Archer's
equipment

I fist briefly describe the construction of the bow and arrows and the accessories here below. On the preparing your arrows, tuning the bow and arrows pages you will find more detailed information for your equipment studies.

The bow:

The modern bows are consisting of three main parts; the middle section called riser, a pair of limbs. Earlier the bow was made of one piece solid wood, but now the bows can be taken down to pieces for easier carrying.
You can tell which limb is the lower one by the specifications (length of the bow and poundage) printed on the inside of it. The upper limb is clear with any text on the inside.
      On the riser there are few important things to learn and remember; the interchanchable plastic or wooden grip. There are rither low, medium or high and grips available, depending of your hand size and wrist angle. the arrow rest located on the window section (the narrowest section of the bow). The arrow rest is done either of plastic or metal. Through the window section there is a plunger pointing out where the arrow rest is fixed. With the plunger you fine tune the flight of your arrows. Note that your elementary bow might not have that attached. On the right side of the riser there is a sight attached.
It integrates a mechanism for adjusting the sight pin both in vertical and horizontal ways. Applying you to change your sight settings for different shooting distances and making wind or lighting corrections sideways.
      The limbs gives out the power for the arrow to fly through the air to the ten, but there are nothing so special in them. The limbs are connected to the riser with slide in system and on the ends there are slots for the string loop to be attached. Today the string is made of extremely durable materials, kike Kevlar. In the ends of the string there are loops for the limb attachment and in the middle a heavier section where to pull it and for making the nocking point. The nocking point is often made of two small pieces of tape. The arrow will be attached in between these tapes to lock it on the exact level on the string.

The nock has got its name of the onomatopoetic nocking sound when the arrow is attached to the string.


The arrows:

The state-of-the-art arrows are made of aluminium or carbon shafts (an empty small diameter tube). On the rear end there is the nock and three wanes attached. The wanes are glued on the shaft so that two of them are pointing towards the riser and the remaining one, so called cock feather, is pointing out of the arrow rest and riser.
      In most of the elementary level arrows the cock feather is coloured differently front the two remaining ones. When attaching the arrow on the string it is important to do it the right way around. If you do it the wrong way around (there is only two ways to do it) the cock feather pointing towards the riser you will not score properly since the wane hits the arrow rest in the realise.

There are in numerously different styles of arrows available. Different in sizes, in weights (calibre) and length. There are aluminium, carbon and combined aluminium and carbon arrows. To pick up just the right ones is a bit complicated thing, which I will come back to later. Now you should just think that the longer arms you have and more power you have on your bow, the longer and thicker will your chosen arrows be. The shorter arms you have and lower power in bow you have, the shorter and thinner in diameter the arrows you choose should be. So don't make the mistake that you should choose the best scoring arrows from the shelf by the longest length and strongest diameter or by the look so that the most warlike style would score the best. 
    In this stage you should perhaps puy not more than four arrows, because you might have to change the calibre in them when fine tuning the flight of your arrows finally. Normally you would need 10-12 arrows to shoot outdoor, but only 4 or 5 arrows indoors.

The needed accessories:

In addition to the bow and arrows you need a set of protective guards and accessories; on your bow arm you need a arm guard to protect your inner arm from the string striking it. It will be placed inside your wrist area. On your draw hand you'll need a finger tab to protect your finger tips of getting callous. To shoot couple of times without it doesn't matter, but your release fingers will  turn eventually very hard and sore if you don't wear the protective finger tab. Round your chest you need a chest guard which helps the string to a good clearance when the string is released. When you draw your bow to the full length the string will dig in to your chest and bounce your string sideways to a unsmooth realise. You would also need a aquiver to carry your arrows during your shooting sessions.

There are odd measures and old habits in archery.

The bow is one of the oldest weapons in man history. On the prehistorical diggings there are clear evidence that man invented the bow by the same time than he begun to walk on two feet. There are bows in almost all cultures and all continent. The early Australians however didn't use bow as a weapon, but the boomerangs instead.
Today's modern sport bow is related of course to these ancient weapons, but the sport was developed by the English and French aristocrats in the late 18's. An Olympic Game sport event it was first time in Berlin 1936.
      There are still odd measures in use for the people using the metric system, since archer is using the Anglo-American units, like giving the strength of your bow in pounds and the light in inches. One pound is almost the same than half kilo and one inch is approximately 2,5 centimetres. So in order to be able to pull a 20 pounds' bow (with 70 centimetres arrows, you need the power of lifting up a 10 litter water bucket 70 centimetres high from the ground.
      A few decades ago the shooting distances were measured in yards, but now they are given in meters. 90 metres which is the longest shooting distance in FITA round (Named after our international federation's French title; Federation International Tire de l'Arc) for adult men was earlier 100 yards. But we still shoot on that a 144 arrows which is totally a gross (an old parcelled goods unit). We shoot not five or ten arrows, but three or six per end.
      You will be facing more of these a bit odd sounding figures when picking up your arrows.
      In spite of all of these a bit  old-fashioned  measures the archery is today a modern and challenging sport, which got great gear, great guys and top feeling!

Archery is a competition sport which requires skills and mental strength. Your highest goal can be as a recurve archer to win the golden medal in the Olympics.
      However, there is no rush for you to start your competition career immediately. In the beginning it is far better if you only concentrate on the practice sessions to improve your shooting technique.
      First do it on a shorter distance like only 5 meters. On the close distance practising, you need not to worry your scores or missing the target.

The wise starter will advance gradually and not straight go and try the 90 meters! Someone has somewhere calculated that very likely the best scoring year for you will be around the tenth but no way the first!
Be prepared to use a lot of time for practise and start your competition career when you are more ready for that!

