Archery, anyone???

Alex_SG

Alex_SG

Ambassador of Trippy Rock
Country flag
Australia
I know a few of us fellas here in The Tone Rooms are arrow flingers from way back, literally and figuratively... Anyone wanna show their stuff?
I have 2 bows of my own. The first is a Cartel Fantom Olympic style take down recurve with all the bells and whistles. It's only 27# @ 28" (36# at my draw length of 33") and 60" overall, but it's very accurate. To be honest, I shoot it "bare bow" most of the time, and don't worry about sights, stabilisers etc...
I'm left eye dominant and ambidextrous, and bought this as a left hand kit.
The second bow I have is also a Cartel, or "Bow Korea" as they're also called, a 40# @ 28" Viper Deluxe, nicknamed "Stinger". It's 68" overall, and flings an arrow HARD! (At my draw length of 33" the limbs stack and the actual draw weight is just a touch under 55#!)
This is my "having fun and shooting crap in the yard or at the range" bow, and I also plan on doing some bowhunting for small ferals (foxes, rabbits etc.) with it when I'm finally back on my feet.
Without further ado, here they are:


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Since it's a balmy summer evening here in beautiful Perth, Western Australia, I decided to do some target shooting in the back yard at a large block of high density rubber I scored for free. In the yard, (for safety reasons) I generally only shoot out to about 20 yards or so. This end was shot at about 12 yards.
Unfortunately I can only stand for a couple of minutes before my ankle hurts too much, so I had to give up after about 3 arrows.
I just love the way this bow bends... It's a laminated bow, and the limbs are both bending in perfect unison.
Can't wait for my ankle to heal so I can get back into the field archery and bow hunting.
I'm also planning on getting hold of a couple of staves and a drawknife and making a recurve self bow. I've got a line on a place in Queensland that sells Osage staves!!!

 
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No pics yet...but I do have some simple bows and a target set up behind the house. I use these old bows I got used, I think they were from summer camps! Like an old York Cadet:

45cee8da5be053b13247a0115d9555d5.jpg
 
Nothing wrong with those bows, David! My next bow is going to be a traditional style recurve, probably a fairly inexpensive one (a mortgage and 2 kids in private schools stops me spending too much!) like a Samick Sage.
http://www.hoddywell.com.au/samick-sage-recurve-bow
I'm thinking about 55# to use for mainly bowhunting. You can get them brand new for less than AUD $250, and they're fantastic quality. I have a buddy who has an old Bear Kodiak, and he thinks the Samick is the ducks nuts! He doesn't use the Bear anymore - because of it's age, it appears to be slightly delaminating, but he loves the Samick!
 
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Yes! But only a long time ago before I got my arthritis :( I did field archery for a couple of years or so back in my early 20s after having a taster session while on holiday and discovering I was quite good at it. I still have my bow (a lightweight starter recurve, nothing special) although I've misplaced my arrows (oops?!) and I don't even have the strength to string the damn thing any more. I'd like to get back into it, but I'm not sure it's worth the pain.
 
I know too well the pain arthritis causes... I have it in more joints than I care to count!
Have you tried a really light draw weight bow?
A lot of people I know in the US use lighter weight bows in the off-hunting season just to keep their form for when the season starts again.
I also have a 27# bow that I seldom use, but I can shoot it for hours, as it's nearly half the draw weight of my longbow, and it doesn't cause me as much pain!
I love field archery, and can't wait to get back into it!
 
I was a hunter / archer/ bowhunter from my late teens through late 20's. MIss it and the shooting sports in general. Pretty much everything stopped when my kids were born in '94 and '95.
 
gasket said:
Apple cider vinegar, first thing in morning, last thing at night.
(must have "The Mother" printed in detail)
Made a huge difference for me.
Click to expand...

I might actually give that a go. Unfortunately because of the meds I'm on I can't eat anything that's unpasteurised or fermented (if the bacteria are still alive) so I'm not sure how suitable it'll be. But is a constant aggravation of the arthritis followed by treating the symptoms a good idea? I don't know. I guess the idea is to keep doing it until strength builds up, but that might never happen considering the ligament and tendon damage the disease has already done. I tried it with bass, constantly pushing to get stronger, but it didn't seem to help. Maybe with vinegar it will, haha.
 
