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Longbows,
in various forms, are among the oldest styles of bows known to man. They
are more truly in the category of "straight" bows, descending
from their shorter ancestors used by early man and still prevalent in
many tribal civilizations.
Straight bows grew longer and more powerful in the need to reach farther
and hit harder as it became more of a weapon than a tool for hunting.
The English longbow
is perhaps the culmination of this type of bow. Its mark in history
places it at the highest rank of respect in the world of archery.
Traditional style longbows are difficult and time consuming to master,
but have their benefits. Modern longbows utilize advances in design,
such as deflex/reflex*, that make them more efficient with greater speed
and accuracy. Many people have turned back to longbows for fun as well
as hunting because of their inherent "pointability" and
instinctive accuracy. The lack of a "cutout" shelf is less
distracting to the vision and helps bring the shooters focus to the
mark, thereby reducing the time between target acquisition & release
to a scant few seconds. Anyone can see the benefit in this. Longbows
also tend to be more stable because the stroke from full draw is
shorter. In a nutshell: the longer the bow, the less the limb-travel.
Less movement = more stability.
Current designs in longbows increase performance and reduce hand-shock,
bringing them into the realm for serious consideration when choosing and
buying a bow. If you intend to shoot a lot, I recommend trying one. They
take longer to learn and shoot well, but are worth the effort if you put
the time into it. Otherwise, check out our Recurve
bows.
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