ARCHERY

Bow hunting is a popular sport in New Zealand and has a large number of adherents. Currently Trentham Club does not have anyone active in this type of archery and hence is unable to give expert advice on the equipment that a hunter would need. Persons interested in this aspect of the sport are recommended to seek out a bowhunter's club.

BOW TYPES
There are basically four types of bow shot in New Zealand:-

Traditional Longbow:- This bow takes it design from the traditional English Longbow and is constructed in a very similar manner. It has a near circular cross-section of varying diameter and traditionally is made from one piece of a suitable wood, such as yew. Strings are traditionaly made from linen and arrows are wood and fletched with feathers in the traditional manner. A similar looking bow is the American Flat Bow. This bow is constructed of more modern materials, the limbs being of rectangular section and faced with fibreglass. Longbows may be shot either left or right handed. Only a small number of enthusiastic archers in New Zealand shoot this type of bow.
Recurve Bow:- Currently this is the most common type of bow shot in New Zealand and is the type of bow used at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games. The name "recurve" comes from the shape of the tips of the limbs which turn away from the simple curve of the longbow. This design greatly improves the performance of the bow over it's "ancestors". They are designed to be taken down into thee pieces for transport convenience. The cental section (riser) may be made of wood, but in the more expensive bows is usually a magnesium alloy. Limbs are laminated wood and fibreglass in the low-end bows through to carbon fibre and synthetic foam at the high performance end. String material is now almost exclusively an extremely strong synthetic material with practically zero "stretchiness". Arrows are made of aluminium tube through to pure carbon fibre, or a combination of aluminium tube with a covering of carbon fibre. Reurve bows are made in left and right handed configurations and may be shot with, or without, sights, stabilisers and a number of other accessories. The modern recurve bow is an example of the application of "high tech" methods and materials to an old idea.
Compound Bow:- This type of bow is a recent development having only been patented in December 1969. The bow uses a system of eccentric wheels, or cams to allow the archer to draw through the bow's peak poundage to a point where there is a significant "let-off" and only a fraction of the bow's true poundage is being held at full draw during the aiming and release. Again, compound bows are built in left handed and right handed configurations. The draw length of a compound bow generally is adjustable over a small range and it is important that, when buying a bow, you specify the draw length that suits your style of shooting. In addition to stabilisers the rules allow these bows to be used with magnifying sights and mechanical aids may be used to hold and release the string rather than using the fingers. This type of bow has the capability of extreme accuracy and superior range. It is becoming a very popular type of bow and is threatening to overtake the recurve in the popularity stakes. The compound bow is very much shorter than the recurve and can propel the arrow very much faster, hence it is the choice of most people who are keen bowhunters

Crossbow:- This type of bow is modelled on the traditional crossbow but has been developed to the point where it only slightly resembles it's ancestors. They are now fitted with rifle type buts and telescopic sights. They are shot like a rifle from the standing position and are extremely accurate. There is a dedicated band of crossbow enthusiasts in the Hamilton, Auckland and East Coast North Island regions, but outside of these areas crossbows are rarely seen at archery tournaments.

The crossbow shown above is a commercially manufactured model. Many of the New Zealand crossbow archers build their own bows.

If you have been put off by the talk of tournaments, etc., in the paragraphs above, then don't be. You will get out of archery exactly what you want to, and there is no obligation to step outside your comfort zone. You may only wish to shoot on a social basis, in other words come down to the club on a Saturday afternoon and shoot with the other club members. You may be happy to compete in the more formal tournaments right up to National Level, or you may be inspired to tackle the international scene with sights set on World Championships and even the Olympics. You choose, and we at the club will do our best to help you achieve your aspirations.