Been shooting bows since I was six. Build my arrows from scratch and several bows over the years as well. That last stroke did a number on my right side but I push through pain and lack of strength with lots of attitude. I mean HEAVY attitude. Back to shooting my 41# Browning Apollo recurve and hope soon to be shooting my heavier old Darton and Pearson recurves as well. Fingers in the right hand are weak and my draw/release suffer as a result.
In my earlier days hunted regularly with recurves against anything from rabbit to bull elk. Now I hunt a target bag.
Like my little brother, I'm left eye dominant and shoot right handed. Despise sights on a bow and shot barebow since day one. Then lefthander bows were scarce so I shoot right handed.

To all our fellow four and six string strummers remember that one string demands the greatest discipline of all. Ain't it fun? ;)
 
That's a nice looking rig! I used to hunt with a bow back in the 80's when I lived in Tucson, AZ. There was a PSE factory in town and I got a great deal on a PSE Laser Magnum.

Archery is a very relaxing sport to me. I could stand in the yard all day just firing away at the hay bales...
 
The bow I have is 28lb draw. I have no idea how light that is, but given I'm about as strong as a twig I'm guessing that's pretty light :p
 
Archery has been one of my favorite things to do for a long time.
When I was a boy at summer camp, I couldn't wait to go to the archery range with the other boys.
In those days, the camp taught archery on wooden bows (about 15 lb draw) 7 kilos...
We shot wooden arrows at large grass mat targets. No one suggested we wear arm protection.
So those longbow strings would slap the living sheetz out of my poor arm... but I didn't care because
I wanted to shoot so badly. I'd go back to t he cabin or down to the mess hall with giant welts on
my left fore arm. No one said anything about that either, so neither did I.
Ray shooting bow@100.jpg
This is my older brother Ray. The scene is more dangerous than it looks, because he needs thick glasses.
My father taught all his children to shoot, using bows like the ones at camp. He was too cheap to
buy us any arm guards either, or maybe they didn't make them to fit kids.

Later in life, after my father died, my brother and I found the old bows that he used to let us
shoot, and try to teach us patience and respect. (surprisingly, this actually worked... sort of).
But I took one home, and got a new string made for it, and bought some arrows AND AN ARM GUARD,
and found out all over again how much I loved to shoot on an archery range.

Here I am teaching my grand daughter how to shoot, using this same bow, or one of its mates.
My grandson has to learn patience, to wait his turn. It's very difficult for him, but the desire to shoot
wins over his impatience, and he's behaving himself in a manly way for a small guy. He wants to shoot NOW!
Michael Lavy and Cedar 2.jpg
She nocks
Lavender nock.jpg
she draws
Lavender draw.jpg
she releases... the string slaps the arm guard, and not her arm...
Lavender release.jpg
she misses! actually, she missed a few and then began to hit the target with a deadly kind of consistency.
Lavender target.jpg
Love this... love to see the young people 'get it.' Humans have been shooting arrows for certainly 30,000 years.
probably more. So there's a certain something that happens when we get a bow in our hands, and some good arrows,
and we start to get the rhythm of the thing... Draw, Anchor and release.

Here's my brother's daughter, shooting that very same bow as he was at the age of 7 or so in the old BW photo.
She's a Yoga instructor, and knows about The Archer (yoga pose) but had never actually shot a bow.
She picked it up quickly. She's got the hand/eye thing really well. I gave her the bow, and some arrows, and
the photo of her dad with it. She was delighted.
Ana 1@100.jpg
Ana found that she could hit the target. There's nothing like that feeling.
Ana 3 draw@100.jpg
All right, so here's my bow rack:
Top to bottom:
Fred Bear Longbow 55 lb (25 Kilos)
Old Shakespeare recurve 35lb (16 Kilos)
New Cabela's "Ranger" recurve 25lb (11 Kilos)
Fred Bear compound bow 55 lb (25 Kilos) 65% let-off
Bow Rack 2016 2@100.jpg
The longbow and the old recurve I shoot for fun. The new recurve I bought for my girlfriend, hoping she would get the bug.
And the compound is my hunting companion. It's an old one from probably 1986 or so, but I've taken nine or ten deer with it.
It's very comfortable to shoot, I can draw it without moving too much when the deer's head goes behind a tree, and hold it
until the deer's vital area emerges from behind the tree. I'm deadly with it inside of 20 meters. Beyond that, I wouldn't shoot.
Compound 4@100.jpg
 
Col Mustard said:
Archery has been one of my favorite things to do for a long time.
When I was a boy at summer camp, I couldn't wait to go to the archery range with the other boys.
In those days, the camp taught archery on wooden bows (about 15 lb draw) 7 kilos...
We shot wooden arrows at large grass mat targets. No one suggested we wear arm protection.
So those longbow strings would slap the living sheetz out of my poor arm... but I didn't care because
I wanted to shoot so badly. I'd go back to t he cabin or down to the mess hall with giant welts on
my left fore arm. No one said anything about that either, so neither did I.
View attachment 846
This is my older brother Ray. The scene is more dangerous than it looks, because he needs thick glasses.
My father taught all his children to shoot, using bows like the ones at camp. He was too cheap to
buy us any arm guards either, or maybe they didn't make them to fit kids.

Later in life, after my father died, my brother and I found the old bows that he used to let us
shoot, and try to teach us patience and respect. (surprisingly, this actually worked... sort of).
But I took one home, and got a new string made for it, and bought some arrows AND AN ARM GUARD,
and found out all over again how much I loved to shoot on an archery range.

Here I am teaching my grand daughter how to shoot, using this same bow, or one of its mates.
My grandson has to learn patience, to wait his turn. It's very difficult for him, but the desire to shoot
wins over his impatience, and he's behaving himself in a manly way for a small guy. He wants to shoot NOW!
View attachment 847
She nocks
View attachment 848
she draws
View attachment 849
she releases... the string slaps the arm guard, and not her arm...
View attachment 850
she misses! actually, she missed a few and then began to hit the target with a deadly kind of consistency.
View attachment 851
Love this... love to see the young people 'get it.' Humans have been shooting arrows for certainly 30,000 years.
probably more. So there's a certain something that happens when we get a bow in our hands, and some good arrows,
and we start to get the rhythm of the thing... Draw, Anchor and release.

Here's my brother's daughter, shooting that very same bow as he was at the age of 7 or so in the old BW photo.
She's a Yoga instructor, and knows about The Archer (yoga pose) but had never actually shot a bow.
She picked it up quickly. She's got the hand/eye thing really well. I gave her the bow, and some arrows, and
the photo of her dad with it. She was delighted.
View attachment 853
Ana found that she could hit the target. There's nothing like that feeling.
View attachment 854
All right, so here's my bow rack:
Top to bottom:
Fred Bear Longbow 55 lb (25 Kilos)
Old Shakespeare recurve 35lb (16 Kilos)
New Cabela's "Ranger" recurve 25lb (11 Kilos)
Fred Bear compound bow 55 lb (25 Kilos) 65% let-off
View attachment 855
The longbow and the old recurve I shoot for fun. The new recurve I bought for my girlfriend, hoping she would get the bug.
And the compound is my hunting companion. It's an old one from probably 1986 or so, but I've taken nine or ten deer with it.
It's very comfortable to shoot, I can draw it without moving too much when the deer's head goes behind a tree, and hold it
until the deer's vital area emerges from behind the tree. I'm deadly with it inside of 20 meters. Beyond that, I wouldn't shoot.
View attachment 856
Click to expand...

THAT My friend is an awesome post and an awesome legacy! It's this kind of thing that's getting lost as we progress...many people are not passing down any family history, traditions or lessons...I thank you for this post and like so many others it is thoughtful and well written and a joy to see and read...
 
Showing the young'uns how to shoot is my thing too. I bought my son Liam a recurve like mine and a longbow, and take him to the range with me when I go. He still isn't a brilliant shot, but he tries hard, and I enjoy his company.
To me, sharing experience and skills with my kids is priceless. My father is a fantastic human being, but he never spent a lot of time with myself and my 2 brothers when we were younger, as he was always too busy at work, or working around the house, on his car or whatever. I don't begrudge him that, but just wish he could have spared some more time with us, sharing experience and knowledge
This is why I love reading Michaels posts. His descriptions are so accurate and poetic that I feel like I'm actually there with him, listening to every word. Experiencing what he has experienced...
Michael, you are a mine of knowledge, patience, temperance and experience, and I'm proud to call you my friend.
 
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