Longbow ArchersNew comers to the longbow
These pages is to tempt you to pause and to imagine . . .
the flight of your arrows high into the sky
For someone new to archery the age of technology is able to offer all imaginable archery equipment. Compound bows, recurve bows, doinkers, clickers, peep sights, release aids, and much else.
Many clubs go for technology and there is no doubting their enthusiasm and enjoyment of the sport. Nevertheless, if sport is also about recreation then simplicity is a good ally.
Owning a longbow means you can soon raise your bow and shoot your arrows in a gigantic arc through the air. It is an awesome sight and one that is eminently repeatable. The limbs of the bow are not made anonymously by the thousand.
The bow you hold is unique and made only to suit you. It also costs less than half of other bows. It is quick to brace, light to carry and easy to store.
The cost is very low. It is possible to be fully equipped with a longbow, a set of arrows, a quiver, brace and finger tab for £280 (€ 330). The latter three are easy to make yourself.
Membership of the International Longbow Archers Association (the I.L.A.A.) is only £6 per annum (€ 7).
The longbow is not about expensive equipment; it is about practise. The sport is a "kind leveller." There are those who have 120 longbows and bring several to a shoot. Such agony to choose which to use on the day. Others take two or even three bows round the course. Then there are those who make the most exquisite matched arrows and lose them in a difficult shot. Some are so wedded to their equipment, they get their young sons to retrieve arrows from a freezing lake in mid Winter.
A well muscled heavy bowman will sometimes find his quarter pound war arrows fall short of the slender arrows from the bow of an elderly lady suffering arthritis. Those with bows made from multiple layers of the most exotic woods, may not equal the score of the quiet gent who has used the same simple bow for years and whose arrows rush noiselessly to the mark.
Shooting the longbow is truly open to all. Children can start as early as 5 years of age and it is the only sport where a physically challenged person can compete on level terms with the able bodied. The longbow is good for general health and gradually builds up torsional strength. Above all it is about having a wonderful days' shooting in beautiful surroundings.
Tempted ? . . . then use the contact form to find some of the people who will help you get started.
More on the Sport
More on the Technical
More on Tuition
More on Arrows
More on the I.L.A.A.
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