Introduction to Archery
From Netherhall Archers
| Table of contents |
An Introduction to Archery
By Steve Parrott, Past Chairman, Netherhall Archers and updated by Simon Whelan
So you want to give archery a go? Well this brief note should help you understand what is going on and what to expect. This is not a manual on how to shoot, there are plenty of those and it is what coaches, training or beginners’ courses are for. I hope that once you have read this note you will have a better idea of:
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- What modern archery is about
- The different bow types and their relative merits
- How archery is structured
- How much it costs, both to get started and ongoing costs
- How to progress in archery
- The meaning of some of the terms
- What to expect at a club shooting day or at a more formal tournament
- Where to get more information
- How to keep score
Introduction
The origins of archery (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archery) are lost in the mists of time but even now its history is passed down to us in some of the archaic terms related to archery as a means of hunting, warfare or sport. Today there are some 20,000 active archers in the UK shooting in three basic bow types. Usually an archer focuses on one type but there are those who shoot two or three types.
The choice of which bow style to shoot is really down to the individual.
The Longbow
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Most redolent of Robin Hood and the Battle of Agincourt. It is the traditional wooden bow with a string of natural fibre. The purists will have the bow made from a single piece of wood carefully selected to combine different layers of the timber to give the necessary mixture of strength and resilience. More likely the bow will be made from a laminate of 3 or more woods glued together and then shaped into a bow. The arrows are wooden with feather fletchings and metal piles (tips or points). There are no sights except possibly a rubber band on the bow. Targeting is by way of either the tip of the arrow in relation to some fixed point or, say, a knuckle in line with something. Accuracy is not that high but many would claim it to be the most demanding, difficult and hence most satisfying form of shooting.
Click here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longbow) to learn more.
Recurve Bows (aka Olympic style or take down bows)
This is where the majority of archers today start in the sport and, to be fair the majority remain. The bow is based on Mongolian designs and as its name suggests the bow limbs curve back on themselves. Most of these bows come in three parts and are assembled prior to shooting. If nothing else it makes them more transportable. The centre part called the riser or handle is a rigid section some 18” long into which are inserted the two limbs (the flexible bits). The riser can also carry the sight and stabilisers and one or two other gadgets to aid accuracy. What can and cannot be added is laid down by the archery societies to keep rein on the techno-freaks. These bows can be made of wood (usually at the beginners’ end of the market) through to the latest CNC machined metals and carbon fibre composites. The arrows are usually of aluminium, carbon fibre or exotic combinations of the two. The technology, materials and use of a sight make this more accurate than the longbow but still requiring physical strength as the weight on the fingers climbs as the bow is drawn back.
Click here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recurve_bow) to learn more.
Compound bows
These take the technology to the furthest degree allowed in UK shooting. The materials are much as the more expensive recurve bows but the main difference is the inclusion of cams in the ends of the limbs, which act to give mechanical advantage. This means that the peak load occurs well before the bow is at full draw so a compound archer is holding a lot less weight at the point of release so he can hold longer and aim more carefully. Add to this the use of magnifying sights and release aids (effectively a trigger), higher arrow speed and the accuracy goes up again.
Click here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_bow) to learn more.
Archery in the UK Missing image
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There are two main concepts. Target archery (the majority) on a flat open field with targets at defined distances or field archery where the targets are set out round a circuit through roughish terrain (woods) and where the angle of shooting and the distances are very variable. Sometimes artificial animal targets are used to simulate hunting (in the UK bow hunting is not allowed, if you want to kill things go to the USA or France).
The UK governing body is the Grand National Archery Society (GNAS (http://www.gnas.org/)) which administers the support through a pyramid of regions, county associations through to the clubs or individuals. Most archers affiliate through a club and most shoots and clubs are only open to those who join GNAS (http://www.gnas.org/), mainly for insurance reasons (remember we are talking about a weapon here and modern bows are just as deadly as their predecessors). Rules of shooting and the conduct of archers and tournaments are laid down by GNAS (http://www.gnas.org/) with a strong emphasis on safety
Internationally GNAS (http://www.gnas.org/) is affiliated to FITA (http://www.archery.org/) (Federation Internationale de la Tir a l’Arc) who govern the sport world wide
How much does archery cost?
There are three cost elements to being archery, excluding such discretionary items as post shooting visits to the pub. However in comparison to, say, golf, with which archery has a number of similarities, it is relatively cheap
Membership/Shooting (target) fees
Clubs either operate an annual fee, which gives you unlimited access to shooting on club times, or a combination of a lower membership but with a per shoot “target fee”. Most clubs will also welcome GNAS members on a casual basis on payment of a target fee. Target fees in this case are usually about £5. Either way you should expect to have to pay between £80 and £170 per year. Indoor shooting for the winter (usually October to March inclusive) in sports halls is expensive to provide and variations in club memberships often reflect the number of winter sessions and the quality of the facilities. In addition membership of GNAS which includes insurance is about £35 per year.
