Do We Have Any Archers in The House? (Target, Hunter, Recurve, traditional, compound etc)

[DRAGON64]

My wife and I nearly had the same thought on the same day at the same moment... what about archery? We both have too many hobbies, but this is one of a handfull that will get us both outdoors... the last hobby we shared that got us outdoors, was golf! There is something so medevil about the thought of archery (well Duh!), but for some reason we both have taken a keen interest in the target/fun shoot side of the hobby.

We are currently researching recurve bows, as this interests us the most. Anyone else down with "the nock"?

 

[David_Stack]

'Discovered' archery decades ago in the 70's when I was being drug along to my sister's sessions at the "Y" for swimming. Wandering the halls and saw an archery class taking place. Early teens and I started participating in the Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD) program, shooting in tournaments as well as in adult leagues, witnessing the increasingly popularity of the compound bow. Didn't shoot much during my time in the USAF, though I did drag my bow (Yamaha YTSL II recurve at that time) out to one of the public parks in Korea near Osan AFB that had a small archery range, and shot arrows there. Also shot at a public park in Oahu that had a range. Next career after retirement from the military brought me to Virginia, sold the Yamaha and purchased a Hoyt; and I ended up instructing both 4H programs and county parks-sponsored archery classes for youth and adults, and shooting in the Virginia Senior Games in the Sighted Recurve class (I never migrated to compound...) a few years ago.

 

[Hobie1dog]

What happened to the ham radio hobby?

 

[DRAGON64]

Awesome! Do you still shoot? My wife and I have been consuming youtube videos on various archery topics, trying to figure out what we want/need to get started. There is a really long video called The Push that we may slice out some time to watch.

 

[DRAGON64]

What happened to the ham radio hobby?

Still there, albeit not quite the hobby we thought it to be... talking on the radio, trying to find someone to to talk too, and not having anything much to say, is like texting to us... I don't type well enough on my phone, so I dislike texting. Also, the local guys in the ham hobby talk channels and frequencies like rocketerrs spout thrust to weight ratios, and parachute decent rates... I feel lost most times.

We did invest in a little more gear to get us up to speed, and are working with the locals hams to get a base/travel station set up. We really want to get into Parks On The Air (POTA) this fall, as the weather is perfect for it.

 

[Tech 68]

Got a Martin 55 lb recurve, years ago with the intention of hunting with it, that never happened. Excellent, affordable bow. Ended up using it in the SCA and acquired a "Mongol Horse Bow" to be more "period correct". The Mongol is a fun, accurate bow to shoot... got it in 45 lb, since it was for target shooting only.
Still have my dad's Howard Hill long bow that was made in the 1930's... probably 65-70 lb pull. Unshootable now... solid wood that has dried too much and could potentially snap at full draw.
In case you're not aware, get a "stringing aid" for your recurve. keeps you from twisting and damaging the limbs using the old, "through the legs" stringing method.

 

[Hobie1dog]

We did invest in a little more gear to get us up to speed, and are working with the locals hams to get a base/travel station set up. We really want to get into Parks On The Air (POTA) this fall, as the weather is perfect for it.

POTA is likely the biggest thing in ham radio, with many YouTube videos being made each week. One guy is now making his living doing them. K8MRD

 

[Igotnothing]

Been doing archery for decades. Have one recurve and 3 compound bows. Do a lot of hunting, but I seem to not take a lot of shots due to concerns I do not have perfect conditions to ensure an ethical kill shot with an arrow. I still get deer and elk with rifle and muzzleloader, but with an arrow, I am often seeing my "margin of error in crappy woods/winds shooting conditions" is too large for the shot. That said, I don' think I have missed a deer with a bow since that very first miss when the arrow fell off the rest just at the shot and skittered between it's feet through the gravel. I did miss a turkey two years ago. It flew down the tree line where a friend's kid took a poke at it with a shotgun. There are not a lot of turkeys shot out of the air, and that one wasn't shot out of the air either. Even shotguns miss. It is nice to be close in to the animals - which isn't usually possible once the orange army hits the woods.

 

[techrat]

Ham radio is alive and kicking. Our local club (FLARC) keeps growing, 200+ members now. We have to do our monthly business meetings as a hybrid of in-person and zoom. We have 5 operating positions and now the trouble is making sure there are enough antennas available for everyone who wants to get on the air. Club is open Tuesday and Friday nights, except when we have Kawfee Tawk (presentation).

