Most people pick up a taste for archery after having had a go at a country fayre or having been on an experience day. If you want to pursue it as a hobby, you may wish to join a club or, if you have private land on which you can practise, hire a private teacher or even teach yourself. Those starting at a club will find that there may well be bows that they can try but ultimately you will want to own your own bow.
There are a few essential measurements that you need to take in order to get the perfect bow for you.
- Your dominant eye. Bring your hands together, slightly overlapping, so there is a roundish hole between your thumbs and index fingers. Bring your hands slowly towards your eyes, whilst looking through the hole. Whichever eye your hands end up in front of is your dominant eye. This information is used to determine which way round you hold your bow. If you are left eye dominant you will draw with your left hand and if you are right eye dominant you will draw with your right hand.
- Your draw. Hold a tape measure in your bow hand and bring your draw hand (and the other end of the tape measure) back to just under your dominant eye. Your bow arm should be straight and the elbow of the draw arm should be kept high and in line.
- Arrow length. To work out your arrow length, simply add two inches to the length of your draw. It is better to shoot with arrows that are slightly long rather than too short for safety reasons.
Once you have these measurements, you should be ready to get fitted up with a custom bow. This can be ordered online or by visiting an archery shop and in most countries can be bought without a licence. When ordering you may well be asked what weight you want to be drawing; this will depend on your stature and strength. You may wish to choose a lower poundage bow to start with but bear in mind that you will soon get stronger as you practise.
When it arrives, you should always check that the bow you have ordered meets the specifications you set. Mistakes can happen when constructing the bow and it would not be safe to start using one that is the wrong hand, size or weight.
This article was written by Alex on behalf of The Sanctuary day spa . Alex writes about beauty products and has a secret passion for archery.
Authors bio is coming up shortly.
