First Longbow - first steps - help please

[Aliwren]

I am very excited to be collecting my first longbow on Monday and have afew questions if anyone can please help.

I have been told i need to educate the bow gradually up to its full draw, roughly how many times should I expect to be drawing the bow and in what increments should I aim for, when should I actually start shooting arrows?. I am anxious to start but equally want to treat the bow with the respect it deserves giving the wood time to settle and clearly do not want to break it!.

Can anyone also give me some advice on care of a longbow ie how often do you wax it and what with? Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Kae]

Ok,

String the bow at half the standard brace Height.
Shoot 2 dozen arrows at half draw.
String the bow at full brace height.
Shoot 2 dozen arrows at half draw.
Then gradually over the next 2 dozen arrows bring the draw length upto full draw.

its a long process, but its good for the bow.

Kae.

[Aliwren]

Thanks Kae

[TimS]

Blatantly pinched from Pip Bickerstaffe's website and the booklets that go out with each of his bows - good advice, in addition see his advice (and demonstration videos) about stringing the bow, amongst other things, on http://www.bickerstaffebows.co.uk/info.php (having recently seen a club member's bow reduced to a useless floppy stick by the 'step through' method) .....

A new Longbow deserves respect. It has been tillered very carefully to draw in an optimum bend to suit the required draw length and draw weight.

Before use it is a good idea to rub a beeswax-based polish into the bow, to both protect it from damp and to warm the wood.

Next you need to “teach” it to shoot. To do this, brace the bow at a low brace height and allow the bow to settle for about an hour, then slowly part draw the bow several times and come down again.

Continue this until you have reached full draw after 10 – 15 part draws.

Now brace the bow fully and start to shoot arrows into a close target from a part-drawn position working back to full draw, again after 10 – 15 shots.

NEVER draw a bow back too quickly, to do so is to treat it like firewood you are trying to break, you just might succeed.

This is a common problem when people used to compound and recurve bows first pick up a Longbow.

Another potential problem is temperature: the colder a piece of wood the stiffer and more brittle it becomes. Conversely, as the weather gets hotter, the limper it will get and therefore you can expect less cast. In practice the extremes are not often encountered in this country but are common in other countries.

Avoid using a bow in either sub-zero (centigrade) temperatures, or in extreme heat as in the one instance it might break and in the other it will suffer long-term damage and future loss of performance.

Once the bow has shot around 2 – 3 dozen arrows from full draw it will begin to bed in and should start to feel sweeter to draw. If you always warm up the bow you will extend its useful life and performance, and it is much less likely to break.

In time all wooden bows “follow the string” this varies from one wood to another and one bow to another. Never try to straighten a bow by bending it the “wrong” way as in many cases they can break.

The above is a summary of many little bits of advice which we have come across over many years of Longbow shooting.

The more respect that you can give your equipment the better it will serve you.

When we, as a nation, had need to depend on the bow for defence (and offence\) and for hunting I doubt that these bows would be treated badly in any way.

Care of your bow:

Check the bracing height after stringing the bow and before shooting: do not overbrace the bow. A slightly low bracing height is not a worry.

ALWAYS keep within the stated draw-limit: never overdraw or dry loose a longbow.

NEVER bend the bow the wrong way as this will cause damage, even breakage.

Check the string regularly for signs of wear, particularly at the nocks. If the string has got dirty or muddy it may have also got grit into the fibres, which will cause rapid wear.

Keep the string well waxed: this will both improve performance and help to keep out both dirt and moisture. It is always a good idea to “have a second string to your bow”: call us and we will make you one.

REMEMBER An overbraced bow – An overdrawn bow – A broken string – A dry loose – A carelessly braced bow – A bow drawn too quickly – A broken arrow nock – A lift in the bow backing – a bow bent the wrong way – CAN and PROBABLY WILL - all contribute towards a broken bow. With regular use, over time a wooden bow can lose a little weight and cast: this is normal and should not be “rectified” by increasing the bracing height as this will simply over stress the wood and further shorten the life of the bow, with no benefit. Natural materials deserve to be treated with care and will reward you if you do.

Not only is the 'warming up' of the bow (separate from the initial 'teaching' requirement) before every shoot good for the long life of the bow - it also helps in accuracy and consistency, as the bow will change its characteristics as it warms up and it is obviously beneficial to have these changes out of the way before the scoring shots commence!

[Aliwren]

Thanks for the advice - I bought a bickerstaffe bow and shot my first couple of dozen arrows yesterday - loved it and am now hooked!!

[Yew Selfbow]

What did you buy ???? sounds like your enjoying it

[Aliwren]

Its a Bickerstaffe standard longbow, hickory, lemonwood and a fantastic greenheart core. Brown leather handle, its a work of art!!!! Draw is 45lb at 29 inches. Also got a set of 12 arrows to get me started then I plan on learning to make my own.

Last night I found many of my arrows were v diff to pull from the boss, I have heard spraying the ends with back to black or similar makes this easier any advice/experience?