How To....

Beginner’s bows

Most people learn to shoot with a Recurve bow, Even if you wish to go onto a different type of bow later it is probably easier to start with a Recurve.

Your first bow should be easy to draw and shoot. If you buy a bow you cannot draw easily you will struggle to achieve the correct stance, and you will not learn to shoot correctly.

Size matters. Bows are made in different sizes. If you are average size, you will need an average size bow, a 68” or 66”. If you are tall, a 70”; short a 64”, or junior under 5 feet tall, a 54”.

Bows come in different draw weights. It takes time and practice to build up to a draw weight that will give you a comfortable sight mark at the longer distance. It will not help you learn to shoot if the bow you buy is to strong for you to draw properly. Most beginners shoot bows with a draw weight between 20lbs and 30 lbs when the bow is drawn to 28”. An adult size bow’s draw weight is measured at 28”. If the bow is drawn further than 28” the draw weight will be more, if drawn less than 28” the draw weight will be less.

If you are not sure of your bow size, ask advice.

Handedness is denoted by the hand you draw the string with. If you pull the string with your right hand, you are said to be a right handed archer.

Beginner’s arrows

Arrows need to be the correct spine or stiffness, and the right length. If the arrows you buy are too short, you will not be able to draw the bow properly. If they are t,o stiff or weak they will not work properly.

To find your approximate draw length hold a tape measure in your bow hand and stand as if you were going to shoot, then pull the tape measure back to your face. Make sure that your bow arm is out straight and the elbow of the arm you are holding the string ( tape ) with is kept high and in-line with your bow arm. Add a couple of inches to the size you get.

Most beginners use aluminium arrows as they are reasonably cheap and can be found with a metal detector.

If you are not sure of your arrow size, ask advice.

Protective clothing

You will find that most archers use an arm guard on their bow arm to protect themselves from the string. Even a light draw bow can be very painful if the string catches your arm.

A tab or finger guard will help to stop your fingers getting sore when you pull the string.

The Rest

You can shoot with the minimum of equipment. Just a bow some, arrows, and a cheap arm guard and tab. But you may like to buy all kinds of other things too.

The range of equipment and prices is huge. Try to keep your enthusiasm within reason. Bear in mind that where an expensive sight or quiver would be nice to own, you might prefer something different with more experience. The same applies to stabilisers. If you shoot with other archers you may find they have all kinds of rods and other things on their on their bows. All these things are designed to make your shooting easier and more accurate but if you do not have the experience to know what works for you, you could waste time and money on things you later find you do not need.

You can buy a good starter sight, quiver, bow stand, and case for around £40, but you could also spend much more than that on just one of those things.

Price

The chances are you will grow out of your first bow after six months to a year. So try to keep the cost of bows and arrows down. You can spend more on things like sights and bow stands and cases etc. because you will not grow out of that type of equipment.

Setting up Equipment

Your bow will usually come in a box and need to be built and setup before you can use it. See sketch A to identify the components.

How to build a Takedown Recurve

If you have a self adhesive arrow rest, sick that onto the riser first. Take your time, if you mess up it may take some time to get a replacement.

The limbs need to go the right way round. The bottom limb is the one with the sizes on it. If you hold your bow out in front of you, the right way up, the writing should be on the bottom limb, and the limb tips pointing away from you. See sketch A

Stringing the Bow

The string has different size loops at the ends, the biggest loop goes on the top limb. Fit the biggest loop over the limb and push it far enough down the limb to get the smaller loop in the bottom limb string groove. Put the saddle of the bow stringer on the top limb and the closed pouch of the stringer over the string and limb tip on the bottom limb. Put your foot on the stringer, and holding the saddle firmly on the top limb. Lift the riser until you can get the top loop of the bow string into the top limb string groove.

Until you get the hang of doing this it is best to get somebody to help you, but help or not, be patient and careful. See sketch B

When you have built the bow, check the bracing height. You will usually find a recommended bracing height in the instructions supplied with the bow. Next you need a nocking point. A nocking point is where you put the arrow on the string. You can make a nocking point with a length of dental floss tied onto the string. Put an arrow on the bow, with the arrow on the arrow rest hold the bow away from you. Make sure the arrow is pointing down slightly. Now tie a piece of floss above the arrow and another piece below. See sketch A