I cannot stand compound bows

reply to post by Chopper


It is really horses for courses here, the compound bow in it's modern form is a sporting item but the real compound composite bow's of the mongol's well as you know they were a work of art, bare in mind Eshunkei's record that lasted for 784 year's and he was using a mongolian composite recurve, over half a killometer (Though when they tested the long bow's from the mary rose tudor warship wreck (A remade copy of one) they estimated it could potentially have fired nearly a mile which given that a arrow is far heavier than a bullet is some hell of a lot of tension) though I agree modern bow's look more machine like and less elegant than there predecessor's, interesting trick with the barrel shaping of the arrow shaft is'nt it (You know by a law which was never repealed we are still supposed to practice bow shooting in england on the village green but try it and you will likely have a ARU there is 5 minute's).
S+F

I don't have either. But shot both. Also, in a survival situation do not worry, the compounders wont have any meat after too long. You can't restring a compound in the field without a special press or whatever like you can a recurve. Plus the whole arrow weight is an issue too in that aspect.
Firepiston

BlastedCaddy
You must really hate crossbows and ppl that own them...

It is compound bows I have a problem with and how they take over everything and have trouble joining leagues. They do not seprate the bows in there, it is mixed. I also was going to do a tournament in Dec and a shoot last month and it came out mixed also with 100% compound. I do not have an opinion on crossbows, all the ranges do not allow them and that is why I do not own a crossbow. No place to practice with. I have no problem with crossbows, just compounds. Crossbows been around a long time.

reply to post by Thecakeisalie


Here Here! I hate those stupid 7 and 8 stringers. Sorry, just wanted to vent and saw the opportunity. Not meaning to take away from the O.P.

reply to post by Chopper


For what it's worth.... Try starting your own club or something. You could post something in the activities section on Craigslist. You may be able to find some like minded people to hang out with.

reply to post by IkNOwSTuff


Man, you forgot to use Strength potion to increase the damage. But we all know the Ogres are resistant to piercing damage... Maybe use the a weakening spell on it first?

reply to post by nenothtu


Nenothu, you are the man. Compound bows are really not real bows, just arrow spitting machines. With a bow with only one string, you can let it down and it is gentle on the arm. With a compound, it wants to rip the arm off when it is let down because it is so rough from the hard pull down. That is just not normal. The reason why they use the trigger release because the compound bows are so short, the string pinch the fingers really bad at full draw. I use to shoot compound and I try to shoot with my fingers and it end up cutting my finger after an hour of shooting, that how bad it pinches. I joined a bow making group recently and I am going to make my first bow next Sunday. Traditional archery is the way to go and the true path.

reply to post by IkNOwSTuff


Yuck! Compound bows are horrible and so unpleasant to shoot. My experience with them has been very bad. I can shoot lot faster with the horsebow, which is the bow I best with. It is nothing racial with longbows, I am Mexican American that just enjoys shooting bows and having fun.

Hoosierdaddy71
reply to post by Chopper

 

I don't agree with you saying that people that use compound bows are lazy. My wife doesn't have the upper body strength to hold a recurve while hunting. She gets a little shaky. But I do agree they are ugly.

That does not make sense why she cannot use a recurve. She should be able to if she can draw a compound bow that takes a lot of strength. A compound bow is a lot hard to draw then my recurve. I have to go over the hump on the compound. My 52lb compound feels more rough and it takes me more strength to draw that thing then my 60lb recurve bow. I know it is harder to hold the string at anchor with my recurve then the compound because I have to hold all the weight. To me, compound bows are way easier to aim and hold at full draw then recurves, but way harder to draw because of the hump and it hits full weight at the beginning.

nenothtu

Thecakeisalie
reply to post by Chopper

 

I've been making my own bows since I was 13 or 14. Not a single one of them had those wheels, geegaws, and way too much string on them. If a compound operator was forced with that choice, in an actual survival situation, he'd have a hell of a time trying to make his own compound contraption - and he would be utterly lost trying to shoot a real bow.

It's getting harder and harder to find bows in stores - most all of them cater to the compound operators, and sell contraptions exclusively. The last real bow I saw in a shop was a couple years ago. it was old, and in a pawn shop. I'm really pretty glad I learned how to make my own years ago with just a stick, a sharp piece of glass, and some fiberous stuff.

Added bonus: I don't have to have an engineering degree and special equipment to put my string on.



It really sucks that I cannot find awesome longbows, horsebows and recurves with higher draw weights at the local archery shops in my area. The only recurves they sell are beginner ones with very low draw weights. It is 99% compound and stuff for compound bows they sell. I have to special order my arrows to get the ones with feathers, because they only sell arrows for compounds. I am going to learn to make my own arrows and strings. Archery pro shops turned into compound operator shops that forget the rest of the archery world of traditional archers. The leagues at the local pro shops with ranges seem to only cater to compounders. I feel out of place being the only one with a stick bow. I enjoy competing, I am glad the normal tournaments separate the bows.

nenothtu


Crossbows have a purpose - so long as they don't have wheels. What kind of sissy has to have wheels on a CROSSBOW when it holds itself at the ready?

