archery

[Jason Musgrave]

Anybody into archery? Been thinking about trying my hand at it - it's something I can do here (live/work on a school campus so no guns). Where do I start?

[ned]

Bow season starts any day now. But I guess you want to aim at things that don't move (or breathe)? No shortage of hunting shops in WNC but not sure about "archery."

[Jason Musgrave]

Yeah - paper targets. Plus I'm looking at recurve not compound

[Mabouya]

Apropos nothing, there was a story in the NYT the other day saying that archery has seen a resurgence lately, due in part to Katniss & "The Hunger Games."

[alexstar]

Apropos nothing, there was a story in the NYT the other day saying that archery has seen a resurgence lately, due in part to Katniss & "The Hunger Games."

Absolutely true. My friends who are into archery say that they used to have the range all to themselves; now it's overrun with 12-18-year-olds. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Hopefully some of these kids truly discover a love for the sport.

[caleb]

Where do I start?

The best idea is to try to find someone who will teach you locally. I learned from my dad and a local archer. The basics of drawing and anchoring aren't super complex, but there are multiple techniques and they take practice to do well.

I never read any instructional texts, but one classic that I can recommend for general appreciation of the sport is, "The Witchery of Archery." It was written in 1878, but it's still relevant.

As for gear, I think you'll want a dedicated target bow. Target bows usually have a lower draw weight (they're easier to pull and hold) than hunting bows, and they're longer than hunting bows (which has the effect of making for a smoother draw, rather than a draw that "stacks," getting harder and harder as you pull the string back which tends to happen with shorter bows).

I can't really give you specifics about modern gear since I haven't bought much in the past 15 years, and I've never had the sort of dedicated target gear you're after. There are three bows behind me laying across a chair right now (a Bear Kodiak, a Browning Wasp, and a homemade fiberglass/wood bow), but they're all the sort of bow you don't want: heavy draw and short limbs. Likewise, my arrows are all either homemade from cedar shafts or aluminum. Today, though, I think everyone that cares about performance wants carbon arrows.

Man, I feel like a fuddy-duddy realizing that for all the bow shooting and hunting I've done with a recurve, I have almost no advice of value to offer. Archery is really cool, though. I highly recommend giving it a try.