A glossary of archery terms from A to Z

Armguard – A leather pad that is worn on the inside of the forearm of the bow hand to protect the arm from the blow of the bowstring.

Arrow Plate – An inlay just above the handle on the side of the bow where the arrow passes when it exits the bow.

Ascharm ‘A cabinet in which bows, arrows and archery tackle are stored.

Backstroke: The surface of the bow farthest from the goalie when the bow is held in the shooting position.

Backing: Various materials including: fiberglass, cellulose products, rawhide, etc. glued to the back of the bow to improve your throw.

Boiv with backrest – an arch to which a backrest has been glued.

Spike: Projection on a hunting head that prevents easy removal.

Cannon Arrow – An arrow whose axis tapers from the middle to each end and has its largest cross-sectional area in the middle of the axis.

Boss or Bast: The twisted and coiled straw back of a target that the face is glued to.

Bow Stave: Wooden billet from which a bow will be made.

Bowyer: a bow maker.

Brace: To string the bow.

Belly: The belly of the bow is the side you see when you hold the bow in shooting position.

Bending: The act of holding or placing the string in the nocks of the bow.

Tailed Arrow: An arrow that has its largest cross section in the pile and tapers toward the nock.

Bodkin: A three-bladed broadhead arrow.

Broadhead – A triangular-shaped flat hunting head made of steel.

Cap: a cap that faces are attached to, like straw bales.

Carriage bow: A bow that has its two limbs joined under the handle in a splint. It can be disjointed to allow easy transport. (Shoot down).

Throwing: The inherent ability of a bow to propel an arrow.

Chest Arrow: An arrow that has its largest cross section towards the nock and tapers from this point towards the nock and pyle.

Chrysalis: compression failure, that is, a fracture of the fibers that generally appears as a line along the belly of the arch.

Clout Target: The standard four-foot target was enlarged twelve times and placed in a horizontal position on the ground.

Rooster feather: The feather of the arrow that is at right angles to the nock. Usually the feather of a strange color.

Crest: colored bands of different width and spacing, painted on the arrow for identification purposes.

Crossbow: A short bow placed transversely on a stock, pulled by mechanical means and that fires a dart when the trigger is released.

Cross Wind – A wind that blows through the target.

Curl: A swirl in the grain of an arc stave.

Down Wind: A wind blowing towards the target.

Draw: The act of pulling the bowstring along the arrow.

Drawing fingers: The first three fingers of the hand that are used to pull the string.

Draw Weight – The force in pounds required to bring a bow to its fullest.

Drift: The lateral movement of the arrow while traveling towards the target due to a crosswind.

End: a unit of number of arrows used to score. In the target competition, six arrows constitute an endgame.

Eye … The loop or loops of a bowstring.

Field Captain – The officer in charge of a tournament.

Fingertips – Leather finger studs used to protect the tips of the three shooting fingers.

Fistmele: The distance from the base of the closed hand to the tip of the extended thumb. It is used as a measure of the proper distance from the handle to the string when

the bow is braced or strung.

Fletch: Placing the feathers on an arrow.

Fletcher: arrow maker. Arrow maker.

Fletching: The feathers that guide the arrow in flight.

Flight Arrow: A long, light arrow with very small feathers or blades. Used in distance shooting.

Flirt: A sudden or abrupt movement of an arrow from its theoretical line of flight.

Follow the String: An arc that has taken a permanent set in the direction of the drawing.

Floo Floo: An arrow that is used to shoot with the wings. It is generally feathered with a full spiral. The size of the feather is such that the flight distance is short.

Shoe: A hardwood joint at the end of the pile of a wood-handled arrow.

Gold: Bullseye in regulation four foot circular target. A circle ten inches in diameter.

Grip: The part of the bow that is held in the shooting hand.

Hen feathers: The two feathers, usually the same color, that are not at right angles to the arrow nock.

High Braced: When the distance from the cuff exceeds seven inches.

Hold: pause in the full extraction position before releasing the arrow.

Home: When the arrow is fully drawn with the stack, even with the back of the bow, it is said to be “at home”.

Horns – Bow tips made from animal horn from which the nock is cut from the bowstring.

Articulated bows: Same as a carriage bow.

Kick – A flask that is felt when a bow is fired. Usually due to uneven bow blades.

Lady Paramount: an assistant field captain. In charge of the women’s shooting line or division in a tournament.

