The basics
Arguably dating back to the Late Stone Age, archery is the practice of shooting stationary and moving targets with bow and arrow. Forget what you may have seen in the Hunger Games and Game of Thrones, the discipline is more of a gracious artform than brutal bloodsport.
Modern compound bows are hi-tech contraptions made from feather-light materials that boast incredibly accurate sights and scopes – professional archers can hit a 4-inch bullseye from up to 90 metres away.
Bombay’s Beretta at Bracu offers archery in a pristine olive grove with targets ranging from your standard scoring ring to high-density foam deer.
Giving it a bash
Hungry to shoot, my first arrow cut through the air before I even managed to think about aiming. It hit the bottom right of my bullseye target with a thud. Little did I know that this would be one of the last times I would strike anything but olive branches, grass and whatever else lay in the distance.
Our mentor, New Zealand Shooting Federation’s Gavin Paton, admitted that with no fixed sights on these particular compound bows it was effectively a form of ‘‘instinctive archery’’ – a traditional method that requires consistency and some guesswork by the shooter to actually hit the target.
The safety lesson covered obvious tips like not aiming an arrow in the direction of a person and keeping the front arm bent and clear of the bowstring when letting go – the taut string has the ability to snap against the inside arm upon firing.
We were also instructed that the arrow should be drawn back with three fingers (one above and two below the arrow) and further than expected. Ideally, the base of the arrow should be held up to the cheekbone and no further than the eye.
Gavin suggested that we look down the side of the arrow to the tip and release the fingers at the bottom of an exhale. From here it was a process of firing and then making corrections to
It certainly took a while to find the sweet spot and hit anything on the scoring ring worth counting.
compensate. And so my shooting course played out: dirt, dirt, tree, the third target to the right, tree, dirt, tree, target, target, target.
It certainly took a while to find the sweet spot and hit anything on the scoring ring worth counting. The end verdict was to aim low and to the left of the target. A basket of arrows later, we joked that it would be tedious job for whoever had to fish the stray arrows out of the bushes. It would probably be Gavin.
Why you should try it
Archery is one of those things that is far harder than it looks. Practise, focus and patience are key requirements when looking to hit a target. And when that does happen it’s a highly rewarding experience. It’s a lowimpact activity; the only force comes from drawing and holding back the bowstring. From there, it’s mostly excitement.
Risk rating
Getting shot is obviously the main concern with archery – though, unless you’re walking in front of a shooting range with a target on your back this really shouldn’t be an issue. Regular archers wear protective gear including arm guards to prevent bruises and welts from the bowstring and gloves to avoid sore fingers.