Archery

[IceBone]

Seeing as there are quite a few members who like to prance around a forest in tights shoot some bows and arrows occasionally, but far too few to not get drowned out in other major threads, I thought I'd separate this so discussions can be had free of outside interferrence by the infidels! HISS!!!!

Anyway, before I digress too far, I've always wanted to do some archery, probably since the first time I saw my first Robin Hood film. It was probably Men In Tights, actually. Ah, Mel Brooks, how I love you. I've only recently bought a bow, though as only now, years after reaching adulthood have I actually gotten any kind of money to spend on a hobby and a discussion with a certain female of the opposite sex in #gear (thanks Emarline) made me browse the local ebay equivalent for someone selling a cheapo (Oh, how naive I was...) bow, preferably compound, cause compound is cool, yo. Amazingly the weekend following the discussion I owned my very own compound bow and 3 pretty crappy arrows that managed to lose their nocks on the very first day. FUN!

Here's a photo of me trying to look all serious without actually knowing what I was doing:

https://pic.armedcats.net/i/ic/icebone/2011/01/22/_ICE0102.jpg

Some stats on the bow:

• cost: ?125 (3 crappy arrows included)
• axle-to-axle: 44"
• draw length: 28" (will probably have it set to 29")
• poundage: 55#
• cams: both round, 0 aggression (will replace some time in the future)
• claimed fps: 210

After that first day of shooting and realising that it was a very fun one and could be even more so with some proper equipment (within a small budget, of course), I found 2 online archery stores and tried to find the best sort of combination of gear that wasn't absolute shit and low, low prices. I believe I got away quite well, my wallet isn't screaming bloody murder and this past weekend was two days of epic tuning and target practice.

I got a normal prong springy rest, an aluminium nocking point (as I trust a screw more than a knot - make your own joke here), a 5 pin hunting sight, a standard peep sight and an index-finger release, along with a 28" front stabiliser and 6 bit higher quality arrows.

See them in all their aluminium and carbon glory!


AAE Cavalier Stinger Hunter


PSE Orion


AAE Cavalier Stinger Hunter & PSE Orion


T.R.U Tru Nock


Jim Fletcher Caliper .44 release & T.R.U. Tru Nock

Yesterday, along with the tuning and target practice I also did some highly (un)scientific speed measuring. I set up the target 20 metres away, set a video camera at 10, let off 10 arrows, used sound editing software to check the average time difference between twang and thud and came up with 250 km/h (230 fps), which is quite a bit more than was stated before, so I'm quite a happy camper atm. Replacing the cams and adjusting the draw length should also bring that number a bit higher.

Today was also a fun day, drove over to a friend's house who lives on a quite large estate, where we set up a target and assaulted it for quite a few long hours until I honestly could not even hold the bow up anymore. I did get quite a few good shots. The bow's as sighted in (for me, my friend had problems, since he'd need probably 31" draw length) as I can get it, I actually managed to get a best grouping of about 20cms diameter at 30 metres (on 2nd day of shooting) and I was glowing with innocent pride.

It's the little things.

At the moment the price tag is ?335, which I think is quite cheap, sonsidering the sort of accuracy I'm getting. I know it's nothing I could get with a hella expensive bow, but I'm not kidding myself either, I still need to learn and practice. A LOT.

BCS, GO!

 

[PaperBiro]

That's sum fancy equipment ya' got t'ere. 20cm grouping at 30m on your second day? Jeebus Christ, that's mad.

Because I have been getting progressively shittier at archery lately, the only contribution I can make towards this thread is that time when we used a Twilight book as a target.

https://pic.armedcats.net/n/ne/nereid/2010/11/20/lol.jpg
http://forums.finalgear.com/off-topic/random-thoughts-9185/page-3335/#post1518969

 

[IceBone]

HAHA, I have to suggest that to my friend.

EDIT: well, there were points where I released at the wrong time, just as my hand jerked and even completely missed the bloody target. That was a fun 15 minutes trying to find the bloody arrow in the grass.

 

[PaperBiro]

To be honest, it looks like you've made a good start. Some people I know would probably miss the target 3/4 of the time at that distance.

Compounds look badass. Some of them look like something medieval Terminator would use. I'm jealous, I shoot with a little wooden recurve with little poundage because I've about as much upper body strength as Stephen Hawking.

 

[argatoga]

Ice's sexy stance has brought me to consider doing some archery again. Does anyone know a good online source to buy arrows? The ones I have were bought at a Ren fare of all places. So overpriced crap.

 

[DanRoM]

I'm shooting recurve on targets, but sadly I lack the time (and also commitment) to be as good as I could be.

And your start sounds impressive, Ice. Of course, compounders will always get better grouping than recurvers...

