If you love to spend your leisure time in the woods, you can do lots of activities. Have you ever enjoy Archery? Archery is one of the most exciting hobbies, whether it is for fun or recreation. You can also use Archery, which can improve your physical health and mental health, which is proven. Historically in the human arsenal, it is 10,000 years old tool, and in recent years, Archery can form lots of multipurpose scenarios from competition to hunting and recreation. Nature can provide lots of resources in front of us, and from there we can enjoy our food by hunting. We can hunt our food by using a gun or bow.
Bowhunting is a skill and needs lots of practice to develop this skill. For those who practice regularly, it can be advantageous. Here I am trying to compile a bow type for you, and obviously, these types will determine which setup will be perfect for you.
Bow Parts:
Basically, all the types of archery bow comprise three main parts, and they are- Limbs, raiser, and bowstrings. Before describing the bow types, I like to give you some suggestions regarding different bow parts. You need to have apparent knowledge about each of the details of the bow.
- Riser – is the center part of the bow containing the sight window, arrow rest, and grip. Most of the time, it is made of wood and sometimes composite materials also. If you are left or right-handed, you can change your riser. Before you buy your riser, you need to know which arm is responsible for drawing.
- Bowstring – It is a string made with different materials, and for each string, there is a loop. To give you a more accurate shot, it can give you more energy by holding the arrow—the bow technology transforming from wood to fiberglass and then carbon fiber.
- Limbs – It is very flexible and can provide the force, and with the help of this force, it can move your arrow and force the arrow to move forward. It is attached to the riser and can hold the bowstring at both string nocks.
Types of Archery Bows:
- Recurve Bow
It is the oldest bow among the others. Like the beginner or the expert, many people use this bow for competitor shooting or target practice. Most people want to recognize this bow from the Hunger Games, and It has been used for hundreds of years, and its popularity increases. The recurve bows are usually made with several layers of fiberglass, wood laminates, or wood. This bow is almost similar to the longbow, but the limbs curve away from the archer. People can get higher velocity, and this type can store enough energy. Here the riser has a sight and arrow rest.
Compared with the other bow, dry firing or firing without an arrow can be very dangerous. Any bow can be damaged from dry firing, and thus you may get hurt. This bow is straightforward to use, especially for those archers who do not have enough strength to shoot for the actual target. Due to the physics of this bow, you can fire this too far. The design is unique as well, which includes the limbs of the bow with the forward curl. The curling bow’s ending part contains enough power, and compared with the traditional longbow, this type of bow is shorter in size.
Most of the traditional recurve shooters is using different types of accessories such as arrow rest and the sights, but in recent years those bows are very user friendly to accept with the modern rests and sights. In appearance, in 21 century, you can see a far different than those of the earlier years. Due to their lightweight, you can easily handle them and fit for any size shooter. You can shoot long draw lengths or short draw lengths. It is significantly very affordable as well.
Recurve is the only bow that allows in the Olympic games, so if you want to shoot in sports, then the recurve bow is only what you exactly need.
- Longbow
Moreover, the longbow is straight on both ends with the long wooden pole. From the medieval era, the longbow is familiar with its simplicity. Due to the lack of technology, it is complicated to handle and shoot properly. The bow is comparatively more extended, and the draw weight increases at the same time. In warfare, the bow required a strong archer and need deedly power.
The longbow is mostly using for target shooting, but the skilled hunter prefers this in the field. Moreover, it is one of the simple and oldest bow ever. These bows were made of simple wood pieces, a very long thin shape, and relatively symmetrical: the braided horsetail and the part of animal hide attached at each end. Both for hunting and battle, the ancient Roman people used this bow. Still, lots of tribes all around the world are using this bow for their everyday life. Now-a -days longbow is going to be more advance and technologically develop day by day.
Some longbows are made from synthetic materials and some with laminated wood. The traditional archers can make their longbows with animal bone, custom wood, or snakeskin; you cannot get the same function as the hundred-year-old longbow. Longbows don’t use any sights or arrow rests, but they have a flat spot arrow shelf where the arrow sits and rest with a full draw. The traditional longbow does not have a fixed weight or length. Sometimes they have 60 lbs weight with 28 inches of draw.
Sometimes the longbow was known as the traditional bow or straight bow, and most of the time, they were used in an archery competition. Without the challenges of aiming, this bow is comparatively easy to draw. However, the longbow is very useful but needs more practice and dedication comparing to the other bow.
- Compound bow
The compound bow can take the traditional type of Archery, which can turn it on its side with the trigger release mechanisms. You can apply your simple points with techniques comparing with other types of bow. Those who don’t have enough time to practice but want to go out for bowhunting can use this compound bow.
