Traditional Archery Academy

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3 Crows Head Archery offers a wide range of Traditional Longbows, Recurves, Arrows, Quivers and Bow Building Supplies. If you are looking for a high quality Traditional Bow and great customer service, then Crows Head Archery is the place for you.

4 This is the most frequently asked question that we get from new traditional archers. This can be confusing, so lets make this as clear as possible: If you pull the string with your RIGHT hand, you want a RIGHT hand arrow rest if you pull the string with your LEFT hand, you want a LEFT hand arrow rest Here is a picture to help: Right Hand Arrow Rest: You will place the arrow on the left side of the bow, hold the bow with your left hand and draw back the string with your right hand. Left Hand Arrow Rest: You will place the arrow on the right side of the bow, hold the bow with your right hand and draw back the string with your left hand. ***Still not sure? It might help to figure out which eye dominant you are. If you are right eye dominant, then we suggest a Right Hand arrow rest. If your are left eye dominant, then we suggest a Left Hand arrow rest.

5 This is also a very frequent question, but here are a couple good rules to follow and a table of draw weights that can help you pick the right draw weight. Once you start shooting you may want to increase the Draw Weight of you bow, but don t go too heavy to fast. Going to heavy might make pulling the bow back hard and take the fun out of shooting. So if your trying to make your decision..go for the lighter choice. 3 big rules for Draw Weight selection: DONT GO TOO HEAVY - if you choose a draw weight that is too heavy or to hard to pull back then you are going to be disappointed with your bow and you will not have fun shooting. ATTENTION Compound bow shooters - most compound bows have a "let off" so a 70# compound bow might feel like a 30# traditional bow. DO NOT COMPARE compound bow weights to Traditional bow weights Attention Bowhunters You will be required to have a minimum draw weight for the state your hunting! BOWHUNTERS - Each state has restrictions on the minimum draw weight for bow hunting, check with your state. Most require a minimum of 40LB draw weight at your draw length. Suggested draw weights: Youth Weight Draw Weight Small Child 40-60LB 10-15LB Larger Child 50-70LB 10-15LB Small Youth LB 15-20LB Larger Youth LB 20-25LB Young Adult LB 25-35LB Women Weight Draw Weight Small Frame LB 25-30LB Medium Frame LB 30-40LB Large Frame 160LB 40-50LB Men Weight Draw Weight Small Frame LB 30-40LB Medium Frame LB 40-55LB Large Frame LB 45-65LB

6 This question is a little easier to answer than most because there are 3 easy ways to figure out what your draw length should be. All of these methods will get you close to what your draw length should be. I recommend the height method overall. Arm Span Method Stand with your arms out and palms facing forward. Don't stretch when measuring, stand comfortably and naturally. Have someone else help you to measure from the tip of one middle finger to the tip of the other. Then divide that number by 2.5. The result is your suggested draw length in inches for your arm span. If you don't have someone to help, you can simply hold a measuring tape from one hand to the other The Height Method Simply take your height in inches and divide by 2.5 amd round down to the next draw length Example: 6' Tall = 72"/2.5 = 28.8" Draw Length or 28.5" The Chart Method Here is a chart that can also help you find your draw length I would suggest doing all methods and see if you come to the same or close to the same draw length and then go with the longer one Height 4'11" 5'0" 5'1" 5'1" 5'2" 5'3" 5'3" 5'4" 5'5" 5" 5" 5'6" 5'7" 5"7" 5'8" 5"9" 5'10" 5'10" 5'11" 6'0" 5'11" 6'0" 6'1" 6'1" 6'2" 6'3" Draw Length 23.5" 24" 24" 25" 25" 26" 26" 27" 27" 28" 28" 28.5" 28" 29.0" 29.0" 29.5"

