Getting started.
When you make the decision to take up the English Warbow you are reaching back in time to the bowmen of old, to the archers of the armies of Edward III and Henry V. Learning to shoot a war bow takes a lot more effort and, ultimately, skill than other forms of archery. The war bow is a difficult beast to handle and you will develop in more ways than you can imagine. You will become stronger for it, but that strength takes time to build up so you will learn to be patient. You shall want to make your own bows and arrows, so may learn the craft of the bowyer and arrow smith. You may well want to discover where and how these weapons where used, so you will find yourself immersed in history books and looking at artwork of medieval archers trying to gain insight into their forgotten techniques. You'll take great pleasure in not being stressed on shoots about the score: you know if you’ve done well that day and, if you have not, no matter. But where to begin?
The first Arrow
If you have never loosed an arrow before the last thing you should do is go out and buy a 120lb self yew war bow! Sounds odd, but it would be like buying a 1200cc motorbike if you’ve never even been on a moped. The first thing to do is go along to your local archery club and learn some basics. Most target and field shooting archery clubs run beginners courses which usually last for about six weeks. The style of shooting that these courses teach is different to the one you will develop to shoot the war bow but more of that later.
Your First Bow
A war bow is a longbow; but a longbow is not necessarily a war bow. Many longbows that you will see either on the sporting field or the various adventures of Robin Hood on the small and big screen are, in fact, ‘Victorian Style’ longbows or ‘butt’ bows.
A Victorian bow has a raised handle section which does not bend so most of the work is done by the bow limbs. This gives the bow the characteristic shape of a reversed ‘D’. It usually has a draw length of about 28”.
A war bow is ‘compass bow’: it bends through its entire length, including it’s midpoint, to form a segment of a circle and usually has a draw length of around 32”. It does not have a raised or stiffened handle section.
The major difference is in the power of these bows. A Victorian bow is usually no more than 70lb in draw weight (the force needed to draw the bow) with most being in the 50~60lb range for men and 30~50lb for women. The War bow by contrast can be in draw weights of up to 180lb and more! But don’t worry - bows that size are not common, most war bows ranging from about 80lb~140lb. However, the skill required to shoot even an 80lb bow should not be underestimated.
So what bow to go for? Well, find out what draw weight of bow you feel comfortable with - you’ll have plenty of opportunity to try different bows when you do a beginner’s course – then get a bow with a draw weight which is 10lb higher in draw weight than the bow you have become accustomed to but has a draw length of 32”. (Click for details and links to bowyers who can supply bows.). To give you an idea, my first bow had a draw weight of 48lb so my next bow would have been ideally 60lb draw weight once I became comfortable with the bow. You should be able to shoot your bow all day (say, 140 arrows) before moving up in draw weight. It is very important that you do not buy a bow that makes you struggle to a great degree, unless you are very confident in your abilities. However, do not ‘over bow’ yourself by drawing a bow which is too heavy - this can result in torn muscles and tendons. Ouch!
Arrows
A bow with a draw length of 32” needs arrows which are long enough. For a typical adult man, 5’10” or over, go for a 32” long arrow. If you’re smaller than this reduce the length of the arrow, but avoid going below about 29”. The diameter of your first arrows will depend on the draw weight of your bow. Generally speaking, the higher the draw weight the thicker the shaft. For a bow below 55lb you’ll want shafts of 5/16” thickness, for 55~75lb bows go for 11/32” thick, 75~100lb go for 3/8” arrows (the standard arrow) and above 100lb start thinking of ½” thick battle shafts! Go for shafts made from ash, birch, aspen or poplar. For bows at the lower draw weights cedar and pine also make good choices. Listen to the advice arrow-smiths and other archers give you about the ‘spine’ or stiffness or your arrows. This can make a huge difference to the accuracy of your shooting. Make sure that when you order your first set of arrows that you are not ‘bullied’ into arrows shorter than the draw length of your bow - you’ll need the length of arrow to learn the correct technique for shooting ‘in the bow’. (List of arrow smiths here) As for the heads ONLY use field or target heads until you have become proficient with your bow. Shooting medieval bodkins or broadheads without the necessary skill is reckless. Give it time.
