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Once upon a time, traditional archery was
just called archery. Through years of innovation and development, bow
technology has evolved, not just into a more advanced form, but into a whole
new species. That being said, during the past few years many shooters
have found themselves craving the challenge of the stick and the string.
As such, traditional shooting has grown tremendously over the last decade
and continues to become more popular year after year. Hunter's Friend
offers a wide variety of traditional equipment, from basic bare bows to
complete ready to shoot packages. Are you ready for the challenge? |
The first decision you need to make is simply, "What kind of
bow do I wish to shoot?".
There are two primary classes of
traditional bow:
- The Recurve Bow
- The Longbow
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The longbow is where the history of archery begins. Originally, archery wasn't
only a sport, it was a way of life and a means by which
to provide for one's family. Though today's
designs have many improvements to provide better arrow speed, durability,
and comfort, the design basics of the longbow are pretty much the
same as they were 11,000 years ago: the stick and the string.
Historically, a fine bow was among a person's most treasured possessions.
Many kings were entombed with their bows.
The modern longbow comes in three basic variations: |
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The Martin "Stick Longbow" is an
excellent example of a simple yet functional longbow design. |
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- The basic "Stick Bow" made of a single piece of wood with round or
triangular cross-section limbs, which are thick and fairly narrow.
- The rectangular cross-section laminate bow, composed of many layers
of different materials each chosen and positioned based the material's
specific properties. These bows are often much faster and lighter
than a stick bow of the same weight, as well as being more
durable.
- The "Reflex/Deflex longbow", arguably a hybrid between a longbow and
recurve, is kind of the middle ground between longbows and recurves.
Such bows exhibit qualities that are very desirable to
the traditional archer. Reflex/Deflex bows are very fast and durable,
with very little "hand shock" or vibration.
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The recurve bow marks the second generation of bow technology. The
origin of the recurve bow design traces back to Asia around 2,000 BC.
This design allowed archers to achieve the arrow speeds of a much
longer bow with a significantly smaller package. For mounted
archers, this was the answer to many problems.
Traditionally, recurve bows are a composite of materials. It
is difficult to achieve the desired shape out of a single piece of
material. Laminates and composite construction were often utilized.
Modern recurves are universally of laminate construction. They feature
limbs that are relatively wide and quite thin, with the limb tips jutting
far forward of the grip when the bow is unstrung. One of the
defining characteristics of the recurve bow, is the way the string and limbs
interact. With the longbow there are only two points of contact
between the end loops of the string and the limb. In a recurve design,
the string will often contact the limb for a few inches at each end,
with the end loops being pulled far ahead of the string. The force of
the limbs is exerted more vertically in recurve designs, reducing hand shock
and increasing arrow speeds. Recurve bows also come in three general
variations: |
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The "Basic" recurve bow, which comprises of laminates
of wood, sometimes with opposing grains, glued together to achieve the shape and curvature of the bow.
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The "takedown" recurve bow, probably one of the most
popular variations, which can be disassembled into a small package for
transport or storage. Several variations on limb attachment method
exist, the most common being a limb pocket and bolts. Other
attachment methods such as the pocket and locking system used on the
Fred Bear Takedown have gained popularity over the years.
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The "Composite" bow, which describes the most ancient of
recurve bow designs, and will not be discussed further in this guide.
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Fred Bear's Takedown can be
disassembled into a very small package for transport and storage. |
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There is no scientific solution to the choice of whether to
shoot a recurve or longbow. Both designs have their merits and
drawbacks. Typically longbows can be more
forgiving and much easier to shoot. Recurve bows can be shorter,
faster, and more maneuverable in the woods. Some models can be taken down
for easy storage and transport. The choice is yours. |
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The next question is, "How much draw weight do I need?"
The answer is as complex as the human body itself.
The truth of the matter is, the best way to find out is to actually draw a
few friends' bows, club bows, etc. However, the following list can be used
as a guideline if no bows are available to try out. Generally, it is
recommended to err toward the lower side on draw weights. For example,
the author
is well capable of drawing and shooting a 100# recurve bow, however by
choice my Martin Venom Longbow is
55#@30". Archery is supposed to be fun and exciting, not tiring and
painful. If you are already shooting with modern equipment, it would
be wise to consider choosing a traditional bow with a draw weight 10-15
pounds lighter than your compound bow. The draw weight of standard
traditional bows is as measured at 28" draw. A good rule of thumb is
3-5 pounds removed for every inch under 28" and 5-7 pounds added for every
inch over. |
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Recommended Draw Weight Ranges
(Traditional Bows)
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Small Child (70-100 lbs.) |
10-15 lbs. |
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Larger Child (100-130 lbs.) |
15-25 lbs. |
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Small Frame Women (100-130 lbs.) |
15-25 lbs. |
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Medium Frame Women (130-160 lbs) |
25-35 lbs. |
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Athletic Older Child (Boys 130-150
lbs.) |
25-35 lbs. |
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Small Frame Men (120-150 lbs.) |
30-45 lbs. |
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Large Frame Women (160+ lbs.) |
30-45 lbs. |
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Medium Frame Men (150-180 lbs.) |
40-55 lbs. |
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Large Frame Men (180+ lbs.) |
45-60 lbs. |
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Lets take a look at draw length. |
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 To
measure your draw length, determine the length of your
arm span in inches. Stand with your arms out and palms
facing forward. Don't stretch when measuring.
Just stand naturally. Have someone else help you, and
measure from the tip of one middle finger to the other.
Then
divide that number by 2.5. The result is the correct draw
length in inches for your body size.
