How to Use an Archery Bow

Archery is great fun, and the perfect summer sport to get you and your family out of the house and into the great outdoors!

I know explaining how to use a bow and arrow may seem a little patronising to most readers. However, there may be some out thereย who donโ€™t fully know or havenโ€™t had a go, so please bear with me.

First things first, when using a bow it is important that you have a safe backdrop behind your target. This is so that if you shoot and miss, your arrows donโ€™t go sailing further than they should and embed themselves in your neighbours garden (or even your neighbour!).

The key thing with archery is always shooting from the same position. This is because if you change your position even a little bit, there is a fairly good chance your arrows will not go in the same spot.

Firing a bow and arrow

Firstly, place your feet shoulder length apart, with your left leg if you are right-handed, or your right leg if you are left-handed, facing forward towards the target. Nock the arrow onto the string with the cock feather (the one with a different colour) facing away from the bow, and rest the shaft of the arrow on the arrow rest. Pull the bow string back being careful not to touch/hold the arrow, so your hand is on your cheek or the string is against your lips or chin. Next, simply flex your fingers so that the string slides off of them, you can look down the arrow to see roughly where you are aiming.

After some practice, you will soon learn to adjust your stance and aim for different distances or wind speed and direction. I’m sure you will be splitting arrows Robin Hood-style before very long!