Hey, everyone.
It's time for today's writing challenge and today, I'm using the non-fiction wheel, so this will be interesting. Let's see what happens.
Wheel of Genres, turn, turn, turn! Tell me the genre I will discern!
Today's topic is... Sports! You know, I just had a thought; what do I mean when I say "Sports?" Do I mean I'm going to talk sports like another man, or that I'm going to talk about the sports I do, or am I just going to talk about whatever I want about sports which I can do because it's so vague here? Well, I can't talk about sporting teams because I don't know anything, so that means I'm going to have to come up with something else. And to be perfectly honest, I do have an interest in some sports, such as archery and firearms which means I can talk about them. In fact, I had the idea of doing a beginner's guide to traditional archery and I wanted it done before Christmas, but I don't know if I will get it done. So, let's see if I can get a little abridged version out as a sort of test.
Thirty minutes on the clock: 30:00. And... go!
1. The Bow--The first thing you need to know all about in archery is the bow--the arch part in archery. Unfortunately, we can talk at length about bows, but for the sake of simplicity, when you're getting into archery, there are two main different kinds of bows you're going to come across: one if the longbow and the other is the recurve. What's the difference? Well, in terms of looks, the recurve's limb tips are curved away from the archer, although there are some longbows that do have this feature. What then is the difference? Well, the recurve limb tips curve away at sharper angle. Why do recurves have this feature? The argument is that because it puts more tension on the bow stave when strung and drawn meaning it will snap forward faster when the string is released and it will impart more energy to the arrow making it faster. In theory, if you have a recurve and longbow of comparative size, weight, material, and manufacturing, the recurve will be the "better" bow because of the curved limb tips.
1a. Now, with that settled, there's another two major different kinds of bows concept out there, and it's whether the bow you have is target bow or a hunting bow. Why does that matter? Generally, target bows will have lighter draw weights, the pressure required to pull the string back while pushing the bow stave forward, and target bows are more likely to be made from plastic or aluminum. Hunting bows almost always have higher draw weights and are made of wood, although they can be made from a composition of materials. One of my hunting recurves has a fiberglass backing on its limbs. The other major difference between hunting and target bows is that target bows are generally more inherently accurate, but hunting bows are generally cheaper. So, there are trade-offs with each kind of bow.
2. The Arrow--The second most important part of archery is the arrow, your ammunition. But how complicated can that be? Well, it can be very complicated. For starters, what kind of arrows do you get when you start shooting: aluminum, wood, or carbon fiber? Well again, each material has its pros and cons. Starting with wood, it's cheap and light weight which means it will fly faster and farther, but very few fletcher or even arrow making companies make arrows out of wood anywhere. True, it is a readily available material, but wood arrows break and snap, and believe me, as you shoot, you're going to miss so that means replacing your arrows quite often.
Aluminum arrows are cheap and readily available too, and bonus, they don't break, but aluminum arrows are heavy and will fly slower, and they do bend which means you'll have to straighten them as necessary, and once bent, an aluminum shaft will never be as strong as it once was. This brings us to carbon (fiber), what is widely regarded as the best material for arrows. It's strong, light weight, and doesn't bend. However, it does break, and carbon fiber is the most expensive option of the three, but you can find carbon arrows in a variety of prices. They can be had cheap.
2a. Now that you have a material chosen, how long do you make/cut your arrows? This is usually decided by how long your draw length is, the length from the arrow rest to your anchor point which is where you are going to draw your arrow back to every time you draw. The reason why is so that you create consistency between your shots and with practice, it will make you more accurate. Not to mention, it does help improve your aim. For most people, their anchor point is the tip of their middle finger in the corner of their mouth. Once you have that spot, now all you have to do is measure it and there are various ways of doing that which I won't go into here.
2b. But there is another thing you have to consider and that is the spine, or stiffness, of your arrow's shaft. How do you know which spine you need? Well, first you need to know what the poundage of your bow is because that's how arrow makers sell their shafts. If your bow has a draw of 38 lbs at 28 inches, then you will most likely need an arrow with a spine that fits a bow drawing somewhere between 35 and 45 pounds at 28 inches. Don't worry about picking up the right shafts; they'll be marked.
2c. Now we get to the fletchings, or the little feathers at the end of the shaft. Sometimes they're not actually feathers and are instead plastic triangles called "vanes." What's the difference between vanes and feathers? Well, not much. They do the same job, but if you do a lot of indoor shooting as opposed to outdoor shooting, you can invest in vanes instead of feathers as feathers fight the wind better when it comes to keeping your arrow flying straight. The other thing you need to keep in mind is that the longer and heavier your arrow, along with the worse or more inclement weather you're shooting in, the longer and more natural your fletchings should be. To keep things simple, I just recommend you go with feathers.
2c-a. And speaking of feathers, when you get your arrows fletched, you can choose the colors and number of your fletchings. Most people have three fletchings, but you can have four. If you're hunting birds, it will behoove you to have six or more, but you'll also need a special arrow for that called a flu-flu arrow. But if you have only three fletchings, something you have to keep in mind is that you're going to have two hen feathers and one cock feather. The cock feather will always line up with your arrow's nock and will tell you which way to nock your arrow. Pro tip: your cock feather will always point away from your bow with the two hen feathers pointed towards it. So, for this reason, it isn't uncommon for archers to get their cock and hen feathers in different colors to make nocking their arrows easier.
***
Stop the clock! Geez, I barely scratched the service here. If you're wondering, I only have thirty seconds left, but that is not enough to go on to the next point. Also, I apologize for being all over the place. Unfortunately, I took a nap before I started writing this and I still feel very drowsy. I also feel very hot. I don't know what my deal is. But, I didn't think that went too badly. It did show me that there are a lot of things to talk about when writing a book about archery. In fact, it might behoove me to have a section per chapter on all the different vocab words a person will need to know as they learn about archery. That would definitely help.
But anyway, that's it for today. If you want to use the wheel I made, you should be able to access it here. And if you have the time, please check out my books for sale on Amazon which you can find through my author page. The link is below. Also, I reworked my Patreon page, so why not give it a look and consider becoming my patron. I would appreciate it.
See you tomorrow.
Keep writing, my friends.
More About Bryan C. Laesch:
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