Archery takes place on the upper floor, which has space for up to 10 archers at any one time. Competitions, at the moment, are available for Recurve and Compound bows. They start in February and run until November. Participation is entirely voluntary.
However, you can simply use your bows as you wish to relax! Please note that CROSSBOWS are never allowed, so please do not ever bring one to the Range!
The distance to the boss is up to 18 m (~20yards). This allows the correct international distance for indoor archery. The bosses are on castors and can be moved. Beginner archers can start at a closer distance, then over time slowly improve to 18 metres. This progression is useful for all types of bows
Long Bow
Currently, a few people use the standard wood bow, which is used without any addition of sights, etc. It is held simply; the arrow rests on your fist and is nocked on a simple known place on the string. These bows can be purchased for about £100 but are often more expensive when bought from a specialist dealing in individual hand manufacture. A few of our members have these.
Recurve Bow
There are several LH and RH club recurve bows available at draw weights ranging from about 16lb to 30lb. An explanation is provided on sights, arrow rests, nocking points, and various arrow lengths and weights. These can be used for a reasonable time to get a feeling for the bow and decide whether to take up the idea of archery. This bow type is the most popular amongst our members.
Generally, recurve bows are in 3 broad types:
- Traditional, where the bow is one piece and cannot be disassembled.
- Takedown, where the two limbs are simply unbolted (early type)
- Takedown by ILF (ILF: “International Limb Fitting) clips on both limbs. This also allows some adjustment of the pull weight of the bow. Limbs from any manufacturer will fit into any ILF recurve riser (centre section).
Compound Bow
Compound bows have been designed to alter the draw weight of the bowstring. Instead of getting harder and harder as you draw the string back as on a recurve bow, compound bows allow the draw weight to change. The two possible main effects are: pull back at an even pressure, or pull back to rise and then fall back to a low pressure. The cam pulley wheels on the bow are designed to be adjusted within a reasonable setting to affect the pull pressure and to adjust the length of draw.
Compound bows are generally more expensive than recurve. This bow type is used by a few of our members
Mongol Bow
This is basically a copy of the Mongolian traditional bow type, which dates back to prehistory.
The bow is smaller and is available from draw weights of about 20lb up to 50lb. It has become popular generally because of the fairly low prices £50 upwards. So far, a couple of members are trying them out.