Thread: Any Archers out there??

Originally Posted by JohnP

Enjoy your shoot!
It is one of those few things that can be enjoyable, calming and frustrating at the same time. Kind of like honing problem razors.
Lot of tie ins I think. Field archery should be quite fun.


John P.

I've never shot enough to get past the first stage, but it strikes me as terribly similar to golf. At first you are horrible, everyone is, and you will improve. The entire hobby however can remain simultaneously quite frustrating, but very relaxing and recuperative.

I've read somewhere that golf had a loose basis in archery...and some of the games played by archers originally to improve their skills in warfare.
A few other things in golf I've heard come from warfare also, like the practice of calling " 'fore!" when someone is in the line of one's ball. Apparently that one was from the days of muzzleloading (and perhaps even prior, with archers) where the second rank would call "down afore!" subsequently shortened to just "fore!" to make sure the first rank did not rise too quickly from reloading while the second rank fired.

Don't know if it is or isn't true, but thought I'd share.

I do know that current research into bows used in warfare has them much much heavier than we once thought, making many modern hunting weight bows seem a joke in comparison. It's all good. Deer nor targets wear armor these days.


John P.

[QUOTE=JohnP;244544]....then there's the inner cursing, when the arrow misses that mark, goes beyond, and expertly weaves itself under the grass so as to be completely invisible....forcing one to mutter expletives to oneself whilst carefully feeling for the arrow, pace by pace, with one's feet....






Ahh yes, know that feeling well. Breathe in... breathe out. Dohh !.

On those days I shamelessly get up close & personal to the target... Darts anyone

Originally Posted by JohnP

Yew is a beautiful wood for a bow, though.

John P.

But fickle.
I once talked with a bowyer, and these days it's hard to get good quality yew.
Making a good self bow instead of a multi-wood takes an incredible amount of skill. And with the questionable yew quality, it is very possible they'll shatter after the first few draws.

The bowyer I talked to told me that he charges a lot more for a yew self bow, because he guarantees against manufacturing defects. Sometimes a yew bow shatters to pieces at the first draw, so then he is out of the money for the yew, and he lost $$$ in work.

Shot my first arrows tonight - all hit the board if not the target! Tuition was pretty good obviously. Looking forward to learning more. Apparently the Inverness club is the most successful in Scotland - but they would say that to us newbies I suppose!

Originally Posted by Makar

Shot my first arrows tonight - all hit the board if not the target! Tuition was pretty good obviously. Looking forward to learning more. Apparently the Inverness club is the most successful in Scotland - but they would say that to us newbies I suppose!

Ahhhhh Good Evening Makar! Congrats on a successful first shoot......you've been bitten my dear

Soapmistress

Good to hear you are having a good time at it!
And everyone, even here in the U.S....knows that of COURSE the Inverness club is the best one around.





OK, maybe not. Still, it's a lot of fun, isn't it?


John P.

I've always loved archery, but don't shoot as much as I used to...a few times a year at best. I've only shot a compound bow a few times, and don't understand the draw (pun intended). Actually, I own a beautiful handmade longbow, laminated ash, fiberglass, and yew. Only a 40 pound draw, but that's more than enough for targets and small game.

My skill set may be from a different century, but I'm with Bruno in being completly satisfied living in the modern era. Surfdom does not strike me as a pleasant way to spend a lifetime.

Cheers,
Ed

Its ok. I've seen evidence that good archers were often well paid, because of the considerable amount of time it took to train up the better ones...so you'd still be ok, although for military bows the weights are considerably higher than what most folk shoot today, understandably.
Supposedly the last kill with a longbow in warfare was WWII, although it wouldn't surprise me if others had been taken since with bows.
My viewpoint is I enjoy learning the old ways of doing things; then I'm not forced to do things only one way. I'm not a slave to whatever Schick/Gillette put on the shelves, for instance and to be honest there are a lot of skills, not just straight razors or archery, that I would like to have.
I'm rambling. Archery is a lot of fun, and anyone considering it should really consider it farther and go to a range/club and try it out.
Very therapeutic.
Usually.


John P.

The lone compound dissenter here, I guess. I tried as a youngster to shoot a recurve bow. Couldn't hit the side of a barn, even from inside the barn . I was a crack shot with a rifle so it didn't matter much for stocking the freezer with venison. Then Texas added an archery season which preceded the rifle season. Wow, hunting when it wasn't bitter cold! I figured that I had to try it. Got a compound bow and went to work. That, I could shoot. Practiced out to 60 yds but it still took quite a while before I was confident enough to try to take down a whitetail with it. Since that first buck, I am a 90% converted bowhunter. Rifle doesn't seem all that sporting anymore. Gaining a semi-mastery of the compound has sparked an interest in going back to a longbow or recurve but I don't get enough hunt time anymore to justify the time investment. Maybe someday...