Learning to shoot in the bow
Once you’ve gained a bit of experience and have your new bow and arrows it’s time to learn how to draw the bow ‘to the ear’. Unfortunately, this will probably involve you ‘un-learning’ a lot of things you were taught as a beginner! Your archery club would have spent a considerable time teaching you a particular stance, drawing and loosing technique. This style of shooting is a very effective teaching and learning tool, and makes very good target archers with modern bows but it is not favourable (in fact, it can be downright harmful) for drawing a heavy bow. As a beginner you must be flexible and accept that there is no ‘one true way’ of shooting and you must be prepared to study, practice and adapt your technique.
The best way to learn is to shoot around other men and women with warbows. They will show you the technique. A good starting point is join the forum and see if you have anyone in area or country who you can meet up and shoot with. On the forum you will find details of upcoming shoots which you’ll be able to attend. These are usually roving marks shoots.
If you do find yourself on your own and unable to get around other people with war bows then you’ll need to study the technique from the videos on the site. You can check you progress by posting a video of yourself on our forum, the other members can then offer you help and advice.
If you're obsessed with draw weight you'll not be helping your shooting. Instead, focus on getting your draw-length up, and drawing the arrow to the ear. There are plenty of posts on the forum about drawing technique. Read these. Try them. Practice. Shoot many, many arrows in that style off your bow until you're comfortable with the stance and the technique is locked in your motor memory. 10 arrows isn't enough - more like 1000 arrows!
It must be stressed that if you are in anyway uncertain about your ability or fitness to shoot a bow of any kind then you should first seek medical advice.
Insurance and Liability
These days it is important in many sporting activities to insure yourself against injury caused to others as a result of your engagement in that sport. Archery in general is no exception to this and depending where you are in the world will influence the level of cover you need. When you first join a club, talk to members there about the different types of insurance available. Archery clubs generally carry their own policy which will cover you at that club. However, in order to partake in open shoots elsewhere you may well have to have extra insurance. This is usually offered though sporting bodies on an annual basis and you will be covered at events run by, or approved by, those bodies. A good habit to get into is to approach the organizers of an event a few weeks before and find out from them what cover you need and how to get it. Do not risk not having the relevant insurance, even though archery is an extremely low risk sport - accidents can happen. So get insured and keep it safe.
Be patient
I know we all want to be shooting the kinds of draw weights our forebears did but just wanting something doesn't automatically make it happen. You have to work at it - slowly and progressively.
Once you've got technique mastered, then the heavier draw weights will come. I promise. As someone once said:
“Strength and power come from technique and practice, never the other way round; no-one ever got better technique from applying more strength!”
None of us shooting heavy bows got there in one mighty leap. We all went up in bow-weight slowly, over a period of months or years. You'll find the early steps are (relatively) easy, so you'll be able to go from 50lb to 75lb, to 80lb quite quickly. Once you get past 100lb though, the steps get much smaller. Believe me, the step up from 100 to 110lb is huge!
I suggest you find yourself a bowyer who's prepared to make a number of low(ish) cost bows in various draw-weights as practice bows. If you know you're going to want to shoot 100lbs, don't spend a fortune on an 80lb Italian self-yew bow that you'll grow out of in 3 months. Stick to cheap, lemonwood and hickory bows (or similar) until you get to your target. Then buy your 'proper' bow (as a reward!)
Final point: Listen to your body. If it hurts, stop doing it! There will be times when you'll injure yourself. Give your body time to heal. Working through the pain will never help. You could just end up with a permanent injury and then you'll never shoot that big bow. And remember: healing takes longer than you think.
