Australian bare-bow archer looking to learn Asiatic archery

[Tori]

Hi ATARNet,

Firstly I'd like to say that I have spent a good number of hours reading various posts in this forum, from technique to equipment. However, I'd like to outline my situation and experience, and my objectives.

I have been shooting for about four years, not a huge amount of time, but I shoot most days and have a made the best of these four years, with a lot of competition and recreational trips both national and international. I live on a farm and have built a range next to my house.

I own a variety of bows, from hunting recurve, to English warbow, to American flat-bow, to bare-bow specific recurves and even a modern compound bow.
I?ve tried just about everything, but the shooting I most enjoy I what you would call ?bare-bow?.

Here is a video review of my favourite bow. I made this last year a day or two after getting the bow, a Stolid Bull Black Thunder with Border Hex 6 recurve limbs. This I shoot 3-under with a tab release:

http://tradtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44953

Now that you have a little bit of background on my shooting, I?d like to draw from the experienced members here and learn from you.

I am a complete novice when it comes to Asiatic archery. I have never tried a thumb ring release. I have spent a couple hours shooting a horse-bow, but this was a few years ago. I shot it split finger Mediterranean style and off the hand on the left side of the riser. I remember this as being a very enjoyable experience, and I was surprised the punch the little bow packed.

As someone who loves archery in all its forms, I?d like to purchase a quality Asiatic bow, and equip myself with a thumb ring, and hopefully learn a proper style. I have already watched a few hours of YouTube videos on correct form for Turkish, Korean, Ottoman styles etc, and I have a few questions, in particular relating to draw length:

My draw with my 3-finger style and my recurve shooting is around 29.5 inches. I am tall and have a very long draw. I see that the common style of shooting with Asiatic is to draw past the mouth, to the jaw/ear line or perhaps even beyond? I shoot my English War-bow this way, and my draw length is around 31 inches in this style. It appears that a lot of Asiatic bows assume a draw of this length for the bow poundage ratings?

So, the reading I have done indicated I should assume a longer draw than I currently have with the bow you see me using in the above linked video. I am not a very experienced horse-rider, so I would like a bow that is best used on foot, with an emphasis on stability and accuracy and speed. Therefore, I?d like a longer bow (for forgiveness), but still within the historical bounds of the Asiatic style. Would this be Ottoman, Chinese, Korean? Initially, I had perused a few Korean bow manufacturer websites, and the KAYA KMG Turkish Bow interests me . . . it is a new model for 2015 and has a relatively long length of 54 inches.

Doing some more reading on this site, I have also discovered a few other bowyers that may make superior products, Cinnabar Bow, and Hwarang Korean Bow. I may indeed write a few emails to these bowyers to come up with something appropriate.

If any members here have any other suggestions I should consider, I?d love to know. I am thinking I do not want to exceed a draw weight of 45lbs for the bow, as while I can pull a little more than that, I find my best accuracy is with a bow weight I can manage comfortably all day.

I love to shoot and I strive for mastery, even though it is a goal I likely won?t attain in my lifetime. I would like to shoot this Asiatic style in a few tourneys here in Australia ? in particular IFAA Field archery, which is a format that is very challenging and enjoyable.

The IFAA rule-set allows use of Asiatic bows and thumb-release in only their Historical Bow division, and in this case, I believe the bow has to be free from modern materials (fiberglass and carbon). My reading of this site also indicates that horn Asiatic bows are prohibitively expensive, and that a composite using modern materials can approach the same performance for a fraction of the cost.

I suppose the wise thing to do would be to get hold of a composite bow, and then down the path someday I could get hold of a replica traditional horn bow and compete with it in Historical Bow?

On the issue of thumb rings, I have bought some tools from a local hardware store and am going to try to fashion one from some sheep horn that we have here on the farm. I?m also contacting a Thai business (Vermil Archery) for a few resin or brass thumb rings. I have contacted all my local archery friends, and nobody in my area has any experience with thumb rings. Bede, I have seen your name here on the forums a lot, and you look like you know your stuff, and you?re an Aussie. Maybe we can get in touch and you can give me a few tips?

Anyway, really glad to have found this site. I was directed to it by Adam Karpowicz. It feels like my archery world just doubled in size, as the exotic Asiatic archery is still a mystery to me. I have a good grasp of Western techniques . . . now I just need to learn all there is about Asiatic!

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and really looking forward to getting some advice.

[Bede]

Tori,
Where do you live in Australia? We both know it is a big place. We may not even be in the same time zone but I will offer what help I can.

Cinnabar Bows sell quite good plastic thumb rings, though I suggest a leather thumb guard as the first step to learn string placement and also to get a feel for the draw. A badly fitting thumb ring can be a real turn off. This is not to say the leather guard has to be really comfortable. Its primary purpose is to stop injury. Well made ones are very good for accurate target shooting. Once the method of drawing is mastered, a thumb ring can be evaluated. Your knowledge tells you if the fit is right.

To some extent, the length of the bow can be irrelevant if the force draw curve is bad. Most of the Korean bows have a smooth draw with good efficiency. The longer ones are good from 32 to 34 inches.

To some extent, some of the really attractive bows are hit or miss when it comes to smooth draws. Some have smooth draws but are not efficient. It is the same as in any form of archery.

Kaya makes functional bows that are good value. Cinnabar retails fine looking bows with good performance. Hwarang are excellent too. There are many bowyers out there with good quality products and your choice is only limited by you pocket. However, it is best to start off with a cheaper bow to learn the ropes and then, when you know what is best for you, to pick a better bow. Start off with a bow weaker than you. If 45 lb is comfortable, go for 35 of 40. A heavier bow will induce errors.

You are right about the draw. I guess that for a draw to the lobe of the ear, you will need about a 31.5 to 32 inch draw. The fact that you will be shooting on the other side of the bow and there is no arrow shelf will profoundly affect aiming. Arrows will seem to go far to the right,if you are a right handed archer.

Sorry to take so long to reply. Sometimes I miss posts when I am logged in for too long.

[kirkerik]

Tori,

i second the Mariner bows from Cinnabar Bows. They are smooth drawing and fast bows. I am currently shooting a Ming Moon 6 and love it. I have also shot the Han Wind 2 and it is also a good performing bow.

I highly recommend The Way of Archery by Jie Tian and Justin Ma.

When i was shooting three finger Mediterranean my draw length was also 29.5". I am now shooting about 31-32" in the Gao Ying style. I have yet to settle on where i am anchoring exactly but 32" is no problem but probably my maximum in this style.

Other styles can merit an even longer draw length, which i have yet to try.

Hope this helps and good luck,
Kirk