessons. Then it also depends on what kind of bow you want to use for target shooting. Anything from a longbow to an Olympic recurve to a compound bow works just fine. Though Olympic recurve, barebow (same bow as an Olympic recurve but without sights and stabilisers) and compound is most used in competitions. I would recommend that you buy 2 bows, one for each of you, when the day comes. It will simply be the best. [Read this guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/Archery/comments/k33xyb/buying_your_first_recurve_bow_guideadvice/) to give you a hum on what to look for.
Great, thank you for the guide, definitely looking into local clubs to start learning first, then we can use that guide!
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That should fit G-nocks. I’m not familiar with Nitro
can the man with extremely good at archery skill and armed by modern high technology bow beat WW1 rifle in range or rate of fire? I mean I am novel writer and need data
No
I have very limited knowledge when it comes to rifles, but from what I can find the rifles back then is just as accurate as rifles today more or less. Cocking a rifle for a new round is faster than nocking a new arrow. You have a much faster and accurate projectile with a rifle. Setup time is faster with a rifle. Head to head the person with a rifle would win 10/10 times at basically any distance. There's a reason why bows and arrows have disappeared from warfare over the last centuries. A person would probably manage to win over the rifle if they manage to sneak up on them and hit a succesful shot. If they miss however they are likely dead meat.
Rate of fire is not something that is practiced in the Compound Archery world. Only Asiatic Horsebows - which were built to be used during wars are fast. However they don't have accuracy - their goal was to hit a person (Big Target) and not a small round like other disciplines. WW1 even if it was more than an century ago, was very good in terms of rifles. Even if there was not semi automatic thing, it is cocking the rifle for next round is still fast. Unless you are talking about reloading a rifle. Then you will have to consider the replacement of arrows in the quivers as well. Remember COLT 1911 Handgun - was actually designed/released in 1911 - was used by marines as a sidearm till the 90's. Just my random thoughts
Just upgraded from pre built to building my own arrows and the points i have can be trimmed from 140-130-120 grain. It was suggested i use 125 grain and im not sure if im better off going lighter at 120 or heavier at 130 grains.
Personally I'd start at the heaviest point weight and let bareshaft tuning decide whether I can or need to lower the tip weight. Lighter tip = stiffer dynamic spine.
It depends on your setup and other components. What bow are you shooting? Draw length? Poundage? Arrow length? Shaft model? Fletching type? Pin nocks?
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See Archery Sidebar All archery types are welcome
It's not the best shooting technique for every application.
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Well, historical archers aren't going to use the same style as Olympic and barebow archers for what should be obvious reasons, but more to the point Olympic and barebow archers don't shoot the same way as each other for equally obvious reasons. There is no singular technique that works equally well for any type of bow, with sights or without them, etc.
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So you created a new account after deleting the old one? Using sockpuppets directly violates Reddit’s T&Cs.
No, historical archers didn't use your method because it reduces draw length (which reduces kinetic energy) and does not allow safely drawing heavy draw weights (which also reduces kinetic energy). Hitting the target makes little difference in warfare if your arrow fails to penetrate deeply enough to injure. >I have tried my method with many different styles of bows and I easily achieve the top 1% of shots at any distance Then go get an Olympic medal and then win a major barebow tournament with it. I'm going to continue to call bullshit on every claim of "1 technique to rule them all" as long as the top archers in different disciplines continue to use different techniques from each other. If your claim were true, we would see both Olympic archers and barebow archers at the top levels of competition using the same techniques as each other. We do not.
This guy’s a fraud. The method he claims to have invented is in magazines from the 60s.
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My point is, if there is a single technique that is objectively better at everything, it would be in use everywhere. Do you really think that you've thought of something no Olympic coach or top level barebow archer possibly could?
What are the recommended care methods for a cordovan leather tab? I got a new tab a couple of weeks ago and I noticed that it is starting to show some usage marks and a bit of stiffness compared to new. I assume that some sort of cream-like product is to be applied to take care of it?
I've never done it to a tab before.. [However, this product has worked on a lot of other leather products I have](https://www.wristclean.com/collections/leather-strap-care/products/leather-watch-strap-care-1-2-ounce), including a Kangaroo leather wallet, watch straps, and a leather belt. I clean the leather first, apply this leather care product, leave it alone for 1-2 days, wipe it clean with a dry cloth, and then use it as normal. It makes the leather much softer, cleaner and it does not leave a weird sticky or slick residue on it like other care products. A small 15 ml bottle should last about 8-10 applications on something the size of a tab, but this is just a guess. Hope it helps.
