Archery As a Hobby

We are all being advised to get out more frequently, so many people are looking for a motive for doing it. You could choose a spectator sport like football, but that is not really going to do your body much good, you ought to be looking for a participation sport.

If you are younger, then play soccer by all means, but if you are getting on a bit, you will most likely be looking for a sport that is not quite so strenuous. Men like to aim and shoot things even if not kill them. Golf is an option, but I want to suggest that you give archery a try.

Archery has the edge over shooting a gun because it requires some physical strength. It is not just a question of pulling, sorry, squeezing a trigger. If you take up archery, you will most likely want to acquire some more upper-body strength, especially if the heaviest work you have done for the last twenty years is lift a pen.

Archery is an all-round sport in many ways, depending on how much you get into it. Most beginners will start out by going to an archery club and joining in for the day. People will lend them a bow and teach them the safety aspects and the proper way to hold a bow and shoot an arrow. This should give you a good idea of which sort of bow you would like.

After a week or two, you might buy your own bow and you may move from indoor target archery to outdoor target archery or even field archery, which is simulated hunting. From there, you will almost certainly meet people who take archery a step further. You will meet competition archers, bow hunters and people who make their own equipment.

You may find one of these aspects of archery fascinating. You may take up bow hunting or even bow fishing. This will take you off at a tangent, because you will have to learn about the animals that you stalk. You will have to learn where they live and what their lifestyles are. This involves research.

Or you can take up the archery equivalent of clay pigeon shooting, which is known as field archery. In field archery, the archers walk around a course and replica animals or standard targets will become visible at diverse distances. This is enjoyable.

You will also meet individuals who like to make their own arrows or even their own bows. This is another interesting aspect of archery. You can buy the different components that go to make up an arrow and you can buy a kit to make a bow or you can start from scratch with an axe, a knife and a lathe. Again you will have to do a lot of research, in order to get your archery equipment just right.

This will take you down yet another tangent to archery, but it will enhance your understanding of archery, increase your enjoyment of the sport and, as they say, add another string to your bow.

Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on various subjects, but is currently involved with longbows for sale. If you would like to know more or for special offers, please go to our website at Kids Archery Set.