New arrows! Back to the butts...and questions

Western(esse) Martial Arts / Numenorean Martial Arts....

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Elleth
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New arrows! Back to the butts...and questions

Post by Elleth »

A very fortuitous warm spell hit at the same I had some post-Christmas cash and some time off - so today's been tromping back and forth to the hay bale with a glouriously full quiver for the first time in ages. Couple things I've learned today...

A. My winter coat had a hood, not unlike a cloak's hood. Hood up, can't aim well. Hood down, gets in the way of putting arrows back in the quiver. Anyone else run into that? What did you do?

B. My left arm had a Ravenswood "Sherwood" bracer -
Image
In principle a wonderful concept. No more cuts over my thumb from fletchings - awesome!

Downside - the leather padding over the thumb area tends to bunch up with use, and pooches up above the hand a bit, almost making an impromptu arrow shelf. Trouble is it's an inconsistent height. Not certain how to solve that problem, other than constantly rechecking and pulling it down tighter. What do you all use? A guard of some kind on your hand? Arrow shelf?

C. I can mostly tell when I'm not quite square on the string - but I'm thinking of adding a nocking point to my string. Too modern? Anyone know any period answers to the problem? Or is that overthinking it?

D. Technique this time - somewhere recently I'd heard the idea of actively pulling the fingers off straight back off the string. Not quite "plucking" but a similar concept.
Doesn't seem to work for me. I went back to the "just go limp" method and things got better.

E. Technique problem found and isolated - I finally noticed I wasn't getting consistent anchoring. I've been using my jaw as a anchoring point, but without applying any pressure. As a result sometimes my anchor was pressing into the flesh a bit, sometimes almost hanging in space, barely in contact. Problem fixed, pattern tightened a little bit. Only gosh knows how many problems to root out. :)



Finally - what sort of accuracy standard are y'all getting - and where do you want to be?
What do you consider acceptable - and what's good?
Persona: Aerlinneth, Dúnedain of Amon Lendel c. TA 3010.
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Greg
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Re: New arrows! Back to the butts...and questions

Post by Greg »

First of all...AWESOME! There's nothing quite like having a full quiver. I haven't had that feeling in way too long. Crosses fingers, I'll be there soon.

As for cloak hoods...mine's gotten used to folding down off to the left when I push it back. Just push it off to the side, and the fabric will take this "set" naturally after awhile.

As for period solutions...take some thin linen or silk thread and wrap that into a small bulge on your string, and then tie it off. Coat it with some superglue or clear nail polish. Of course, the coating isn't period, but if you don't, you'll be replacing it weekly. Make sure you put it on TOP of the nock...putting it below tends to allow the nock to creep up the string...for some reason it's far less likely to creep downwards. Find the right spot, and mark it with a silver sharpie or white-out first, and shoot using that for a bit to make sure you're spot on. Better yet, get a movable brass crimp-on nock point, adjust it until it's perfect, and then remove it and do the thread wrap. Getting your nock point perfect is a HUGE part of bow tuning, and is exclusively responsible for up-down consistency, assuming your arrow rest/grip placement are consistent every time.

As for the ravenswood bracer, which of course is causing the inconsistent arrow rest situation I just mentioned is important, I can't help you. Never seen or had one.

Acceptable is what you want to get out of archery, really. If you're hunting, I personally believe that you owe it to the animal to be consistent enough to trust yourself (barring target panic) to not wound an animal, but rather put it down efficiently. To that end, accuracy isn't "Let's see how far away I can hit it from", but rather "Let's make sure I'm well within the effective range I know I can hit consistently at before I touch my string."

If you're hunting deer, I'd say consistently hitting the round cap of an average jar of peanut butter from a reasonable, unexaggerated distance is consistent enough. We're talking 10-25 yards, here, mind you. Squirrels? You probably oughta be hitting a playing card folded-in-half from 15 yards.

Am I shooting that well right now? Certainly no. I have in the past, but I haven't had a well-spined set of arrows in ~3 years, so consider me out of the running.
Now the sword shall come from under the cloak.
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robinhoodsghost
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Re: New arrows! Back to the butts...and questions

Post by robinhoodsghost »

Slight adjustments to the strap that holds your quiver can change the angle, so the hood wont be a issue. I prefer to shoot with the hood down.

The raven wood arm guard is more for style than function. you could cut it to make only an arm bracer and then add a glove...that combo will not bunch at all....or if you don't want to destroy your investment. Go to your local goodwill store, pick up some real leather boots and make your own bracer glove combo and keep the Raven wood for Ren fair.

Overtime your bow string will have natural wear, so no need for a nocking point. Just add wax to assure the string lasts a good long time. Many traditional archery tournaments will not allow bows with nock points.

As far as target accuracy, ultimately you are only competing with yourself. it takes about 10 years to make a proficient long bowman. Ranger Greg was right on mark, when it come to bow hunting, for the animals sake.

Happy Shooting,

RHG
In the darkest part of Sherwoods glade, in the thickest part of the wood, there are those who say, can still be seen, the ghost of Robin Hood.
bjaurelio
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Re: New arrows! Back to the butts...and questions

Post by bjaurelio »

I can't say that I've heard of a tournament not allowing nocking points. Many will require only a single nocking point. They fit any period using the method Greg described. In fact, I would say that it's essential for consistency to have a locator for where to nock your arrow on the string so it's the same every shot.
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Manveruon
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Re: New arrows! Back to the butts...and questions

Post by Manveruon »

Yeah, I just use a simple crimp bead style nocking point, and I couldn't imagine not using one. I've shot without one a few times and my accuracy goes out the window.
Maerondir Perianseron, also called “Mickel,” Halfling Friend - Ranger of the Misty Mountains
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