BEGINNERS EQUIPMENT HANDOUT
The latest version of this document can always be found here: http://goo.gl/skXzVt
CONTENTS ● If a muscle hurts while shooting have a rest Your muscles will tire while shooting, that’s About This Document natural. However, if you feel a pain in your body while shooting which doesn’t go away and What now? seems to hurt more, stop and rest. If it keeps on hurting go and get it checked out at by a GP. Acknowledgements Most muscle pains do go away fairly rapidly but some don’t. Don’t be afraid to stop shooting Traditional bows until you feel better, even if this means stopping for a few weeks or so. A rest is far better than Recommended Budget an extended layoff. Bow Accessories For The Bow ● Warm up before shooting Before shooting it’s best to warm up. This helps to get your Bow Stringer muscles working and can prevent muscle injury. You can draw your bow without an arrow (and Bow stand certainly without loosing!) or use a stretch band to warm up. Bow case Accessories For The Archer ● Make sure you drink plenty of fluid Make sure you drink fluids while shooting to stop you Bracer from becoming dehydrated, particularly when outside. Tab or glove Hand protector ● Use suncream and cover up when you’re shooting outdoors This might seem a bit Quiver nannying but it’s easy to get burnt while shooting because you are standing for prolonged SLA’s recommended traditional bow setup periods in one given orientation with respect to the sun. If you’re a right handed shooter your Arrows neck will face south at SLA’s shooting ground so it’s wise to use a hat and apply suncream to The Recurve Bow stop yourself getting burnt. Interestingly sunglasses also help with shooting as your pupil is Recommended Budget larger with sunglasses on and this helps with aiming by increasing the ability of your eye to The Riser focus and the edge of the sunglasses can be used as a reference point when turning your head The Limbs towards the target. Accessories For The Bow String (and nocking points) Pressure Button Rest Sight Bow stand Accessories For The Archer Sling Tab Bracer Quiver Optional (advanced) Accessories Stabilisers SLA’s recommended target recurve bow setup Arrows Compound bow Recommended Budget Useful Bits and Pieces Maintenance Items Books and media Scoring apps Where Do I Get My Equipment? Online Bricks and Mortar Retailer SLA Hire Scheme EBay, Auction sites and Classified Ads SLA Hire Scheme
Looking After Your Kit (and Yourself) About This Document So, you’ve got your shiny new archery kit! Congratulations! You’ll be eager to shoot and you’ve hopefully undertaken all the basic tuning you need to (if not please come and see the Equipment Officer The purpose of this document is to give the beginner archer an introduction to buying and looking after who’ll give you a hand). However, before you start shooting you need to remember that a bow is a their first archery bow and arrows. We will explain the basic types of bow (traditional, recurve and tuned and precise machine, be it wood or metal, and needs to be treated with care so it will perform at compound), give some advice on equipment selection, point you to some places where equipment can its best for years to come. A poorly looked after bow will not shoot well and could even be dangerous. be obtained and give you some advice on looking after your kit so that you’ll have it in tip top condition Also, don’t forget the meaty part of the bow, you! for many seasons of shooting.
Here are a list of things you should check regularly to keep your bow in tip top condition. What now?
You’ve completed your beginner’s course, well done!! We hope you enjoyed it. Now the fun really ● Wax your string If the string feels dry then wax it. You should wax it regularly, every few begins. It’s time to hone your technique to perfection, shoot some high scores and enjoy every minute! weeks is recommended. This stops the string from wearing prematurely, keeps it weatherproof The problem is you don’t have your own bow and arrows to shoot. Our little guide helps you to get and helps it keep its shape when stored. started down the path of purchasing your own bow and arrows. We’re available to help you whenever
you need it, so please don’t be afraid to ask. Remember, the most stupid question is the one which isn’t ● Check for damage to your bow and arrows Check your bow and arrows thoroughly for any asked! damage. Dings and cracks on your riser and limbs should be apparent. Check your arrows for
loose fletchings, points, cracks or bends. You can always ask someone at the club for As you will know from your course, there are many different styles of archery and different types of bow assistance if you’re unsure and if in doubt, don’t shoot something which seems to be damaged. to go with these styles. However, there are three main bow styles which you should consider now:
traditional, recurve and compound bows. We’ll go through these stepbystep below and tell you what ● Never dry fire your bow This is very important! Never draw your bow back and loose without bits and pieces you need to make your perfect first archery kit. an arrow nocked, this is called “dry firing”. Most modern recurve bows “should” survive a dry fire
but they don’t like it. Without an arrow to propel, all the energy accumulated by the bow during IMPORTANT Before you buy any bow please ensure you try it. When selecting draw weight, drawing will be dissipated in the bow, particularly the limbs. This can lead to catastrophic failure don’t be tempted to go for something out of your comfort zone because you will most likely be of the limbs and potential injury to you and your wallet! “overbowed” and this will lead to poor technique, poor shooting, pain and then frustration!
Our beginner bows have draw weights of around 16lb because that is a weight that the majority ● Check all screws are tight and in place Always check that everything is securely screwed of people will be able to manage (big and small) but you should choose a bow that suits your down on your bow before, during and after shooting. There’s nothing more annoying than a part physiology and limitations. If in doubt, come and talk to us! dropping off or a rattle while shooting. Bow sights are common culprits here.
● Don’t drop your bow or limbs Duh! Dropping the bow or limbs can damage them. If you do drop your bow check everything is OK, undamaged and secure before continuing to shoot. Acknowledgements ● Don’t rest your bow on the ground, use a stand Make sure you use a stand to hold your Thanks very much to Aardvark Archery, Merlin Archery and Bowsports for their permission to use bow between ends. Resting it on the ground means it will get dirty, may put undue pressure on product images from their website in this guide. certain parts, e.g. the sight or button, and it runs the risk of getting hit or stood on.
● Be careful when resting your limb tips on the ground people commonly pick up their bows before shooting and while waiting to shoot may rest their bow on the ground on the bottom limb tip. Be careful when you do this as as well as getting your limb tips dirty, resting it on concrete could damage the limbs or gradually wear away the string at the limb tip. If you do this rest the limb on your shoe to prevent damage.
● Always store your bow in a case or bag When you finish shooting make sure you store and transport your bow in a case/bag to keep it in good condition. A case/bag also helps to keep your kit together and stops bits and bobs getting lost.