The pulleys, cables, and the levering system make the shot more accurate and comfortable, and all these can make it, so fun to use. It would help if you had lots of strength to draw the arrow back, so it’s very challenging as well. The compound bow has several moving parts; you need to maintain them properly to keep them working together. The archer needs to be strong enough to hunt whitetail deer and larger animals with the compound bow. You can set your compound bow with the customized draw weight. This bow is very versatile and comes in different sizes, which affect the draw weight.
Generally, the compound bow is made with lightweight materials like fiberglass or aluminum and also made with carbon composites. The pulley system reduces the amount of force that needs to draw the arrow. Due to the cams, you can draw and hold the arrow for a long time to get an accurate shot. Here you can add lots of other accessories like the sight pins. With the sight pins’ help, the archer can realize how many draws you need to reach the target.
Types of Compound Bow:
- Single Cam Compound Bow: This bow has one power cam which can store enough energy and flex the bow limbs. It is mounted on the lower limbs. Here the upper limb holds the idler wheel. The design of this bow is very user-friendly as well. It is tranquil during operation, and you can get more accurate results by using this bow.
- Dual Cam Compound Bow: During circular and oval shape working, this bow has made with two cams for getting the maximum power while shooting the arrow. This bow has more power comparing with the single-cam bow. These better strings bows do not stretch the cam out and synchronize easily. The adjustment option makes it very enjoyable, and you can get a more precise result while using this.
- Hybrid Cam Compound Bow: This is the advanced technology of the twin cam bow, but it has a single power cam and control cam. It can connect the lower to the top limb. You can get exact results during shooting; it is quiet in operation and easy to maintain.
- Binary Compound Bow: It is the advance of the hybrid cam compound bow. You can see an entirely different setup here. Here the upper cam connects with the lower cam. And the movement also depends on each other. With the high speed and power, you can get high accuracy while working with this bow.
- Crossbow
The crossbow is a little bit different from the other type of bow. Mostly it is like a firearm like the other types of bow. You can use it in various types of archery competitions. It has a trigger that needs to fire to release the arrow and also the arrow. The crossbow is the easiest type of bow.
The crossbow is mounted horizontally on the stoke with the standard trigger and a mechanical release. Here are some specific styles you can use, and the people like to use them to use the feature easily. Here the bow is drawn with the simple and easy cocking device that needs to pull the string back and then lock it into a jaw. After that, the trigger needs to squeeze to allow the string that reacts as the compound bow can operate on a range.
The crossbow has shorter limbs than others and with a nonexistent raiser. The grip can be anywhere in the bow. Here the grip is elsewhere on the bow. Here the pull mechanism is using to pull back the bowstring. The crossbow is a shorter type of bow that requires a much higher draw weight.
You can aim and shoot very quickly with this simple type of bow. During the rifle and shotgun season, most of the states permit hunting with the crossbow. So you should know the regulations of the state for using the crossbow. Crossbows are very accurate and quiet, so the wild animal cannot realize what is coming at them. With long distances, you can quickly fire this bow.
The limb of the crossbow is smaller in size than the compound bow, recurve, or longbow. Like the compound bow, you can add extra accessories to aim and fire accurately.
Without the above four types of bow, there are some types of the bow that you can found in the market. And they are-
- Takedown Bow
Takedown bows are made of recurve bow that is basically on the limbs and detached. The bow’s limbs are made with fiberglass, and the riser is made with aluminum, carbon, or wood. This type is perfect for Archery. You can easily carry and store them during transportation by disassembling all the parts of the bow. The length is also perfect for the performance. They are very cheap and easy to clean as well.
- Reflex bow
This bow is made from curved arms that are facing away from your face. This bow enables to draw in a greater length. The string is very tight as well. Here the reflex is the speed and the power of that bow.
- Yumi Bow
This Japanese type of bow is taller than the other kind of bow. In Archery-like kyudo, you can use this wooden and bamboo type of bow. But in modern life, these bows are made with fiberglass, lacquered bamboo, or carbon fiber. Mainly during the war, it is using like weapons of war. Today, traditional bamboo is very common in Archery and is also very expensive than the other type.
Conclusion:
When you want to buy a bow, it will be constructive for you if you already know the bow types. By the way, the crossbow and the compound bow are very beneficial for the beginner archer. But the recurve bow or the longbow is suitable for the physical challenger people. Hunting is a fantastic and rewarding activity, so it matters a lot which bow you want to choose according to your needs.