Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows. The word comes from the Latin "arcus", which translates as bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat, but the mid 1800s saw archery gain popularity as a recreational activity and competitive sport.
Target archery
There are many different archery disciplines including target archery, field archery, 3D archery, clout and even horseback archery. All these disciplines have their own rules.
Cymric Archers is a target archery club. Target archery is the discipline of shooting at stationary circular targets set at specific distances. Outdoors, archers shoot over distances of up to 90 metres, although the standard competition distances are 70 metres (for recurve and longbow) and 50 metres (for compound and barebow), usually at the recognisable five-colour target, consisting of 10 scoring zones and gold, red, blue, black and white rings. Indoor shooting uses smaller target faces and generally distances of 18m/20yds. See our page on rounds and scoring for more information.
Equipment
Archery, like any other sport, will involve the purchase of equipment and accessories. How much you need to spend will depend upon a few factors:
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Do you want to shoot for leisure or to compete?
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Do you want to shoot longer distances?
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What is your budget?
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Do you have a preference for a specific bow style? To help you decide, a description of the most common bow types is further down the page.
We would recommend that you first complete a beginners course before rushing into purchasing your equipment. This course will teach you all about bow and range safety - see our beginners course page for more details. If you are not yet sure if archery is for you, we run occasional taster sessions.
We would discourage you from making your first purchases online (e.g. eBay, Amazon). Aside from needing to be sure that your equipment is safe to shoot there are other factors to consider when purchasing a bow, such as your draw length, height, eye dominance, how much weight you are capable of pulling comfortably (for dozens of arrows, not just a few). We would recommend that you make your first purchase in person with a reputable retailer such as Wales Archery. You can make a personal appointment with them and should expect to spend an an hour or so being measured and set up with a bow that meets your requirements and budget.
Bow types
Recurve (Olympic recurve)
A recurve bow has limbs that curve away from the archer when unstrung. They can be one-piece constructions made of wood, or they can be 'take-down' bows with detachable limbs and handles made of wood or metal. You will be taught to put together and shoot a take-down recurve when attending a beginners course.
The handle part is called a 'riser'. Although wooden risers are perfectly acceptable for practising archery, if you want to compete you may want to invest in a metal riser. Although more expensive, these risers are stronger and designed to shoot longer distances at higher poundage. Go for the best you can afford.
Modern detachable limbs may be made of wood, carbon or a mix of materials and costs vary considerably - £60 up to £1000 for the highest quality limbs. Again it will depend upon your budget and your future ambition, but if you are starting out we would recommend purchasing limbs at the cheaper end as chances are you will need to replace them as you get stronger.
If you fancy Olympic style recurve archery, you can add a sight to the bow and, in time, stabilisation rods and a clicker. A sight helps with a consistent aim on the target. Stabilisation takes vibration out of the bow whilst balancing for a steadier aim. A clicker helps with draw length consistency. These extra pieces of equipment will add to your budget, but needn't be purchased all at once. You will also need to learn to shoot 'under the chin' and with a 'split-finger' tab to reach the longest distances generally shot for this style (outdoors between 70 - 90 meters). More on recurve bows and Olympic style archery equipment and techniques here!
Recurve (barebow)
Barebow archers can use the same riser and limbs as Olympic style recurve, except sights and stabilisation and clickers are not allowed. Barebow archers use a variety of techniques to land arrows on the target. This can include using 'three-under' tabs as well as 'split-finger' and techniques such as gap shooting and string-walking. More on barebow equipment and techniques here!
Compound
A compound bow uses a levering system, usually cables and pulleys, to bend the limbs. The limbs are much stiffer and the mechanical advantage to the user enables much higher poundage to be used. Cams provide a 'let-off' that reduces the amount of poundage that the archer needs to hold at anchor between 65-80%. Rather than using tabs, compound archers usually use a 'mechanical release aid'.
More on compound bow equipment and techniques here!
Longbows
Longbows, as their name suggests, are long bows usually crafted from a single piece of wood and without the recurve shape. There are no accessories except for a rubber band on the bow itself that can be used for sighting. Arrows are shot off the bow hand and usually using the split finger style of release.
It is the most traditional version of the sport with a long history going back to when archery was used in warfare. It’s the version of archery you’ll see at historical re-enactments and at Medieval fairs.
More about longbows here!