Archery - As a Hobby

TJT

TJT

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So for whatever reason an Archery range opened up on my street. I am going to be joining up with their annual membership with 1 free session a week. Since it is only $50 a year I figured it could be fun for Sat/Sun morning.

Do any of you shoot bows and shit? I've never done it before but will be starting!
 
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Borzak

Borzak

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I shot bows a lot until just recently and don't have the strength in left arm anymore. It can get pretty addictive in a hurry. Soon you will own a couple of bows, a bow press, an arrow saw, a fletching jig. Just kidding.

I enjoyed it. Lot of fun. If you hang around ranges or bow shops for a while you will notice something quickly. The muscles used to pull a heavy draw bow back aren't really muscles a lot of people use a lot. I've seen some pretty musclar guys pick up a bow and get shamed in a hurry. Took me time to build it up gradually. I've been shooting them since about age 12, so 36 years.

So curious what bow do you own now? The newer (ok been around for 10+ years now) parellel limb designs are much more stable and comfortable to shoot.

At one point I've owned at one time or another a good portion of the brands. A lot of them are now gone bye bye. Jennings (the actual company is gone, now just a brand), Hoyt, Mathews, Bowtech, Martin (now gone thru major reorginization and mostly gone as an archery company). Yes my first bow had actual cables (not dacron) and a whopping 30% let off which was considered borderline "unfair" at the time. Things change rapidly.

It's a lot of fun to shoot with some friends, at least it was to me. If you really get into it you'll want to fletch your own arrows and cut them, save a ton of money.

You can check out archerytalk.com. Though it was mostly oriented toward hunting. Haven't been there in about 5 years so not sure. I think they had a section on target shooting and events and such. It started off as owned by Martin. Dunno what happened when Martin sold out.
 
TJT

TJT

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Borzak said:
I shot bows a lot until just recently and don't have the strength in left arm anymore. It can get pretty addictive in a hurry. Soon you will own a couple of bows, a bow press, an arrow saw, a fletching jig. Just kidding.

I enjoyed it. Lot of fun. If you hang around ranges or bow shops for a while you will notice something quickly. The muscles used to pull a heavy draw bow back aren't really muscles a lot of people use a lot. I've seen some pretty musclar guys pick up a bow and get shamed in a hurry. Took me time to build it up gradually. I've been shooting them since about age 12, so 36 years.

So curious what bow do you own now? The newer (ok been around for 10+ years now) parellel limb designs are much more stable and comfortable to shoot.

At one point I've owned at one time or another a good portion of the brands. A lot of them are now gone bye bye. Jennings (the actual company is gone, now just a brand), Hoyt, Mathews, Bowtech, Martin (now gone thru major reorginization and mostly gone as an archery company). Yes my first bow had actual cables (not dacron) and a whopping 30% let off which was considered borderline "unfair" at the time. Things change rapidly.

It's a lot of fun to shoot with some friends, at least it was to me. If you really get into it you'll want to fletch your own arrows and cut them, save a ton of money.
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I am quite a fit person lately and I enjoy variety to my routine. But I would certainly buy one good bow and stick to it. Is your health improving brother?

I don't own a bow at all but I want to buy something that's, "historical" rather than modern and practical. As I will just be doing this for fun and variety in my 6x/week fitness routine. I am looking for recommendations as I am going to sign up on Saturday for $50 bones. I am leaning to a bow set that is <$500.

If you have any stuff you can't use and want to sell I am open to picking it up. Really wish you were in better health my man.
 
TJT

TJT

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Deathwing said:
Ithaca. I didn't say it was a bad thing, just that's the reason.
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Maybe. I grew up in a town of <9k people. I have come to really appreciate the small town. I want to be in a small town, work remotely, and have a bunch of property to do whatever dumb shit I want.

That's the dream for me man! Maybe in a few years. But I always heard Ithaca is great for outdoors stuff. I'll try to convince my girl to head that way soon enough.
 
