There are two main points that an archer has to do well to guarantee the best likelihood of regularly hitting the target. The first is to hold the string stable at full draw until the archer is ready to shoot and secondly, releasing the string in the correct manner every time. Most suggestions for novices should help the beginner to accomplish these two states.

‘Creep’ is the first issue that a novice should guard against. Creep is the phenomenon of the arrow, string and hand creeping forward as the archer takes aim. It is vital to hold the arrow at full draw for consistency. If the archer permits the hand to creep forward, the shot will not be consistent. Creep is caused by lack of concentration and strain.

The strain comes from attempting to shoot a bow that the archer is not yet strong enough to control. People, particularly men often try to shoot a bow that is too powerful for them. If an archer is experiencing creep, the bow is probably too strong for him or her at the moment. The archer ought to use a weaker bow and work out more until they are stronger.

The effects of creep on the shot are that the archer will not learn how to judge the fall of the arrow over distance and so will almost certainly undershoot, that is, the arrow will probably fall short. The only way to learn how to use the bow correctly is to always shoot at full draw.

Weariness can also lead to creep, but the archer can regulate this by resting well before a competition, staying fit and not using a bow that takes so much muscle that it cannot be shot for the period of the competition.

The novice archer has to learn how to let go of the arrow as well. It is much more difficult to hit the target if the release is not right. The novice should get an experienced archer to demonstrate the release so that he or she does not develop bad habits. The correct way to release the string is to relax the muscles in the tips of the fingers used to draw the string.

Novices often hurt their fingers after a few releases, so they try to let go of the string too quickly which can lead to pulling the string to the side a little. This little shake can send the arrow off course.

The release should be clean and to the rear of the arrow, not to the side. If the release is to the rear, the arrow will fly accurately to where the archer pointed it. If the archer is having a great deal of trouble toughening up the finger tips, it is possible to use a string release device, which will take the strain off the finger tips until they can be toughened up.

An archer could try the karate methods of toughening the skin and the hand. One of these is to plunge the straight fingers into sand. An archer could also try a guitarists’ method, that of daubing the finger tips with methylated spirits on a regular basis.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on several subjects, but is currently involved with longbows for sale. If you would like to know more or for special offers, please go to our website at Kids Archery Set.

Do you have a leisure pursuit that you like to carry out out of doors or are you permanently glued to the seat in front of your computer? If you never get out, then that is a shame and you ought to take that common piece of guidance and get out more often .

And do what? – you may inquire. Yes, well that is your concern, is it not? But there are hundreds if not thousands of things that you can do in the open air and they are all healthier than sitting down in front of your computer no matter what you are doing with your PC.

I will confess that I spend too much time at my desk, although, in my defense, I will say that that is how I make my living. However, I do like to get out-of-doors sometimes too. I live in a country where foreigners, such as myself, are not allowed to own or carry anything that might be construed as a weapon. This includes penknives as well.

When I go out into the beautiful countryside it is only to walk with my wife and look for animals – mostly snakes and birds.. However, I have had a lifelong fascination for archery.

Something within me desires to be able to hit a target from a long distance. I do not want to kill anything, but I am alright with people who do so long as it is for a good reason.

It would be great to make a bow and the arrows to go with it. I am Welsh and have always hankered after a Welsh longbow, although it requires a great deal of strength to pull a longbow. The minimum draw weight in medieval times used to be 160 lbs for a war bow, for hunting it was 100 lbs, but these days it is more like 60 lbs.

However, this is still pretty heavy for modern man, who does not usually pick up anything weightier than a pint of beer.

There are some great archery dealers, but if you do not live near one, you should go on line and either place an order from there or have a catalogue sent to you. Two good places to start are ‘Footed Shaft’ and ‘Three Rivers’ archery suppliers.

Both of these companies will send you your desired goods through the post and they have every type of archery supplies that you may need. For example, they have finished goods such as bows and arrows, but they also supply nocks, feathers, arrow shafts and points so that you can create your own arrows.

Do you want to make your own bow as well? No problem. You can either purchase a kit with all the bits and instructions or you can buy a book or DVD and buy the parts yourself.

These and other on line archery equipment dealers provide good value for money and have very comprehensive stocks of archery products. Their catalogues and web sites are easy to navigate and use as well.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on several subjects, but is presently concerned with archery recurve bows. If you would like to know more or for special offers, please go to our website at Kids Archery Set.