RECURVE

INTRODUCTION

So you have come to this site to get information on the wonderful world of recurves. As in everything that is archery, recurves come in 100 different styles and kinds. For the purposes of this page we will only be dealing with Olympic style recurves.

If you are thinking about taking up the recurve bow I congratulate you! This is the classiest type of equipment you can shoot. The recurve is not for the faint of heart however because it requires that you work at your form on a regular basis. It is the best type of equipment to learn on because a recurve will grow with you (if you have or are a kid), it is the most flexible in size and pulling weight ranges, and it teaches you the best form. The habits you learn with a recurve will help you excel if you should choose to take up other equipment later on in your archery life.

I don't say this to intimidate shoots from this type of equipment, but just to make you aware that at first you will find it challenging, and you will be less accurate that your friend the compound shooter, however if you like a challenge and have patience and a bit of a stubborn streak in you, you will find this type of shooting more rewarding than any other kind.

Olympic recurve shooter is generally defined as a person who is shooting recurve equipment for the purpose of shooting at targets (paper of 3D) and with a possible interest in tournaments. Now wait you non-competitive people, don't leave yet! Just because you shoot a target recurve doesn't mean you have to compete, you can just shoot targets to better your own score for the sake of being better. In fact, all shooters, competitive or not would be best to keep a Better yourself for the sake of being better attitude" this will make your training easier.

So where do you start if you want to take up Olympic recurve shooting. Well first you need the equipment.

Set out below is a picture of a basic Olympic recurve set up, and below that you will find the picture broken into manageable parts and definitions so you will know what I am talking about from here on in.

Okay I know what you are thinking "EEEK!!!" Looks complicated right?? Well its actually not nearly as bad as you think. So lets go through the parts of the bow and see if we can make this mess look a little less intimidating.

· Limb: The energy-storing parts of the bow located above and below the riser.

· Bow String: joins the two ends of the bow stave and launches the arrow. Desirable properties include light weight, strength, resistance to abrasion, and resistance to water.

· Sight: Adjustable device attached to the bow which facilitates the aiming process for the archer.

· Clicker: Adjustable device attached to the bow or sight which marks the archer’s draw length. Arrow is loaded underneath metal arm. When arrow is drawn back to proper distance arm with move and “click” again the riser telling the archer he has reached his draw length.

· Arrow Rest: Device mounted just above the arrow shelf on the bow on which the arrow rests during draw, hold and release. It is important because it reduced the area of the bow the arrow touches, creating the least amount of friction.

· Nock Point: The position on the string where the arrow is placed. Typically marked by the nock locator.

· Serving: Protective thread wrapped around the bowstring where the arrow is nocked.

· Grip: The center portion of the bow where the hand exerts pressure during the draw.

· Stabilizer: Weighted device added to the riser of the bow and designed to reduce torque and absorb shock upon release.

· V-Bar: A stabilizer on one or both sides of the bow that give me stabilization to the center of the bow, instead of pulling all weight forward. This can be used on just one side to off set the weight of the sight bar on the other side of the bow.

· V-Bar Extender: Serves to add extra weight to the stabilizing system. Also increases the length of the stabilizer so that the forward weight can be moved an extra two inches in front of the bow.

· Arm Guard: a piece of material (usually reinforced with plastic rods) that is put on the bow arm to protect the for arm from being hit by the string.

· Finger Tab: Used to protect the three fingers used to pull back the string. The middle finger is inserted through the whole in the front of the tab, the other two fingers simple fit behind the tab back.

· Glove: Another method used to protect the three fingers used to pull back the string.

· No Gloves: Acts like a finger tab or glove, but is put on the string. Made up of two parts, the point finger protector, and the middle and ring finger protector. These rubber pieces are placed on the string (as show in the picture) above and below the nock point. These are excellent for beginners, especially children.

· Nock: Device on the end of the arrow opposite the point, made with a groove for holding the arrow to the bowstring when placed in position for shooting.

· Fletch: The stabilizing feathers attached to an arrow between the nock and crest.

· Vane: A term used most commonly when fletching is made of plastic or rubber instead of feathers.

· Shaft: The body of the arrow upon which the nock, fletching, and point are mounted, and the crest is printed.

· Tip: The tip of the arrow that pierces the target. Classifications include: target; field; broadhead; and blunt.

Okay so that is the bow, the arrow and the body protection in a nut shell. Now if you are reading the basics you are probably a beginner to this sport and you are thinking "Do I really need all that just to fling an arrow???" The answer is NO!

* A sight is not really a necessity however some people, adults (who have developed fine motor skills) especially prefer to have one after the first one or two lessons as it does increase your accuracy. An important fact to remember, if you are a beginner, is to keep your sigh simple and worry more about your form than moving the sight. As a beginner an errors that come from shooting are usually 80% the fault of your form not your sight.

As time goes on I will be providing equipment name brands that I think are good for the beginner, the intermediate and the high performance shooter.

Okay, so I can't stress this enough. If you take one thing away from my equipment ramblings please take this:

You may be tempted to head to the local Canadian Tire, Wal-Mart or Wholesale Sports to pick up your equipment because the price seems cheaper however PLEASE RESIST THIS URGE!

The staff at these facilities are often lacking even the most basic understanding of this equipment. The folks who work at an archery pro-shop eat, sleep and breath archery equipment 7 days a week. There is usually not a lot these guys know! A good pro-shop will be able to make some recommendations as to the brand of equipment you will enjoy, but will also help you set up your equipment (put an arrow rest and nock on) as well as help you pick an arrow that is tuned to your equipment so that you can ensure the best flight possible and may even be able to let you shoot a couple of test shots.. I have yet to find a sports department employee at a large chain who can do that for you, especially when it comes to setting up an Olympic recurve.

Well Olympic recurve is the most complicated set-up without being popular. A traditional bow has very little equipment. A bow, a string, a rest and arrows. As you saw above a recurve has a little bit more. A compound bow has a ton of bells and whistles and even a couple of wheels thrown in, but because you can use it to hunt with you will find that your local hunting departments may have some rudimentary knowledge in set up. Most people in a sporting department wont' know what your talking about if you say you want an Olympic recurve. That is why I beg you on bended knee, PLEASE go talk to your pro-shop guys.

If you are unfortunate and have no pro-shop, go check out the local archery shooting ranges and clubs. Ask around and see if there are any members that shoot high performance Olympic recurve bows that would be willing to help you out when purchasing equipment.

Archery communities are very friendly, and are usually quite happy to help out someone who wants to take up the sport.

Okay, so enough about equipment, on to good shooting form. This is the bread and butter steps to shooting a recurve that every archers needs to know.

(b) RH people will have their toes facing the left hand wall when looking at targets, LH shooters will have their toes facing the right hand wall when looking at targets. (See picture). Note your whole body will always face the direction that your toes are facing.

(a)

RH will hold the bow in their left hand. (This is the arm that your arm guard should go on.
LH will hold the bow in their right hand. (This is the arm that your arm guard should go on.

(b) RH will draw the bow with their right hand. (This is the hand your finger tab or glove should go on).
LH will draw the bow with their left hand. (This is the hand your finger tab or glove should go on).

(c)

When holding the bow you want it to sit in the V of your bow hand. You need a loose grip with your fingers going around the handle but not holding the bow with any great amount of pressure. The idea is that you will pull the bow into your bow hand, so you only need your fingers to wrap around the handle. (Figure 4 & Figure 5)