 

[IceBone]

ATM, I don't care about the purity of the sport, all I want is to make holes in things.

 

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Nice to have an archery thread! I'll chime in with the other end of the spectrum, the "traditional" archery side of things.

I first tried archery a long time ago in grade school outdoors-class but never had the chance to do it afterwards so I kinda forgot about it for a decade or so. I was in a Cabelas store down in the States last summer with $100US to get rid of before I hit the Canadian border, and happened to wander into the archery section where they had a selection of compound bows I was drooling over. Sights and quivers and arrows, oh my! In the back of the archery section they had a small selection of a half-dozen recurve bows and as soon as I saw them I knew I wanted one. The woodwork reminded me of mgkdk's competition pistols! The store had an in-house archery range, so one of the staff set the bow up for me and let me try it out for a while. It was great! I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, but man was I having fun. The PSE Razorback takedown recurve I was shooting (30lb draw, 62") was on sale for $90 so I jumped at it. I wasn't sure of the legalities of transporting arrows across the border, so I only bought the bow and an arrow rest.

Upon returning home I discovered that the newly-opened Bass Pro store near my house carried archery equipment so I picked up a dozen Easton Gamegetter 500-spine aluminum arrows and some field points. Calgary has the largest indoor archery centre in North America (which was a pleasant surprise to find out about) so I found myself there quite often! $10 to use a nice indoor range for a full day is a bargain - that's cheaper than bowling and WAY more fun.

Here's the PSE as my girlfriend currently shoots it, with the aluminum arrows. You can see the arrows with the stock plastic vanes and the ones that have been converted to feather fletchings. This particular bow has all the attachment points for the fancy sights and stabilizers and whatnot, but I never went that route.

The nicest thing about takedown recurves is that they're extremely portable and you can take them anywhere!

After using the PSE for a number of months, I decided that I wanted something a little heaver. 30lb draw is a great starting draw weight for recurves but I was finding it easy to hold and wanted a bit less flight arc. I eventually decided on a 45lb, 60" Samick Red Stag one-piece recurve. Samick is a Korean bowyer, and while Korean products usually make one think of cheapish goods, archery is huge in Korea and they take it quite seriously. Samick makes everything from beginner kid's bows to the top-class ILF Olympic limbs and risers. The Red Stag is made of layered maple with black fiberglass limb outers and shoots beautifully. I don't see myself getting rid of it any time soon as I find 45lbs to be a nice comfortable draw weight and the bow fits like a glove. I needed stiffer-spined arrows for this bow, so I got some Gold Tip Whitetail Hunter 400-spine carbon shafts on sale from Bass Pro. They're light, and more importantly, bendproof and damn near impossible to break. My first shot at an 80-yard target was terrible and I hit a cinder-block wall - the metal tip exploded into a shower of sparks, the nock was broken and ejected, and yet the carbon shaft was completely undamaged and I still shoot it regularly. An aluminum arrow would have been a pretzel.

Note that the limbs are symmetrical, it's a trick of the angle that makes them look different lengths.

So yeah, that's my archery stuff. I'll take some photos next time I refletch some arrows and do a little how-to or something. I'm glad this thread seems to be bringing the other FG archers out of the woodwork, haha!

Edit: Notes on prices for those wondering:

PSE Razorback: $90USD
Samick Red Stag: ~$190USD from Tradtech or Lancaster
Samick Sage (bought for a friend): $125CAD
Easton Gamegetter Aluminum arrows: $55/doz.
Gold Tip Whitetail Hunter Carbon arrows: $25/half-dozen
Arrow field points: ~$0.50 each
Shooting glove (for shooting with higher draw weights): $15

For a beginner archer interested in recurves, it's quite easy to get started with a decent bow and shafts for ~$150USD, cheaper if you go used. I'd recommend carbon shafts over aluminum, they're usually a bit more expensive but a beginner is far less likely to damage/bend/break them.

 

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Ice's sexy stance has brought me to consider doing some archery again. Does anyone know a good online source to buy arrows? The ones I have were bought at a Ren fare of all places. So overpriced crap.

What kinds of arrows are you looking for? Bass Pro sells lots of shafts online, but I usually recommend buying in-person so they can cut the shafts to length for you with a proper high-speed shaft cutter and install the inserts. Unless you're looking for wooden shafts, in which case I have no idea.

 

[IceBone]

I'm taking a break til next weekend to rest my arms, I'll maaaaybeee do some videos.

 

[KateH]

I'm thinking of starting out with archery. I have found a local place that will give me a taster session: Archery Cornwall but wondered what your advice would be for someone new? Should I buy the kit and go out on my self, or should I join a club or something?