7 Understanding arrows and arrow selection There are many different types of arrows available for the traditional archer. Most common arrows are: Wood, Carbon and Aluminum. There is no wrong choice for the type of arrow for your bow, but you need to make sure you choose the right arrow within the chosen type. Each kind of arrow has a "Spine" or deflection rating. This "Spine" is the amount of stiffness or flex that the arrow has. This is important because the arrow needs to flex or bend around the bow as it passes the bow, this is called the "archer's paradox". The type of bow you shoot, draw weight, draw length and point weight all play a part in selecting the right arrow for your bow. Carbon: arrows built from carbon material and are generally very straight and keep their straightness overtime. Generally speaking, Carbon arrows are the most durable arrows because they can take an impact and still stay straight. Aluminum: arrows built from aluminum and generally straight and keep their straightness overtime. Generally speaking, aluminum arrows are not as durable as carbon arrows because they more easily damaged or bent when they take an impact. Wood: arrows built from wood material like cedar that require the arrow to be straightened by hand from time to time. Generally speaking wood arrows take the most work to keep straight and are the most vulnerable to impact damage. Wood arrows seem to fly the best off a wood bow if properly spined and straightened. I recommend that if you have the time to hand straighten, then you should shoot wood arrows, if you lack the time or diligence to hand straighten, then go with carbon. Points and Broadheads Every arrow will need to have a point or arrowhead at the end and this depends on your intended use for the arrow. Field points are used for target archery and broadheads are used for hunting. In general all points have a weight associated with them which is referred to as the "Grain" of the point. In general if you plan on bowhunting, then you should practice with a 125Grain field point, and then install a 125 Grain Broadhead when going out to bowhunt. Knowing your arrow length Once you have established your draw weight and your draw length, we suggest adding 1 inch to the draw length to determine your Arrow Length. This will extend the arrow past the bow and make sure that your broadhead does not hit your bow at full draw. Example: Draw Length 28" and a arrow length of 29"

8 We have developed the Crow s Head Archery Arrow Spine Selection Charts to help you pick the right wood arrow for your bow. This chart is easy to use and assumes the following: Selfbow: off center arrow rest and a 125GR point Example: 45-50@28 with 29 Arrow Length and 125GR Point Our suggested spine weight would be: Spine Wood Arrow WOOD ARROW SPINE SELECTION CHART Off Center Shot Selfbow w/ 125 GR Point Arrow Length Draw Weight at your Draw Length 24" 25" 26" 27" 28" 29" 30" 31" <30 <30 <30 <30 <30 < <30 <30 <30 <30 < <30 <30 <30 < <30 <30 < <30 < < Off Center Shot Selfbow w/ 100 GR Point Arrow Length Draw Weight at your Draw Length 24" 25" 26" 27" 28" 29" 30" 31" <30 <30 <30 <30 <30 <30 < <30 <30 <30 <30 <30 < <30 <30 <30 <30 < <30 <30 <30 < <30 <30 < <30 < <

9 ***FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS INCLUDED WITH YOUR SPECIFIC BOW STRINGER*** 1. Slip the bowstring loops over both ends of the bow past the string grooves 2. Insert 1 bowstring loop into place and leave the other past the string grooves on the handle side. 3. Place the bow stringer securely onto both ends of the bow 4. Step onto the bow stringer in the center while holding tight to the middle of your bow handle 5. Pull upward on your bow and then push the loose bowstring loop into the grooves 6. When both loops are securely in place, slowly release the tension and unstring the bow stringer 7. Reverse this process to unstring the bow Example: This illustration may not apply to your particular bow stringer

10 Basics of Bow Brace Height What is Brace Height? The distance from the back of the bow (where your bow hand touches the bows) to the string. See Image below. Why change your brace height? Here are 2 big reasons that you might want to change your brace height: Changing brace height can reduce noise/vibrations when shooting your bow Changing your brace height can reduce string slap on your bow arm To increase brace height, simply remove the string from the top OR the bottom and twist the string until it gets shorter. Twist 5-10 times and put the string back on, continue until you get the brace height you want. ONLY TWIST FROM ONE SIDE! Adjust the brace height to your desired size to avoid string slap and vibrations We suggest adjusting your brace height prior to setting a nock point on your string. BRACE HEIGHT

11 The Traditional Archery Academy was born out of a need for high quality resources for those interested in learning more about Traditional Bow building, arrow building, archery leather work and Instinctive shooting. Our goal is to provide courses, ebooks and guides to help the traditional archery community learn and have fun.