Basics of Archery

Archery is a shooting sport and safety is our highest priority.

Therefore, conducting the sport on a dedicated archery shooting range, following proper instruction from accredited coaches and adhering to all given safety instructions during the lessons is mandated.

Being a member of the ABA Ltd and one of the Branch A Archery Clubs provides you with mandatory liability insurance and support if an incident would occur.

WHAT YOU NEED TO SHOOT A BOW ...

Equipment

There are many different types of archery bows available to provide archers with a great variety of shooting styles and challenges in target archery.

Accredited coaches are available to provide advice on the various types of equipment available and where to shop, as well as how to safely use and care for your archery equipment.

Overall, there are 3 main styles of archery bows:

COMPOUND BOW
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LONGBOW
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RECURVE BOW
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BOW GUIDE

Arrows

Modern or traditional archery. Choosing the right arrows for your bow is equally important as choosing your bow itself. Dependent on what style you’ll going to shoot, learning about the different parts of the arrows (shaft, arrow head, fletching and nock) and how they can influence your accuracy and safety is important.

Once you have chosen your bow and arrows you will move on to the next decision of which shooting style you prefer — unsighted or sighted. Additionally, choosing the correct bow attachments like arrow rest, finger release or use release aid, etc. etc.is equally important and will influence your accuracy and shooting experience. It’s important to observe and talk to experienced archers to find out about of the great varieties and options and decide what suits you and your preferred shooting style.

ARROW VIDEO GUIDE ARROW GUIDE ACCESSORIES GUIDE

Field Archery

Field Archery involves shooting arrows at different types of targets of either marked or unmarked varying distances, dependent on the shooting discipline.

The most popular games with unmarked distances are ABA Vinyl and 3D rounds. For marked distances, the most common shoots are based on the International Field Archery Association (IFAA) Field, Hunter and Animal rounds. Competition format varies with each game. Some targets are conventional circular targets while others are animal pictures or 3D rubber shaped feral animals. Each target has a designated score zone. Scores are calculated from the amount of arrows shot and the target zone hit. In competitions, the archers compete in divisions based on their skill level, age group and type of equipment being used. The age groupings are as follows:

CUBS

Under 13 Years
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JUNIORS

Between 13 and 16 years
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ADULTS

17 years and over
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Bowhunting

Bowhunting is a sport of ethically hunting feral animals with bows and arrows. The Australian Bowhunters Association Ltd teaches safe and ethical bowhunting.

To achieve this, each ABA club runs Bowhunting Proficiency Courses, which a member must successfully pass before being permitted to go hunting. Bowhunting trips are usually arranged by club members personally, either on government hunting reserves, on private property with owners permission or on commercial hunting properties/safaris.

BOWHUNTING CODE OF ETHICS

History of Archery

STONE AGE

Archery is one of the oldest arts still practiced today. The evolution of archery began at the start of mankind’s history, and evidence of ancient archers has been found all around the world.

Although archery probably dates back to the Stone Age – around 20,000 B.C. – the earliest people known to have regularly used bows and arrows were the Ancient Egyptians, who adopted archery around 3,000 B.C. for hunting and warfare.
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CHINA

In China, the earliest evidence of archery dates to the Shang Dynasty – 1766 – 1027 B.C. A war chariot of that time carried a three-man team, a driver, a lancer and an archer. During the Zhou (Chou) Dynasty that followed – 1027-256 B.C. – nobles at court attended archery tournaments that were accompanied by music and interspersed with entertainment.

When Chinese people introduced Japan to archery in the sixth century it had an overwhelming influence on culture.
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JAPAN

One of Japan’s most well-known martial arts, originally known as “kyujutsu” (the art of the bow), is known as “kyudo” (the way of the bow). Modern kyudo is practised primarily for physical, moral and spiritual development. After certain ritual movements, a kyudo archer steps onto the shooting line to shoot at a target 36 cm in diameter, 28 metres away, set in a roofed bank of sand. The kyudo bow is 2.21 metres long and made of laminated strips of bamboo.
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GRECO-ROMAN

In the Greco-Roman period, archers in both warfare and hunting settings were frequently shown on pottery.

Middle Eastern superiority in archery equipment and technique reigned for centuries. With bows like those of the Assyrians and Parthians, who were probably the first to master archery from horseback, Attila the Hun and his Mongols conquered much of Europe and Asia, and Turkish archers threw back the Crusaders.

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ENGLAND

The English longbow became a force in the middle ages and was used in many famous European battles such as Crécy and Agincourt. A law in England that forced every man of adult age to practise archery every Sunday was never repealed, though it is presently ignored.

The first-known archery competition relatable to modern times was held in Finsbury, England in 1583 and had 3 000 participants.

Since the advent of gunpowder, archery’s importance in warfare decreased – and it instead developed into a recreational and competitive sport.
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