Archery is one of the oldest ancient sports that has retained its popularity in modern times. The sport can be traced back to the prehistoric era, when the bow was a major weapon of war. The ancient Egyptians used the bow and arrow for hunting and in war with the Persians. The Egyptians and Greeks also enjoyed recreational archery, as evidenced by the story of Odysseus winning Penelope's hand in an archery contest. Although the Romans were supposedly highly skilled archers, in the beginning of the medieval period, they were defeated by the Huns, Goths and Vandals who surpassed them in skill. Firearms replaced the bow in the 16th century; however, the bow was retained for hunting purposes. In the 20th century, archery was featured in Olympic events until 1920. In 1920, the Olympic Committee dropped the sport because it did not have standardized international rules. Although a governing body was established in 1931, archery was not restored to the Olympics until 1972.
If this brief history has inspired you to take up the sport, you'll need to choose the right equipment. Let's begin with the bow. The bow is the device that converts human force into mechanical energy. Think of the bow as the spring which stores the energy that will be used by the arrow. Bows are made from different types of materials. Wood bows are lightweight, fast and inexpensive, but they may be prone to warping when the temperature changes.
Aluminum bows are light and relatively inexpensive, but they do eventually break or remain permanently bent. Fiberglass bows are light and very fast. In extremely cold weather they may break, and in extreme heat they might become too flexible. Spring steel bows are heavy, slow and powerful, but they are often too heavy for most people.
Different Types of Bows
Not only are bows made from different materials, there are also various types of bows. Recurve bows are the official bows of the Olympics. They are also good bows for beginners and are typically used in archery for recreational or competitive target shooting (i.e. not hunting). Compound bows, on the other hand, have cams and pulleys (vs. a recurve bow which has no pulleys or cams), fires an arrow much faster than a recurve bow and is typically designed for bowhunting enthusiasts for large game such as deer and elk.
Arrows are also made of different materials such as wood, fiberglass. aluminum, carbon and aluminum carbon. If you are on tight budget, it's preferable to economize on the purchase of your bow rather than your arrows. Arrows should be straight, and proportionally matched to the bow.
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