Ask me about archery, longbows especially.

[T.Allen.Smith]

When you draw a powerful bow you can hear the string tense and the material of the limbs strain as they bend. You can both see and feel the muscles in your forearms ripple under the weight of the pull. You have to be conscious of your breathing so that it won't throw off your shot. You have to focus towards where you think your target will appear (or stay hidden until the target looks another way then draw). If your target is an animal with honed olfactory senses you may be concerned about getting winded from your body's odor created during the chase.

In a period of hypersensitivity I would focus on sensory details like these. The tension could be built up quite nicely to be let go when the father knows the son is safe.

The release of tension in this case would be a physical manifestation of the tension felt by a father protecting & worrying over the safety of their child. Also a great way to end a scene perhaps.

Of course this works best if the POV character is the one shooting the bow.

 

[Penpilot]

I just saw on TV where an archer said he really doesn't need the fletching for the arrows because he's so consistent with his draw back and release. It showed him shooting arrows with and without fletching and his groupings were pretty tight. Any thoughts on this?

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

I just saw on TV where an archer said he really doesn't need the fletching for the arrows because he's so consistent with his draw back and release. It showed him shooting arrows with and without fletching and his groupings were pretty tight. Any thoughts on this?

Hmmm. I've never heard of this before. I come from a family of bow hunters who makes their own long bows & arrows (fletched with turkey feathers and all).

The fletching is a stabilization device. The question is, why would an archer want to go without fletching. Just to prove he can?

If that archer had a mounted warrior bearing down on him with a raised battle axe, would he still shoot without or would he prefer to fletch his arrows to compensate for any short comings as an archer? I bet he would fletch.

 

[Jess A]

Hmm.. How about:
Describe the father raising the bow (all or halfway) and noching the arrow in one motion. He watches the creature, knowing that the fluid motion of draw and release were a second away if he had to do it. Knowing he would be more accurate if he didn't try to hold the drawn arrow on target. As the son escapes he lowers the bow with the arrow still on the string. That's pretty quick and dirty but something along those lines might work. Hope it helps.
John
PS Could also mention that he tries to avoid banging the arrow against the bow to remain quiet.

Thanks for the reply - that last point is a good one. The beast is so focused on the boy that he doesn't see the father, so keeping silent is necessary. The animal doesn't attack the boy in the end so the father has no need to shoot.

When you draw a powerful bow you can hear the string tense and the material of the limbs strain as they bend. You can both see and feel the muscles in your forearms ripple under the weight of the pull. You have to be conscious of your breathing so that it won't throw off your shot. You have to focus towards where you think your target will appear (or stay hidden until the target looks another way then draw). If your target is an animal with honed olfactory senses you may be concerned about getting winded from your body's odor created during the chase.

In a period of hypersensitivity I would focus on sensory details like these. The tension could be built up quite nicely to be let go when the father knows the son is safe.

The release of tension in this case would be a physical manifestation of the tension felt by a father protecting & worrying over the safety of their child. Also a great way to end a scene perhaps.

Of course this works best if the POV character is the one shooting the bow.

This is a nice descriptive passage, cheers. It's from the boy's POV, but that's not to say that I won't be writing the father using his bow (in his POV) later in the book. I agree that it's a great way to end the scene - particularly as the father has some important, sensitive news to tell the son shortly after.

---

Cheers for the help, guys! Where is the bow carried on the horse/when not being used (if on foot or on a horse)? Another seemingly dumb question but I don't want to rely on assumptions.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

Typically the bow is kept unstrung until it is needed. Although bow strings are waxed to protect them from moisture they are still susceptible to water damage.
I know that some archers used to keep their bow staves in long, leather, tube-like cases that they wore slung over their backs or lashed to a saddle. This was water proofed oiled leather typically.

 

[Ankari]

Typically the bow is kept unstrung until it is needed. Although bow strings are waxed to protect them from moisture they are still susceptible to water damage.
I know that some archers used to keep their bow staves in long, leather, tube-like cases that they wore slung over their backs or lashed to a saddle. This was water proofed oiled leather typically.

