Archery

[edyzmedieval]

Anyone here practicing archery for fun / professionally? Memories of me shooting a nice composite bow came back into my mind so I wanted to ask if anyone's doing this for fun or in a more serious way.

Also, anyone shot a Yew Longbow? That's definitely on my to-do list!

[Cute Wolf]

never play much with bows, I prefer guns

[Tuuvi]

Archery has been one of my favorite hobbies since I was 12, although I haven't always been active in it. The bow I have now is a bamboo backed hickory longbow that pulls 55 lbs. at 30 inches.

I'm also interested in making bows, and I'm trying to learn flintknapping so I can make stone tipped arrows.

[PanzerJaeger]

I've done some compound bow hunting, but the emphasis on new technology made it seem a bit pointless compared to hunting with a gun.

[aimlesswanderer]

I have a recurve, my first, so only a 30lb. Is good fun. No sights, dangly bits, or anything, I just aim with the arrow tip. Once I get my eye in am accurate at 20m, and not bad at 30m.

Some people have so much stuff on their bows, especially composites, that they hardly look like bows at all.

[Fisherking]

I have played around with bows and crossbows for a very long time, starting in childhood.

I have used mostly recurve bows and never bothered with the new compound bows.

Crossbows are more like guns once you have them cocked, though cocking a powerful one can take some time. I have a two meter siege weapon model with a steel prod. It is fun to shoot. Putting a bolt through an old car or whatnot. Shooting harder targets such as trees tend to shatter the bolts and make the point part of the tree, permanently.

Shooting a real yew longbow is a bit problematic. Most of those you find are built to hobby pull weights. The real ones had pull weights of 160 lbs and up. That is why you had to train so long to shoot them. That and the fact that you pulled to the ear and not the cheek so you had to learn a different aiming technique.

[The Stranger]

jew longbows?

[Hax]

I did some Kyudo. It's not really a sport anymore though, more something of a form of meditation.

[Kralizec]

There's an archery "association" near where I used to live. I thought about joining once it got there, but the people there seem like anti-social trash. So I'm going to stick with slings and javelins.

[Fragony]

Got an awesome recurve but I'm not that good a shot with it. Compound is much easier but there's no glory in that.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

I have played around with bows and crossbows for a very long time, starting in childhood.

I have used mostly recurve bows and never bothered with the new compound bows.

Crossbows are more like guns once you have them cocked, though cocking a powerful one can take some time. I have a two meter siege weapon model with a steel prod. It is fun to shoot. Putting a bolt through an old car or whatnot. Shooting harder targets such as trees tend to shatter the bolts and make the point part of the tree, permanently.

Shooting a real yew longbow is a bit problematic. Most of those you find are built to hobby pull weights. The real ones had pull weights of 160 lbs and up. That is why you had to train so long to shoot them. That and the fact that you pulled to the ear and not the cheek so you had to learn a different aiming technique.

Longbows are awsome, but utterly useless to the modern hobbyist, they are really quite crude weapons, their power comes from their huge size really, and you have to train from adolescence to be any good.

I did a bit of shortbow work when I was younger, it's more fun than rifle shooting, especially sticking 10 arrows in the ground and trying to get them off in under a minute, I could mostly hit the target doing that out to 30 mitres once.

[Fisherking]

I started out shooting longbow style. It takes some time to get the hang of the aim but it can be done.

They are not exactly high tech. Modern Compound bows may match their power, or come close but that is a whole other beast. It is like comparing sundials with digital clock-radios. They both have the same function but they reach it in totally different way.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

I started out shooting longbow style. It takes some time to get the hang of the aim but it can be done.

They are not exactly high tech. Modern Compound bows may match their power, or come close but that is a whole other beast. It is like comparing sundials with digital clock-radios. They both have the same function but they reach it in totally different way.

A longbow is what you make when you don't have the technology to make a recurve bow, when you release a recurve the string accelerates, on a D bow it decelerates, so you get the same power for lower draw weight with a recurve. The main historical advantage of a longbow was every farmer and his sheep having one.

[Togakure]

I haven't since my teen years, but enjoyed it when I did. I worked at a summer camp for 12 weeks a summer over three summers, and there learned archery basics, and eventually, taught archery basics to kids and teens. My most memorable moment was after demonstrating a shot at the target. As I was talking, one of the girls screamed and pointed at the target. Blood was dripping down it. I checked, and unfortunately there was a good-sized lizard behind the plastic, skewered. Guys thumbs up, gals thumbs down. That same lizard ended up served to me hidden in a mug of tea, but that's another story (and no, they were not successful in getting me to drink before noticing).

Summer camp: ya gotta love it.

[Vuk]

This summer I am pulling the carriage spring off an old truck of mine, and am cutting off some of the frame. I plan on making an 800 lb + draw, come-along spanned steel crossbow (mostly out of truck parts, with some steel cable and a come-along from the hardware store) and some steel spikes for it (bolt is not the correct word).
It won't be as heavy as it sounds...probably only 80-100 lbs, so it should still be very portable. Basically I want a portable siege machine. If I build it successfully, I will put up pictures.

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

never play much with bows, I prefer guns

Guns > Bows&Arrows !

[Tuuvi]

A longbow is what you make when you don't have the technology to make a recurve bow, when you release a recurve the string accelerates, on a D bow it decelerates, so you get the same power for lower draw weight with a recurve. The main historical advantage of a longbow was every farmer and his sheep having one.

What I read in the Traditional Bowyer's Bible is that longbows and recurves perform well for the same reason, they have a high string angle. Straight short bows generally are less efficient, can't be drawn as far and are uncomfortable to shoot because the limbs are put under a lot of strain when they're fully drawn. Recurving the limbs fixes these problems, so basically, recurving is what you do to the limbs of a short bow to make it perform like a long bow.

I think it may be true that recurve bows have a little bit of an advantage over longbows in arrow speed, but longbows are more accurate and are quieter (which is an advantage while hunting). To me it seems that longbows and recurves are basically equals.

[edyzmedieval]

That's basically the idea behind a yew longbow for me, although the effort is great, the reward is worth it. I saw demonstrations on YouTube with a yew longbow and looks more interesting that just pulling the string on a composite/carbon bow.

I wouldn't mind shooting a strong crossbow either but in many places I think it's illegal.

[Fragony]

Attaching some stabilisers will make a recurve much easier. Should be able to hit anything within 30 meters first time you shoot it. A titanian arrow is just going to fly through anything in it's way, it's very light but it will pierce through absolutely anything

[edyzmedieval]

Anyone tried shooting with a natural composite bow? (made from natural materials, without any technological advances such as fiberglass and carbon)