Archery

notageek · Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 3:22 pm Post subject: Archery

How many of you are interested in it?

I've always been interested in archery and recently they've opened up a archery range near where I live. I'm having fun.
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Old School · Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 3:50 pm Post subject:

Went bow hunting Roosevelt elk about a decade ago with a friend who is an expert tracker. He bugled a bull in to within thirty meters whereupon I missed my shot.
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sikpuppy · Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 3:53 pm Post subject:

Old School · Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 3:55 pm Post subject:

Friendly fire.
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notageek · Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 4:05 pm Post subject:

Over here these are just Styrofoam targets. I was surprised how well I could shoot.
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Bones McCracker · Veteran Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Posts: 1605 Location: U.S.A.

I took a class in it and had a recurved bow when I was a teenager. My brothers and I must have put a hundred holes in the side of the garage and did foolish things like fire an arrows as hard as we could straight up into the air, figuring that being struck by them was a statistical impossibility.

I've never actually shot a compound bow, although I've drawn a few and admired them.

In my opinion, based on that limited exposure, archery is a satisfying activity, good concentration exercise, and a potentially useful survival skill, but of questionable practical value relative to the variety of martial or survival skills one might choose to practice.
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notageek · Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 4:29 am Post subject:

It is actually addictive.

I'm contemplating getting a simple Recurve bow but brings the question of where I'm going to use it.
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John-Boy · Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 5:30 am Post subject:

notageek · Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 5:41 am Post subject:

For that I need a machine gun. Although, I feel less of an urge to do that these days.
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Clad in Sky · l33t Joined: 04 May 2007 Posts: 841 Location: Germany

I'm interested in archery, but never really tried it, except as a child with self-made bows and arrows.
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nomilieu · n00b Joined: 22 Nov 2011 Posts: 24

Every time I see a bow for sale, I have this strange urge to buy it. Perhaps my brain is trying to tell me it would be a cool hobby.
But, alas, I'm cheap and never make the purchase.

Bones McCracker · Veteran Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Posts: 1605 Location: U.S.A.

pjp · Administrator Joined: 16 Apr 2002 Posts: 17208

I personally prefer the crossbow, but they (usually?) fall under the same rules (at least for hunting) as firearms.
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notageek · Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 3:59 am Post subject:

Yeah crossbows are weapons and cannot be bought off a sports goods shop (here).
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nomilieu · n00b Joined: 22 Nov 2011 Posts: 24

Crossbows are easy to find at garage sales.

(Well, at least I see them a lot in Arkansas.)

flysideways · Apprentice Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 151

I recently went to a local archery shop and got a proper bowstring made for an old glass recurve that I've had since high school. Never bowhunted anything larger than rabbits and armadillos. Archery is fun.

Shooting arrows straight up and watching them come back down was an obligatory flirtation with the Darwin club when we were children.

notageek · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 3:39 am Post subject:

energyman76b · Advocate Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 2045 Location: Germany

crossbows are a bit... unregulated by current weapon laws in Germany, making them even more interessting. But also expensive.

If I had to choose between a crossbow and a Pentax 85mm SOFT, the soft would win.
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SiberianSniper · Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 12:55 am Post subject:

Bows and crossbows fall under the same category for hunting both here in Ohio and in my native Pennsylvania. Most stores here actually have more crossbows and bolts than bows and arrows, probably because they're considered easier to shoot so most people like them more. However, I prefer a bow because of how much lighter they are while hunting^H^H^H^H^H^H^H taking my bow for a walk and not seeing shit, and because they're a lot easier to draw. Shoot a few dozen arrows a week and you'll be just as comfortable with a bow as with any other projectile weapon.

Bones McCracker · Veteran Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Posts: 1605 Location: U.S.A.

Unless you plan to carve one out of wood as a survival skill, I can't see why anybody would use anything but a compound bow. It's not like you're a part of an Away Team trying to avoid violating the Prime Directive while visiting a culture that hasn't invented the cam or pulley yet.
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zixnub · Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 1:33 pm Post subject:

I did it several times. It's fucking awesome. Too bad the population density here is so high you can not possibly fire an arrow without somebody getting upset you killed their cat.
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Bigun · Advocate Joined: 21 Sep 2003 Posts: 2098

Archery serves just one solitary purpose... to kill people.

Naib · Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 2:34 pm Post subject:

Bones McCracker · Veteran Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Posts: 1605 Location: U.S.A.

Archery has a quaint charm. It's useful in those cases when the fun has gone out of killing and you need it to be more difficult in order to put some sport back in it.

In terms of survival skills, you're better off putting your time into learning how to make field-expedient game traps and fishing tackle. Even if you could make a halfway decent bow and a halfway decent arrow (skills which take great expertise and years of practice), you're not going to hit jack shit because you suck and archery itself also takes years of hard practice to become proficient enough to hit a moving target at hunting distances. If you think otherwise, you watch too much Lord of the Rings, Hunger Games bullshit, and Robin Hood bullshit.

As far as fighting other people, there's a much higher payoff in learning how to fight with a spear, something you can actually make and something you can gain basic proficiency with in just a few hours with a good instructor.

Sorry to be a buzzkill dick, but that's the way it is.
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energyman76b · Advocate Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 2045 Location: Germany

I tell you: crossbows.

You can shoot a guy throught a car door - and without any bang or smoke giving you away.

Awesome.
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Study finds stunning lack of racial, gender, and economic diversity among middle-class white males

I identify as a dirty penismensch.