(if they're smart)
Archery \Arch"er*y\,
n. [OE. archerie.] 1. The use of the bow
and arrows in battle, hunting, etc.; 2.
the art, practice, or skill
of shooting with a bow and arrows.
(Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary)
The art and practice and archery has survived and thrived since before recorded history. The bowman has provided food, defended his home, and has been an instrument of destruction in war.
The bow was one of the first tools invented which allowed us to affect our environment at a distance. Instead of having to capture and kill our prey by hand (or come to grips with an enemy, risking ourselves) we could now stand off, putting ourselves at less risk. The arrow could fly farther and more accurately than a thrown stone and do much more damage.
Today's bows are designed on computers. Compound bows used pulleys and cams which allow a bowman to hold a bow at full draw without strain (the cams pull inward on draw, significantly reducing the poundage of the bow). When the string is released, the cams snap back into place and the full draw weight of the bow pulls the arrow downrange. Arrows these days are made of aluminum, even titanium.
I do not use any of the above. The S.C.A. makes the attempt to recreate the style and methods used by archers in period. Although I do use a modern laminated recurve (a Bear 45# for those interested) I do make my own cedar shaft arrows. I also hope this summer to make my own longbow from scratch.
We use several different types of targets, ranges and specialty shoots in the S.C.A. In target archery (you'll see what other type of archery we do later) we mostly do regular line shooting from 40 down to 20 yards. In a royal round, for example, we shoot 6 arrows from 40, then 30 then 20 yards. At 20 yards we also do a speed round where you can fire off as many arrows as you want in 30 seconds.
Another target event is the "advancing target" shoot. Targets are placed 40, 30 and 20 yards away from the shooting line. For the first couple of seconds you must shoot at the 40 yard target. The the 30 yard target is "active" for another few seconds. For the last few moments the 20 yard target is the one to shoot at. This simulates a group of fighters advancing on a line of archers. Of course, the archers will stand their ground until the enemy gets too close. But after that, they would run (unless there were a good wall of spears and shields to defend them...).
Generally, we use the standard 60 cm circle targets (easy to find, and standardized around the world). But for fun we sometimes use other types of targets. For example, one year we used six foot tall pictures of vikings. Of course, if you hit the viking in the helm, shield or axe the shot did not count.
Another type of target shooting we do is the "Clout" shoot. This shoot is not to hit a specific target, but to be able to lob an arrow into a specific area at long range (like a castle turret at the top of a hill). This one is especially fun as the true yardage to the target is generally not known.
There is another type of archery we practice in the S.C.A. Many of our ranks put on armor, grab low-poundage bows and specially built blunted arrows and join the heavy fighters on the field. That's right, we shoot at live targets, specifically, the armed and armored men and women on the field.
I'd like to talk a bit about how to get started shooting. There are many other resources that cover most of this in-depth, but there are a few pieces of advice I'd like to give new shooters:
One: Pay close attention to the fundamentals! Grab a good book with pictures, or better yet, look at an olympic or other great group of shooters and see how they work. Stance (or at least correct and consistent foot placement in relation to the target), draw, aim and release must be learned and practiced with care or you will never develop consistency. Without that, hang it up because you can never improve.
Two: Aim consists of two variables -- windage (the horizontal) and elevation (vertical). They must be learned and evaluated separately.
To learn and perfect windage, I use the "wand" target. Originally this was a thin board placed in the ground. Now I use a 4 inch strip of duct tape that is 3 feet tall and attached to the backstop. It doesn't matter how high or low you hit the target, as long as you stay within that 4 inch width.
You can rotate the target so the strip is horizontal to perfect elevation, but I recommend you just move on to the "spot" target. Shooting at a horizontal wand will just let you forget the windage lessons you have perfected.
The "spot" target is a round target about the size of the gold area of a 60 cm round (about the size of the bottom of a mug). I place a black dot dead center. The idea is to cluster your shots on the dot. This makes you not only precise (your arrows go in the same location) but also accurate (the group of arrows is right where you want them). I use a paper plate for this not just because paper plates are cheap, but because shooting for a single black dot allows for less distraction and more focus.
Three: PRACTICE! If you can, set up a spot target at eye level 20 feet (yes, 20 feet) away and shoot for the dot over and over as often as you can. I know master archers who shoot at least 100 shots ever day in this way. Errors in technique or problems with your equipment are made evident very quickly at this range.
As promised, here are some links for you. Enjoy!
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