● Keep your bow clean and dry You should always keep your bow free of dirt or grime. A soft cloth will usually remove most dirt, though for stubborn dirt use a wet cloth. Don’t use any harsh or abrasive cleaners on your bow, unless recommended by the manufacturer. Always dry your bow if you do clean it with a damp cloth. If you are unfortunate enough to get wet while shooting and have to pack up due to rain, make sure you dry your bow and all wet parts off thoroughly when you get back home. This prevents decay and corrosion of your bow and its components. Traditional bows SLA Hire Scheme Traditional archery, seems to have undergone a resurgence in recent years, but has never really been Most people who join the club do buy their own kit pretty much straight away. However, we recognise unpopular as it represents archery in its truest, most basic and visceral form. If you don’t like shooting that the costs can be prohibitive, especially if you’ve got a family who all want to shoot too. As we want with a sight and want to follow a simpler form of archery, traditional shooting is probably for you. Don’t you to join the club and not be put off by equipment costs, we do offer a hire scheme. In this scheme be fooled however, traditional shooting is easy to grasp but very difficult to master! we provide everything you need, apart from arrows and allow you to spread the cost of purchase over several months. The kit we can supply is based on our recommended traditional or recurve kit. Recommended Budget A reasonable budget for a traditional bow, arrows and all required accessories will be around £220, How the scheme works is as follows: though you should budget a bit more than this if you opt for longbow. Firsthand, you speak to the club Equipment Officer and tell us what kind of archery interest you.. either traditional or recurve. The EO will have a chat with you and discuss the options available and the terms Bow of the hire scheme to make sure you are happy to proceed. There are a multitude of styles of bow available to shoot ranging from the basic and utilitarian longbow to the advanced and efficient horse bow and the elegant flatbow. You then pay an initial £30 deposit and the EO will then order and pay for your kit.
The balance for your equipment costs (i.e cost minus £30 deposit) is paid back by you in 6 (or more) monthly instalments. Usually this is by setting up a Standing Order to the club bank account.
You have the option of returning the bow at any time during the hire period (we keep what you’ve already paid) or, as most people do, make all of the payments and it’s yours to keep forever.
Because arrows are such an individual item, we do not hire arrows but we’ll happily measure you up and we’ll let you know what types of arrows and what spine to buy along with suggestions of where you can purchase them.
Kaya WindFighter HorseBow When your new equipment comes in, we’ll hand it over to you with some help and guidance on setting it Bickerstaffe Longbows Buck Trail FlatBow up and looking after it, but from here on, it’s yours to look after and shoot whenever you like. All we ask is that you look after it and keep it in its original condition as far as possible, in the event that you decide Choosing which style you want to shoot is personal preference. There are lots of different styles to return it. available and there are people shooting lots of different styles in the club so feel free to chat to ask around as the traditional archers are particularly keen to talk about their bows! Once you’re paid up we won’t say bye as there’ll always be someone on hand to answer your questions or any calls for help. The following are good bows which we think represent value for money and shoot really well: If you’re interested come and talk to the Equipment Officer. We recommend
Longbow: Bickerstaff basic longbow, around £350. Horsebow: Kaya Windfighter Korean bow, around £120. Flatbow: Buck Trail Blackhawk, around £90. The cost of traditional bows can vary greatly, but these three bows are an excellent starting point.
Its unusual for a new bow to come without a string so we haven’t discussed bowstrings here. If you need help selecting a string please come and talk to us and we’ll help you.
Where Do I Get My Equipment? Accessories For The Bow
Online There are a wide number of online archery retailers. Most also have physical shops, while some are purely online only. It’s easy to shop around for the best prices but sometimes availability of products means having to use more than one shop. We have listed the largest and most well known retailers and their URLs below. Its worth taking a look and seeing what each has to offer.
● Aardvark Archery: www.aardvarkarchery.co.uk ● Alternative Archery: www.altservices.co.uk ● Archery World: www.archeryworld.co.uk ● Bowsports: www.bowsports.com ● Custom Built Archery: www.cbarchery.co.uk Longbow stringer Traditional bow bag ● The Longbow Shop: www.thelongbowshop.com ● Merlin Archery: www.merlinarchery.co.uk Bow Stringer ● Perris Archery: www.perrisarchery.co.uk Stringing methods for traditional bows tends to be chosen by personal preference; some archers string ● Quicks Archery: www.quicksarchery.co.uk them unaided, while others use a stringer. Horse bows tend to be fairly easy to string, while longbows require a little more practice. We recommend you use a stringer; it’s the safest way and can prevent We recommend three online retailers as offering a great selection, good prices and good customer injury to you and damage to your bow. service, however our members each have their favourites so ask around for opinions before you buy.