As for Archery, I wanted to get into that. but don't have the space in my backyard without accidentally spearing my neighbors.

 

[David_Stack]

Dragon;

Not as much as previous. The pandemic saw the only local indoor range closed for an extended period, 4H did away with their archery program, and changes on the home front saw me trying to spend more time with my spouse. The 4H 'gig' when it was happening served to really keep me motivated, and since it was outdoors I could set up a shooting line at greater outdoor distances and practice either before or after the 4H sessions (Senior Games competition is at 40, 50, and 60 yard distances). One of the local city parks has a rudimentary outdoor range, but it is not well-maintained and uses 'bag' targets that I prefer not to shoot into (they re not very conducive to hanging a FITA target face).

I would encourage you to try and find a local club/range that offers instruction. USA Archery (https://www.usarchery.org/) has a number of online resources to help in that regard.

You already mentioned YouTube as a resource... A member of the US Men's Olympic Archery team, Jake Kaminsky in partnership with Hoyt Archery put together a video several years ago that provides a decent overview/introduction that is worth a look (search for "Learn Archery with Jake Kaminski")

 

[bjphoenix]

I was into archery some time ago, a hobby that I got very passionate about. In college I had to take a class in the PE department and I thought archery would be interesting so I chose it. Eventually I got really into it and was on the archery team for awhile. This was mostly doing indoor archery but some outdoors, all under NAA and FITA rules. I also started shooting NFAA field archery with the local club. (NAA and FITA rules require recurve bow and some other equipment limitations, NFAA allows compounds)
After college I moved to a city that had 4 different clubs each with their own field archery range so I did a lot of shooting then. After 6 or 7 years I got interested in cycling for the exercise and couldn't afford time for both hobbies so I stopped archery.
I was very passionate about archery and it helps if you have a way to set up targets and shoot at home, which I couldn't do. Archery requires a lot of practice and thus requires a lot of time. It also requires a lot of equipment. As an engineering student in college we really got into the equipment too.
Archery does require a lot of practice to get good, and isn't as much fun if you aren't good, so it isn't good as a casual hobby.
I still have my Hoyt takedown II recurve and I can set up a target in my current backyard. I've toyed with getting back into archery.

 

[GrouchoDuke]

I grew up shooting with my dad and just introduced my kids to it about a year ago. They have Diamond Atomic bows and love it. One of these days, I need to get a new bow for myself. I was thinking about a Diamond SB-1, but I'm now eyeing the Diamond Edge 320. I'd love a Hoyt or similar, but I just need something low key for target shooting with the kids. I don't want to spend all my rocket motor money on a bow, ya know.

 

[Kabulrocks]

I grew up shooting with my dad and just introduced my kids to it about a year ago. They have Diamond Atomic bows and love it. One of these days, I need to get a new bow for myself. I was thinking about a Diamond SB-1, but I'm now eyeing the Diamond Edge 320. I'd love a Hoyt or similar, but I just need something low key for target shooting with the kids. I don't want to spend all my rocket motor money on a bow, ya know.

The Samick Sage is a good take-down recurve, and not too expensive.

 

[GrouchoDuke]

The Samick Sage is a good take-down recurve, and not too expensive.

Thanks. I plan on getting a compound though. Well, someday.

 

[hartlch]

I've been looking into getting involved in archery again. Shot JOAD through my teens in the 60s/70s. Switched to rifle team in college but did a little archery with teammates who also did archery. My interest has always been olympic recurve. Unfortunately there are no indoor ranges near me so probably will be waiting to spring to get active. Got to acquire some hay bales and set up a range in the yard. And I've been active in ham radio since 1972. The local club is very large (PVRC) and contesting oriented.

 

[teepot]

My wife was the archer. She and her dad shot often. That was in her early teens. She talked about how much fun it was. She has two recurve bows. One was her fathers. About a dozen Christmas's ago I got her a compound bow. Now the recurves hang on the wall with my knives. The compound bow remains a virgin. I learned archery as a Boy Scout. I only did it at summer camp. I was more interested in rifles. But if I run out of bullets during the Zombie apocalypse we still have bows and arrows.

 

[kuririn]

 

[Tech 68]

We are currently researching recurve bows, as this interests us the most. Anyone else down with "the nock"?

