People have been involved with archery for a minimum of four thousand years, but very nearly certainly for a lot longer than that. Sections of composite recurve bows have been found dating back to the second millennium BC, but the parts that were found were the non-wooden, composite parts, usually of horn.

The wooden parts usually rotted away thousands of years previously, but a wooden longbow from the same era was discovered in Somerset. Presumably, people had been using all wooden, single section bows long before they started constructing complex composite recurve bows.

The skill of archery has always enthralled mankind and, despite the fact that guns have made archery outmoded, it still fascinates people today, although nowadays archery is practically exclusively used for recreational purposes. It is a thriving sport and hobby and is the national sport of the Kingdom of Bhutan.

If you are interested in practising archery, you will first have to make your mind up which kind of bow you would rather. Among other varieties, there are the longbow, recurve bow, reflex and decurve bows, deflex bow, pyramid bow and crossbow.

To a certain degree, the arrows are not interchangeable either. For example, a longbow can cast a three foot, heavy-gauge arrow, whereas a crossbow shoots a six inch bolt. The bows also had different uses although there was a certain degree of common ground.

For example, longbows were the heavy, rapid-firing artillery of their day, being able to lob a heavy, armour-piercing arrow hundreds of yards; whereas a short recurve bow was ideal for attack from horseback. Crossbows took less skill to operate but were slower than a bow.

There are diverse types of arrow as well. Historically, arrows were made of wood with a pointed metal tip, but these days arrows can be made of aluminium or carbon fibre. The arrowheads are different for different uses as well. A simple brass tip is sufficient for everyday shooting whereas a ferocious, slashing broadhead is used for killing.

The majority of people who take archery seriously use carbon fibre arrows these days which is the standard arrow shaft used at the Olympic games. The flights are usually of bird feathers and are used to steady the arrow in flight to reduce wobble. Plastic flights are also to be had as they are less susceptible to damage.

The Welsh (and English) longbow was perhaps the most powerful hand bow widely used. These longbows were typically six feet or more in length and made of one section of seasoned yew (or other woods). The draw weight of a Welsh longbow at the time of Henry VIII was between 160 -180 lbf and that would shoot a heavy three ounce arrow up to about 280 yards.

An explanation of the damage that one of these arrows could wreak was given by Gerald of Wales in the 12th century:

“… in the war against the Welsh, one of the men of arms was struck by an arrow shot at him by a Welshman. It went right through his thigh, high up, where it was protected inside and outside the leg by his iron cuirasses, and then through the skirt of his leather tunic; next it penetrated that part of the saddle which is called the alva or seat; and finally it lodged in his horse, driving so deep that it killed the animal”.

It took years of practice to draw and shoot one of these longbows bows accurately.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on various topics, but is presently involved with archery recurve bows. If you would like to know more or for special offers, please go to our website at Kids Archery Set.

Bowmen have played a major role in warfare and hunting for thousands of years. Primitive bows were made of a single piece of wood, but composite recurve bows were being made from Greece to China as far back as the second millennium BC.

Recurve bows, those with the tips facing the ‘wrong way’ when unstrung, are more powerful inch for inch in length than single piece wooden bows, which made them more suitable to cramped conditions such as on horseback, in a chariot or in woodlands.

Bits of composite recurve bows, usually made from horn, have been discovered in many parts of the world. Early arrows were made from naturally straight twigs or pine needles with napped flint tips affixed. Wooden bows did not preserve so well and exemplars are rare.

It seems that archery was being developed in the early Mesolithic or late Paleolithic Age. Archery was especially well developed in some Islamic countries and in Asia, where Zen Buddhist monks utilized archery as an element of their meditation techniques.

In the early days of archery, there were mixed sentiments about archers. In those days, people fought hand to hand with swords and spears and some of the traditionalists thought that archers were cowards because they attacked from a distance out of direct danger. This point is made very obvious in ‘The Iliad’, Homer’s account to the siege of Troy.

There are or were many types of bows made to suit different fighting or hunting requirements. Some varieties of bow are the; long bow, short bow, recurve bow, composite recurve bow, reflex bow, decurve bow, deflex bow and crossbow among others.

The longbow was tremendously difficult to learn to use and the archer had to have massive upper-body strength. The bow was often six feet long with a weighty three foot long arrow. The draw weight for maximum power was around a hundred pounds and the use of the bow on a battlefield was as long-range artillery.

The heavy arrows and fierce armour-piercing arrow head would pour down on the enemy from a hundred yards or more and pierce shields and armour as if they did not exist. Shot horizontally, the three-foot arrow could fly through a couple of people.

In fact, the longbow was so essential to the success of Great Britain that a law was passed making it obligatory for men over a certain age to practice with their longbows every Sunday on the village green in order to build up the necessary expertise and upper-body strength in case war came.

The arrows are made to suit the different kinds of bows and the different bows and their specific arrows are suited to different kinds of hunting – whether you are hunting men or animals.

There are essentially two types of shooting: instinctive shooting, which is very difficult as the archer does not take his eyes off the target, but does not sight down the arrow; and sight shooting where the archer makes use of sights to align the arrow with its target. The majority of people find sight shooting simpler.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on several topics, but is currently concerned with archery recurve bows. If you would like to know more or for special offers, please go to our website at Kids Archery Set.