We recommend We recommend Bowsports bow web stringer, around £5 Bowsports, Merlin Archery and The Longbow Shop (for traditional archery). It is also worth bearing in mind that we have a club discount at The Longbow Shop. Just enter our Bow stand promotional code: SLA210715 at checkout or over the phone when ordering. The use of bow stands among traditional archers varies. Many make their own stands or just place their
bows on the ground between ends. If you feel you need a stand, you will have to get a type which is Bricks and Mortar Retailer suitable for your style of bow. If you prefer to visit an actual archery shop you can. Several of the online retailers have shops. The two closest to us are Aardvark Archery and Merlin Archery. Bow case You really do need a bow case or bag. It gives protection to your bow and string and keeps everything Aardvark Archery Merlin Archery (County Durham branch), together when you’re transporting your kit. Commonly, traditional bows are stored in long fabric Unit 31G, Springfield Commercial Centre, Tindale Crescent, slipcases. Its not unusual for a bow to come with a case, particularly if you’ve spent a lot of money on Bagley Lane, Bishop Auckland, it. When choosing a case you should ensure that you choose the right length case for your bow. Farsley, County Durham, Leeds, DL14 9SS. West Yorkshire, We recommend LS28 5LY. Longbow or flatbow: Longbowshop Cordura bow bag, around £18 Horsebow: Kaya KTB bow bag, around £22 It’s good to go to an actual shop as you can try kit out before you buy it because most shops have their own indoor ranges. There’s usually some really helpful people on hand too. However, if you want something specific you should always phone ahead to check that they have it in store. Accessories For The Archer
EBay, Auction sites and Classified Ads Bracer We really recommend you DON’T buy from any of these sources. The quality may be good but you’ve A good bracer is a must for traditional shooting as constantly hitting the string off your arm is painful got no idea of the true condition and can’t return the item once you’ve bought it. Its too risky, particularly and can lead to bad bruising, not least a poor shot. Commonly bracers for traditional shooting are made when you’re inexperienced. of leather but plastic ones can be used. Essentially, almost any bracer will be suitable but we would advise you to steer clear of some of the thinner, “lowprofile” bracers because they don’t really offer SLA Hire Scheme sufficient protection when starting out in the sport. There is also the option of our club hire scheme if you’re a little short on cash (see later section). Most people who shoot traditional archery tend to favour leather bracers. These tend to be more costly ● MetOffice weather app currently free. Provides a detailed weather forecast for your area. than plastic bracers but can last longer if looked after correctly however, they are in keeping with the ● WUnderground app currently free. Provides a weather forecast for your area and includes spirit of traditional archery and look much more the part than a plastic bracer does! loads of other weather statistics. ● Rain Alarm Pro around £3. Provides a near real time rainfall radar with alarms to warn you of impending rain. Very useful! We recommend
Standard plastic bracer: Easton Oval Bracer, around £8 These are available for Android or iOS and can be downloaded from your relevant app store. Leather bracer: Neet Traditional Armguard, around £18. As well as mobile apps there is an excellent online resource called Archery Score Pad (http://archeryscorepad.com/). The site allows you to set up a free account and record your scores online. The site will maintain a history of your scores and handicap as well as keep track of your progress. Any score you submit will also be compared against everyone else on the site which can be enlightening! The site also has the chance to join a club and have your entered scores lumped together with other club members and these are then used to rank clubs in the UK. SLA have a club already set up on Archery Score Pad so please join us! Its a great site and resource and its highly recommended!
Leather bracer Plastic bracer
Tab or glove Traditional bows can be shot with either a tab (like the one you used in your beginner’s course) or a glove. There are other ways of shooting a traditional bow (such as a thumb ring) but these are advanced techniques and aren’t suitable for beginners.
Most tabs can be used for shooting a traditional bow but simple is usually best! However many traditional shooters prefer to use a shooting glove instead. Finger tab or shooting glove are both acceptable, however we would advise that you steer clear of platform tabs with traditional archery; the metal platform often hits the cheek when anchoring alongside the face rather than anchoring under the jawline as you do when shooting freestyle.
We recommend
Tab: Soma Fivics Clover tab, around £3 Shooting glove: Merlin Archery Full Finger Leather Glove TD08, around £7.
Hand protector If you’re shooting the arrow off your hand (e.g. longbow or horsebow) we recommend you also buy a hand protector to prevent cuts and bruises or other (nasty!) fletch related injuries. A glove will work but it must be sturdy and not made of wool or fabric threads as these will rapidly wear.
We recommend
Merlin Archery Hand Protector, around £7.
In addition to books, ArcheryGB also make an instruction video which is very useful:
● Archery GB, The Way of the Champion DVD Around £20.
There is also the online coaching videos on the ArcheryGB website which form a very useful resource:
● www.archerygb.org/members/operations/coaches/coaching_videos.php
As in most walks of life the Internet is a fabulous resource for Archery. There are some good archery forums out there but we think these are the best:
Shooting glove Hand protector ● Archery Interchange www.archeryinterchange.com/ This is a British site and has lots of Finger tab discussion about everything related to archery.
Quiver ● Archery Talk www.archerytalk.com/vb/ This is an American site and although there’s lots There are a multitude of quivers available for archery, not least traditional archery. In traditional archery about bowhunting, there is much about target recurve archery. The discussions sometimes you have choice between hip quivers, back quivers and ground quivers. We’d recommend you don’t seem more indepth than on most websites and Rick McKinney and Vittorio Frangilli regularly bother with ground quivers as they’re a little inflexible as you have to bend down between each shot to contribute!! pick up an arrow and this can disrupt your shooting technique (not to mention your fun!). Ground
quivers also usually stick into the ground with a spike on the end which makes them useless when Oh, don’t forget the SLA forum (http://www.southleedsarchers.org.uk/forum/) too! shooting indoors.
Scoring apps Most target recurve quivers are fabric and plastic and tend be worn on the hip. They can be used for The traditional way of scoring rounds is using pen and paper. Sometimes people even plot their arrows traditional archery, particularly if you’re on a budget. Again though, natural materials are popular with by marking the locations on a graphic of the target face. Thanks to the availability of smartphones that the traditional archer and there are many different leather and suede quivers available which tend to be has changed markedly with the use of scoring applications becoming more and more widespread and very elegant and hard wearing and complement traditional archery beautifully. It’s your choice whatever offering significant advantages over paperbased scoring. There are lots of applications both free and type of quiver you want, either a hip or back quiver, but there’s no denying that back quivers look cool! relatively cheap but these are the ones we recommend: We recommend ● Archery Scorepad Around £3. Android only. This is an excellent scoring application which Fabric hip quiver: Aurora Dynamic Shark Quiver, around £29. contains a wide number of rounds (WA, GNAS etc.). The application also includes handicap Leather hip quiver: Merlin Archery Leather Side Quiver TD05, around £15. calculations, grading classifications, the ability to save sight marks and the ability to export Leather back quiver: Merlin Archery Leather Back Quiver TD15, around £14. scores.
● Artemis (Lite) Free version, paid version is around £5. Android only. This is a really advanced application which lets you plot and analyse your arrows and can calculate groupings, sight corrections, dodgy arrows etc. There is a free version to let you test it out but the paid version offers so many more features. Its complex but well worth the cost and effort.
● Archery Handicap Calculator Free, Android only. This is a free and nonad supported app. It allows you to input your round scores and calculates your handicap and plots it on a graph allowing you to see how you progress over time. Very useful.
● iArcher Around £4. iOS only. This offers very similar features to Archery Scorepad but is
solely for iOS.
Fabric hip quiver Leather hip quiver Leather back quiver Ewen’s personal note: I don’t use an app any more. Pen and paper have never crashed on me and lost my best scored round with only a few ends to go. Grr!!
There are loads of other apps available for your phone which may help your archery however weather apps prove to be very useful.