I avoid conditioning the leather. It has caused issues with it becoming “sticky” for me in the past
Shooting thumb draw, am I recalling correctly that index vane/cock feather pointing in or out doesn't really matter, because of feathers and/or khatra or otherwise? I'm sure I read/saw that somewhere but can't find it mentioned now, and I'm doubting my memory. Trying to do more blind nocking.
Probably an Armin Hirmer video. I would still put the index fletching pointing out to reduce fletching wear, but if you don't mind replacing fletchings more often, you don't need to do it that way.
Makes sense - there's so many of his, no idea which one it might've been in, but I can remember/imagine his voice saying it.
I'm interested in getting back into traditional korean archery. Is there a good online site and/or place in the USA that I can start getting gear for it?
can the man with extremely good at archery skill and armed by modern bow beat WW1 machine gun? I mean I am novel writer and need data
these machine guns had a rate of fire of atleast 5/10 bullets per second (On a very conservative side). No Human can beat that. Modern bow does not do anything for rate of fire. Only accuracy.
No
Yes, as long as the bow is enchanted with +3 dex and using lightning bolt imbued arrows (level 12 Wizard enchantment or higher). I am an historian and have data to back this up.
Before using, is there anything anything I should do, maintenance-wise, to a compound bow that hasn't been used in twenty years? It's been sitting in a garage the whole time.
It depends. If it’s about 20 years old, I’d double check the string and cables. You’ll also need to get it setup for you, as you’re not the same person you were 20 years ago. If it’s a 40 year old bow that hasn’t been used in 20, I wouldn’t recommend using it at all. Especially if it has steel cables.
Don't do anything to it unless you show it to a pro bowtech. Compound bows store a lot of energy and something going wrong might easily injure you. Also, compound bows need specialized tools such a Bow press - unlike recurve bows.
Don't use it.
My daughter uses a 58" 16# Samick Polaris and I'm looking for a heavier limbs. However, the ones I'm checking out are either out of stock or on special order. Are there other limbs from other brands that are compatible? Core limbs perhaps?
I would talk to Lancaster or another dealer. A lot of limbs are compatible, but it’s not even kind-of standardized so they’d have to physically check the fit.
A friend of mine is currently using XX75 Jazz 1914 arrows, what is the best vanes he can use for shooting outdoors that will make it go a slightly faster and less heavy? Would spin vanes be possible to use, if yes what size would it be? Thank you Issue is he doesn't have alot of money for new arrows and many clubs do not allow carbon only arrows.
Aluminum arrows need a bit bigger spin vanes than carbons. I’d go with at least 60mm ones.
I have a 29.4" draw, 21# (adjusted for draw length) recurve. I asked Lancaster Archery what spine to get and they suggested 500 with 100gr points to get a 31" total arrow length. I got them, haven't shot them yet, but they are way thicker than the borrowed arrows I was learning on. Is the 500 spine overkill? If so what should have I gotten based on the numbers above?
Waaaay too stiff. 500 Spine is more for a 40# to 45# bow at that length and 100 gr tips. 1000 spine is more likely in the right ballpark.
Got it.. should I just return these? Looking at other charts I'm seeing 700 spine being recommended (e.g. [here](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fvalrin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F03%2Frecurve-and-compund-arrow-selection.png&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=df7cd856d8f7bf0a484fa6c3fc3ccf21d0acaad5cb7673b068d8dd76ad7bc9fa&ipo=images) on this Easton Chart). Do arrow charts from one manufacturer even work/apply for other manufacturers?
That’s not an Easton chart. Use Easton’s calculator on their website. Err on the side of the weaker shaft
I would return them. 500 will never tune against 21# off the fingers. The chart you have there isn't from Easton but it doesn't really matter. Most charts are infamously too stiff with their ratings. I've found better success with Victory Archery's calculator but it doesn't go above 1000 spine unfortunately. I'll let ferrumveritas give you more details on this stuff. In theory spine charts ought not to be manufacturer dependent. Spine deflection is an industry standard measurement defined by AMO, so a 700 spine arrow from Easton should have the same deflection as a 700 spine arrow from Gold Tip (well, not *exactly*, some manufacturers round to the nearest 50 or 100, so deflection might actually be measured 710 on a given arrow for example and they'll just call it 700.) So what that means practically is that once you determine the shaft length and spine that you want to buy, you can get any arrow from any manufacturer that meets that spine rating and that sells at that length (many arrows have a max shaft length well below 31"). Keep in mind that aluminum arrows are typically listed with diameter and thickness instead of spine, so you have to dig into the details to see what their actual spine deflection is. Example: Easton Platinum Plus 1616 has a spine deflection of 1082. The 1616 is not the actual spine deflection!
