Would this be a good way to start archery?

[Keeghan_M]

Hiya

Im gonna get into Archery, gonna go to Nigels archery thing in town. He said i could borrow a spare one, but i think it would be best to own my own one, so i can train during the weeks between the official training etc. I found a site that looks fairly good, NZAP. I found a traditional longbow:
http://www.nzap.co.nz/traditionalbows.php#longbow

And was wondering whether it would be any good? im looking at getting the 30 pound one, so i can use it for both combat and target, plus i can draw it fairly well.

Also, i found some arrows:
http://www.nzap.co.nz/arrows_wood.php#light

They are target archery arrows, and i think they look pretty good but want to know what others think of them and the bow.

[merrynsmoor]

Heya Keeghan,

The bow is a good one, I know that for sure because a lot of people have gotten them to start off with. They're a really good price, and the people who have one seem pretty happy.

I'm thinking of getting one myself soon too!

I'll let Nigel or one of the other experts advise you on the arrows, as I don't know much about them..

Great to see you're so keen! See ya at training next week

[Keeghan_M]

Hiya

Thanks, seemed like a good one and saw a couple of post on here recomending them, decided i should post any way. Definitely keen, good to be back into it after 8 months of not into it... sounds kind weird.

[Keeghan_M]

can anyone comment on the arrows?

[Grayson]

[Keeghan_M]

hiya

thanks. What about buying the Wyandotte Traditional Arm Guards(near the bottom of page) aswell, is that a good arm guard? 7 inches, it covers my entire forearm and it seems pretty cheap. budgets pretty small, selling all my fencing gear to pay for the 3 items im hoping to buy, thats why i want to know whether these things would be any good, as my fencing is top quality stuff.

All up: the bow, 6 target arrows and the arm gurard, it comes to a total of: $272.50 which has free shipping because its over $250. Does that sound like a good price, or is there somewhere i could get arrows cheaper here? The arrows are costing $9 each. Also, could i get a cheaper arm guard here perhaps. Anything to lower the cost Im not a rich knight, just a poor viking man

[gt1cm2]

we have one of those arm guards at home, if we can find it I'll bring it to training on Tuesday for you to look at. But keep in mind if your being hit there then your form needs some work as your elbow should be slighty bent and your wrist should be soft, obviously there are some exceptions but try to remember that when you use that bow.

[Keeghan_M]

ok thanks, that'd be awesome. Ill try keep that in mind, but im still a beginner so im bound to whack my self a few times, i have a massive bruise on my elbow from harcourt park entrance where there was that thing with the plastic bows, lol. Also, anyone know who it was that was making the combat arrows at training last week, and whether they also make target ones, and whether id be able to buy some target and combat arrows of them?

[merrynsmoor]

That was Cindy - gt1cm2

If you have a bit of leather you could make one yourself to save some money. Just punch some holes in it and lace it up -

http://www.oldbow.com/armguards/martin_adult_armguards/n4770_armguard_martin.jpg

[Keeghan_M]

ah, ok thanks. Dont have any leather, at least not that i know of. gt1cm2 Do you make target arrows as well, and could i buy 6 target ones of you and maybe 6-8 combat ones off you? Also, if i can buy them, what sort of price would u be asking for them?

[Keeghan_M]

lol, look one post down, some combat arrows, $13 each and i wouldnt have to pay for postage, ok. What about target ones?

[gt1cm2]

Hey Keeghan, I'll bring down some stuff I have made up at home so you can have a look and touch and talk to you about the prices then.

[Keeghan_M]

oky doky, thatd be awesome. Id just like to thank EVERYONE for helping me out, im really thankfull for it thanks guys

[NigelT]

Hi Keeghan,

Sorry, I should have posted earlier - except every time I open GD there's about 3 hours gone catching up on everything I need to know (being an admin and all).

I've got one of the NZAP bows and some of those arrows. The bow is alright, it does the job. It doesn't look the part as much as most other wooden bows because it's made of a rattan type wood instead of laminated hardwood. But I've had mine for a couple of years now and it's doing fine. Many others have bought them as well and I only know of one failure.

The arrows are pretty basic cheap arrows. Nothing special. They will do you fine as a first set of arrows and you won't be able to tell the difference between those and better ones until you get more skilled anyway. I would suggest getting more than six however. You will at some point break one or two by hitting stones or the like. Most archery competitons use sets of six arrows. It's good to have a few spares. There is no set recommendation for combat arrows however. You will break these too, but it's a case of the more you have the more you can fire before having to go and collect them. Six would be fine to begin with. People who've really gotten into it can have anywhere from 20 to 100 of the things (although I think 100 is way excessive).

If your budget is a problem you can often buy much cheaper fibreglass longbows from trademe. If you wrap them in light leather of fabric they don't look too bad. If you're prepared to spend a bit more you can buy a very nice laminated hardwood bow with horn nocks for around $300.

I hope that helps.
Nigel

[Keeghan_M]

Hi nigel

Yes, you should have posted earlier I think ill go with the bow then, everyone seems to say its a good starter bow. I was thinking maybe a few more than 6. Ill take a look at Cindy's arrows and then make my decision. I think (if the budget allows) ill get 10 target arrows, and 15 combat ones.