SLA’s recommended traditional bow set-up Fletch glue/Super glue In order to stick all those spare vanes back onto your arrows, you need some As we’ve discussed there are a few individual options available when purchasing your first traditional glue. There are lots of different types of arrow glue available, however cyanoacrylate (superglue) bow. However, we think that a flatbow is the most suitable option for a beginner and here is what we derivatives are very popular. You can purchase specialist arrow fletching glue from an archery supplier think represents good value for money for a first traditional bow setup. but we’ve found that ordinary superglue works well enough, particularly Loctite Power Gel (which is around £3 in your local supermarket). Item Kit Cost (£) Spare string It’s always handy to have a spare string for your bow just in case something goes wrong Bow Buck Trail Blackhawk flatbow 88 with your usual string. They are not expensive and having one when you need it is better than having to drive home because yours broke in the middle of a shoot. Bracer Neet Traditional Armguard 18
Shooting tab or shooting glove Merlin Archery Full Finger Leather Glove TD08 7 Stretch band This is more of an archer maintenance item than a bow maintenance item! Stretch bands are commonly used for physiotherapy but they are great for archery and can be used for Shooting hand protector Merlin Archery Hand Protector 7 warming up, practicing technique or training to pull your bow using an exercise called reversals. There are different types and weights of stretch band so make sure you choose one appropriate to you but we Quiver Merlin Archery Leather Back Quiver TD15 14 highly recommend you get one to help you develop your technique. Bow stringer Bowsports bow web stringer 5
Bow case Longbowshop Cordura bow bag 18
Total £157
Arrows You’ll notice there are no arrows in the above table! Its very important that if you’re buying your kit over the Internet that you have yourself measured correctly for draw length and know the poundage you are holding at full draw. Arrows need to be correctly spined to match you and your bow. If they don’t your arrows won’t fly correctly.
In order to choose correct arrows for your bow, you need to measure your draw weight and draw length Multitool Stretchband (measured from the arrow nock throat to the bow pivot point plus 1.5”). You can then select the most appropriate arrow spine. If this sounds a little complicated, please come and talk to the Coaches or Books and media Equipment Officer and we can help you. There are lots of books available which cover archery. However, there are few which really stand out above the rest and can give you a real boost to your archery technique if you use them. If you go to a shop to buy your bow, tell them you would like some arrows and ask them to help you select the right ones to match the kit you’re buying. They’ll be more than happy to help. ● Al Henderson, Understanding Winning Archery Around £7. Covers the mental side of archery in easy to manage and enjoyable bitesized sections. Possibly one of the best books For traditional archery you can use Aluminium arrows however, most traditional archers use wooden written about archery. shafts with feather fletchings. There are varying types of wood used, the most common being Port Orford Cedar, Spruce or Fir. Bear in mind that as wood is a natural material there can be variation in ● Ruth Rowe, Fundamentals of Recurve Archery Around £10. Covers the Biomechanically any wooden arrows you buy, even if the shafts are well matched. Generally the more you pay, the Efficient Shooting Technique shot cycle used by most of the World’s top archers. The book better chance that the arrows will be well matched to one another but for your first bow it is not too breaks the shot cycle down into individual lessons which you can practice at home. critical to pay topdollar for a set. ● Rick McKinney, The Simple Art of Winning Around £16. One of the most readable and Many places will make arrows up to your specifications. Locally you can get arrows made at Aardvark enjoyable archery books written by one of the absolute legends of archery. Provides advice on Archery, while Merlin Archery and Bowsports provide a very good online ordering service. To order all facets of archery from form, setup, mental aspects and training. Excellent photos too and madetomeasure arrows you need to know the following details: some great personal insights.
1. Arrow shaft length (in inches). ● Ki Sik Lee and Tyler Benner, Total Archery: Inside the Archer Around £A fantastic book 2. Shaft spine number (usually quoted as a range of draw weights, e.g. 5055#). detailing the individual parts of the Biomechanically Efficient Shooting Technique shot cycle by 3. Shaft diameter (usually one of 5/16 or 11/32 either are fine). the person who invented it (and is also one of the most successful archery coaches in history). 4. Point size and weight (sized to your chosen shaft diameter, point weight is not critical). Very detailed book with lots of photos and technical descriptions but highly recommended, 5. Colour of cock and hen fletchings. particularly when you are more advanced. 6. Colour of nocks. Useful Bits and Pieces 7. Number of arrows you require.
There are lots of other things available which make your archery life simpler and more enjoyable. These We recommend you buy at least eight arrows as this gives you two spares, though prebuilt arrows and range from tools to books and even apps for your mobile. components are usually sold in dozens anyway. For prebuilt wooden arrows you would be looking to spend between £6070 for twelve arrows. Maintenance Items Arrows are funny beasts, you have to change them quite a bit early on in your archery career. It’s highly Keeping your bow in good shape is a top priority whether you’re a beginner or professional. A poor or likely that your first set of arrows won’t last you long as your draw length will increase as you shoot damaged bow will shoot badly at best and be very dangerous at worst. If you look after your bow it will more and your technique improves and you may also increase the draw weight of your bow as you get look after you! There are a few bits and pieces which we think you might find very useful to have in your stronger. As such it’s wise to begin to save up for a new set of arrows straight after getting your first set! kit bag and we’ve listed these below. We’ll only give recommendations here when we think it’s necessary as you might have some of these items already. While you will probably buy your first set ready made, we highly recommend you learn to make your own arrows. Its very easy and enjoyable and can save you a lot of money. It also lets you customise String wax It’s important to wax your string regularly to reduce friction on the string fibres and to help your arrows and have the knowledge to repair them easily. Importantly, you’ll gain a much deeper seal it against the elements. String wax should be applied once every week or two or when the string is understanding of archery and your kit if you make these arrows. If you’re interested please ask one of dry. There are a few types available on the market however we recommend any of the waxes made by the Coaches or the Equipment Officer for more information. Bohning (between £3£8). NOTE: If you are building your own arrows from components, remember that you will need 3 fletches Bow square When setting up your bow it’s important to make sure your nocking points are correctly per arrow and it is a good idea to buy a few spares to replace damaged ones later. positioned and to check your brace height every time you string your bow up. To do this you need a special tool called a bow square. We recommend the Cartel aluminium bow square (around £5).
Allen key set (metric or imperial) most bows use allen key bolts to attach components to the riser and several components (e.g. pressure button) also use these bolts. You will accrue a large number of allen keys during your archery career (seriously!) as many components and bows come with a few free. However, it’s good having a set of these, especially a multitool type which contains a range of sizes. If you have an American bow (Hoyt, PSE etc). you’ll need an imperial allen key set, pretty much every other manufacturer uses metric allen bolts.
