Archery Glossary
Don't let the fact that the sport of archery and bow hunting have their own
languages prevent you from enjoying the sport, buying yourself a new bow or
treating your favorite person to a new accessory, piece of equipment or toy.
- Anchor - That position to which the
bowstring and the arrow are pulled to.
- Arrow Rest - A an area or designed
section of a bow where the arrow can be held away from the riser or
supported on a small shelf.
- Back - The side of the bow facing
away from the archer.
- Belly - The side of the bow facing
the archer
- Bowbender - A expression used for
archers. Usually this term is more appropriate for traditional archery
shooters.
- Bowstring - A string of a bow which
is usually composed of dacron or Fast-Flight material.
- Bowyer - One who builds or repairs
bows.
- Brace Height - It indicates the
correct distance between the bow and the bowstring at the handle.
- Buck Fever / Target Panic - The loss
a control over ones self due to a target or a buck.
- Cast - The distance a bow can propel
an arrow.
- Crest - Colored marks placed near
the nock of an arrow for identification purposes.
- Deflexed - The shape of the riser,
which in this case it is deflexed (pushed outwards).
- Draw - The pull of the bowstring
back into the shooting position with proper anchor.
- Draw Weight - The draw weight of a
bow is calculated by the number of kilograms (or pounds) required to draw
the bowstring back to full draw length. Usually the minimum required draw
weight for hunting is no less than 18.2 kilograms (40 pounds).
- Draw Length - The draw length of a
bow is the distance the arrow is drawn back before release. To determine
your correct draw length, draw an arrow all the way back and have someone
mark the shaft with a pencil at a point even with the front of the bow. To
make sure that the arrowhead does not contact the fingers of the bow hand when
shooting, 2 to 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) is added to the
measured draw length when determining arrow length. Draw length determines what length of arrows you
should use.
- Fast Flight - Different style of
string used on modern bows. This usually also replaces the cables on the
compound.
- Grains - Standard measurement of
weight in archery. 1 ounce equals 437.5 grains.
- Handle - The center of the bow, the
part which the archer uses in gripping the bow, also called the riser.
- Kinetic Energy - Term used in
physics, this term basically mean the energy being transferred from the
archer, to the bow and then on to the arrow. More kinetic energy basically
means more penetration, thus a more humane kill.
- Limbs - The two "ends" of a bow,
from the handle out, which bend and provide the arrow with its flight
energy.
- Nock - The deep groove in the end of
an arrow into which the bowstring is fitted. Also, the grooves at either and
of the bow that hold the bowstring in place.
- Nocking Point - The spot on the
bowstring where the nock of the arrow is to be placed prior to drawing and
shooting.
- Pull - The act of pulling the
bowstring to full draw.
- Quiver - A device for holding
arrows, located on the bow or the archer himself.
- Reflexed - The shape of the riser,
in this case it is reflexed (pushed inwards).
- Riser - See Handle.
- Serving - The extra thread wrapped
around the middle of the bowstring to prevent the arrow or the archer’s
fingers from fraying the string causing it to break.
- Spine - The strength and stiffness
of an arrow.
- Stick Bows - These are recurves and
longbows, also referred to as traditional bows which do not utilize moving
parts to increase mechanical advantage.
- Takedown Bows - A recurve that has
removable limbs, that permits even smaller storage areas
- Tiller - The overall shape of the
bow in its strung and drawn positions, referring to symmetry or regularity
of the parabolic curve each limb takes on under tension.
- Torque - The act of the bow twisting
during the draw due to improper hold, tillering or nock placement.
- Velocity - The speed at which the
arrow travels measured in feet per second.
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