Friday, February 11, 2011

Modoc Style Longbow

 Since I was a kid living in small town Nova Scotia I wanted to learn two particular niche sports. One was fencing and the other was archery. Times were different then and one income families struggled to make ends meet, especially in our household. I was happy my mother was able to keep me on bikes(that legacy continues to this day) and I had the opportunity to play organized  basketball and baseball through school intramurals and summer programs.

 That said the longing to learn traditional archery has stayed with me into adulthood so I added it to the bucket list and finally acted upon the desire. Fully kitted out for the 2011 cycling season and with some extra monies in my Paypal account I picked up a Modoc style longbow, shooting glove and a dozen cedar arrows on Ebay.


 The hickory longbow is 68 inches in length with a modest 45 pound draw at 28 inches. I opted to go mid weight not quite knowing what would be appropriate for me. It was a bit of a challenge consistently getting to my anchor point but after three days my form is improving. The handcrafted cedar arrows are awesome, tough and durable. Sized to fit my particular bow and shelfless shooting they fly straight and true despite the archer's paradox. Built myself a 24 foot target range in the basement to work on the fundamentals during the winter but I am definitely looking forward to some outside shooting come the Spring.

What is traditional archery? Here is a neat video.....albeit focusing upon the(graphic) role of the English(war) longbow but it does give a good visual of what instinctive shooting is all about. The same principle applies to throwing a football or baseball. Your brain automatically does the math and adjusts for trajectory and distance.

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