Archery question opinions sought

[Leigh]

Hi
I've been sbooting longbow for some years now (30lbs Bickerstaff), and can offer you the following advice:
1. Archery is not a weapons system that you an pick up and use. That's why the French prefered the xbow in the middle ages onwards to the bow as training took hours or days rather than years with respect to the bow.
2. Applying this to a potential survival situation, what would you use the bow for, assuming it's primary use would be mid to long distance defence followed by hunting / fishing. This will have a bearing on the bow type or if a bow is suitable at all! I would suggest, if I have not talked you out of it, would be a bare bow / flat bow made of artificial material. This would have reduced or little maintennce compared to a wood bow. Also, like soooo many things in life, size matters. Will you need to defend with it from a building, i which case, a short bow like the mongolian or native american bow would suffice. Thats why castle roofs were high!
3. Practice, practice, practice!
Henry VII instructed all men to practice the bow every Sunday. The reason for this was the time it took to be effective. I found from experience that the most expensive part of this actiity is time.

In summary, when the shtf, my bows will be part of my defence but i'll rely on more immediate methods first.

Try Quicks Archery for advice. They are very honest and will set you up well. Japan or Korian bows are good value. Avoid compounds as these compose of many parts to go wrong.
To give you an idea of how the bow still carries weight, I gave a ridiculing clay pigeon shooter 70 yards away and two shots at me as long as I can have one arrow at him at 250 yards, he turned me down!
Good luck with your choice.
Leigh

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time it took to learn the bow.