Thanks

 

[IceBone]

*looks at wallet*

Yeah... so apparently there's this rest by NAP that looks to be the best bang for buck you can possibly get at the moment. It's a self contained drop away rest with (almost) all around sound deadening for only 60 bucks... Looks to be a lot better than even the ones costing 200+ euro at my local stores...

First next upgrade, I think.

 

[mpicco]

Shooting bows is so extremely satisfying...
My dad bought this thing who knows how many years ago, it had a traditional string which broke, and never managed to find another. Admittedly I didn't try very hard to find one but oh well, now it just sits there being a stringless bow.
It is beautiful though and it feels nice to hold.
In the handle it's written what kind of string it needs: 35# at 22". I understand the inches, what's the other unit?

(awesome, forgot to rotate it)

 

[IceBone]

35 pounds (the force needed to pull the string all the way back and hold it).

 

[bone]

people here tend to shoot upwards, with blunt arrows, trying to have one of the plums fall down

i have a few friends who do it, but they only do it because a beer in the clubhouse only costs 1? :lol:

looks realy stupid btw

 

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Shooting bows is so extremely satisfying...
My dad bought this thing who knows how many years ago, it had a traditional string which broke, and never managed to find another. Admittedly I didn't try very hard to find one but oh well, now it just sits there being a stringless bow.
It is beautiful though and it feels nice to hold.
In the handle it's written what kind of string it needs: 35# at 22". I understand the inches, what's the other unit?

(awesome, forgot to rotate it)

That's a very nice classic recurve, looks like it may be a Fred Bear original. Are you sure it says at 22"? Bows usually measure draw weight at 28". I'd like to see a few more pics of it, if you can ascertain the limb length a new string should be a piece of cake. It's unlikely to have reinforced tips so a FastFlight string wouldn't work, but a normal Dacron string should work excellently and get that thing back into shooting form. If you're looking for a more "traditional" string, a Flemish twist string should fit the bill nicely.

If it's a Fred Bear like I think it is, there should be a serial number somewhere. It looks like a Kodiak Magnum but I'm unsure of what vintage.

 

[mpicco]

Indeed it says 28". I took the photo and stored it and then came here and posted it, in the meantime my fish memory chucked away the 28 and decided on 22.
Right under it says the name of the person who made it, "Arangon". And the word "escudero" next to it which is spanish for squire (shield bearer). I googled this name but nothing came out.
The tips and the front are reinforced with what it seems like bone, and my dad told me it was deer antlers or something like it.
It's about 64" tall from what I could measure. It feels really comfortable to the grip and is still springy and nice. Unfortunately it has seen some battles as my dad let me and my siblings shoot it while we were young and we might have not been all that careful with it. One of the leather patches where the arrow should rest is gone, but that's probably an easy fix.

Here are some more pics.

 

[IceBone]

Apparently today is a national holiday so no work for me and it's a really nice sunny day so I thought I'd go shoot some stirofoam at 20 metres.

https://pic.armedcats.net/i/ic/icebone/2011/02/08/IMAG0156.jpg

Holy crap! So, I tried to William Tell it up a bit. I used 2 of those crappy arrows to support the apple. 2 series of 4 arrows produced 1 bulls eye each, surprisingly the first arrow of each.

https://pic.armedcats.net/i/ic/icebone/2011/02/08/IMAG0157.jpg

My happiness was short lived as the very next arrow went so wide it completely missed the target and embedded itself 5 cms deep in one of the tool shed's wooden pillars. Not getting that thing out anymore...

 

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Indeed it says 28". I took the photo and stored it and then came here and posted it, in the meantime my fish memory chucked away the 28 and decided on 22.
Right under it says the name of the person who made it, "Arangon". And the word "escudero" next to it which is spanish for squire (shield bearer). I googled this name but nothing came out.
The tips and the front are reinforced with what it seems like bone, and my dad told me it was deer antlers or something like it.
It's about 64" tall from what I could measure. It feels really comfortable to the grip and is still springy and nice. Unfortunately it has seen some battles as my dad let me and my siblings shoot it while we were young and we might have not been all that careful with it. One of the leather patches where the arrow should rest is gone, but that's probably an easy fix.

Here are some more pics.

Looks like a nice little recurve, likely from a small custom bowyer. Here's a quick how-to on how to determine the true bow length, you then subtract 4" from that number to get the required string length.

http://www.ehow.com/how_7447552_determine-recurve-bow-string-length.html

As for the shelf patch, that's super easy. I use a small piece of Velcro cloth (the loop side, not the hook side) on each side of the shelf and it works beautifully.

 

[mpicco]

I measured it like it was instructed on that site and by my measurement and calculation I need a 62" string... does that sound about right?
I just have to find a hunting shop near here that sells them.