Many clubs (including Netherhall Archers) offer concession rates for juniors or couples or part membership for those wishing to shoot only outdoors, for instance. The phasing of payments is very much at the discretion of the clubs. GNAS fees are collected through the clubs in September.
The membership fees for Netherhall Archers can be found here.
“One-off” equipment costs
Equipment costs are shown in the table, and like any sport you can pay as much or as you choose. Bows alone can cost over £1000. BUT, and it is a big but, it is not obligatory to spend such sums and chequebook power does not lead to better scores. The archer “makes” the bow not the other way round! However, nothing is free and you should expect to have to spend about £250 to get started with your own equipment good enough to get you to at least first class standard (see later for more details but suffice to say that less than 20% of archers shoot consistently at better than first class). Many clubs will lend equipment for beginners’ courses and may rent bows for a while to starting archers. Some suppliers are also willing provide bows on a hire-purchase basis. There is a second hand market but the need to size the bow and arrows to the individual means a lot of luck is needed to find the right set-up in the second hand market. This is particularly true for those who are outside the majority (e.g. left handed, tall, short etc.)
“Consumable” equipment costs
On-going costs outside fees are very few. The occasional replacement string and arrows (a decent set should last 3 or 4 years) although arrows do need re-fletching from time to time only adds up to £10’s per year. That is not to say that many archers spend a lot more than this on upgrades or following the latest fad or fashion. Archers are notorious suckers for the latest gizmo. What we have to separate is “unavoidable” spend from “nice to have “spend.
What to expect from archery
First and foremost archers generally are a relaxed and welcoming lot and have been through getting started themselves so please do not be afraid to ask. There is no such thing as a stupid question, only people who are too stupid to ask. Most club sessions are 2 hours (or more outside). As a beginner you will be under the watchful eye of an experienced archer until you get the hang of shooting (in particular the safety rules) either on a one to one basis or as part of a beginners course of perhaps a dozen people.
The field is laid out with a shooting line, which is ONLY crossed with the permission of the field captain, usually by whistle. The targets will be at distances of 40 to 100 yds. (no-beginners are not expected to shoot 100yards but it is a great sense of achievement when you can). The targets are usually 1.2m across. Arrows are shot in groups of six before scoring and collecting and NO ONE collects until all have finished shooting and the go ahead is given by the field captain. In more formal shooting the arrows will be shot in two groups of three. As a rule of thumb it takes a two hour club session to shoot 6 dozen arrows. Believe me any faster soon gets very tiring. Shooting is arranged in “rounds”. There are many “rounds” made up of differing combinations of arrows and there are imperial rounds using yards and metric using metres. Gents usually have a maximum of 100yds or 90m, ladies 80yds or 70m although with the advent of better and faster bows with less reliance on strength many ladies can now shoot 100yds quite happily.
Examples of Imperial rounds include
- York (the big one) 6doz at 100yds, 4 doz. at 80yds and 2 doz. at 60 yds
- Hereford (the ladies equivalent of the York) 6 doz. at 80 yds, 4 doz. at 60 yds, 2 doz. at 50 yds
- Windsor 3doz at each of 60, 50 and 40 yds
- National 4doz at 60 yds, 2 doz. at 50 yds
There are no Imperial rounds with 90 or 70 yards in them
Metric rounds include
- FITA 3doz at each of 90, 70 50 and 30m but with a smaller target face at the shorter two distances
In all cases the longer distances are shot first and then the target is moved forward. The shooting line stays put. It is meant to simulate the advancing enemy.
For both imperial and metric the target faces are the same, concentric circles of gold, red, blue, black and white (centre to outside). Imperial rounds are scored as these five bands (9,7,5,3,1). For metric rounds each ring is sub divided into two and the scoring is then 10,9,8,7 etc down to 1.
So why have rounds?
There is a complex and very comprehensive handicap and award system built up around the rounds that allows archers to monitor their performance, achieve recognised standards and to shoot in competition where there might be a right old mixture of bow types, ages, skill levels etc. There is a link between the standards and the handicaps although the standards are generally more specific in what type of round must be shot to qualify
Standards (inascending order) are
- Unclassified
- Third class
- Second class
- First class
- Bowman
- Master Bowman, and
- Grand Master Bowman.
Less than 20% of archers get above First Class, no one said this was going to be easy. An archer’s progress can be monitored by submitting recognised, completed rounds to a club records’ officer who will calculate the handicap and standard each time. That said many archers are quite happy to come up to the club just to shoot and have a pleasant time.
Have a look at our Beginners Course for details on having a go.