Laminate Arch: An arch that is built in layers. It can consist of different types of wood, wood and metal, wood and

fiberglass, etc.

Extremity: Middle of the arch. From the handle or grip to the tip. Upper and lower extremities.

Loose: the act of shooting. Letting the bowstring slip

shooting fingers.

National Archery Association. (NAA): National Target Archers Association.

National Association of Field Archery. (NFAA): National Association of Range Archers.

Nocks: The grooves in the tips of a bow’s blades that the bowstring fits into, also the groove in the feathered end of an arrow.

Nock’s Point: The point on the bowstring where the arrow nock rests.

Overbowed: A bow with a higher pull weight than the archer can shoot properly.

Overdraw: To stretch the bow beyond the length of the arrow for which it is designed.

Overstrung: When the fist is exceeded due to the use of a bowstring that is too short.

Pair: Two arrows and a spare, also three feathers.

Pennant: A small flag with the fly longer than the hoist. Placed on the target line on a pole to indicate the direction and speed of the wind at the targets.

Petticoat: The edge outside the last or white ring of the lens.

Pyle: The metal tip attached to the tip of the arrow shaft, the tip of the arrow. Anglo-Saxon (pil) meaning dart, also spelled pile.

Pin: A very small knot in bow woods, especially yew or osage.

Pinch: crush the arch fibers by compression. See Chrysal.

Pinch: to squeeze the arrow between the drawing fingers.

Pinhole: The center of the target’s gold, that is, the dead center.

Point Blank: The act of aiming directly at the target.

Point of Aim – An object that an archer points to when looking over the arrowhead.

Quiver: a container for arrows. The shape, size and materials vary, they can be worn at the waist, shoulder, on the bow or on the arm of the bow.

Quiver, Ground – In simplest form, a metal rod about 18 inches long, pointed at one end, and a loop formed at right angles to the stem at the other end. Inserted

On the ground, arrows can be dropped through the loop and removed one at a time.

Range: the terrain used in archery competitions. Also called a field course.

Recurve bow: A bow that bends backward from a straight line at the ends of the limbs.

Reflected Bow: Triggered and held in firing position, the bow’s branches curve away from the archer.

Release: Same as loose.

Round – a fixed number of shots at a specified distance or a set of distances.

Rover – An archer who is dedicated to field shooting. See itinerant.

Roving – shoot over fields and forests at natural targets.

Running: When a single strand that makes up a bowstring frays, stretches, or breaks, the string is said to run.

Sapwood – The wood immediately below the bark.

Me: used in reference to a bow or arrow made from a single piece of wood, i.e. self bow, self arrow.

Service: winding or coiling the bowstring at the butt points to protect the bowstring from wear.

Shaft: the body or main section of the arrow. The term “feathered shaft” is frequently used in print to designate an arrow.

Shaft – The section of the shaft to which the feathers are attached.

Shake: A longitudinal crack in an arch stave.

Shooting Glove: A three-fingered glove used to protect the shooting fingers.

Trigger Tab – A flat piece of leather designed to be worn on the trigger fingers for protection.

Spiral: the curved position in which the feathers are attached to the shaft of the arrow.

Spine: The elastic quality of an arrow that allows it to bend when passing the bow in flight and then regain its original shape.

Stacked Arch- ‘An arch with an oval cross section. One in which the thickness of the limbs is slightly greater than the width.

Steele: Same as the shaft.

Tab: see the shooting tab.

Tackle: The equipment of an archer: bow, arrows, quiver, reeds, ropes, etc.

Disassembly: see Carriage arch.

Tiller: Shaping the bow to the proper curvature. To dig a bow.

Toxophyllite: amateur or devotee of archery. Derived from the Greek toxen which means bow and philos which means love.

Turn: term used to describe an arc that has a turn to the right.

or to the left of the string. Underboived: a bow that has very little pulling weight for the

goalkeeper.

Unit: fourteen objectives of an itinerant field course.

Result: the last shot in an archery contest.

Weathervane: The net or flat expanded part of a feather. The extended plastic flat surfaces attached to a shaft to serve as feathers.

Wand: a two-inch-wide wooden stick, standing on the ground. Six feet tall. It is used as a mark to shoot at.

Weight: the grain weight of an arrow. See also Drawing weight.

Whip Ended: A bow that has limbs that are too weak at the tips.

Beat: See Service.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *