The recurve, as used in the Olympics, is the most popular type of bow in the UK and the type that beginners use to learn how to shoot. They are made up of three main parts: the “riser” (handle) and two “limbs” which slot or screw into the riser. The riser can be made of wood or metal and the limbs can be wood, fiberglass, carbon fiber, or ceramic — all offering different types of shot.
Normally, a “sight” will be attached to the riser to help with aiming, and a “long rod” and “v-bars” may also be fitted to stabilise the bow (see the Equipment page for all the gory details).
A recurve without a sight and stabilsiers is known as a “barebow”, shown here
Invented in the United States in 1967, the compound is the most technically advanced form of bow. Compound bows have much stiffer limbs than recurves with a levering system of cables and pulleys is necessary in order to make them bend. They are typically more powerful and accurate than recurves and, when fully drawn back, require less strength to hold than a recurve with a similar draw weight. Compound archers are also allowed to use some extra bits, like “magnifying sights”, “peep sights”, and “release aids”.
Recurve archers will tell you that compound archers have gone to ‘the Dark Side’.
Used for hunting and as a weapon of war in the middle ages, longbow archery became popular as a sport in Victorian times. Longbows are roughly the same height as the archer and can be made of a single piece of wood (called a self bow) or, more commonly, several different types of wood glued together. Being traditional bows, they do not have sights, arrow rests or any other magical bits and pieces used with recurves and compounds.
The longbow is often referred to, especially by recurve and compound archers, as the “stick” or “broom”.
A flatbow is a bow with non-recurved, flat, relatively wide limbs that are rectangular in cross-section. Because the limbs are relatively wide flatbows will usually narrow and become deeper at the handle, with a rounded, non-bending, handle for easier grip. This design differs from that of a longbow, which has rounded limbs that are circular or D shaped in cross-section, and is usually widest at the handle. Flatbows are usually wooden selfbows (bows made of one solid piece of wood), though composite flatbows can and have been made in ancient and modern times.
Flatbows were used by Native American and prehistoric ancient Europeans, some inuit tribes, Finno-Ugric nations and a number of other pre-gunpower societies for hunting and warfare because they are easily crafted, and, unlike longbows, excellent flatbows can be made from nearly any type of wood.
Generally made smaller and lighter as its primary use was for hunting or making war from horseback. First developed during the Iron Age the horse bow has been used by many different nations for centuries such as North American Indians, Mongols, Huns, Koreans, Japanese, Scythians, Parthian, Turks and many more.
- DO’s and DON’TS. Once you have decided that you would like to buy your own equipment, there are a few do’s and do nots.
- Firstly DO NOT rush out and buy equipment, secondly DO ask for help from an experienced archer about what to buy and DO set yourself a budget. DO NOT grab so-called bargains on auction sites. DO DISCUSS your needs and budget with an experienced archer or coach.
- Your first own bow. Most new archers take up with a recurve bow to start off with, and may change later to a compound bow (can be very expensive), or go to a more traditional longbow or similar. The recurve bow generally is a middle of the road bow between simplicity and VERY hi-tech engineering. This is the style of bow shot in the Olympic Games.
- Recurve bows are made up of limbs, a handle (or riser at it is sometimes called), a string and a sight. This makes up the basic bow, but other accessories are usually added later as the archer becomes more experienced. Basic take down bows start at around £60, whilst better bows are sold as individual components. Basic Recurve handles cost from around £90 (some cheaper – some more). One that would see an archer shooting up to a good competition standard would cost around £120 – £180 whilst a super duper one would cost in excess of £500. (The links shown to bows etc. are for illustration only. NAC does not recommend any specific shops.)
- Limbs to fit on the handle set the poundage of the string you are pulling, and new adult archers usually start with a low poundage of 20 – 26 pounds. They will however fairly quickly build up this poundage as they become more experienced and build up the right muscles, and 30 – 40 pounds will be the norm for most men. Most top Korean archers draw around 40-44 pounds whilst larger built top European men will draw anything up to 50 lbs. This means that your first sets of limbs need not be the most expensive as you will probably be replacing them later. A reasonable set of basic limbs starts at around £50, a good set will cost around £90 – £200, whilst a top quality set will cost in excess of £500. Some archery shops run a limb exchange programme where you can trade your limbs in as you increase your poundage at no extra cost. A good basic string will cost around £8, whilst an arrow rest will cost as little as £1.
- Other add-ons. A reasonable sight would cost about £50 plus. Buying a good sight for around £100 (such as the Shibuya Dual Click) would mean no further investment in this item later. The sights take a lot of vibration and really cheap sights can have problems. As you gain experience you may wish to add such things as “V” bars, long rods and clickers. A long rod is likely to be the first “add-on” and these are available from about £17, but you can pay up to £200. The sky is the limit, but probably not for your wallet!
- Arrows. A good basic set of arrows will cost around £50 to £60.
- Accessories. Small, but essential accessories are – arm guard, finger tab, quiver and bow stand. £40 to £60