G L O S S A R Y
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Anchor: The location to which the hand that draws the bow string is positioned to when at full draw.
Arrowhead: The striking end of an arrow, usually made of a different type of material from the shaft such as iron, flint or bronze, depending the purpose of the arrow.
Archer's paradox: In period bows (without a shelf or centre shot) the arrow which is properly shot will fly in the line of aim although the string propelling the arrow moves directly to the centre of the bow. The arrow in fact bends around the bow after release but after passing the bow returns to its proper line of flight.
Anchor Point: The point to which you draw your bow to and anchor along side of face. It is very important to make sure you do this the same with every shot.
Arrow Rest: An item you attach to the bow for your arrow to rest on. It used to get riser and shelf clearance. Also to aid in the tuning of bow.
Archer's ring, Thumb ring: An effective Eastern method of drawing the bow string while using the thumb protected by a ring.
Arrow spacer: A circular piece of leather pierced by 24 holes used to keep the shafts of a sheath of arrows apart from each other and prevent damage to the flights during transport.
Arrow Spine: The stiffness and strength of a arrow.
Archer's Stake: A sharpened wooden stake driven into the ground pointing away from an archer to protect against cavalry.
Back of the bow: The surface of the bow furthest from the archer when held in the shooting position.
Backed bow: A bow consisting primarily of wood but one that has a thin strip of a material (wood or hide) glued to the back of the bow.
Barrelled: An arrow which is thickest in the middle and tapers to the ends.
Belly of the bow: The surface of the bow closest to the archer when they hold the bow in the shooting position.
Bodkin: A type of arrow head for piercing armour.
Boson: An arrow with a head with rounded knob with a sharp point projecting.
Bow: A projectile weapon consisting of a shaft with the two ends joined by a string used to shoot arrows.
Bow arm: The arm which holds the bow.
Bow case: Mainly an Eastern usage, made of leather to accommodate the lower half of the recurve bow.
Bow stave: A roughly trimmed length of wood from which a complete self bow is made.
Bow Square: A tool that is used to set the nocking point and also used to check the tiller of a bow.
Bow string: The string of bow made from such materials as; plant fibre, silk or sinew, used to transfer the energy from the bow to the arrow.
Brace: To string a bow.
Brace Height: The distance between your bow string and the handle.
Bracer, Archer's guard, Arm guard: A covering for an archer's left wrist, used to protect the wrist from the slap of the string.
Breast: The part of an arrow which touches the bow when the arrow is placed on the string ready to be drawn.
Broad arrow: An arrow with a broad barbed head.
Broadhead: A wide steel arrowhead used on hunting arrows.
Butt: An earthen mound used as a backing for a target, or a target made from compacted straw.
Butt fields: English public archery practice grounds, 15th century.
Cast: The ability of a bow to project an arrow.
Cloth yard arrow: An arrow of a certain length used for medieval English arrows, about 36 inches in length.
Clout: A white cloth placed on the ground as a marker for long distance shooting.
Clout shoot: An archery contest where the aim is to hit a target laid out horizontally on the ground.
Cock feather: The feather at right angles to the string position in the nock on three feathered arrows.
Creep: Allowing the arrow to edge forward at full draw just before the release of the arrow.
Cresting: The identifying coloured rings applied to the arrow shaft forward of the fletchings used to mark ownership.
Draw: The act of bending the bow to full arrow length by drawing the string backwards while holding the bow steady.
Draw weight: The force required to draw a bow to full arrow length, usually measured in pounds at a certain draw length measured in inches.
Draw length: This is the length to which the bow is pulled to shoot an arrow. To determine draw length, draw an arrow back and mark it at the point in which it is even with the front of the bow. This is the draw length. Draw length determines what length of arrow one should shoot.
D-Loop: A loop made out of rope or metal that attaches to the bowstring usually tied in at top and bottom of where nock is positioned on string. Used as a aid to clip the release to. Using a d-loop will increase the draw length about a 1/2".
Flatbow: A modern bow with flat section limbs made from fibreglass and wood laminations, often referred to as an American longbow.