One more suggestion, depending on the style of archery you choose. If it's "instinctive", consider books by Asbell and Ferguson. There's probably lots more information available now... it's just that my shooting was pre-YouTube.

 

[Paul Howard]

Archery You say?!?!?!? YES!!!!! My Wife and I mostly make our own bows and arrows from scratch. Some of these are some classic old recurves made of wood/fiberglass laminate, but the rest are made from split log staves (Maple, Oak, Oregon Ash, Pacific Yew, Osage Orange, Honey locust, Hickory, Elm, Juniper, Plum and probably something else) and some from very carefully selected milled wood (Oak, Hickory and Maple).

A lot of these are reproductions of archeological finds from Europe and North America, 2 from Africa and others are just plain "good designs to make a wood bow".

Most arrows were made from Ocean Spray shoots (favorite), some Red-Osier Dogwood (OK), Southeast River-Cane(another favorite) and others from milled Sitka Spruce shafts.

One quiver is from Juniper Bark (that I got 4 bows from), the other 2 are Brain-Tanned Elk Hide and Rawhide Deer Hide.

We used to be pretty active teaching bow and arrow making also, but we've been too busy the last 5 years to really do that.

Hope you like the pictures -Paul

 

[DRAGON64]

One more suggestion, depending on the style of archery you choose. If it's "instinctive", consider books by Asbell and Ferguson. There's probably lots more information available now... it's just that my shooting was pre-YouTube.

Thank you for the reading suggestions, here lately I am absorbing as much info from all sorts of media sources. Heck, for my Cowboy Action Shooting hobby, I picked up a pouple Louis L'Amour books to read... Not quite the same, but I was tring to develope a character etc.

Archery You say?!?!?!? YES!!!!! My Wife and I mostly make our own bows and arrows from scratch. Some of these are some classic old recurves made of wood/fiberglass laminate, but the rest are made from split log staves (Maple, Oak, Oregon Ash, Pacific Yew, Osage Orange, Honey locust, Hickory, Elm, Juniper, Plum and probably something else) and some from very carefully selected milled wood (Oak, Hickory and Maple).

A lot of these are reproductions of archeological finds from Europe and North America, 2 from Africa and others are just plain "good designs to make a wood bow".

Most arrows were made from Ocean Spray shoots (favorite), some Red-Osier Dogwood (OK), Southeast River-Cane(another favorite) and others from milled Sitka Spruce shafts.

One quiver is from Juniper Bark (that I got 4 bows from), the other 2 are Brain-Tanned Elk Hide and Rawhide Deer Hide.

We used to be pretty active teaching bow and arrow making also, but we've been too busy the last 5 years to really do that.

Hope you like the pictures -Paul

My wife and I are looking into taking a lesson or two, if only to find a bow we like to shoot, and to get a feel for the basics... so we do not develope bad habits from the start.

Making your own bows and arrows is phenominal, you and your wife a very talented wood workers. Just getting the archery bug, I am not sure if this is a side of the hobby I will explore. Thanks you for sharing the images!

 

[BruceS]

Taught archery for years. Mostly shoot recurve for target. Used to hunt with a Bear Whitetail 2 compound. Haven't shot for the last 3 years but planning on getting back into it in spring.

 

[DRAGON64]

I will call today for an introductory class for my wife and I. The hope is to get a feel for various bows, and especially pull weights. I was thinking 40#, and now I am looking at starting at 30 - 35#. The only definite at this time, is my wife and I want recurve take down bows.

 

[David_Stack]

I may get flamed here but... 'Overbowing' (too high a draw weight) is one of the most common mistakes made by those getting into archery. I would recommend no more than 30 lbs of draw weight to start, in order to ensure that good/proper form is developed.

Since you stated you are looking at recurve bows that are of a take-down configuration, when you are shopping take a look at the limb draw weights available. Get a set of limbs with a light draw weight that will allow you to develop good form, then you can always purchase limbs of a higher draw weight as you progress. With the availability of small diameter carbon arrows, reaching distances of 50 - 60 yards is not an issue, even for low draw weights.

 

[DRAGON64]

Not sure about your statement of being flamed... I never have and never will, so snuff out that thought

My wife and I have secured a one hour Introductory lesson to get us started, it is for 6PM tomorrow night... we are stoked!

I have decided to get ILF recurve, so I can move up in draw weight increments as I build in the muscle memory. Thank you for the suggestions!