String wax Bow square Allen keys
Small multitool A small multitool like a Gerber or Leatherman (or the relatively cheap replica types which can be found at shops such as Clas Ohlsen) are very useful for archery. Pick one which contains a small knife, and flat and Philips screwdriver heads as well as a pair of pliers.
Spare vanes/fletchings It’s good to have some spare fletchings for your arrows as you are likely to lose some sooner or later. Make sure you choose the correct size of fletch to match the ones currently on your arrow.
Spare nocks As with fletchings it’s good to have some spare nocks as these can get damaged fairly frequently, particularly indoors when you’re shooting tight groups at short distances. The Recurve Bow Compound bow Recurve bows are the types of bow you will see in Olympic archery and are one of the most popular types of bow in use today. Recurve freestyle is a highly technical discipline of archery however it still One scenario which continually popsup is: has its roots in the simple recurve bow used in traditional archery but applies high tech materials, “my (mate/ebay) has this compound bow and I thought I would give it a try” stabilisers, sights etc. to help improve the archer’s accuracy. The beginner’s bows you used on your Trust us when we say that, from long experience, this is never the way you want to get into compound course are recurve bows. archery. Second hand, cheap, compound bows are very rarely worth the money spent on them and without exception, everyone that buys one this way will end up spending a fair amount of money on it, Shooting a recurve bow correctly takes lots and lots of practice; it is not as instinctive as traditional only to then later give up the sport entirely, else dig deep into their pockets, go to a bricks and mortar archery, however it is no less enjoyable. Many recurve bows are seen with lots of bells and whistles retailer and buy the bow they should have bought to begin with. attached but you can shoot it barebow with no sight or stabilising aids. It is incredibly unlikely that you will have the experience or knowledge to assess a secondhand or Recommended Budget handmedown bow for condition, safety and suitability. Furthermore, selection and adjustment of a A reasonable budget for a recurve bow, arrows and all required accessories will be around £320. compound bow requires a reasonable amount of technical knowledge; in some cases specialist tools are needed and for some bows the required adjustments may not even be possible. Even our club The Riser coaches find it difficult to fit a compound bow to a beginner archer because, in the first stages of your The riser is the metal, carbon or wood “handle” of the bow. It is one of the core components of the bow archery life, your technique is continually changing as you practice and develop. (the others being the limbs, arrow and the string). As befitting the technical complexity of recurve archery there are many, many types of riser available ranging in prices from between £60 £700. Compound bows are tricky beasts and also very much on the expensive side of archery. We do not recommend that any beginner should start their archery experience by buying a compound bow as their first bow. If, however, you really do have your heart set on shooting compound and absolutely nothing else will do, please speak to your club coach and get some advice. We will probably make at least a token attempt to explain why this is generally not advisable, but if you are truly keen then we will do our best to help you out with good advice. After all, we want you enjoy your archery and if, for you, that means a compound bow then we’ll be with you.
Recommended Budget A reasonable budget for a compound bow, arrows and all required accessories will be in the region of £800 Yep, that’s the minimum you should be thinking of spending on a new compound bow setup. We told you it wasn’t cheap.
We recommend
We recommend that you seriously consider shooting another bow type for at least a year before thinking about compound archery. That said, if your heart is really set on it then speak to us and please, please, DO NOT, under any circumstances, buy a secondhand or cheap compound bow. Basic metal (ILF) riser Hitech metal (ILF) riser
The limb fitting is an important facet to consider. Most recurve bows have a standardised International Limb Fittings, or ILF. This was a global standard meaning that one manufacturer’s limbs could fit into another manufacturer’s riser. However, over the last few years the American company Hoyt have altered this standard somewhat so Hoyt “ILF” limbs only really fit in Hoyt risers. The ILF standard still does apply to other manufacturers however (e.g. Win and Win, Kaya, Gillo, SF etc).
You can also purchase risers which have screw in limbs. Unless you are on a very tight budget, we recommend you avoid these kinds of bow because, although they are often at the cheaper end of the scale, they are usually of much lower quality and they don’t offer much or choice for limbs, are difficult to tune and cannot be easily upgraded if your interest in the sport increases.
When looking at risers you may also notice that they are often available in two or more sizes (lengths). Most risers are 25”, however some are 23” or even 27”. When combined with the limbs this gives the 4. Colour of cock and hen fletchings. total size of the bow. Confusingly, limbs are commonly quoted as the total bow length when attached to 5. Colour of nocks. a 25” riser, frequently 66” (short), 68” (medium) and 70” (long). Your beginners bows were measured at 6. Number of arrows you require. 68”. If you’re using a 23” riser you’d need to reduce the total length accordingly. For example:
We recommend you buy at least eight arrows as this gives you two spares should something happen to ● A 23” riser with 70” limbs will make a 68” bow your arrows while shooting. Eight arrows works out at around £55. ● A 25” riser with 70” limbs will make a 70” bow
Arrows are funny beasts, you have to change them quite a bit early on in your archery career. Its highly This measurement is important for two reasons, 1) it determines the length of string you need for your likely that your first set of arrows won’t last you long as your draw length will increase as you shoot bow and 2) it determines how efficient your bow is when shot by you. Basically, if you’ve got a draw more and your technique improves and you may also increase the draw weight of your bow as you get length above 30” and you shoot a 66” bow it will likely be “faster” than a longer bow setup but the limbs stronger. As such it’s wise to begin to save up for a new set of arrows straight after getting your first set! are also likely to be highly stressed. If you’ve got a 27” draw length and shoot a 70” bow it will be comfortable to shoot but will not be operating as efficiently. Bow length also affects how comfortable the While you will probably buy your first set ready made we highly recommend you learn to make your string feels in your fingers at full draw. own arrows. Its very easy and enjoyable and saves you a lot of money. It also lets you customise your arrows and have the knowledge to repair them easily. Importantly, you’ll gain a much deeper The required bow length depends on your draw length. Draw lengths between 2628” typically require a understanding of archery and your kit if you make these arrows. If you’re interested please ask one of 66” bow, 2830” draw lengths require a 68” bow and over 30” draw lengths require a 70” bow. Most the Coaches or the Equipment Officer for more information. adults therefore fall into the 68” or 70” bow groups. There are a range of different bow lengths used by club members so ask around and have a try of different bow lengths.