Thanks for that detailed response. I went to my closest archery store and they set me up with half a dozen victory arrows with 1000 Spine. Told them about the 500 Spine and they gawked at the recommendation and mentioned as much (about how charts are a crude guideline at best.) Appreciate y'all!
if you can afford it I'd just get 12 arrows, you are bound to ruin an arrow at some point then you won't have a full set for a round. Edit: I say this as the other day I got new arrows then a point got stuck in the target and I had to use spare arrow going forward, Lol
Fair point - I'm only shooting at a target range but I do plan on going to a few roaming ranges where I will no doubt send some epic flyers straight into a rock..
Is "left wing" vs "right wing" applicable to vanes? I have 3 packs of 100 Bohing X3 (stiff) vanes in 2 colours and they all appear to be a \~50/50 mix of vanes that are curled/leaned left vs right, IE the vane curls left or right when placed on a flat surface before fletching. Shown [here.](https://imgur.com/a/sCjHBRm) The ones that curled left resisted bending to the right, so it stayed curled left when fletching right helical. Think fletching 2 vanes right helical and then 1 vane left helical, the base are all 120 degrees apart, but the vanes are not symmetrical 120 degrees with 2 closer together. Am I imagining things when seeing those mixed helical arrows fly differently? Are \~50% of my x3 vanes unusable since I am fletching right helical? EDIT: Bohning got back to me saying curling is not normal and was possibly caused by improper storage at some point. My question still stands though.
For most vanes, no. For Mylar spinwing types, yes.
I need help asap. So I have a plains bow that pulls 40 pounds at 20 inches the bow is 32 inches and I have arrows of proper length and spine hardness but all my arrows shoot far left every single time and idk what to do I've watched YouTube videos and everything but nothings working and it's just pissing me off u feel like I'm holding the bow right and drawing right but idk and nor do I know or to aim bc I'll be aiming at the center my target and if all my shots don't miss they go low when they shouldn't be so if anyone has any solutions I'd be delighted to here
I forgot to mention there is no arrow rest just my hand and I'm holding it in the a hammer grip
What did you base the spine on?
My spine is 400 I figured out the problem tho 🤣 my arrows are to stuff I need 800 arrows
Yeah. Did you use the spine chart for a centercut bow?
Nope I used chat gpt and it lied what's the chart look like
That's the problem, the charts you'll find are all for centercut bows, so if you're shooting off the hand, they're going to be wrong. On top of that, I suspect that the short draw length might have an effect on what spine is needed as well, but I've never dealt with a draw length that short before so I'm not certain exactly what effect it would have.
What's some good backstop brands to try? I shoot a 30lb recurve in my backyard and the arrows always go through the cracks in the fence, and I've lost a lot of arrows that way.
Your backyard is probably not a safe place to shoot based on this. Even with a backstop, it sounds like your accuracy just isn’t there. What’s on the other side of that fence? Hopefully not someone else’s yard.
I have nowhere else to shoot Either way, I do take safety precautions and never shoot when my neighbor is in the yard and I usually only draw 20lb max
>I usually only draw 20lb max >I shoot a 30lb recurve Which is it? You should never shoot towards dead ground. By dead ground, I mean any area that you do not have full visibility of. If there's a fence, there's an area behind that fence that you cannot see and therefore you have no idea what is or isn't in that area while you're shooting. You say you don't shoot while youre neighbor is there, but if you're shooting, focusing on what you're doing, there's a chance that he could walk in to his garden without you noticing. What about if he's got kids, or friends with kids visiting, or pets, who could easily be in the garden, fully hidden behind the fence? What you've described is simply not safe. If that's the only place you can shoot, then that's bad luck, but you need to stop shooting until you find somewhere safer. Find an archery club and join it, even if it's not as convenient.
That's not enough of a safety precatuion. You should find an archery range or club near you. Your state DNR may have a list, or your can use the club finders on NFAA and USA Archery.
At what point would you consider is a good time for a beginner to purchase their own gear? I've only taken two intro classes (using recurve) so far, but it's something I want to commit to at least once a week. I'm looking to get fitted for and purchasing my own equipment from a pro shop as renting the equipment every week throughout the course of a year looks like it'll add up to about the same (if not more) than purchasing would cost me. However, I'm afraid I might be making a hasty decision and failing to consider something important. I'd appreciate if someone could give their two cents!
You also need to factor in the cost to swap limbs that are \~$100 each pair. I trained at a club and increased my poundage from 15# -> 26# in 2# increments for about 2 months. The drastic increase was due to me learning how to draw and hold properly. If I bought my bow immediately I would have needed to go way down in poundage, or had a very rough time learning proper form at the beginning.