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Borzak

Borzak

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I've tried recurves. They didn't really fit with me well. Mostly because I shot a lot year round but it was mostly to get in shape for hunting.

Get a longbow. Real mean use a longbow lol. If you live in Austin probaly tons of places around that are archery shops. I will say with practice the recurve thing would have worked out. But pulling back a 45# recurve and holding it for a few seconds is a lot more involved than pulling back a 70# compound and holding it for 2-3 minutes. Not just holding it but aiming.

Get a recurve. Just kidding. In the entire time I've shot bows (we had an indoor and a city owned outdoor range that was free) I've never seen someone actually shoot one at a target. Recurves a lot tho. There are a lot of botique makers of recurves and I guess longbows as well. Martin sells a lot of recurves and one model of longbow. I'm sure there are tons of others as well. Like everything else popularity of styles comes and goes. Have fun. It's a lot like going shooting guns with someone tho. Whatever they have/own is the best thing in the world and you are an idiot for shooting what you have lol.

The short time I lived between San Antiono and New Braunfels I didn't get to check out any shops. But the other VP shot every other weekend competitively and he talked of going to SA or Austin for shoots so I'm sure there's a big community there for it.

No stuff for sale sorry. Holding on to it "just in case" and all my stuff is geared toward compound use which wouldn't be a big help for a traditional shooter.

A recurve for <$500 should be no problem at all for a pretty good quality one as long as it's not a custom built one.
 
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Lendarios

Lendarios

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my coworker does this competitively. he brings his bow to work from time to time. it looks really fun

Pro tip: the arrow goes in the opposite side of the bow.

wrong

202171


right
202172
 
Hoss

Hoss

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I did archery when I lived in austin. I have a recurve and a reflex deflex long bow. I never cared for those compound contraptions. When I was doing it, I went to a few archery competitions, and I sort of miss those. You walk through the woods and take shots at 3d targets through and around trees and shit. There's an Austin Iron Man competition out in west austin that's fucking brutal, especially if you try to do the iron man part of all 4 categories in 2 days.

I've been to very few archery ranges. One of the draws of archery was that I could do it in my yard. I had a mentor and it's a lot better that way. There's some very simple shit you can do wrong that will fuck you up. So if you don't have a mentor, do some reading. Lotsa good stuff has been written about archery over the years. Also, if you buy from a bowyer, he will be able to teach you a lot. My long bow came from a guy in Shiner. I couldn't afford his new bows so I wound up buying the one he had been using to hunt because he was ready to retire it.
 
TJT

TJT

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Borzak said:
I've tried recurves. They didn't really fit with me well. Mostly because I shot a lot year round but it was mostly to get in shape for hunting.

Get a longbow. Real mean use a longbow lol. If you live in Austin probaly tons of places around that are archery shops. I will say with practice the recurve thing would have worked out. But pulling back a 45# recurve and holding it for a few seconds is a lot more involved than pulling back a 70# compound and holding it for 2-3 minutes. Not just holding it but aiming.

Get a recurve. Just kidding. In the entire time I've shot bows (we had an indoor and a city owned outdoor range that was free) I've never seen someone actually shoot one at a target. Recurves a lot tho. There are a lot of botique makers of recurves and I guess longbows as well. Martin sells a lot of recurves and one model of longbow. I'm sure there are tons of others as well. Like everything else popularity of styles comes and goes. Have fun. It's a lot like going shooting guns with someone tho. Whatever they have/own is the best thing in the world and you are an idiot for shooting what you have lol.

The short time I lived between San Antiono and New Braunfels I didn't get to check out any shops. But the other VP shot every other weekend competitively and he talked of going to SA or Austin for shoots so I'm sure there's a big community there for it.

No stuff for sale sorry. Holding on to it "just in case" and all my stuff is geared toward compound use which wouldn't be a big help for a traditional shooter.

A recurve for <$500 should be no problem at all for a pretty good quality one as long as it's not a custom built one.
Click to expand...