It is also worth noting that juniors are clearly different in size and strength to adult archers and therefore a standard 66, 68 or 70” bow may not be suitable for them at all. When equipping juniors it is vitally important to choose a bow that is immediately manageable rather than one which you hope that they can “grow into”.
ALWAYS get some advice when choosing a bow for a junior archer. We cannot stress enough that choosing a bow for a junior archer requires careful consideration.
As a beginner we’d recommend you choose an aluminium, ILF fitting riser. This will provide you with many years of good service and have the ability for all parts to be upgraded as you improve or require newer kit. We think the following two risers offer the beginner really good value for money, great performance and flexibility as well as longevity:
We recommend
Samick Vision X riser, around £70 SF Axiom Light riser, around £80
Higher level risers are available, but those listed above are good entry level risers. It should be noted that you should spend as much money on a riser as your budget allows. The other parts of the bow will probably be upgraded later but the riser is likely to stay with you longest and a quality riser provides a good foundation for your archery development.
You can commonly buy risers and limbs in a “deal” package and these can be very worthwhile to consider so always ask at the shop about package deals.
The Limbs
Limbs are a fundamental part of the bow, they store and release the energy which propels the arrow forward. As with risers, there are many types of limb available from nearly every well known archery manufacturer, ranging from very cheap to very expensive. Cheaper limbs tend to be made of wood and fibreglass laminations, while the more expensive limbs are made from more exotic materials, including carbon fibre. You will almost certainly notice the difference between a cheap and expensive set of limbs. The bow may be easier to draw, sound sweeter at release and your arrows will fly better (as Bow stand SF Axiom magnetic bow stand 10 noted by a change in your arrow grouping). However, most cheap beginner’s limbs are of an excellent standard and are more than capable of providing you with hasslefree long term service and good arrow Bow stringer MAC bow stringer 4 performance. As stated in the section on Risers we recommend that you purchase ILF limb fittings. Bow case Legend Streamline 2 backpack 35
Finger sling SF finger sling 2
Finger tab Decut anchor tab 8
Arm guard (bracer) Easton oval armguard 8
Quiver Easton Range Lite quiver (with Easton belt) 36
Basic Limbs Advanced limbs Total £263
As a beginner, there’s a lot of good ILF limbs around, however, based on our experience, we We’ve not included stabilisers in this table as we think this is an optional item. If you do want to recommend the following: purchase our recommended stabiliser the total comes to £282.
Arrows We recommend You’ll notice there are no arrows in the above table! Its very important that if you’re buying your kit Samick Vision fibre limbs, around £75 over the Internet that you have yourself measured correctly for draw length and know the poundage you SF Axiom Plus limbs, around £50 are holding at full draw. Arrows need to be correctly spined to match you and your bow. If they don’t your arrows won’t fly correctly.
Accessories For The Bow In order to choose the correct arrows for your bow you need to measure your draw weight and correct draw length (measured from the arrow nock throat to the bow pivot point plus 1.5”) then use an arrow String (and nocking points) chart to select the most appropriate arrow spine for you and your bow (which can be a bit of a dark art!). Its very common for strings to be included in bow packages but sometimes you have to purchase one We can help you here, so please come and talk to the Coaches or Equipment Officer if you are stuck. yourself. When purchasing a string you need to know your bow length (see the Riser section above). Once you know this you then need to choose the string material and number of strands in the string. If you go to a shop to buy your bow tell them you would like some arrows and ask them to help you There are a range of string materials ranging from cheap dacron, through Fast Flight to more exotic select the right arrow for the kit you’re buying. They’ll be more than happy to help. materials like 8125 and Angel Dyneema. The number of strands reflects the breaking strain of the string and also affects its weight, with more strands meaning a heavier string and reducing arrow velocity As a club we recommend you buy Easton XX75 Platinum Plus arrows. These are relatively cheap (yes, seriously!). We’d steer clear of dacron and have found that Fast Flight strings are great all arrows (~£6.50 per arrow ready made) but are made to a very high standard and are exceptionally rounders and will serve you and your target recurve well. The number of strands is not as critically robust. Their main drawback is their weight which means shooting at longer distances is difficult. important as the length, however its commonly acknowledged that 16 strands is suitable for a draw However, this shouldn’t concern you at the moment as it’s more important to develop your shooting weight of <40lb and 18 strands for 40lb and greater draw weight though this does vary dependant on form before you try and shoot longer distances. the chosen string material. Please don’t be tempted to buy expensive arrows like ACCs or ACGs as these will be a waste of money We recommend at such an early stage in your archery career (save the money for buying them in a year or so when they’ll be needed). It should also be noted that all carbon arrows, such as Easton Lightspeeds, are String Flex Fast Flight string (18 strand), around £8 banned at the club due to the difficulty in finding these if they miss the target (they are also inferior in engineering tolerances to aluminium or carbonaluminium shafts). You will also need to purchase some nocking points for your string. These are small pieces of brass with a rubberised liner that clip around your string and hold your arrow in place when it is nocked. They Do not buy allcarbon arrows! come in three sizes: small, medium and large. For a recurve bow with a 1618 strand string the medium You will not be allowed to shoot them at SLA. (black) nocks are suitable. Some archers avoid metal nocking points and instead use serving thread to tie nocks which results in lower string mass and a greater arrow speed however this is not a great Many places will make arrows up to your specifications. Locally you can get arrows made at Aardvark consideration for a beginner and brass nock points are more durable, and easy to fit. Archery, while Merlin Archery and Bowsports provide a very good online ordering service. To order madetomeasure arrows you need to know the following details: You will need a bow square and nock pliers to fit brass nocking points. Come and talk to someone at the club and we’ll help you do this. 1. Arrow shaft length (in inches). 2. Arrow spine number. 3. Arrow points (commonly sized according to shaft spine number). basic Physics and Mechanics does help in archery quite a bit! If you’re interested have a read of these We recommend articles: Saunders medium (black) brass nocks, around £2 ● Controlling bow behaviour with stabilisers:
http://tenzone.org.uk/Equipment/stabilisation/pdfs/stab4a4.pdf Pressure Button ● Mechanics of bow stabilisation: The pressure button is an important piece of kit. It helps to tune your arrow by setting its centreshot http://www.bowinternational.com/features/mechanicsofbowstabilisation/ and providing a counter pressure to the flexing of the arrow shaft at release. There are lots of different types of pressure button available. Most are relatively simple, however some have micrometer What stabilisers do all sounds simple enough, however there are two major problems; 1) there is a vast movements and scales to aid setting. These are usually very expensive and certainly too much for a selection on the market (with a range of prices to match), and 2) there are a whole host of beginner. As such something much simpler is more appropriate. configurations of stabiliser, including types of stabilising rod, variable rod angles and lengths and different weights (phew!). We recommend the Cartel Supra button as it’s simple, cheap and robust but if you can afford it, the Shibuya DX button, in our opinion, is one of the best and will last you forever, but does cost around There is really no hard and fast way of choosing a stabiliser set up, its predominantly personal £22. preference and how the bow performs when you shoot (although there are some good tips in the above We recommend documents). Typically most shooters have a long rod and a vbar with two side rods. Some people also have a long rod extender. However, as beginners we recommend you use a only long rod for the time Cartel Supra Button, around £5. being for two reasons; 1) all the stabilisers add additional weight to your bow, which will affect your strength and your ability to hold the bow steady, and 2) having a full complement of stabilisers may actually mask problems with your technique, e.g. torquing the bow while drawing. Therefore it’s best to concentrate on your technique first then, when you begin to shoot consistently and your technique is settled, think about how stabilisation can help you.
