Archery Terms

My little list of terms in archery. Some I made up, others from online and book sources.

A

Anchor point : The specific point, near the face, where the hand that draws the arrow at full draw length will rest before release of arrow.

Arm guard : Essential accessory place at the fore arm. This protect the bow arm from the slap of the bowstring when arrow is released.

Arrow : An arrow is shot from a bow and can be made from materials such as wood, carbon, aluminum or combination of materials. It consist of an arrow tip, arrow shaft, fletching and nock.

Arrow shaft : The long body of an arrow. This could be made from wood, carbon, aluminum or combination of different materials.

B

Barebow : A bow that is show without release aid or stabilisers.

Bolt : A short arrow that is used with crossbow.

Bow string : The string attached to near extreme ends of the bow. Bow energy is transferred to from the string to an arrow.

Button : An accessory attached to the riser, used to aid in shooting. This is a spring that pushes the arrow away from the riser as it flies from the bow.

C

Composite bow : A bow made by layers of materials held together.

Compound bow : A bow which uses a system of cables and pulleys to assist with the draw of a bow.

Chest guard : A body accessory to protect chest from bow string. It helps to reduce chances of clothes from getting in the way of the bow string. Its usually covers only one side of the chest, which is the same side as the hands holding the bow.

D

Draw hand: The hand that is used to pull the bow string during the draw process.

F

Fletching : A fin shaped material attached at ends of an arrow to aid in aerodynamics. Material is made from feathers or other semi flexible materials and are called vanes.

Full draw : A bow in hand, with the string pulled to anchor point.

H

Handle : see riser

Head : An arrow head is is a material made for the tip of an arrow. The design determines the use of the arrow. Some tips are designed for hunting other for target practise.

I

ILF : Acronym for International Limb Fitting System. Risers and limbs that follow ILF system allow brands to be interchanged.

K

Kyudo : Japanese art of archery

L

Limb : Parts of a bow that are above and below the riser.

N

Nock : The notch on the bow string, that indicates where the rear of the arrow is held.

O

Open stance : The standing position of archer where feet are about shoulder width apart and the feet (same side as the bow hand) is about half step backwards.

Q

Quiver : Container to carry arrows. This can be worn on the back, waist or placed on ground.

R

Recurve bow : Bow with limbs that curve away from the archer.

Release : Also known as firing an arrow.

Release aid : a device designed to pull a bow string to full length in a composite bow.

Rest : An accessory attached to the riser meant to hold the arrow in place.

Riser : The section of a bow that is grip. This section can be made to hold additional bow accessories such as a rest, scope sight and stabilisers.

S

Scope sight : An accessory to aid in visual aiming of a target. It is attached to the riser.

Spine : The stiffness of an arrow. Determines if the arrow is best for short or longer distance shooting.

Square stance : The standing position of archer where feet are about shoulder width apart.

Stabiliser : Accessories mounted at a bow to fine tune the bow's balance. Widely used in archery sports.

Stance : The body and feet position of an archer when taking a shot.

T

Tab : A patch worn at the fingers that draw the bow string.

Take down bow : A bow that can be disassembled. This is done for transporting and storage.

Target : Where the arrows are to be shot at.

V

Vane : A fletch made of materials other than feathers.