Anyone know about archery and bows?

Antique_Guitars

I got given this bow today is it any good?

The wife and I have always wanted to give it a proper go.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p268/onlyuntil/DSCF1226_zpsbd00aeaa.jpg

littlegreenman

I may be wrong, but you'll be needing some arrows!

Antique_Guitars

yeah thats alright can pick them up somewhere

ChristophEar

I reckon @Megii is the person to ask.

koneguitarist

Decent looking compound bow, not sure of make. Best thing is to go along to a local archery club, and get it checked, lot of tension in those models. Designed for a lot of power, but after initial pull seems to go slack, so easy to aim. Crick manor just over Chepstow way is the place to go for good advice.

holnrew

Good for a killing spree.

Antique_Guitars

Yeah im thinking about hunting onions!

Those bloody onions coming over here adding themselves to our burgers, who do they think they are?

littlegreenman

My brother did competition archery at Uni, I'll see if he has any pearls of wisdom beyond "relax, and see where the arrow lands".

manicguitarist

I know nothing about archery - but my fencing coach runs 3 archery clubs too.

That's not a lot of help is it.

VimFuego

Antique_Guitars said:

Yeah im thinking about hunting onions!

Those bloody onions coming over here adding themselves to our burgers, who do they think they are?

and relax, it's not worth getting a pickle over.

Zodiac51

Looks like an old Oneida Eagle, I would recommend getting it checked out by someone who knows something about compound bows, rather than just going in the garden and having it explode in your face  :-O

You can find a local field shooting club on http://www.nfas.net/ or the GNAS http://www.archerygb.org/

holnrew

Antique_Guitars said:

Yeah im thinking about hunting onions!

Those bloody onions coming over here adding themselves to our burgers, who do they think they are?

Aren't you half french? I hope your onion necklace isn't too upset.

Antique_Guitars

Zodiac51 said:

Looks like an old Oneida Eagle, I would recommend getting it checked out by someone who knows something about compound bows, rather than just going in the garden and having it explode in your face  :-O

You can find a local field shooting club on http://www.nfas.net/ or the GNAS http://www.archerygb.org/

Cool thanks for the info! Yeah I would never try and use it without gettting a pro to look at it plus I have no arrows!

Antique_Guitars

Yeah but only the part of me that wants to run away is French! Onion necklaces are so last century darling, its all about foie gras tiaras these days.

Megii

ChristophEar said:

I reckon @Megii is the person to ask.

Sorry guys, only recently joined up, and hadn't been checking, so surprised to see my name mentioned. But yes I am pretty keen on archery, and regularly compete in tournaments shooting in the compound bow class (been at it for twenty-something years now).

Well, that there is an Oneida compound bow, made in the USA (most compounds are in fact). The Oneidas have a very unique design, which you would see if you compare the bow to other compounds. They are not much used for target archery, but I think are (or have been in the past) quite popular for hunting purposes in the states (hunting with a bow is illegal in the UK btw). One thing I do know about Oneidas is that the metal cables take a lot of wear, and need replacing on a regular basis, for the bow to be safe. And that looks like quite an old, well used bow... Another fact about bows and archery is that we all have different builds and strength, and therefore we all need to be kitted out with the right gear, which is tailored to our needs. At my own archery club, we put beginners through a 5 week course where they learn the basics of good shooting technique, and generally a few weeks after they have finished the course is the right time for them to be buying their first archery equipment. At this point, we would always recommend that they visit a specialist archery shop, who will have experts on hand to ensure the right gear is bought. Using the wrong gear, without training can be dangerous for one thing, and also is likely to lead to bad technique and limited enjoyment of the sport anyway.

Sorry if I'm sounding like a killjoy lol, archery is a great, friendly sport to get involved in. My strong recommendation would be to make contact with a local club, via the Archery GB (national governing body) website . You can then hopefully take the bow to show them, but (sorry) my suspicion is that they will not particularly like the idea of your using it, certainly at first. Best thing if you're keen on trying archery is to sign up for a beginner course (usually 5 or 6 weeks at most clubs) - the costs are generally very reasonable, and then you can decide if you want to take things further after that.

And hello to everyone!