My only aim here is to do this for fitness and to gain skill. I may hunt with it in some time if I have a kid who I can get into it with. But mostly it will be something to do for an hour or two every Saturday for as long as I live in this location.

I'm sorry but I don't understand what you are staying... I'm willing to spend around $500 on a starter kit and I want to challenge myself. What should I buy? I am very very good with shooting guns and all kinds of shit but bows are totally foreign territory to me and you just confused me.

Lownbow or recurve? What is most beneficial to my situation?
 
Borzak

Borzak

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Recurves are shorter than a longbow. There are a LOT more recurves on the market. If you want traditional that's your two choices. Go to the range and look around. Or go to a shop, any shop will instruct you enough to try one out and most shops have a range in them. See what appeals to you. Just off the cuff I would say a recurve would be better off for you. A longbow is normally for the ultra hardcore traditionalist. A recurve shoots a faster arrow normally, but for you that probably won't matter much. All you will need to start shooting a reurve is the bow itself, arrows that fit your bow (length and spine based on the bow and weight pull), and a quiver to carry your arrows around in. A glove/tab of some sort for your right hand, and possibly a guard for your left arm to keep the string from ripping the skin off your left arm (mainly just popping on it) when you release till you get in the hang of things. Nothing fancy. Recurves are not that popular. I only said recurve cause you mentioned traditional type. Your aiming will be instinct or judging the gap from the target to the end of the arrow as you elevate it up or down. Start close.

Simple thing from Martin (the pic), they make reurves and longbows. Just to give you an idea of the size difference. And yes if you are right handed, you hold the bow with your left hand and the arrow goes on the shelf/rest on the left side of the bow. Pull back with your right. It can be dangerous to put it on the wrong side cause then it's possible (tho not likely) the arrow will fall off the shelf/rest and nothing to stop it from falling down, on the left side your arm will keep it from falling off. Traditional bows are labeled for how long the bow is and how much pull (in pounds) at a certain draw distance. The furter you pull back (longer arms) the weight increases. Like 58" (the bow length) 45lbs at 29" draw for example.

If you look around at shops you will likely see 10-20times more recurves than longbows, or more. I only joked about buying a recurve or a longbow before you said you were interested in traditional archery.

I've never shot competively. Just for fun and stuff. 99% of my shooting was done at home, but I did go to the ranges every so often with friends. When I was in college I lived in a shotgun house and put a target/stop on the back porch and opened the back door and shot down thru the house, which was just over 25 yards. Hey it worked.

And to really throw you off, you can be a recurve that's not traditional at all. Machined riser with carbon fiber limbs. That's a whole other level.

005263
 
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Leadsalad

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Olympic archery is recurve.

They’re very simple compared to compounds as bow design goes but more complicated as a discipline.

They take down easily and easy to pick up and shoot whereas a compound needs to be fit to the shooter to generally work in the first place (draw length, peep position, let off point, and poundage).

But compounds are the easiest to actually get hits on a target and are the most forgiving for shit form.

Is there a shop nearby where you can rent a recurve for an hour and shoot before dumping money into one?
 
Ishad

Ishad

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Shit, there’s a range within 6 miles of me. Time to fufill my childhood dream of having an Oneida bow. Shooting those things are fun as fuck.

1E42F443-270E-40F2-9468-78B697546D74.jpeg
 
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Foler

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How about this axe throwing bullshit that's been popping up?
 
Borzak

Borzak

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Tried it in college since they competed in it. Of course we were the lumberjacks. Knife throwing, axe throwing, log burling they had it all just outside the forestry building. No thanks
 
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dizzie

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It's a great way to build up upper body strength. All bows have sights now but you can remove them if you want to feel old school

Don't bother with anything flashy, if you can go to an archery shop and have someone find a bow that's suitable for you. It's not really an item you should buy wihtout advice at first.

Starter bow's are cheap.

Don't expect to be good off the bat, it takes a fair bit of getting used to.
 
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Fifey

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I wanna know how archery is considered a "fitness" activity.
 
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