Longbow Help

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Æon

Æon

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Hello everyone, I'd just like to say that if you have no experience at all with longbows, I do not want your opinion. I'd rather have people impart their experience(s) and people who know what they're talking about. Should my quest here prove futile, I'll find another place to pose these question. :razz:
Hopefully some of you reenactors out there can help me out with this.

So, I'm 100% sure that I am buying a longbow. I just need to make sure I'm getting a good bow from a trusted place that's not going to break my bank. In my search for a good company to buy from, I've turned up with this as my best possibility. It's cheap, it looks like they know what they're doing, and it has a great warranty as well as great ratings from
Amazon.
The reviews are very good. But I'm not sure if the average Amazon customer knows that much about bows or is an experienced archer. :???:

Now here are the burning questions:
-Is Woodbows.com a good place to buy from? If not, where do you recommend?
-I need some insight on draw weight and length, how do they affect one another in a bow?
-Does draw wieght and length affect what type of shooting style you're aiming for? (no pun intended)
-Is it possible to make authentic medieval arrows that last? If so, are there any guides you could recommend? (or, where can I buy authentic medieval arrows)
-How much does the shooting form make a difference? And what is the most authentic medieval form for shooting a longbow? (I'd rather do it the ye olde way)
-What's the best/cheapest target that won't ruin your arrows? (I thought a bale of hay with a paper target would suffice but I'm no expert.)

Any educated/experienced insight on these questions would be much appreciated. I may or may not update my questions list depending on how things play out.

Thanks for reading!
 
>>>-Is Woodbows.com a good place to buy from? If not, where do you recommend?

I haven't heard of them before, but I looked around their site, and they look okay, but I would see what else you can find on them before ordering. Their bows, if they match their pictures, actually look pretty good.

>>>-I need some insight on draw weight and length, how do they affect one another in a bow?

Draw weight is a function of the springy stiffness and compression of the wood (or horn or whatever). When you have a longer bow, you can use stiffer wood, because each part doesn't have to bend or compress as much, thus increasing the draw weight.

>>>-Does draw weight and length affect what type of shooting style you're aiming for? (no pun intended)

Yes!! If the draw weight is too much for you, it can ruin your form. Don't just go for a bow that you can draw, but go for one that you can draw for a fair few times before your arms get tired. Length does affect style but not as much, at least not for me, but I am near 6 feet. I have a modern traditional longbow and a takedown recurve, and I have used other peoples bows, and from what I can tell, the main thing is to be aware of where the ends of your bow are. One last thing, get a bow that isn't too heavy for you, preferably weigh it, and then hold a similar weight straight out to get a handle on how your shoulders will handle it.

>>>-Is it possible to make authentic medieval arrows that last? If so, are there any guides you could recommend? (or, where can I buy authentic medieval arrows)

Yes, but I don't have the information ready to hand. I'll look around and get back to you.

>>>-How much does the shooting form make a difference? And what is the most authentic medieval form for shooting a longbow? (I'd rather do it the ye olde way)

There are only so many ways to draw a bow, so find the one that you find most comfortable and use that one. However, once you are using it, don't compromise on form!! Stretch beforehand, use proper form during, stop when you start to get fatigued, stretch afterwards. I didn't do this when I started and it I am still trying to get the sloppiness out of my form.

The two most common draws are, hold the bow up and pull back on the string, or hold the bow around your shoulder with the fingers on the string and push away at the same time as you draw the string towards you. Put the arrows in the ground to the same side as your finger hand. Also check out old illustrations, and you'll notice that the arrow wasn't necessarily on the left side like the arrows usually are nowadays.

Stance is usually a variation on the T, on foot pointed at the target, one pointing somewhere along a ninety degree arc (I hope that made sense.) I would recommend that you look around for archery clubs, even if they shoot modern compounds, they still will know about stance and form. I would also recommend a book that I found hugely helpful when I was starting, TRADITIONAL ARCHERY, by Sam FADALA, ISBN 987-0-8117-2945-7. It's mainly on modern traditional bows but it takes you through just about everything and it has a pretty good list of (mainly US) bowyers, archery supplies companies and books.

>>>-What's the best/cheapest target that won't ruin your arrows? (I thought a bale of hay with a paper target would suffice but I'm no expert.)

My target is made out of cardboard boxes, cut to the same size (when folded flat, about 1.5 by 1.5 metres) and put into a large box. I leave it outside unprotected from the weather, so it is fairly soft. A hay bale would be much better, but get one about the same dimensions in the target area as my box, or smaller. it is much better to start off with a fairly small target, as it encourages good aim.


I hope that is what you were looking for.
 
