People have been involved with archery for a minimum of four thousand years, but very nearly certainly for a lot longer than that. Sections of composite recurve bows have been found dating back to the second millennium BC, but the parts that were found were the non-wooden, composite parts, usually of horn.

The wooden parts usually rotted away thousands of years previously, but a wooden longbow from the same era was discovered in Somerset. Presumably, people had been using all wooden, single section bows long before they started constructing complex composite recurve bows.

The skill of archery has always fascinated mankind and, in spite of the fact that guns have made archery obsolete, it still fascinates people today, although nowadays archery is almost reserved used for sporting purposes. It is a thriving sport and hobby and is the national sport of the Kingdom of Bhutan.

If you are interested in taking up archery, you will first have to decide which type of bow you prefer. Among other types, there are the longbow, recurve bow, reflex and decurve bows, deflex bow, pyramid bow and crossbow.

To a certain extent, the arrows are not interchangeable either. For instance, a longbow can cast a three foot, heavy-gauge arrow, whereas a crossbow shoots a six inch bolt. The bows also had distinctive uses although there was a certain degree of overlap.

For example, longbows were the heavy, rapid-firing artillery of their day, being able to fling a heavy, armour-piercing arrow hundreds of yards; whereas a short recurve bow was perfect for assault from horseback. Crossbows took less skill to use but were slower than a bow.

There are different kinds of arrow too. Traditionally, arrows were made of wood with a pointed metal tip, but these days arrows can be made of aluminium or carbon fibre. The arrowheads are distinctive for different applications as well. A simple brass tip is sufficient for everyday shooting whereas a ferocious, slashing broadhead is used for killing.

The majority of people who take archery seriously use carbon fibre arrows these days which is the typical arrow shaft in use at the Olympic games. The flights are usually of bird feathers and are used to stabilize the arrow in flight to reduce wobble. Plastic flights are also available as they are less susceptible to damage.

The Welsh (and English) longbow was probably the most powerful hand bow extensively used. These longbows were typically six feet or more in length and made of one piece of seasoned yew (or other woods). The draw weight of a Welsh longbow at the time of Henry VIII was between 160 -180 lbf and that would cast a heavy three ounce arrow up to about 280 yards.

An explanation of the damage that one of these arrows could wreak was given by Gerald of Wales in the 12th century:

“… in the war against the Welsh, one of the men of arms was struck by an arrow shot at him by a Welshman. It went right through his thigh, high up, where it was protected inside and outside the leg by his iron cuirasses, and then through the skirt of his leather tunic; next it penetrated that part of the saddle which is called the alva or seat; and finally it lodged in his horse, driving so deep that it killed the animal”.

It took years of practice to draw and shoot one of these longbows bows accurately.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on several topics, but is currently concerned with archery recurve bows. If you would like to know more or for special offers, please go to our website at Kids Archery Set.

Archery is now a very widespread sport and hobby all over the world, but in the past, long ago, it was even more widespread. Every army had bowmen and men hunted with bows for food. Every country or every region invented its own particular design of bow and therefore, even nowadays, there are many different types of archery bows. Modern technology has meant that new varieties of archery bows are still being invented.

Some bows were developed by people who rode horses a great deal. These bows were shorter, other bows were intended for long range shooting and these bows were longer. I will list some of the main types of archery bows below with a short description of each

The traditional Welsh or English longbow was made from a single length of yew (or other wood) at least the size of the bowman, but up to about six feet six inches (two metres). It was ‘D’ shaped in profile with the flat, bark side, facing away from the string. The curved inner side followed the natural growth rings of the branch. The timber itself was seasoned for two years.

The draw weight of a longbow was between 160-180 pounds, which is hard to accomplish by contemporary man. In the days of the longbow, in the Middle Ages, men and boys were required by law to do target practice with longbows at the village butts every Sunday. The target range for a man was to be no less than 220 yards by command of king Henry VIII.

The longbow was used to great effect as long range (400 yards) artillery by the British army at Crecy in 1346 and Agincourt in 1415, raining lethal three ounce, three foot long arrows down on the enemy. As the armies drew closer the longbow could be used accurately to aim at particular targets. Not long after these great victories, which can be attributed to the archers and their longbows, bows were superseded as military weapons by firearms.

Flat bows, just as the longbow, can be over six feet long, are not recurved and can be crafted out of a single length of wood. However, they are rectangular in profile, not ‘D’ shaped.

Short bows are comparable to longbows or flat bows in every detail except size and because they are shorter, they do not have the potential or the distance of the other bows. Sort bows are easy to carry and easier to use in cramped situations like woods or a forest, so they were used by and large for hunting small animals.

Recurve bows are more effective that any other bow inch for inch of length. The tips of a recurve point forward when the bow is unstrung and look odd to the inexperienced. The recurve was very common from the Mediterranean to the Far East from about 2000 BC until 1700 AD. Nowadays, the recurve is the only type of bow permitted to be used in the Olympic Games.

Compound bows use very stiff materials in their assembly so have pulleys or cams to help bend or draw the bow. This mechanical aid to drawing the bow to the best distance means less physical force on behalf of the archer, which means that the archer con concentrate on the target more.

Crossbows have the limbs mounted horizontally on a piece of timber and the draw string is held by mechanical means until it is let loose with a trigger. The arrow, or bolt, is much shorter. They are well-nigh half-way houses to guns.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on several subjects, but is currently involved with archery recurve bows. If you would like to know more or for special deals, please go to our website at Kids Archery Set.