Given all this we recommend that you only purchase a long rod for the time being, with the Cartel Dynamic Long Rod being a cheap but very effective and well built option. The length you choose should be based on your height. The taller you are the longer the rod length. Helpfully the Cartel long rod only comes in 28” and 30” lengths so there’s not so much choice.
We recommend String and nocking points Pressure button Cartel Dynamic Long Rod, around £19 Rest SLA’s recommended target recurve bow set-up This is the simple device which fits over your pressure button and holds your arrow securely on the riser when you nock your arrow. Although it’s simple it’s very important to your shooting. There are a wide As we’ve discussed there are lots of options when purchasing your first recurve bow kit. However, here range of rests available from basic plastic stick on rests to stick on metal rests. They range in price from is what we think represents good value for money for your first kit which will keep you shooting happily just over £1 to £58. for a long time and can grow with you. This kit is very similar to the beginner’s bows you shot with on your course, so you already know (broadlyspeaking) what the bows will be like. If you get the Most rests offer some flexibility in altering the elevation of the arrow while by twisting the arm rest or opportunity to go to a shop and try the risers out then please do so. adjusting it with a screw. This is usually used during tuning however tuning the rest is fairly uncommon,
even with professional archers, and leads to tiny and marginal gains which only some of the best Item Kit Cost (£) archers in the world would be able to detect. Believe it or not the plastic Hoyt Super Pro rest is one of Riser SF Axiom 80 the most widely used rests in the world, with both amateurs and professionals. It has been used to shoot many world record scores. Its beauty is its cost and flexibility, it can last for tens of thousands of Limbs SF Axiom Plus 50 shots and if it breaks off you just tear it off and stick another one on to your riser. For this reason we highly recommend the Hoyt Super Pro rest. String String Flex Fast Flight (and nocks) 10
Pressure button Cartel Supra button 5 We recommend Arrow rest Hoyt Super Pro 2 Hoyt Super Pro rest, around £2 Sight Cartel Tournament EX sight 13
arrows are held more vertically and pointing rearwards. The field quiver is used mostly in field archery because the design of the quiver stops arrows getting snagged on vegetation etc. Some target archers do use a field quiver, however we’d recommend using a forwardfacing quiver for target archery.
The most basic quivers are just plastic tubes within a fabric slipcase, or just the slipcase itself. They sometimes come with a belt attached, but generally hook onto the archer’s own belt or clothing. Basic quivers tend to be ambidextrous and don’t have storage pockets etc. The more expensive quivers tend to be made of more robust material, are larger, come with a belt and have lots of pockets for your kit. They also tend to be bigger and heavier than the basic quivers.
Simple plastic arrow rest Metal arrow rest A good, cheap quiver is the Easton two tube “Flipside” quiver. Its simple and doesn’t need a belt however it doesn’t have any pocket or other storage room for bits and pieces. Should you want something a little more fancy, with storage space for bits and pieces, we recommend the Easton Range Sight Lite quiver. Its more expensive but fairly robust and will grow with you as you shoot. The only drawback You probably get that there’s an ongoing theme with target recurve archery of there being a wide is that it doesn’t come with a belt; you can buy an Easton belt for around £8 or use your own. range of every type of item available. Sights are no different! Most sights have three major movements, namely windage (moving the sight pin left and right to control lateral grouping), elevation (moving the We recommend sight up and down to control vertical grouping and distance) and plane (moving the sight bar towards or away from the riser to control distance). You can also change the sight pin should you wish to do so. Basic: Easton two tube flipside quiver, around £8 Advanced: Easton Range Lite Quiver, around £28 All sights used on target recurve bows will have a graduated scale on the elevation movement. This allows you to record an accurate sight mark. Only a few of the most expensive sights have a graduated scale on the windage and some sights have markings on the plane movement (although these are easy to add yourself). For the elevation and windage movements sights employ either a screw movement or a click movement. The screw movement is common on cheaper sights, while the click movement is found on more expensive sights. The click movement actually allows for micro adjustments in your sight should these be required (e.g. correcting for wind effects etc.).
Given the range of sights available there are a lot of choices. We wouldn’t recommend a click sight to start off with for two reasons; 1) they’re expensive and 2) you might get hung up over constantly making micro adjustments to your sight. You’ve likely have never used a sight before and you have to actually learn how to shoot with a sight. For this reason we’d recommend a relatively simple sight which has all three of the major adjustments and will give you many years of good use, this sight is the Cartel Tournament EX sight.
We recommend
Cartel Tournament EX sight, around £13
Basic quiver Advanced quiver
Optional (advanced) Accessories
Stabilisers You’ve likely seen the plethora of rods sticking out from most people’s target recurve bows and had a chuckle at how odd the bows look. These stabilisers are important pieces of equipment for assisting you in shooting your bow. They help increase the inertia of your bow and help decrease movement of the bow while you’re shooting, in the horizontal, vertical and rotational directions. Cheap bowsight Expensive bowsight Stabilisers also help to change the centre of gravity of your bow, meaning it flops forward after you shoot, rather than towards you (if you’re not holding the bow). As you can guess, an understanding of
Bow stand
Bow stands are not often considered important pieces of kit alongside things like risers, limbs, sights and buttons however it is one of the most important parts of your kit simply because it helps to protect your bow when you’re not using it. It keeps the bow off the ground between ends, stopping the bow from being stood on, getting bashed around or getting mud in parts it shouldn’t when outdoors. They’re relatively cheap so buy one!
