This 68 page, full-colour publication, has been designed to guide beginners through their first steps in target archery. It’s simple, easy to follow, suitable for all ages and covers:

• Shootingtechnique• Scoringandcompetitions• Equipment• Rangesafety

Written and produced by Archery GB RRP: £7.50

Learn the basics of archery in one easy-to-follow

guide

Types of bow

There are three main

types of bow; recurve,

compound and longbow.

Recurve bow

Therecurvebowisusuallyusedto

introducebeginnerstoarchery.

Itisdesignedsothelimbtipscurveaway

fromthearcher,andstoresmoreenergy

thanastraight-limbedbow.

Asrecurvearchersbecomeexperienced,

theyaddmorepiecesofequipmentto

theirbows,suchasstabiliserstohelpwith

balanceandabsorbsomeofthevibration,

sightstoimproveaccuracyandpressure

buttonstofinetunethearrow’sflight.

Compound bow

Acompoundbowisamodernbowwhich

providesmaximumperformance.Itshandle

issimilartotherecurvebow,buthasvery

short,powerfullimbsthatareattachedto

pulleywheelsandcablesusedtodrawthe

limbsback.

Longbow

Thelongbowisatraditionalbowandholds

hugehistoricalsignificance.Longbowsare

handcraftedfromavarietyofdifferent

woods,includingyew,lemonwood

andhickory,orfromjustasinglepiece.

Longbowsarelessaccurateandaremore

difficulttoshootthanmodernbowdesigns

-butpeoplewhoshootthemsaythatthis

makesthemmuchmorefun.

Accessories

Quiver

Asidequiveris

attachedtoabelt

aroundthewaistand

holdsarrowswhileyou

areshooting.

Agroundquiveris

placedonorintothe

groundtoholdbows

andarrows.

Bow stand

Asimplemetalstand

usedtoholdabow.

Bracer

Abracerisusedtokeep

looseclothingfrom

touchingthestringand

stopthestringhitting

thearm,whichcan

causebruising.

Thebracerisfittedtotheinsideofthearm

holdingthebow,betweentheelbowjoint

andthewrist.Thewidestendofthebracer

fitsclosesttotheelbow.

Finger tab

Atabprovides

protectionforthe

fingersthatdrawthe

string.Forasecure

fit,themiddleand

ringfingersareplaced

throughtheholes.

Bow stringer

Abowstringerisused

tostringandunstring

abow.Foryourown

safetyitisalwaysbest

tolearntodothis

undertheguidanceof

anexperiencedarcherorcoach.

Bracing

height gauge

Thebraceheight

isthedistance

betweenthe

belly(widepart)

ofthebowand

thestring.Abracingheightgaugeisused

toshowwherethearrowshouldbeclipped

ontothebowstringandgettheheight

rightbecauseifitistoolowortoohighthe

bowwillshooterratically.

Recurve

bowThisbowisusually

usedtointroduce

beginnerstoarchery.

Mostrecurvebowsare

‘take-down’bows.This

meansthatthelimbscan

bedetachedfromthe

riser,asshowninthepicture,tomakeit

easiertotransportandstore.

Beginnerbowsusuallyhave‘limbs’which

aremadeoflaminatedwoodandflat

fibreglassstrips.Righthandedandleft

handedbowsareavailable.

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T H E A R C H E R Y F O R B E G I N N E R S G U I D E B O O K

T H E A R C H E R Y F O R B E G I N N E R S G U I D E B O O K

13

C H A P T E R T H R E E

Equipment

RECURVE BOW

LONGBOW

COMPOUND BOW

Gettingitrightwhen

choosingabowiscrucial,

soyouwillneedhelpin

theearlystages.

Youneedtofeel

comfortablewithyour

bowtomakesureyou

getthemaximumfun

andsatisfaction.Getting

itwrongcouldresultin

frustrationandinjury–so

talktoacoachorretail

specialistforguidance.