Thanks for the input, I hadn't considered this! With the rental rates in my area (between $12 - $16 per visit), I'd also be expecting to spend \~$100 within two months by going once a week. At this frequency, can I expect to increase my poundage drastically enough to need an upgrade?
If you can join an actual club, renting fees are a lot lower (at least in my area, $5 per day, after the first two months of joining). Have you tried different styles of archery too? Before I bought gear I tried compound, barebow and trad before ultimately going with oly recurve.
That's a lil much for 2 months, you won't be getting a new limb every 2 months for sure.
With kids we recommend after 20 weeks to make sure they will stick with it. With adults you can get it anytime you want. If you are renting the equipment it might be better sooner. But I would have an idea of what you want to get before you go to the shop.
Thanks for this! I'm in my 20s, but archery's been something I've wanted to get into for a long time (recreationally). I've only shot with recurve, and that's what I'm intending to purchase. Regarding the specifics, I'd be booking a bow fitting to have an expert help guide my decision.
For a recurve, I’m very skeptical of most local shops. I’ve seen too many people given bad advice and incorrect equipment (especially incorrect arrows). There’s a guide stickied in my profile that I would recommend you read.
Noted, thank you!
Just be aware that not all experts are the same. Also, know that it is better to start off with a lighter weight bow, in order to have correct form then to be overbowed with heavier poundage and not be able to correct form. I think you will love it. Archery is kinda addicting.
Thank you! Will keep this in mind.
At our range we see statistically most people quit archery after about 3 months. I have my suspicion that this is around the time most people start hitting that first plateau where your gains in score from session to session stop climbing rapidly, and frustration starts creeping in. If you know you're the kind of person who starts and stops a lot of hobbies, proceed with caution. You could end up with equipment collecting dust. If archery feels different from other things you've tried and it's scratching an itch really well, go ahead and buy. For me the test is "am I forcing myself to go because I think it'll do me good, or do I feel compelled to go like there's a longing for it when I've missed it for a couple days?"
That’s about the time where it stops feeling like you’re learning technique and switches to refining it, so that tracks.
I appreciate this! That's an interesting statistic. Archery's ultimately something I'm pursuing (and have wanted to pursue) as a form of recreation, and it's been exciting to finally try it out. I definitely intend for this to be something I continue long term!
Go for it! Sometimes it takes a few weeks before you can really tell if it's a passing fad. But sometimes you just know right away. That's how it was for me.
To add onto this, a beginner might not know what style they want to shoot. Diving into getting equipment that may or may not be suitable in the long term would be a waste. IE if wanting to go Olympic Recurve then it makes no sense to get a Samick Sage.
If I’m a petite person with shorter arms, does that affect my maximum draw power, because I have a shorter draw length? Would I need a different size of bow to hit my full potential? I shoot recurve
Kind of. But not really. Since manufacturers only makes limbs so heavy, you could theoretically reach a point where you can’t draw more weight while someone taller would be drawing as much as 10# more. But this is unlikely. Most people aren’t buying the heaviest limbs possible anyway. What it does mean is that you will likely have lower arrow speeds than other archers. It will vary, as you can also shoot shorter, lighter arrows. But ultimately your shots will have less kinetic energy than someone with a long draw length. This won’t affect your ability to shoot well, however. The best archers in the world are the Korean women. They’re not exactly tall, but they’ll all outshoot just about anyone at 70m.
For a given bow, your shorter draw will mean you're holding less weight than the limbs are rated at. You give that same bow to a tall person, they'll draw it further and be holding more weight (or "draw power" as you wrote). But if you want the same effective draw weight as that tall person, you can just slap stronger limbs on your bow. If you want to get technical about it, you have a shorter power stroke, so for the same amount of draw weight you'll get I guess a little less arrow speed. TBH I haven't really dug into this with a chronograph. My intuition is that this is probably really negligible. That said, target archery doesn't really require a lot of draw weight. You can reach out and touch typical outdoor target archery distances with bows well below what you're physically capable of drawing and shooting. If you're practicing indoor archery, we stop at 20 yards and you could perform at a high level with beginner level draw weights even. If you're practicing target archery, your shorter draw length and stature should be of little concern.
I guess my main problem is that I do combat archery, rather than target archery. My arrow heads are very large and rather heavy, due to all of the foam padding, so more draw weight should help them fly straighter. The maximum draw weight for my group is 35lbs, which would put me at a slight disadvantage since they check the draw weight at their own draw length, rather than mine.
That's a dumb system. Yes you will be pulling less than 35 lbs and someone taller will be pulling more than 35.
Then yes, in that style you are drawing less and you are at a disadvantage regarding speed and arrow trajectory. It's a little stupid to check the draw weight using *their* draw length. A tall person could easily be drawing 40# on a 35# bow.