Could you expand on that? If a group of adventurers were traveling from point A to point B which will take about two weeks would they unstring their bow? Consider that during their travels they are concerned of attacks as the road is dangerous and so is their mission.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

Typically yes they would keep the bows unstrung. Now if they heard a strange noise, saw the remnants of a battle, or suspected that highwaymen were near they would string them up.
A well trained archer can string a bow & have an arrow knocked and drawn in the blink of an eye.

 

[Caged Maiden]

I'm going to start a new thread just for the tutorial and place a link here. I thought it might be distracting if replies were posted between the videos because I'm going to have to do several videos. Thanks for all the interest.

 

[Caged Maiden]

Archers used secondary weapons. Most were also trained with a sword or axe. Bows were only good at a distance, and once your foes closed that gap, you dropped your bow and used your sword. Whenever you see people traveling with their strung bow draped over their body, it is absolute fiction. Think about it, I write earlier that every time you draw a bow it weakens. This means you want to store it flat, protected from water and sun, and carry a few extra strings. You can ruin a good wood bow by leaving it in your hot car for a day. Hence why I use fiberglass. Speaking of which, I took a video of me shooting today, so I thought I'd post it. Enjoy!

 

[Ankari]

That's cool, Ani. By the way, I've heard that bowstrings were made from the intestines of animals like cats and goat. Has anyone heard of such a thing? If it is true, what would be the benefit of such a practice?

 

[Caged Maiden]

linen was very popular.

 

[Jess A]

T.Allen.Smith - cheers again for the info. I didn't even think of it being unstrung, to be honest. I've probably skim-read over details quite often.

Caged Maiden - cool video. I'd love to learn archery. I'd also like to get back into fencing - it has been a while. I used to make a lot of weapons as a kid, though. Bows and the like. Anything that'd shoot at something else. Some of them actually worked pretty well.

 

[John McDonell]

Great shooting Ani!,
I just wanted to ad a bit about keeping a primitive bow strung. (Primitive meaning that it is made from all natural materials ie no glass) A wood or composite bow will do something called 'following the string' if it is left strung too long, or even after a few hours of shooting. What that means is that once the bow is unstrung it does not go back to it's regular 'unstrung' shape, rather it 'follows the string' and maintains some of the curve it has when strung, which of course weakens it. Most bows will recover their unstrung shape after a few days in a dry place if stored properly.
I have not heard of intestines being used for bowstring but that doesn't mean it isn't true by any means. I know that tendons and sinew are/were highly valued for 'backing' a bow. The tendons from the back legs of elks are bought and sold on e-bay for this purpose. I have never seen it done, but I believe they take the dried tendon, hammer it until it breaks down in to long strips of fibre and glue it on to the back of the bow. Native Americans used this technique extensively to significantly increase the power of their bows. Rattlesnake skins were and still are used in the same manner. Two great magazines with all sorts of information like this are "Traditional Archer" and "Primitive Archer". I think they both have websites. Thanks for all the input. You folks are awesome!

 

[Stuart John Evison]

I made my own bow, it is a composite of four woods, from the outer bamboo to an inner of heartwood yew. It pulls about 65lbs and with self made hunting arrows is viciously accurate at 100yards.

 

[Lightryu68]

I love bows I wish I could get a better one, I have a 45# re-curve made from fiber glass I think. I have a few questions about bows in general

1. Can you mix the type of designs of bows such as a re-curve and a long bow? I have a book I am working on and the bow that comes to mind that my characters are using are something like Legolas from Lord of the Rings.

2. If I mix a design like that what is a maximum draw weight on the bow?

3. What is the pros and cons of having a quiver on the back vs. having the quiver on the hip

then the thing I want to comment on is the type of string when you talk of linen caged maiden is that the same thing as Flax or is that different

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

I love bows I wish I could get a better one, I have a 45# re-curve made from fiber glass I think. I have a few questions about bows in general

1. Can you mix the type of designs of bows such as a re-curve and a long bow? I have a book I am working on and the bow that comes to mind that my characters are using are something like Legolas from Lord of the Rings.

2. If I mix a design like that what is a maximum draw weight on the bow?

3. What is the pros and cons of having a quiver on the back vs. having the quiver on the hip

then the thing I want to comment on is the type of string when you talk of linen caged maiden is that the same thing as Flax or is that different

1. I don't see how you could mix a design of a recurve and a long bow. The advancement from long bow to recurve was a tech advancement. Before recurves, bow limbs only bent one way. The recurve design (2 curves on each bow limb) allowed for a more compact frame while still having a powerful draw weight. A recurve design & a long bow design are mutually exclusive.
I have seen recurve/compound bow hybrids where the limbs curve & compound pulleys lower on the bow limbs aid the ease of the draw. This would likely be too modern for most fantasy applications.

