Archery is both a sport and a means of survival, allowing you to hunt for food and fend off enemies. Archery bows are among the older weapons known and among the more convenient, as they can be built for varying levels of strength.
Basic Features
Modern archery bows consist of a long, somewhat flexible, curved rod attached at both ends by a bowstring. The rod may be one material such as wood, or it can be a composite of two or more materials including bone and fiberglass. A handgrip area called a riser is in the center of the rod, and the parts above and below the riser are called limbs. The riser has a sight for target focus and an arrow rest, which is a small ledge on which you place the arrow when aiming. A matching point on the string is called the nock point, and this is where you fit the back end of the arrow.
Styles
The longbow is a basic bow, longer than a regular bow, of course. It may be of one material or a composite. The recurve bow has limbs with ends that curve away from the archer. According to BoormanArchery.com, this allows for more spring force and more energy. This is the most common bow used in the Olympics. The compound bow is a mechanized bow meant to reduce the amount of work for the archer.
History
The exact point and time of origin of the archery bow are unknown. While one specific birthplace hasn't been identified, the Centenary Archers Club in Australia notes that arrowheads indicate the bow may have first appeared as early as 50,000 B.C. in Africa. According to the Centenary Archers Club, arrows were used in Europe at least as far back as 11,000 B.C., as an arrowhead was found in a corpse in Sicily that dates back at least that far. Bows at this point were most likely all wood; the first known composite bow made with animal horn appeared in Egypt around 2,800 B.C. Archery also became well-established in East Asia. The University of Iowa's Office of the State Archaeologist dates American Indian bows in Iowa to around A.D. 500.
Protection
Friction from the bowstring can irritate the skin on the fingers, and the rebound of the string can affect the skin on the bow-holding arm. The Grayson Archery Collection at the University of Missouri's Museum of Anthropology says Ancient East and West Asian archers used a release technique called the Mongolian release, in which the thumb pulls back the string. This necessitated the use of a thumb guard in the form of a ring. Thumb rings could be plain or decorated and made from materials such as bone, metal and glass.
A more modern grip, according to the Centenary Archers Club, is a three-fingered grip using the index, middle and ring fingers to pull back the string. Archers using this technique use a guard called a finger tab, which covers the string side of the fingers, and an arm guard on the opposite forearm. Women usually wear a chest protector to protect the breast closest to the bow from injury. Finger guards are usually leather, but arm guards can be plastic. Chest guards are usually plastic or nylon.
Crossbows
Crossbows are horizontally held bows attached to a launching apparatus. Modern-day crossbows have a rifle-shaped launcher. Rather than pulling the bowstring back and releasing it by hand, you stretch the bowstring and place it on a catch that's released when you pull a trigger. The crossbow has a sighting mechanism on it for focusing in on the target. Crossbows are used in hunting and in competition.
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