Thank you so much LordOfShadows, that was indeed very helpful. :smile:
That was much more than what I was looking for, I appreciate you spending all that time to write that out.

I've come up with a few more questions, I might as well make it a separate post:
-How do I know/find out what the best draw weight/length is for me? (If height has anything to do with it, I'm 5'4")
-I am VERY worried about getting arrows for my bow, I found this video but I have no idea if it's any good. Fletching your own arrows certainly looks doable and time consuming, but I do need a productive time consuming hobby. :razz:
Do you buy your arrows, or make them yourself?

That's all for now...
 
Folthrik said:
Thank you so much LordOfShadows, that was indeed very helpful. :smile:
That was much more than what I was looking for, I appreciate you spending all that time to write that out.

I've come up with a few more questions, I might as well make it a separate post:
-How do I know/find out what the best draw weight/length is for me? (If height has anything to do with it, I'm 5'4")...
Click to expand...

Go to a sports store or a local shooting range and you can measure those.
 
>>>-How do I know/find out what the best draw weight/length is for me? (If height has anything to do with it, I'm 5'4")

Height only really matters if your using monster longbows (7' or something equally ridiculous) and you are really small. You're about average for a female, so it ain't any problem.

Draw weight is another matter. I have a forty pound and a thirty five pound, but for me the thirty five pound seems much harder to use for any length of time whereas I have gone all day with the forty. The forty is the longbow, the thirty five the takedown recurve. It might be the vibration or the recurve could weighs more, I don't know. All I can say is go to the closest archery club, talk to people, tell them that you're looking at getting a bow, and ask to try out different draw weights. Most clubs are very helpful with this sort of thing.

The draw length has more to do with where your anchor point is. The most common anchor points are the tip of the jaw, the corner of the mouth or on the joint of the jaw. I personally use fairly long arrows so that I can use whatever anchor point I feel like, even though it's recommended to find one and stick with it.

PsykoOps's advice was good, until you can hold the arrows hold off on buying them. I bought some arrows of ebay, which turned out to be not the very best idea in the world.

>>>-I am VERY worried about getting arrows for my bow, I found this video but I have no idea if it's any good.

It looks fine, from what I have seen watching the guys who fletch their own arrows. However, when you buy your bow, ask about what sort of arrows it will be best with. Do you understand spine and the Archer's Paradox?

Spine is the flexibility of the arrow, which is needed to overcome the archers paradox, which is the fact that on any bow that is not centre-shelved the arrow has to bend a little bit due to go around the bow-stave. I didn't explain it very well, you might want to look it up elsewhere.

The reason I mention that is that you have to get arrows matched to your bow, or find out how to make same.

>>>- Fletching your own arrows certainly looks doable and time consuming, but I do need a productive time consuming hobby. :razz:

If you have lots of time you might also want to think about possibly making your own bows, or getting bow blanks and finishing them, which is far cheaper. Plus you can sell them! (maybe)

>>>-Do you buy your arrows, or make them yourself?

I buy my arrows, because I mainly use metal or fibreglass arrows, and I cant be bothered fiddling around. Plus I don't have a fletching jig.


I probably just put up far more info than you need, so just remember when in doubt go with what feels right.
 
Thanks PsykoOps for the suggestion, but is this accurate enough? Because I'd rather do it by myself than have to go to a sports store simply because they would only know about modern compound bows for hunting and such. That link looks as though it is for modern compound bows but does any of this information hold true for traditional wooden bows?
 
To my knowledge, the arrow can't be overly stiff or overly flexible, because either of those will cause your aim to lean to one side. An overly springy arrow doesn't correct itself after flexing around the bow stave, and an overly stiff one doesn't 'flow' over the bow stave properly.

And generally, it's a safe bet that modern archers know **** about traditional archery. You really should hang around on some of the traditional archery forums to get a feel for it. :razz:
 
I've always wanted to do archery, even when I was a kid. I'm not going to give up just because it's a pain in the ass now. :razz:
Maille weaving seems like a very daunting task and I'm reluctant to start it even though it does appear to be a very satisfying hobby. Who says I couldn't do both though? :razz:

I've realised the best thing to do is to buy a cheap bow to start with just so I can wet my feet and get a feel for the longbow. So, I am most likely sticking with my choice of Woodbows.com simply because it's affordable with good reviews. And with the warranty, I can return it if I don't like it and try another company or simply stop altogether if it's not as fun as I think it will be.

I think 27" for my draw length is good for me, but I'm not sure if 35# is too much. Right now, I'm trying decide between a 30# or 35# Hickory English Longbow.
After that, I can start deciding what arrows will be best I guess.
 
