Am I Just a Wuss?

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by jaselpool

As others have pointed out you may need to raise your nocking point a little or first of all if your feathers quill base is a little high on the shaft you may want to look at binding the lead points of your feathers (looks better on trad arrows than a blob of glue IMO) as these are:

The Longbow Shop – traditional archery supplies - Basic Medieval

J

I've got my fingers crossed that someone will give me money for Christmas. I know where I'm going to spend it

I've started wearing a cycling glove, which has saved me from the scratches. I'm still experimenting with my grip on the bow and the nocking point.

I have a feeling this kind of shooting could become adictive quite easily. Another member of Kingdom Archers (a long time compound archer) tried my Scythian on sunday and has now ordered a bow, back quiver and arrows (he claims his wife is getting him green tights too).

How long can my life be complete without an AFB and an English longbow...

[jaselpool]

Originally Posted by MikeD

I've got my fingers crossed that someone will give me money for Christmas. I know where I'm going to spend it

I've started wearing a cycling glove, which has saved me from the scratches. I'm still experimenting with my grip on the bow and the nocking point.

I have a feeling this kind of shooting could become adictive quite easily. Another member of Kingdom Archers (a long time compound archer) tried my Scythian on sunday and has now ordered a bow, back quiver and arrows (he claims his wife is getting him green tights too).

How long can my life be complete without an AFB and an English longbow...

Hehe I know what you mean - I shoot ELB and Horsebow... have my eye on a Falco AFB bow (Will be stocking them soon in the shop!) Now I just need some time so I can shoot them lol!

J

[BillM]

Originally Posted by MikeD

I have a feeling this kind of shooting could become adictive quite easily. How long can my life be complete without an AFB and an English longbow...

Does Maxine know anything about this????

BillM

[darthTer]

Mike,

When your shooting your scythian, do you constantly have a rather stupid looking grin on your face - or is that just me...

I love shooting my AFB - less pressure, more fun!!!

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by BillM

Does Maxine know anything about this????

BillM

Shhh... She wants a Mathews compound. I can get a lot of bent sticks for the price of that

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by darthter

Mike,

When your shooting your scythian, do you constantly have a rather stupid looking grin on your face - or is that just me...

I love shooting my AFB - less pressure, more fun!!!

I'm not sure if it is a grin or grimace It's hard work shooting left handed. 30lbs is a lot for right handed compound shooter.

It is serving it's purpose though. When the compound gets frustrating or boring, the sythian puts everything back into perspective. You can shoot balloons and get a big smile when one bursts. No fun in that with a compound.

I was at Eastcote on Sunday and bought a glove to try instead of a tab. That should be fun tomorrow. I also got a Byron Ferguson DVD. Become The Arrow, which nasty pictures of bear hunting aside has some great instructional material for 'instinctive' aiming for barebow shooting.

He recommends concentrating on the place you want the arrow to land and being aware of a reference point below to place the arrow point on. I've been aiming the arrow point at the reference point, but I'll try this other way tomorrow.

[Quadratus]

The main things that cause arrow damage to your bow hand:

• Nocking point too low
  
• Bracing height too low
  
• Fletchings too long (very common if you're pretending to be Attilla the Hun)
  
• Arrow too stiff
  
• Bowhand wrist position too low

Trimming feathers so they have a smooth quill etc is a sensible thing to do, since we all make bad shots (well, I do anyway) but remember that the fletches shouldn't touch your hand at all.

Cheers

[jaselpool]

Originally Posted by Quadratus

The main things that cause arrow damage to your bow hand:

• Nocking point too low
  
• Bracing height too low
  
• Fletchings too long (very common if you're pretending to be Attilla the Hun)
  
• Arrow too stiff
  
• Bowhand wrist position too low

Trimming feathers so they have a smooth quill etc is a sensible thing to do, since we all make bad shots (well, I do anyway) but remember that the fletches shouldn't touch your hand at all.

Cheers

Hmm have to disagree with the 'Fletchings too long' unless you mean past 7-8" as IMO feather length has nothing to do with hitting your hand otherwise we'd all be using 1.75" low profile clout feathers!

[steve58]

Originally Posted by Quadratus

The main things that cause arrow damage to your bow hand:

• Nocking point too low
  
• Bracing height too low
  
• Fletchings too long (very common if you're pretending to be Attilla the Hun)
  
• Arrow too stiff
  
• Bowhand wrist position too low

Trimming feathers so they have a smooth quill etc is a sensible thing to do, since we all make bad shots (well, I do anyway) but remember that the fletches shouldn't touch your hand at all.

Cheers

I'm sure I have read elsewhere on the forum that mongolian/hungarian type bows seem to shoot best with long low fletchings on?
Why would the length of fletching make a difference anyway (educate me!) I have some indoor longbow arrows with 5" "Victorian" fletchings and they have given me no bother.

[Quadratus]

I'm not quite sure myself why length of fletching affects hand clearance. I presume it is because the arrow is at a different point in its flexing round the bow. What I am sure of is with my 60lb Grozer Mongolian, shot off my thumb, 5" fletchings are fine 7" are not.

I too have read that Sino-Mongolian set-ups work best with long low fletchings and have tried all sorts of combinations including the traditional Mongolian formula of about 12" long (in practice, the longest full length feathers I could get my hands on) and the thickness of the shaft high. My conclusion was that there was no particular advantage, and I now usually use conventional 4 or 5" jobs.

All I am trying to do is share my personal experience. If it works for you, fine, if not, that's fine too, because now you know.

Good shooting y'all....