New Bow

A couple days ago, I came home from work to a long, skinny package waiting on my front porch. I was confused--when had I ordered a broom handle? It took a minute for reality to click: it was my new bow!

I've been hemming and hawing for months about purchasing an inexpensive travel bow for when I fly to events--a bow I won't be heartbroken over if TSA damages it. I found Ringing Rocks Archery on Etsy, who make all-wood longbows at really low prices. I didn't purchase right away, though, because a new bow was definitely a "want" and not a "need."

But then, when the crack formed in the handle of Sheldon's longbow, I thought it might be time. I went ahead and ordered a 64" hickory longbow with a lefty shelf. The estimated delivery time was 3-4 weeks, but it came in two!

I took it out to the range the very next day. I wasn't sure what to expect from such an inexpensive bow, and I kept reminding myself that it wasn't intended to be my competition weapon, but rather one that I shoot for fun. With that in mind, I set up at 20 yards and began a series of ranging shots to try and figure out my aim point. That point turned out to be quite a bit lower than my recurve's aim point.

With that figured out, I set up to shoot an actual six-arrow end. I was pleasantly surprised with how the first end went, actually. It was comparable to how I've been shooting with the recurve for the past week or so. I couldn't really tally the score, because the target face I have is a smaller rifle target--the store didn't have the 60cm archery target faces in stock. Sigh.

The wind was really gusting at this point, but I wanted to try at least one more end to see if the consistency had been a fluke, or whether this might actually be a decent bow.

Well, I think that answered that!

The grip on this bow is VERY narrow--I'm contemplating wrapping it with leather to make it a bit more comfortable for prolonged shooting. My bow hand was already starting to cramp after only 24 total shots (12 ranging shots + the two ends).

Aside from that, I have no complaints about this bow whatsoever. Best $70 I ever spent! I can't wait to take it out to the range again on Sunday for our official practice--it'll be interesting to see how it performs at 30 and 40 yards.