Archery is a sport/hobby that has existed for centuries. Prehistoric humans used this as a method of hunting for survival in the vast wildernesses in the world. It was an upgrade from using spears to hunt animals. It provided range for the hunters so that way they didn't have to be real up close and personal to their prey, which consisted of large deer and other large mammals. While it wasn't was effective as the guns used today, it provided a turning point to the lifestyle of hunting, allowing hunters to hunt with distance between them and their targets. Even today archery is still used for the same purpose, but with some changes.
Here is a prime example of prehistoric bow hunting.
Archery Today
Archery has taken to a different meaning to current lifestyles. Instead of just being used for hunting strictly, now it is used as a type of competitive sport. Men and women across the world now train to become the best archers across the globe. I myself used to compete to become one of the best, but sadly I had to stop for certain personal reasons. These men and women take archery as a life of competing instead of survival. Thousands of archers compete across the world in different types of competitions. Some of these include Fita Field, Olympic, 3D Target, and Indoor Archery. Each of these consists of different targets in which have scoring rings, which can be similar to darts, that give out a certain amount of points. These tournaments can also reward archers with titles and even money depending on the type of tournament it is. Archery competitions are popular today and are continuing to grow due to people's interest in it. Who would want to try and become the next Robin Hood?
This is the type of target you would see at a 3D Target Tournament. They are to resemble animals and have scoring rings where the animals vital organs would be. Hunters also use these targets as practice for the hunting season.
Indoor Target Archery consists of these targets. Each ring has its own score and an arrow shot within a ring gets that score. For instance, if an archer shoots three arrows in the dead center of the target, they earn the score of 30. This is because the middle ring is worth 10 points for each arrow in it.
Here I am competing at an archery tournament. It was a 3D Archery tournament in Arizona.
Bow Hunting Today
Archery is still used today to hunt. With the advancement of technology, bows and arrows have become stronger and more powerful for hunting. Bows of old were made from long planks of wood and arrows were made from sticks and rocks. Now they are made of carbon fiber and metals of all sorts. Compound bows are the strongest type of bows out today. They can have the pull weight of 90-100 pounds. Now that is quite an amount of weight. Most hunters used 60-70 pounds of draw weight for most big game, like elk and bears. Arrows are also made to kill, with the broadheads on the end being made to penetrate an animals hide. Broadheads are basically a small spearhead, but can do the same amount of damage. There are numerous hunters across the world that use these industrialized bows and arrows. Others use the traditional bows and arrows. All in the same sense, bow hunting is still used by numerous people today.
Here is a prime look at a modern day hunter.
This is a type of compound bow made today from an archery company called Hoyt. It has all the attachments and characteristics of a hunting bow.
Archery for Everyone
This sport is for men and women of all ages. You can be 10 years old to 80 years old and compete in archery tournaments or hunt even. I highly encourage others to participate in this sport or at least give it a shot. If it has stayed around for centuries, why not try it out? It is a great activity to partake in and enjoy. Hopefully the knowledge and background information on archery helps you decide to take part in this unique sport.
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