RISER

C H A P T E R T H R E E

Equipment

UPPER

LIMB

LOWER

LIMB

BOW

STRING

INTRO COPY REQUIRED FOR HERE

C H A P T E R T H R E E

Equipment

8T H E A R C H E R Y F O R B E G I N N E R S G U I D E B O O K

T H E A R C H E R Y F O R B E G I N N E R S G U I D E B O O K

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Clout shootingThisancientformofarcherywasusedasmilitarytraininginthemiddleages.Thetargetistheclout,whichisasmallflagonaverticalstick,stuckinthegroundandplacedupto165metresaway.Anarcher’sscoreisdeterminedbyhowcloseeacharrowlandstotheflag.Thescoresaremeasuredbyatapeattachedtotheflagwhichmeasuresa45centimetreradius–andtheonesthatlandclosestgetthehighestpoints.

Flight shootingThisformofissimplyshootinganarrowoverthelongestpossibledistance.Itrequiresaverylargeflatarea–aboutthesizeofanaerodrome.Recurve,compoundandlongbowclassescanallshootwithindifferentweightcategories.Specialistbowsandarrowsarealsousedtomaximisepowerandreducedrag.Archerscanshootdistancesof270metreswithalongbowand900metreswithacompoundflightbow.

Target archeryTargetarcheryisthekindofarcheryshotattheOlympicsandistheversionmostbeginnerslearnfirst.Itcantakeplaceeitherindoorsoroutdoors,andarchersshootasetnumberofarrowsattargetssetatspecifieddistancesonaflatsurface.

Field archeryAfieldarcherycourseissetupoverwoodlandandroughterrain.Archersshootaspecifiednumberofarrowsatdifferenttargetsinsequence.Archersmighthavetoshootuphillordownhillandthetargetscouldbedifferentsizesandatdifferentdistances,soanyonetakingparthastoreallythinkaboutwhattheyaredoing.

0 METRES

120 - 165 METRES

270 - 900 METRES

9 METRES

90 METRES

C H A P T E R T W OTypes of Archery

C H A P T E R T W OTypes of Archery

6T H E A R C H E R Y F O R B E G I N N E R S G U I D E B O O K

T H E A R C H E R Y F O R B E G I N N E R S G U I D E B O O K

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SHOOTING DISTANCES VARY FROM 9 TO 90 METRES

FIELD ARCHERS SHOOT AT A VARIETY OF DISTANCES OVER CHALLENGING TERRAIN

CLOUT ARCHERS SHOOT AT LONG DISTANCES TO GET CLOSEST TO THE FLAG

THE AIM OF FLIGHT IS TO SIMPLY SHOOT THE FURTHEST!

There are several sorts of archery

practised in the UK. The main ones

are target, field, clout and flight and

each requires slightly different shooting

methods and equipment.

C H A P T E R T W OTypes Of Archery

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T H E A R C H E R Y F O R B E G I N N E R S G U I D E B O O K

T H E A R C H E R Y F O R B E G I N N E R S G U I D E B O O K

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Like most sports, archery can involve a large range of equipment and accessories. But you only really need basic equipment to get started - a bow, some arrows, a bracer, finger tab, a quiver and a target to shoot at.

T H E A R C H E R Y F O R B E G I N N E R S G U I D E B O O K 11

C H A P T E R T H R E E

EquipmentC H A P T E R T H R E E

Equipment

RECURVE BOW

A BEGINNER’S KIT

BOW STAND

TARGET

BRACE

TAB

ARROWS IN A QUIVER

BOW STRINGER

SIGHT

BRACING HEIGHT GUIDE

You will also need a bow stringer, sight and bracing height gauge.

Asyoubecomemoreconfidentandwanttoimproveyourperformance,youcanaddmoreadvancedequipmentsuchasastabiliser.

NOTE

Astabiliserisusedtoimprovebalanceandreducevibration

BOW

ARROW

BRACER

QUIVER

10 T H E A R C H E R Y F O R B E G I N N E R S G U I D E B O O K

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