Traditional Archery: A Way of Life
Chuck Holloway

Load the arrow... draw the string back... and shoot! At first glance, you may think that archery is a very simplistic sport that involves hitting a small circle in the middle of a target. Archery requires a little more skill than loading an arrow and letting it fly. A variety of targets can be purchased that add a new twist to the sport. There are also a variety of rules and regulations that have been created throughout the years putting a whole new outlook on the sport of archery.

The most popular form of archery that has been around for years is called traditional archery. Traditional archery primarily focuses on using a bow and arrow to hit the center of a target to register points. It is a very isolated sport where a man and his bow are challenged by a circular target.

The archer has full control of the elements that make up a perfect shot - trajectory, direction and force of the arrow. Most of this is determined by the archers preparation before the shot. The arrow will follow the trajectory that was chosen by the archer and depending on your skill level will determine whether or not the arrow hits the target. 

Most traditional archery competitions are held outdoors which make the archers and the arrow vulnerable to outside forces. Most weather conditions will likely have an impact on the direction and flow of the arrow. Any good archer knows to take into consideration the wind flow and pending inclimate weather before firing a shot.

In a typical traditonal archery competition, archers are limited to what bows they can use. The bows that are almost always accepted include the recurve bows, the longbow or the selfbow. The targets are also set at range that does not exceed 180 meters to ensure accuracy and precision in the competition.

Almost all archery clubs and ranges are traditonal archery friendly offering bow and arrow rental and a number of other helpful services. Athough traditional archery is not a sport that can be played anywhere, you can often find archery facilities in any major city.

Chuck Holloway is an avid archery fanatic with 18 years of hunting experience. He is a lifetime member of the North American Hunting Club and an active member of the NRA. Chuck has a strong passion for the outdoors and enjoys capturing the details of the hunt in his journal.