When you make the decision to take up the English Warbow you are reaching back in time to the bowmen of old, to the archers of the armies of Edward III and Henry V. Learning to shoot a war bow takes a lot more effort and, ultimately, skill than other forms of archery. The war bow is a difficult beast to handle and you will develop in more ways than you can imagine. You will become stronger for it, but that strength takes time to build up so you will learn to be patient. You shall want to make your own bows and arrows, so may learn the craft of the bowyer and arrow smith. You may well want to discover where and how these weapons where used, so you will find yourself immersed in history books and looking at artwork of medieval archers trying to gain insight into their forgotten techniques. You'll take great pleasure in not being stressed on shoots about the score: you know if you’ve done well that day and, if you have not, no matter. But where to begin?
The first Arrow
If you have never loosed an arrow before the last thing you should do is go out and buy a 120lb self yew war bow! Sounds odd, but it would be like buying a 1200cc motorbike if you’ve never even been on a moped. The first thing to do is go along to your local archery club and learn some basics. Most target and field shooting archery clubs run beginners courses which usually last for about six weeks. The style of shooting that these courses teach is different to the one you will develop to shoot the war bow but more of that later.
Your First Bow
A war bow is a longbow; but a longbow is not necessarily a war bow. Many longbows that you will see either on the sporting field or the various adventures of Robin Hood on the small and big screen are, in fact, ‘Victorian Style’ longbows or ‘butt’ bows.
A Victorian bow has a raised handle section which does not bend so most of the work is done by the bow limbs. This gives the bow the characteristic shape of a reversed ‘D’. It usually has a draw length of about 28”.
A war bow is ‘compass bow’: it bends through its entire length, including it’s midpoint, to form a segment of a circle and usually has a draw length of around 32”. It does not have a raised or stiffened handle section.
The major difference is in the power of these bows. A Victorian bow is usually no more than 70lb in draw weight (the force needed to draw the bow) with most being in the 50~60lb range for men and 30~50lb for women. The War bow by contrast can be in draw weights of up to 180lb and more! But don’t worry - bows that size are not common, most war bows ranging from about 80lb~140lb. However, the skill required to shoot even an 80lb bow should not be underestimated.
So what bow to go for? Well, find out what draw weight of bow you feel comfortable with - you’ll have plenty of opportunity to try different bows when you do a beginner’s course – then get a bow with a draw weight which is 10lb higher in draw weight than the bow you have become accustomed to but has a draw length of 32”. (Click for details and links to bowyers who can supply bows.). To give you an idea, my first bow had a draw weight of 48lb so my next bow would have been ideally 60lb draw weight once I became comfortable with the bow. You should be able to shoot your bow all day (say, 140 arrows) before moving up in draw weight. It is very important that you do not buy a bow that makes you struggle to a great degree, unless you are very confident in your abilities. However, do not ‘over bow’ yourself by drawing a bow which is too heavy - this can result in torn muscles and tendons. Ouch!
Arrows
A bow with a draw length of 32” needs arrows which are long enough. For a typical adult man, 5’10” or over, go for a 32” long arrow. If you’re smaller than this reduce the length of the arrow, but avoid going below about 29”. The diameter of your first arrows will depend on the draw weight of your bow. Generally speaking, the higher the draw weight the thicker the shaft. For a bow below 55lb you’ll want shafts of 5/16” thickness, for 55~75lb bows go for 11/32” thick, 75~100lb go for 3/8” arrows (the standard arrow) and above 100lb start thinking of ½” thick battle shafts! Go for shafts made from ash, birch, aspen or poplar. For bows at the lower draw weights cedar and pine also make good choices. Listen to the advice arrow-smiths and other archers give you about the ‘spine’ or stiffness or your arrows. This can make a huge difference to the accuracy of your shooting. Make sure that when you order your first set of arrows that you are not ‘bullied’ into arrows shorter than the draw length of your bow - you’ll need the length of arrow to learn the correct technique for shooting ‘in the bow’. (List of arrow smiths here) As for the heads ONLY use field or target heads until you have become proficient with your bow. Shooting medieval bodkins or broadheads without the necessary skill is reckless. Give it time.