 

[ewomack]

A few years ago, I took Kyudo, or Japanese archery, lessons. It involves following a pretty rigid form and method that takes hours of practice and repetition to master. The better you develop your form, the more often you hit the target. Strange as it sounds, once you get the form down, the arrow "releases itself" and, with proper form, hits the target. Needless to say, I didn't hit the target once in all of my practice. I realzied that I didn't want to lose all of my Saturday mornings to Kyudo, as much as I enjoyed it, so I stopped going. Though I didn't get as far as I would have liked, it was still a great experience in attempting discipline and mastering a form to perfection. I didn't even get close, but I don't regret the time I spent.

 

[DRAGON64]

Introductory lesson accomplished! Here is what I found out; my draw is 29"; I should shoot a 64" bow, forearm slap hurts more with each slap; left chest slap hurts more (think "pruple nurple" ). Most surprizing, 20# was where I needed to start learning from, and I could not hold a 45# for more than 5 seconds.

I did use an arm guard, but I have rather large forearms, so finding the right position of the guard to a little trial and error... that and arm position was key.

My wife and I had a blast, the class gave us a good point at where we needed to start, and it looks like we will continue with the journey. Today we will head to Franklin, TN to an archery shop to see if they have a bow that calls out to us...

 

[bjphoenix]

Introductory lesson accomplished! Here is what I found out; my draw is 29"; I should shoot a 64" bow, forearm slap hurts more with each slap; left chest slap hurts more (think "pruple nurple" ). Most surprizing, 20# was where I needed to start learning from, and I could not hold a 45# for more than 5 seconds.

I did use an arm guard, but I have rather large forearms, so finding the right position of the guard to a little trial and error... that and arm position was key.

My wife and I had a blast, the class gave us a good point at where we needed to start, and it looks like we will continue with the journey. Today we will head to Franklin, TN to an archery shop to see if they have a bow that calls out to us...

Bow weights are typically measured at 28" draw length. If you have longer draw then you would be holding a greater weight than what the bow is rated for. I would suggest trying to start a little higher than 20# if that is possible. I don't know if they are still available but at one point in time there were recurves that had a small weight adjustment range.
For indoor shooting my Hoyt is rated 28# at 28" but I have about 31" draw so I'm holding 34#, and my bow is 72" long.
Most recurve shooters are shooting NAA/FITA rules, i.e. olympic style archery. The full RITA course which used to be used in the olympics was 30 meters to 90 meters for men, and most serious amateurs shot bows in the 45 to 50# range. And some of those guys weren't big beefy guys either. Even when I was shooting a lot I couldn't do that much weight. If you get into compounds it's much different- a compound has "let off" so the peak weight occurs partway through the draw then the holding weight decreases some when you get to full draw. In the early days compounds had 4 "wheels" and around 30% letoff. Then 2-wheel compounds became more popular with up to 50% letoff. So if you bought a 50 pound compound you would only be holding 25 pounds at full draw. I don't know what it is for current compounds with cams instead of wheels. I've toyed with the idea of getting a new compound and getting back into NFAA competition (field archery).

 

[rharshberger]

Taught archery for years. Mostly shoot recurve for target. Used to hunt with a Bear Whitetail 2 compound. Haven't shot for the last 3 years but planning on getting back into it in spring.

I started hunting archery with an original Bear Whitetail Hunter using Easton Aluminum shafts. Instictive shooting takes lots of practice, but bow hunting and target shooting with sights on a compound is considerably easier, still plenty of practice needed but sights make it easier.

 

[Hobie1dog]

Today we will head to Franklin, TN to an archery shop to see if they have a bow that calls out to us...

post up pictures of your new bows for us as I'll put money on you'll both walk out with new ones.

 

[David_Stack]

In the early days compounds had 4 "wheels" and around 30% letoff. Then 2-wheel compounds became more popular with up to 50% letoff. So if you bought a 50 pound compound you would only be holding 25 pounds at full draw. I don't know what it is for current compounds with cams instead of wheels.

bjphoenix;

Would you believe 70 - 85% letoff on the compounds with cams (and I see that at least one of the compounds from Elite advertises a 90% letoff!). A 70lb peak wieight compound with 80% letoff would see the archer at full draw having to hold only 14 lbs on the fingers.

Difficult for this recurve archer to comprehend...