The majority of new shooters set their bows for too much
draw length, which can result in poor shooting form,
inaccuracy, and painful string slap on the forearm. You
will better enjoy, and be more successful with your new bow
when it is fitted properly to your body. Fortunately,
recurve bows can be drawn to any draw length within a
reasonable range. However, draw length must be
established so that arrows can be trimmed to the correct
length for your shooting system. Unlike compound bows,
with traditional equipment, if in doubt, go a little long.
Arrows that are an inch longer than absolutely necessary
won't hurt your shooting. Arrows that are an inch too
short will force you to use shooting form which is less than
ideal, resulting in inconsistency.
 If
you are a person of average proportions, your arm span will
be roughly equal to your height in inches. So there is
often a direct correlation between a person's height and
their draw length as well. Once you have computed your draw
length using the method above, you can double-check yourself
by using the scale below to see if your number is within
the expected range.
LONG DRAW SHOOTERS:
SHORT DRAW SHOOTERS:
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The next likely consideration is, "How much do I
wish to spend?". This is the point where things become a bit
more complex. Unlike compound bows, which use basically the same
materials throughout the industry, traditional bows are manufactured from a
tremendous variety of materials. The choice of materials and
construction will directly affect the shooting experience.
The most critical area of traditional bows is the limbs, you could have a
grip made of pressed cardboard and as long as the limbs were of good
quality, the bow would still shoot and feel good. Common combinations
of materials for limbs include fiberglass, laminated maple and fiberglass,
and bamboo and carbon fiber. You will find that in most circumstances,
within limits, as the quality of materials and cost increase, the draw
becomes more smooth, stacking disappears, and velocity ramps up quickly.
When a bow stacks, the increase in draw weight per inch of draw length
becomes cumulative, rather than a gentle ramp up to peak weight; the weight
curve shoots up quickly at the end of the draw stroke. Stacking is the
bitter enemy of efficiency and comfortable shooting.
The next factor in price is choice of woods and cosmetics. Exotic
African hardwoods cost more than good old American walnut.
They however are more temperature stable, and there is no denying
their beauty. You can go absolutely wild
with the exotic woods or keep it simple. The sky is the limit on how
far you can go with a custom traditional bow. |
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Now to enter the technical aspects of traditional archery. String
materials and design, arrow selection, fletching selection, and rest style
are among many factors to be considered when making a decision regarding our next bow. String materials have been a hotly discussed topic
in recent years. The biggest battle being Fast Flight vs. Dacron.
To make a long story short, Fast Flight strings will damage limb tips if
they are not reinforced for the use of that type material. Dacron is
the old standby; however, it stretches more than Fast Flight resulting in
more required maintenance. Generally, if your bow has limb tips that
can support the use of Fast Flight, use it. Otherwise, stick to
Dacron. There are two string making techniques commonly encountered in
traditional bows. The "endless loop" string is made of one
continuous loop of string material, then served at both ends to bind the
strands together and protect them, with a center serving in the middle to
draw the bow and to support a nocking point. The "endless loop" type
string is the strongest of string designs and is the type utilized on
modern compound bow equipment. Flemish Twist strings are based on a
very old design that allows a single string to fit many bows.
Historically, no two bows were alike, so the end user was
required to fit the length of his bowstring to the particular bow he was
shooting. One end of a Flemish twist bowstring is looped, while the
other end is loose and woven into itself to create a final length.
In the past, it was up to the end user to decide how long the bowstring
was to be, and finish the weave to fit his particular bow. Today, however,
Flemish twist bowstrings may be purchased finished and made to a final
length correct for the AMO length of your particular bow. The Flemish
twist string is not quite as strong as the endless loop design strand for
strand, therefore it must be made with more strands and is heavier as such.
For some traditional bows, this is an ideal situation as it slows the bow
down just a bit and reduces stresses on the limbs during shooting.
Typically, you will see more Flemish twist strings on longbows, and more
"endless loop" strings on recurves.
Arrow selection was once a difficult task. Wood arrows had to be
hand spined to suit the bow. Aluminum arrows have an extremely narrow
spine band for each shaft size and with variations from shooter to shooter,
finding the right aluminum arrow for your traditional bow was a genuine
nightmare. Enter carbon arrow shafts. Spine is an extremely
critical aspect of traditional archery as very rarely does a traditional bow
feature a centershot riser. Because the arrow
starts at an angle off the axis of travel, it is forced to flex a bit more
on launch compared to the spine deflection with a modern centershot riser
equipped bow. The self damping nature of carbon fiber arrows,
fortunately, makes them very forgiving. A single spine stiffness can
accommodate many different bows and shooting styles, making arrow selection
a simple matter of consultation of the manufacturer's spine charts and a
little tweaking with point weights. On the matter of fletching, the
best universally accepted combination is 4 or 5 inch right helical feathers.
They help to get the arrow on course quickly and consistently.
The style of rest you shoot with is one part the bow, one part shooter preference. Presently, most traditional archers seem to be
shooting directly off the shelf. Shooting off the shelf has many
merits: it is simple, the flipper will never break off since there isn't one
present, and though not the easiest technique to master, it is great fun to
really be shooting with nothing more than the stick and the string.
Flipper rests, the other common type of arrow rest in the traditional
community, are generally simple plastic self-adhesive pads with a "flipper"
that sticks out to put the arrow on. One benefit of flipper style
rests is they will allow you to use vanes if you wish, as well as allowing
the shooter a very simple means of adjusting the arrow's position
horizontally to fine tune for spine deflection.
Traditional archery can be one of the most fun, relaxing, and
entertaining outdoor activities you will ever experience. There is no
feeling quite like that first tight group with no reference beyond your own
eyes and instincts. Not to say we can all become Byron Ferguson, but
with practice, anyone, young or old, big or strong, can reach a fair level
of proficiency using traditional equipment with a little practice and
dedication. Give it a shot, you're only a few clicks away from joining
the ranks of one of the oldest hobbies and pastimes in the world. |
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