There are two common types, ones with magnetic feet and ones with screw in feet. Usually there are three of these feet which are stored on the stand itself. There are also scissortype stands and these are for compound bows and aren’t recommended for a recurve.
Both screw in and magnetic stands are easy to use but the screw in feet are slightly more hassle and Nonplatform tab Platform tab there’s always the chance that you could accidentally strip the threads. For this reason we’d recommend a stand with magnetic feet.
Bracer We recommend This simple bit of kit (also called an arm guard) fits on your bow arm and stops the bow string from hitting your arm. Hitting the string off your arm is usually harmless but can be painful and lead to some SF Axiom magnetic bow stand, around £10 serious (and seriously impressive looking!) bruising. The bracer also helps to keep baggy sleeves out of the way of the string which prevents poor shots due to the string snagging on clothing. Bow stringer In order to put the string on your bow you need a bow stringer. These are long pieces of string or fabric As you get more experienced you can choose a smaller and thinner bracer if you wish, but for starters which fit over your limbs which you can then use to pull your bow and slip on the string. You should be we recommend a larger bracer like the Easton Oval armguard bracer. familiar with how to use one from your beginners course.
We recommend There are a few types available however we recommend the fabric webbing type over all the other types available as they are strong, cheap, and are very safe to use. Easton Oval armguard, around £8 We recommend
Merlin Archery MAC bow stringer, around £4
Bracer
Quiver Bow stand Bow stringer A quiver is an essential piece of kit for shooting. It keeps your arrows off the ground and out of harm’s way. Also, it provides quick and easy access to the arrows and allows you to keep your stance Case (hard or rucksack) unchanged through your shot cycle, something which placing the arrows on the ground can’t do.
For target archery there is a wide selection of quivers available. There are two main types, the hip If you’ve spent lots of money on your kit you will want to look after it! A damaged or badly maintained quiver and field quiver. Most target archers us the hip quiver as the arrows point forwards from the bow will not shoot well and may also break when you least expect it. As such a good bow case is a quiver making it easy to find the arrows while on the shooting line. The field quiver is more compact, the sound investment. There are a few common types however the most widely used are hard cases and rucksacks.
Hard cases offer superb protection against bumps and drops however they are bulky and not so easy to carry, most having to be carried by hand. Although the largest and most expensive hard cases are regularly used by professionals for travelling with their ultra precious kit, the cheaper hard cases can’t accommodate a wide range of equipment and some parts can be a struggle to fit inside (e.g. a longrod). Hard cases are usually waterproof which is great if you get caught out shooting in a downpour.
Rucksack don’t have the impact resistance of hard cases and usually require you to store arrows in a separate arrow tube, however they tend to have a lot more space, tonnes of pockets for your Finger sling Wrist sling Bow sling accessories and by design are much easier to carry. Rucksacks aren’t normally as weather proff as hard cases but they do often come with rain covers in built to offer some protection against the weather. They each have their advantages and disadvantages, however most people (and archery coaches) It’s personal preference; we’d recommend a rucksack over a hard case, but we’ve also recommended a recommend using a finger sling. Its advantageous to use an adjustable finger sling so you can vary how good starting hard case if you’d prefer one of those: much the bow jumps from your hand during a shot. For this reason we recommend the SF finger sling.
We recommend We recommend
Legend Streamline 2 backpack, around £35 SF finger sling, around £2. Negrini Economy case (hard), around £26 Tab
You may not have used one yet but a finger tab is a fantastic addition to your kit and one which we highly recommend. It fits on your draw hand and you use it when drawing the string. It supports the string and stops it cutting into your fingers, particularly with a high draw weight bow. Importantly the tab provides a smooth surface for the string to rest on and assists with an effective release.
Tabs come in many flavours. Some are simple pieces of leather with a finger hole cut in, some have finger spacers (which help prevent your fingers from nipping the arrow at full draw), some have a ledge or platform (which you can rest your thumb or use to position the tab under your chin when at anchor), some tabs also have an elongated plate which fits into your palm (helping to maintain a straight hand while at full draw). The higher end tabs offer significant levels of customisation (e.g. the Soma Saker).
Hard bow case The face upon which the string rests is commonly made of leather, however some tabs use artificial Rucksack case materials. There is a consistent debate on the best tab face material but leather is used by most archers, including those at the highest level. Tabs also come in a range of sizes, small, medium and large, depending on your hand size. There’s no hard and fast rules on which to pick so its your own Accessories For The Archer judgement based on what you think is best. It’s worth noting that you can trim down the leather on your tab if it turns out to be too large. Remember to get the correct hand too (left or right)! Sling Choosing a tab is a very personal thing. Some people like simple tabs while others like the highly When you shoot your bow, most beginners hold the bow on the grip throughout the shot. While this customisable tabs. whether or not to use a platform on your finger tab is a big point of discussion, some seems logical (it is called a grip after all!) you shouldn’t actually grip the bow. The correct technique is archers like them and some don’t (the tabs used on the beginner’s course don’t have one). Whether an to left the bow sit in your hand during the shot. After the arrow leaves the bow, your bow should then archer will benefit from a platform tab depends on their anchor position and if the archer prefers to feel naturally drop out of your hand. To prevent your bow hitting the floor, most archers use a sling. the platform or thumb on their chin at full draw. We recommend that you choose a tab with a finger
spacer because this will help prevent pinching the arrow. Slings come in three different flavours; 1) finger slings which fit on your index and thumb, 2) wrist slings which fits a large loop over your wrist and a long piece of cord wraps around the bow and hooks onto the wrist and 3) bow slings which are physically attached to your bow (usually below the stabiliser) with We recommend an attached cord that fits round your wrist. Nonplatform tab: Gompy tab with spacer, around £4 Platform tab: Decut Anchor Tab, around £8 If you’re feeling crafty you can make a sling from a shoelace, which will save you a few pounds.