How well would an ash shaft go with a 27" 30#-35# hickory longbow do you think?
And is there any way to know for sure what wood will go well with the wood your bow is made out of?

By the way, many traditional archery sites are for discussing hunting and do not have real English longbows. The ones that do, you have to be a member and pay to contribute to the forum. (From what I've seen so far)
 
Woodbows is a very good place! Bought two longbows from them, and after a year, one of the strings broke. I emailed about buying another one, and they sent one for free. Fast service and good responses.

Their bows are very high quality. Evenly cut with no off-center bend points like some cheaper ones have. Fairly broad in the beam, which is nice. Finish-able if you want, but still very nice as is. I didn't bother sanding mine. The linen backing is well done, and structurally enhances it.
 
Llew2, how long was their ship time? If it is such a good place I might get one from them myself, coz I am after a lighter bow for SCA combat archery.

Oh, and folthrik, I have never seen that way of calculating draw length. It's probably correct, but I never bothered, I just went with what felt right.
 
Awesome Llew, thanks for your input! :smile: That makes me feel better about Woodbows, I was very unsure, but now I know I want to buy from them.
If you don't mind me asking, do you use authentic arrows? If so, where do you buy them?

And thanks again LordOfShadows for being so helpful.
 
Folthrik said:
-I need some insight on draw weight and length, how do they affect one another in a bow?
Click to expand...

Draw weight is measured at full draw. Draw length is usually somewhat arbitrarily determined when the draw weight per inch "stacks." This means, depending on the bow design, that there is a sudden spike in draw weight as the string is drawn towards the end of the draw. Its caused by sting-to-bow angle. However, some bow designs, most notably recurves and compound bows, don't display this trait. 

As a wood, hickey is a bit like oak. Its very resilient to bending, but is a bit brittle compared to other bow woods. Unlike oak, the grain is not so spongy, which a bad quality in a bow. The best thing is its dirt cheap for a hardwood. Yew would be great, but its damn expensive for being highly localized, somewhat rare, and demanding in its growing conditions to properly facilitate bowyery.
 
Folthrik said:
Awesome Llew, thanks for your input! :smile: That makes me feel better about Woodbows, I was very unsure, but now I know I want to buy from them.
If you don't mind me asking, do you use authentic arrows? If so, where do you buy them?

And thanks again LordOfShadows for being so helpful.
Click to expand...
No problem.

For arrows, I've never really found good ones I'm happy with. I bought some used wooden ones off ebay, which I used for a while, but I wasn't completely happy with them. They are fairly old, so the use hasn't been kind to them. And they weren't meant to be authentic. Just wooden practice arrows.

My ultimate choice of arrows would be authentic wooden ones, preferably with steel broad-heads. However, if you've looked at all, you'll find that one, they are very rare to find, and two, they cost an arm and a leg. My solution was to try making my own. It actually worked as far as it went, but I did not stick with it enough to perfect the construction.

What I would recommend if you have the money, is to buy good wooden ones. If you take care of them, they will last forever, and they are much much nicer than plastic or metal ones. 
 
Ah, I see. I plan on buying wooden arrows to start with just so I can shoot with properly constructed arrows, but I do intend to make my own in the future seeing as it won't leave me completely broke.

A couple more questions:
-You unstring your bow after every use, correct? (I remember in my Stephen Biesty Cross-Section Castle book they stored the bow strings and bows separately in the gatehouse, the bows unstrung)
-What's the best way to string/unstring your bow without taking your eye out? Is there a way to do it without a gadget? (Because I saw a few gadgets for that and I was unsure if they were intended for traditional bows)
 
Bows from Woodbows.com come with a stringer and an extra notch. It's basically a longer string that you hook in two nocks, put under your foot on and then use to bend the bow and slide the real string into place. They send instructions with it and all that. I used the stringer until I was confident enough to do it by hand using my knee/leg. You shouldn't have to worry about taking your eye out; these bows are taller than you are. :wink:

Just one thing; when stringing/unstringing your bow without the stringer, you have to place one end on the ground. Make a point of not setting it in the dirt, or you'll wedge dirt into the end grains and potential start a split. It's just a good rule of thumb. If I want to lean on my bow stave, I put the end on the tow of my boot or something without dirt on it, like a board or log.

I store my string with my bow (always stored unstrung); simply bend it, and take the loop out of the nock and slide it down the stave, so that it's still attached. It prevents having to warp it around or other such methods of keeping it out of trouble.

Also, it's a good idea to oil your bow every six months or so, if you haven't put a finish on. I use mineral oil. You can finish it though (and I think they give some pointers on it), with a finish that keeps the moisture locked inside.
 
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