2) There technically is no maximum draw weight on a bow. The draw weight has three factors:
1- the thickness and quality of the materials used 2- the technique used in making the bow (design).
3- the draw length of the archer. For example, an archer that has a draw length of 28 inches might draw 45 lbs of weight. An archer with longer arms might draw the same bow to 50 lbs of weight because he is pulling the limbs farther back & therefore increasing force. Usually bows are weighted something like this: 55lbs @ 30"

3) quiver placement is purely personal preference. Some quivers are even attached to the bow itself but these usually only hold 6 arrows & are more for modern hunting.
It makes sense to me that quiver placement would be dictated by where an individual wears their melee weapons. If I have 2 long knives in my hips I'd place the quiver on my back.

 

[Caged Maiden]

Historically, many archers never used quivers. In a war setting, many used straw bales or the ground, and hunters frequently tucked three arrows in their belts. I have many historical paintings referencing this for my quiver research paper.

As far as a hip quiver or a back quiver? As a female, bunches of straps crossing your chest makes things uncomfortable, but I am making a back quiver after I'm done with my hip quiver. If you make it yourself, you can adjust for comfort in design. We have several men and women who use both to great effect. So personal preference is the deciding factor there.

When I shoot normal target, I use a hip quiver. When I shoot speed rounds, I stick 8 arrows in my boot. That way they don't move and they're always in the same place.

Linen is made from flax, yes.

 

[SeverinR]

Historically, many archers never used quivers. In a war setting, many used straw bales or the ground, and hunters frequently tucked three arrows in their belts. I have many historical paintings referencing this for my quiver research paper.

As far as a hip quiver or a back quiver? As a female, bunches of straps crossing your chest makes things uncomfortable, but I am making a back quiver after I'm done with my hip quiver. If you make it yourself, you can adjust for comfort in design. We have several men and women who use both to great effect. So personal preference is the deciding factor there.

When I shoot normal target, I use a hip quiver. When I shoot speed rounds, I stick 8 arrows in my boot. That way they don't move and they're always in the same place.

I guess you use only field points, broadheads in the boots or razor tips might hurt.

My first leather project was a quiver. Funny thing, I never attached the straps.

 

[Caged Maiden]

True that. I only do target archery, and we aren't allowed to use broadheads. I am using medieval bodkins for this next project, but only six of my twenty-four arrows will be pointed. The rest will be field point.

I am making a really neat quiver right now. If I get it done anytime soon, I'll post some pics.

 

[Caged Maiden]

Also, I'd like to note that a "quiver" is any container used for transporting arrows. Historically, this might have meant a leather open quiver at the hip or on the back, or even a bladric style. Also though, it is used to describe arrow bags which were made of linen and employed leather spacers to separate the arrows within. It featured a drawstring bottom and top which would be pulled up and pulled tight to protect the feathers. The arrows were meant to be pulled down and out the bottom in this case, because broadpoints will not pull up through the spacers, rather, the fletches passed down through them.

Also, a quiver might have been an ordinary wooden box and could have stored many arrows.

Eastern quivers looked different than European ones, in that most often they were made of lacquered wood, sometimes strapped to a saddle to use while mounted. Other times, they had hinged lids (leather hinges) and could be used on the hip or presumable the back.

One thing about a back quiver, when making one, you need to make sure it either hangs at an angle which allows for a comfortable draw or cut it in a way so as to have one side mostly open. Personally I'm used to using a hip quiver, but again, design is really important when going for function. Back quivers are easier to travel with because they don't flop around when you are moving, but they can be trickier to draw an arrow from. If speed is important, having arrows in your belt or in a hip quiver might be faster.

Okay so I am starting my tutorial. I am cutting the videos right now and hope to have this project done by next week, so here's the link for those of you who want to follow and make your own arrows or just learn how they were made for your research. Thank you for the support and interest. http://mythicscribes.com/forums/research/3859-arrow-making-tutorial.html