Learning to shoot in the bow
Once you’ve gained a bit of experience and have your new bow and arrows it’s time to learn how to draw the bow ‘to the ear’. Unfortunately, this will probably involve you ‘un-learning’ a lot of things you were taught as a beginner! Your archery club would have spent a considerable time teaching you a particular stance, drawing and loosing technique. This style of shooting is a very effective teaching and learning tool, and makes very good target archers with modern bows but it is not favourable (in fact, it can be downright harmful) for drawing a heavy bow. As a beginner you must be flexible and accept that there is no ‘one true way’ of shooting and you must be prepared to study, practice and adapt your technique.
The best way to learn is to shoot around other men and women with warbows. They will show you the technique. A good starting point is join the forum and see if you have anyone in area or country who you can meet up and shoot with. On the forum you will find details of upcoming shoots which you’ll be able to attend. These are usually roving marks shoots.
If you do find yourself on your own and unable to get around other people with war bows then you’ll need to study the technique from the videos on the site. You can check you progress by posting a video of yourself on our forum, the other members can then offer you help and advice.
If you're obsessed with draw weight you'll not be helping your shooting. Instead, focus on getting your draw-length up, and drawing the arrow to the ear. There are plenty of posts on the forum about drawing technique. Read these. Try them. Practice. Shoot many, many arrows in that style off your bow until you're comfortable with the stance and the technique is locked in your motor memory. 10 arrows isn't enough - more like 1000 arrows!
It must be stressed that if you are in anyway uncertain about your ability or fitness to shoot a bow of any kind then you should first seek medical advice.
Insurance and Liability
These days it is important in many sporting activities to insure yourself against injury caused to others as a result of your engagement in that sport. Archery in general is no exception to this and depending where you are in the world will influence the level of cover you need. When you first join a club, talk to members there about the different types of insurance available. Archery clubs generally carry their own policy which will cover you at that club. However, in order to partake in open shoots elsewhere you may well have to have extra insurance. This is usually offered though sporting bodies on an annual basis and you will be covered at events run by, or approved by, those bodies. A good habit to get into is to approach the organizers of an event a few weeks before and find out from them what cover you need and how to get it. Do not risk not having the relevant insurance, even though archery is an extremely low risk sport - accidents can happen. So get insured and keep it safe.
Be patient
I know we all want to be shooting the kinds of draw weights our forebears did but just wanting something doesn't automatically make it happen. You have to work at it - slowly and progressively.
Once you've got technique mastered, then the heavier draw weights will come. I promise. As someone once said:
“Strength and power come from technique and practice, never the other way round; no-one ever got better technique from applying more strength!”
None of us shooting heavy bows got there in one mighty leap. We all went up in bow-weight slowly, over a period of months or years. You'll find the early steps are (relatively) easy, so you'll be able to go from 50lb to 75lb, to 80lb quite quickly. Once you get past 100lb though, the steps get much smaller. Believe me, the step up from 100 to 110lb is huge!
I suggest you find yourself a bowyer who's prepared to make a number of low(ish) cost bows in various draw-weights as practice bows. If you know you're going to want to shoot 100lbs, don't spend a fortune on an 80lb Italian self-yew bow that you'll grow out of in 3 months. Stick to cheap, lemonwood and hickory bows (or similar) until you get to your target. Then buy your 'proper' bow (as a reward!)
Final point: Listen to your body. If it hurts, stop doing it! There will be times when you'll injure yourself. Give your body time to heal. Working through the pain will never help. You could just end up with a permanent injury and then you'll never shoot that big bow. And remember: healing takes longer than you think.
.jpg){kind=small}
Beginnings
Getting started with a War Bow