Amusing Archery Story

sheepherder · 10-16-2011, 11:05 AM

...Prompted by the 'flaming arrow' story now going around...

Back in the 60's while attending Junior High, I was given a bow & arrow set...Not a toy, but a beginners archery set, with handguard, etc...Something like this -

...but not as ornate...Strictly utilitarian...And I quickly learned why you wear the handguard (and why not many women shoot bows)...

Anyway, sometime in the 70's after military service, a friend of mine bought a bow and when I stopped by to see what was new, he showed me his new bow & arrows...Another utilitarian set, could be used for hunting (he wanted it for the expanded bow/deer hunting season in NYS)...

He took me across the street to the junior high athletic field and took a shot at a target...Very weak shot, lots of arc...He handed it to me, it was strung the same as my old bow (like the one above)...I held it in shooting fashion, and it felt very...wrong...The grip was awkward, and when I looked closely at the tips of the bow, the cord was not fully seated in the grooves...

I was puzzled...I asked if he had the box/instruction sheet, he just laughed...So now I'm really puzzled...and I turn the bow around, so the cord is out in front of the bow...and suddenly, the grip fits my hand comfortably...It's a pistol grip...but the bow is facing the wrong direction...So now I look closely at the tips again, and realize the cord is on the wrong side of the bow...

I tell him, "You've got it strung wrong"...he gets annoyed, and grabs it back, nocks an arrow, and lets fly...Another weak shot...30 or 40 feet...

So I tell him about my old bow, and then suggest that I show him how I think it should go...He gives me the bow, I put one tip on the ground and use my leg/knee to unstring it...Then reverse the cord, and start bending it so that the cord is on the other side and the cord ends [loops] lay in the grooves...I do the leg/knee bending again, and this time it bends a *lot* before I can get the ends on...Something like this one...

Now the grip fits right; the cord is in the grooves where it should be, and it's a real bear to pull back...I give it to him, and he takes aim, and lets fly...Using the same grip he had when it was strung backwards...the arrow penetrates the target & haybale and travels most of the length of the football field we're using as an archery range...In a nice flat trajectory...And we're both suddenly aware that this thing is a weapon...

He never thanked me...I probably should have let him go hunting with it as it was...The Real Hunters would have gotten a good laugh about it...

10-16-2011, 11:05 AM	#1
sheepherder Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: ...on the 'ol Erie Canal... Posts: 8,196 Thanks: 1,416 Thanked 4,462 Times in 2,336 Posts	Amusing Archery Story ...Prompted by the 'flaming arrow' story now going around... Back in the 60's while attending Junior High, I was given a bow & arrow set...Not a toy, but a beginners archery set, with handguard, etc...Something like this - ...but not as ornate...Strictly utilitarian...And I quickly learned why you wear the handguard (and why not many women shoot bows)... Anyway, sometime in the 70's after military service, a friend of mine bought a bow and when I stopped by to see what was new, he showed me his new bow & arrows...Another utilitarian set, could be used for hunting (he wanted it for the expanded bow/deer hunting season in NYS)... He took me across the street to the junior high athletic field and took a shot at a target...Very weak shot, lots of arc...He handed it to me, it was strung the same as my old bow (like the one above)...I held it in shooting fashion, and it felt very...wrong...The grip was awkward, and when I looked closely at the tips of the bow, the cord was not fully seated in the grooves... I was puzzled...I asked if he had the box/instruction sheet, he just laughed...So now I'm really puzzled...and I turn the bow around, so the cord is out in front of the bow...and suddenly, the grip fits my hand comfortably...It's a pistol grip...but the bow is facing the wrong direction...So now I look closely at the tips again, and realize the cord is on the wrong side of the bow... I tell him, "You've got it strung wrong"...he gets annoyed, and grabs it back, nocks an arrow, and lets fly...Another weak shot...30 or 40 feet... So I tell him about my old bow, and then suggest that I show him how I think it should go...He gives me the bow, I put one tip on the ground and use my leg/knee to unstring it...Then reverse the cord, and start bending it so that the cord is on the other side and the cord ends [loops] lay in the grooves...I do the leg/knee bending again, and this time it bends a lot before I can get the ends on...Something like this one... Now the grip fits right; the cord is in the grooves where it should be, and it's a real bear to pull back...I give it to him, and he takes aim, and lets fly...Using the same grip he had when it was strung backwards...the arrow penetrates the target & haybale and travels most of the length of the football field we're using as an archery range...In a nice flat trajectory...And we're both suddenly aware that this thing is a weapon... He never thanked me...I probably should have let him go hunting with it as it was...The Real Hunters would have gotten a good laugh about it... __________________ I like my coffee the way I like my women... ...Cold and bitter...