Don't ever play with your bow, don't aim on anything else than the target, and be even cautious with your arrows since they are long and sharp. DON'T PLACE THE ARROW ON THE BOW before you are standing on the line and ready to begin! 

If there are several archers shooting in the same target they will take their arrows one at the time. The ones not taking the arrows are to stand aside from the target, since the arrow first sticks hard on the buttress and then suddenly it loosens up ! If the fellow archer is just standing and closely observing his arrows you might run in to a accident where the nock end of your arrow hits his eye! Be patient and polite never run or rage on the field and nothing will happen!

Good to know before buying anything 

Each who goes for archery for a long time needs to buy the own equipment eventually. A bow which suits just his or hers measures and capabilities. A bow which can be tuned (trimmed) just according to his or hers style of shooting. Not too heavy, not too weak, just the right length. In addition to the bow and arrows you need also some additional guards and accessories. 
      To get the first bow is exciting experience. Now as you are approaching the time of doing the important move as an archer, remember the following:
       Try to find an archery specialist, rather than a gun store selling bows. There are many shops selling bows and arrows, but a specialist knows the sport and sells you the best suited equipment. The gun shop sells you a primitive bow with a hunting arrow set
      Don't buy the most expensive nor the least. The most expensive bow is not yet for you and the least is good for your wallet but no good (in your mind) in shooting against the best archers with the fancy equipment.
       Best equipment for you is such that you can really trust in them. They are mediate priced, rather made of aluminium than wood and such that they can be fully tuned (place for the plunger and stabilizers).
       A good second hand bow can be a economical solution. Bows are like cars, you drive with them for a while, then you buy yourself a new one. There are nice used bows available, which can suit you and your wallet. Just see that the bow looks to be in alright shape (many of them are available as the former owner bought a heavier bow). Be wear of buying too old model, because they looses their value by the time you want to change.
      If you can take an expert with you, do so! The buying of the needed tackle requires expertise, which you don't yet quite have.

A proper competition level set of equipment will cost you approximately 1000 Euros. The most expensive sets will get up to 2000 Euros (Prices vary countrywice). If you are tight with your budget, I would first buy a good basic riser and a pair of limbs, but choose the rest on the more economical end of the price list.  You can always change the sight and stabilizer to more expensive later.
       The truth is that a good archer can score with less expensive equipment if they are well tuned. It seems, however that people tend to think that the more expensive is your equipment, the better you score. S'est la vie! The pull's eyes are due to skills not the amount of carbon in your bow. But if you think all the time that you cannot score with the cheap tackle, it is better to buy the best you can afford. 

Choose the right price, right length and especially the right poundage for first bow.

One inch is 2,54 centimetres
One pound is 454 grams

The first thing to consider when purchasing your first bow is the length and poundage. Don't overdo them. If you are no more than 150 centimetre tall youngster the appropriate bow length is 64 inches. If you are a 185 centimetre adult with log arms pick a 70 inches long bow. 

Don't buy extra pounds for future needs! A too heavy bow will kill your enthusiasm and end up underneath your bed collecting dust.  You should, however consider to have a few more pound (2-4) in your bow to the one you perhaps been shooting with in the elementary course. 
        The average pondages in men's bows are round 40 pounds. For women and juniors 30-35 pounds. But if you are still in your early tens, don't go for more than 20-25 pounds. 
      In your junior age you will grow fast and would need to change the bow sooner or later, so please check that the bow you are now buying is such that it can be up-dated later (you get longer limbs or longer riser for it) 
        There are different kinds of limbs on the market:  fibreglass core laminated, carbon core laminated and 
limbs made of foamed special materials. Buy yourself first the fibreglass ones. They are the cheapest and best to start with. You don't have to worry so much changing them for more powerful ones in a short schedule!

The poundage and length are marked on the inside of the lower limb. For example 66" 24#. This means that the bow is 66 inches long and has 24 pounds. Quite often there are two different poundage markings, the bigger poundage is for the long riser (68-70 inch bows) and the smaller is for the short riser (64-66 inch bows). The poundage is always measured with a 70 centimetres (28 inches) arrows in full draw. So if your draw length is less than 70 centimetres you will get less than market out of your bow.

Buy the additional equipment by your budget. The sight and the stabilizers need not to be the most expensive ones!

The most important part in your equipment is the riser and the limbs (the bow). I would recommend that you invest the major part of the money on them. The sight is just a pin which you adjust horizontally or vertically. It doesn't need to be the best for the start. (On the 60's archers used pins taped to the riser). There are perfectly good sights for less than 60 Euros available. Don't buy the cheapest sight, there
      The stabilizers were invented only on the 70's. First there was only two short ones used. One on the upper section of the riser and an other down towards the bottom end of it. Now the archers use several stabilizers in their bows. The more you have them, the more stable your bow is, but do remember that several stabilizers only make your bow heavier, so I would recommend that you actually buy only the long one. 
      Buy first an aluminium stabilizer and when you are sure that archery is your sport, get the carbon multirodded ones.  

Now you have the needed tackle, but still missing a bow case.

You will be carrying your equipment almost daily between the practice field, home and of course the competition venues too. So I would recommend a good firm, but not heavy bow case. Try to put in it only the things you really need for the shooting and not all your belongings.

In the next sections we will prepare your bow and arrows for the shooting.

After purchased the different parts for your bow and arrows I will show you how to put them together. Connect the riser and limbs, prepare your string as well as cut the arrows to the right length, attach the nocks, point and wane so that you can really begin your practising to become an archer. After having gone trough these procedures, we have to also tune your bow and arrows.

If you are with a club, it is advisable to ask somebody there to help you with this. Do remember, however to closely observe what he is doing, in order to be able to do the same procedures by yourself later too.

go next to tuning the bow -link.