There are caveats to crossbows, too. I once had one that had a web strap for a stirrup. Now, to draw one, one sets his foot in the stirrup and draws the string to the nut until it clicks. With your foot in the stirrup, and drawing upward, well, I guess you can visualize where the butt of the crossbow is pointing to. I was drawing that monster, and just before it cocked, the friggin' web stirrup broke, flinging the whole thing upwards in response to the tension on the string. Wasn't but one place for the butt of the crossbow to go. I saw stars, rolled around on the ground and cried like a baby, and pissed blood for a week.

I find it weird that there are wheels on crossbows. My guess is they are trying to get more speed out of the crossbows that have wheels. I do not have any experience with crossbows and I never shot one in my life, so I do not have a opinion on them. They been around a long time since Medieval times, so I have no problem with them. I have problem with compounds because I never had a good experience with them and they are so unpleasant to shoot. I only shoot bows with one string.

reply to post by Chopper


Try Ebay for more of your stuff and know, if you don't hunt and get your own feathers, you can always buy just the feathers on ebay too and make your own arrows or seek out craigslist for your needs locally.

Arrows for longbow

My husband I am sure can point you in the right direction for making all your own bows as well. Since you like what is now a style that is not quite as popular, perhaps if you got good at it you could make a decent business for yourself.

You cant be the only person with these same problems, when you learn to solve the problem for yourself, perhaps you could also learn to master an art and make a career out of your new skill set.

reply to post by Chopper
[

The compound snaps over at full pull and takes a lot of the pressure off, she can hold it more steady that way. A recurve at max pull is harder for her to hold.

reply to post by Chopper


If you don't know of them yet, hit up Primitive Archer and Paleoplanet - you should find traditional/primitive archery meets around the US, how-to's, links to traders, and wooden-bow porn galore

if people use them, there must be a good reason for it. all it takes is to understand it, maybe you won't be so angry at them.

don't they have more force with less draw back weight?

i'm sure any problems you'd have to adhere to in switching from a classic bow are easily dealt with just by practicing.

if you want to stick with the one string, by all means, but i would feel inclined to give you advice not to hate your cousin.

Chopper
reply to post by nenothtu

 

Nenothu, you are the man. Compound bows are really not real bows, just arrow spitting machines. With a bow with only one string, you can let it down and it is gentle on the arm. With a compound, it wants to rip the arm off when it is let down because it is so rough from the hard pull down. That is just not normal. The reason why they use the trigger release because the compound bows are so short, the string pinch the fingers really bad at full draw. I use to shoot compound and I try to shoot with my fingers and it end up cutting my finger after an hour of shooting, that how bad it pinches. I joined a bow making group recently and I am going to make my first bow next Sunday. Traditional archery is the way to go and the true path.

I never knew the reason for the trigger hickey until now, as I've only shot a compound contraption a few times. The "letoff" or "break point" in the draw throws my aim off every time. it just ain't natural.

Kudos on making your own. There's a pretty high degree of satisfaction in shooting one you make yourself as opposed to one that you buy, and there is a confidence building factor involved when you realize you CAN do it, and once done, you can do it again and again, whenever you might need to.

Chopper

Hoosierdaddy71
reply to post by Chopper

 

I don't agree with you saying that people that use compound bows are lazy. My wife doesn't have the upper body strength to hold a recurve while hunting. She gets a little shaky. But I do agree they are ugly.

That does not make sense why she cannot use a recurve. She should be able to if she can draw a compound bow that takes a lot of strength. A compound bow is a lot hard to draw then my recurve. I have to go over the hump on the compound. My 52lb compound feels more rough and it takes me more strength to draw that thing then my 60lb recurve bow. I know it is harder to hold the string at anchor with my recurve then the compound because I have to hold all the weight. To me, compound bows are way easier to aim and hold at full draw then recurves, but way harder to draw because of the hump and it hits full weight at the beginning.

That's never been a problem with me - I don't hold them at anchor. I guess it's just my shooting style, but once drawn the entire point of the exercise is the release, so I do. It seems to be more accurate to me, since I don't really think and aim, I just do it. Other folks might get different mileage.

Chopper

It really sucks that I cannot find awesome longbows, horsebows and recurves with higher draw weights at the local archery shops in my area. The only recurves they sell are beginner ones with very low draw weights. It is 99% compound and stuff for compound bows they sell. I have to special order my arrows to get the ones with feathers, because they only sell arrows for compounds. I am going to learn to make my own arrows and strings. Archery pro shops turned into compound operator shops that forget the rest of the archery world of traditional archers. The leagues at the local pro shops with ranges seem to only cater to compounders. I feel out of place being the only one with a stick bow. I enjoy competing, I am glad the normal tournaments separate the bows.

They used to make jigs for fletching the arrows. It clamped on the shaft and spaced the feathers correctly, and held them there while the glue dried. Some of them even put the twist in to make the arrow spin like a bullet. Might be worth looking for one.

I make my own strings out of nylon rope. I strip the braids out, then take one of them, sufficient for a bow string, and strip it into 3. Then I twist the 3 strands around each other. the key is to twist the strands counter clockwise, and wrap them against each other clockwise. That makes the string just twist together against itself when it tries to twist and unravel. Once laid, you have to stretch it and let it set a day or two to get the stretch out f the nylon, then it's good to go.

Don't use actual sinew if you can avoid it - it stretches when it gets wet, out in the weather, and there goes all the stored power in your bow limbs.