Fistmele: The measurement of the distance from the grip to the string of a bow, usually measured by placing a fist on the grip with the thumb extended towards the bowstring.
Fletcher: An arrow maker. A person who attaches fletches to arrows.
Fletching: To add flights to an arrow.
Flemish loose: A loose using two fingers only.
Flemish string: A bow string made in such a way that the loops are plaited from material without a serving.
Flight shoot: An archery distance shooting competition.
Flu-Flu arrow: An arrow with large feathers used for targets thrown in the air or shooting birds.
Footed arrow: An arrow reinforced with a spliced hardwood foreshaft.
Fore shaft: A supplementary hard wood shaft added to the front end of a shaft.
Grains: The standard measurement for the weight of an arrow.
Herse: A defence work consisting of sharpened wooden stakes driven into the ground pointing towards the oncoming enemy, used to protect archers from a cavalry charge.
Herse of Archers: A wedge formation of archers supported on the flanks by men-at-arms, used by the English during the Hundred Years War.
Instinctive shooting: Shooting without the aid of sights, used particularly in field archery and hunting.
Jar : Lack of smooth action in the bow after release.
Let-Off: The percentage of weight held at full draw in a compound bow. In newer bows usually 65% to 80%.
Limbs: The ends of the bow from the riser out. This is the part that flexes to give the arrow it's forward motion.
Loose: To release the string of a bow to propel an arrow towards it's target.
Musquet arrow, Spright: In the early development of firearms wooden arrows were used along side lead shot as missiles.
Nock:
[1] The end of an arrow with a notch in it for the string.
[2] The grooves in the tips of the limbs of bow to fit the bowstring.
[3] The act of fitting an arrow to the string.
Nocking Point: The spot on your bow string in which the arrow is placed prior to shooting and drawing.
Over-bowed: aid of an archer who is using too heavy a bow
Peacock arrows: Arrows of the 14th century fletched with peacock feathers.
Pile: A type of arrow head used for target shooting
Popinjay: A figure of a bird suspended from a pole and used as a target by archers and crossbowmen.
Quiver: A bag or case to carry arrows.
Rankling Arrow: An arrow with a detachable head which remains in the wound when the arrow is removed.
Rochettes: Fire arrows thrown by balistas, 14th century.
Serving: This the area on the bowstring that has extra thread wraps to prevent the arrow or the release from causing damage to the bow string. Keep an eye open for wear to this area and replace at its first signs.
Self bow: A bow made from one piece of wood.
Shaft: The body of an arrow.
Sheath of arrows: A bundle of twenty four arrows.
Short bow: A bow usually half the height of the archer using the bow.
Speed shooting, Shower shooting:
A contest to shoot as many arrows as possible.
Spine: A measurement of the amount of elasticity of an arrow shaft.
Stave: A piece of wood destined to be shaped into a bow.
Stele: The wooden shaft of an arrow.
String: A bowstring. To fit a bow with a string.
Stringer: An aid to stringing a bow. A maker or seller of bowstrings.
Tackle: Archery equipment.
Toxophilite: A devotee of archery.
Toxophily: The love of archery.
Tugalin: An arrow used for shooting large birds.
Target Panic: An uncontrollable loss of aim while pointing towards a target.
Tiller: The measurement between the string and the top of riser and the bottom of riser. This measurement should be the same at the top as it is at the bottom of the riser.
Torque: The twisting of the bow by an improper hold.
Tuning (bow): The act of setting up a bow to shoot at its ultimate performance.
Tuning (paper): Shooting an arrow through a sheet of paper and changing the bow set-up by the hole that is made by arrow passing through the paper. One determines the changes to be made to the bow by the tear of the hole in the paper.
Velocity: The speed at which an arrow travels. Arrow speeds are measured in feet per second.
Wand shooting: An archery contest were the target consists of a piece of peeled willow about 6 foot in length placed upright in the ground. the winner is the first to split the wand.
War bow: A heavy bow used in war.
Whistling arrow: An arrow with a large hollow head with openings in front and sides. When shot the air rushing through the openings make a whistling noise.