Beginners Guide to Traditional Archery

I've been shooting my longbow for about 9 months.  It is an old Byron Ferguson "Hunter".  At my 30.5 inch draw length, it pulls 64lbs.  My dad got this for himself when I was 15 or 16, and he gave it to me in my 20s.

I hadn't shot much since high school, but started shooting again after my hernia, just for something to do since I couldn't train for or compete in Highland Games.

My dad was always a compound bow hunter, and longbow was just for dinking around.  I have to say, compound never enthralled me the way traditional shooting does.  I hated messing with my sights, the tension in my arrow rest, and all the other mechanical gizmos you had to fiddle with to shoot well.

So I got a new string for my longbow, bare-shaft tuned some new arrows, and am shooting like never before. 

Like I said before, I'm a reader, so I also got a couple of books to become a better shooter and to know my arm-gaurd from a hole in the ground.  :)

This is a great book! The author keeps it simple, and offers lessons that you can put to use right away.  Right now I'm shooting a few minutes each day at a 2-inch target from only 5 feet away.  This sounds silly, but MAN!!!!!!  The goal: using only a single arrow, try and hit bulls-eye 9 of 10 shots.  So far my record in 6 in a row.

My fingers are thickening, and my finger tips are callousing.  By the time I have shot the required 800 bulls-eyes from each distance, my right hand will be well more than capable of shooting my new recurve without fatigue.

I HIGHLY recommend this short, to-the-point book.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intro to Calisthenics

 I'm kind of big and kind of heavy. I weigh 235 and wear XXXL shirts ťailored to fit my size L waist.  Even so, after moths of consistent effort, I'm strong enough to incorporate calisthenics as my primary form of training volume. My current plan is paying off in the form of major leaps in endurance, tighter physique, and fat loss.  The schedule is: Mon - whole body Tue - arms Wed - whole body Thu - off Fri - whole body Sat - arms Sun - off My torso has always grown faster than my arms and I need to build proportion, so they get 2 dedicated sessions a week.  A typical whole body session runs like this: 1. Single leg calf raise: 3-100 method* 2. 10 min EMOM: Big power movement like deadline, or snatch grip high pull, or clean&press.  Start at 10x3 and stick with the same weight till you can perform 10x6.  Rotate between 5-6 movements every session. 3. Conditioning circuit 1: 5 rounds of   A. Pushup progression   B. Pick a single leg squat patte...
Read more

The Warrior's Path

This year has been a real test of character, and I have to say, I  passed with probably a B+, or maybe A-.   What makes a warrior different from the ordinary man is not whether he faces obstacles or not. We all face obstacles.  No; what makes a warrior different is how he faces the obstacles. An ordinary man and a warrior will both map out a course to  their objective. The ordinary man will get distracted along the way.  He might see the trail up the mountain and convince himself he never really wanted to reach his objective. When his arms go numb from shouldering the load, he discards item from his pack he suddenly sees as unnecessary.  He might sprain an ankle, call 911 and decide the course is too dangerous for any sane person to attempt.  So much the better, because now he has plenty of time for other more important things.  Isn't it football season anyway? The ordinary man makes excuses to stay ordinary. The warrior notices and ...
Read more