BOWS

Bows | Bow manufacturers | Archery shops

There are many types of bow, generally they fall into three main groups. The three bow styles compete in separate categories:

Long bow (longbow)

Traditionally made from a single piece of laminated wood which has been crafted into a fine smooth curve. Just a handgrip and string makes up the complete bow. Arrows are made of wooden shafts with feathers for fletchings (fins). No sight is used, so relies completely on the archer's skill.

Long bow

Recurve bow

Can me made from wood or composite materials, the ends of the bow's limbs curl forward (recurve) adding power. Arrows can be made of aluminium or carbon composites making them thin, light and very strong (fast in flight and accurate), fletchings (fins) use synthetic materials. Often referred to as an "Olympic bow" because currently this is the only type of bow used at the Olympic games.

Recurve bow

An arrow rest, pressure button, long rod and sight ensure consistent results. Most archers start with a recurve bow, they are used in beginners classes.

An excellent free 68 page guide to RECURVE ARCHERY is available to download as an Acrobat PDF file. Click here to open the guide or right-click your mouse and save-as to your desktop to read and print later.
The Easton Archery web site includes an excellent free bow tuning guide and arrow shaft selection software program (see below): Bow tuning guide in zipped PDF format (516kb) - click here Arrow shaft selection software (3.3MB Win98/ME/2000/XP in EXE format) - click here

Compound bow

Many archers enjoy the experience of achieving consistently accurate results by using technology to its full. A pair of cams (wheels) roll over the ends of the limbs with the string appearing to travel the bow's length three times. This results in a powerful bow which is easy to hold at full draw improving sighting. A release aid (trigger) ensures minimum movement of the bow when the arrow is released. All the additions can be used (as the recurve) but a magnified sight with spirit level bubble further assists.

Compound bow

Bow manufacturers

There are MANY bow manufacturers and dozens of companies producing accessories, here is a sample:

KG Archery
Manufacturer of recurve bows, longbow and flat bows just 45 minutes drive from Chesterfield, also supplies most popular brands

www.kgarchery.com

Hoyt
Manufacturer of quality bows, recurve and compound

www.hoyt.com

	WinWin / KAP Quality and budget Korean bows and accessories www.win-archery.com/eng/main.htm

BowTech
Compound bow manufacturer

www.bowtecharchery.com/main.html

PSE
PSE archery equipment, best known for value-for-money compound bows which are especially popular with Junior archers

www.pse-archery.com

Easton Archery
Best known for quality arrows including carbon/aluminium ACE / ACC and aluminium JAZZ.

www.eastonarchery.com

Their web site includes an excellent free bow tuning guide and arrow shaft selection software program (see below):

Bow tuning guide in zipped PDF format (516kb) - click here
Arrow shaft selection software (3.3MB Win98/ME/2000/XP in EXE format) - click here

Many other manufacturers of bows and accessories exist including... Cartel, Petron, Toxonics, Striker, Spigarelli, Beiter, Shibuya, Cavalier etc

Specialist local archery shops

When selecting a bow, its a good idea to seek advice from a specialist shop... there are two within 45 minutes drive of Chesterfield:

	KG Archery
	King Stand Farm Archery Centre Mansfield Road Rufford Newark Notts NG22 9DU Tel: 01623 824877 Fax: +44 01623 824878 e-mail sales@kgarchery.com www.kgarchery.com

	Custom Built Archery
	Unit 1, Ryalls Farm Church Lane Eakring Nottingham NG22 ODD Tel: 01623 871 560 Fax: 01623 871 925 e-mail info@custombuilt.co.uk www.custombuilt.co.uk

	Merlin Bows
	Bull In The Hollow Farm Leicester Road Loughborough Leicestershire LE12 8UE Phone: 01509 233555 Fax: 01509 235252 e-mail: info@merlinarcherycentre.co.uk www.merlinarcherycentre.co.uk

Other shops worth considering...

	Quicks
	Archery, mail order specialist with four shops in the UK. A 100 page colour catalogue is available from Quicks FREE on request, both as a guide and as a reference for a wide range of archery equipment. www.quicks.com

	Perris Archery
	Large archery retailer based near Ipswich www.perrisarchery.co.uk

	Bow Sports
	Large archery retailer based near Wolverhampton www.bowsports.com