COMPOUND CROSSBOW DIAGRAM FULL
COMPOUND CROSSBOW DIAGRAM PLUS

The recurve bow is made from laminated wood and fiberglass with pronounced “recurved” limbs near the tips.

The longbow is made of laminated wood and fiberglass with varying limb shapes from straight to slightly deflexed and reflexed.

The end result is that today we have three types of commercially produced bows commonly used in archery and bowhunting that blend both the past and the present. But the true “compound revolution” began in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s with the invention and refinement of the compound bow. It was sort of a “compound” action in the way the limbs worked, increasing the conversion of store energy when the bow was shot. The homemade longbows of Pope, Young, and some of the other pioneers in American archery eventually gave way to the laminated recurve bow, with limbs that both unfolded and bent back during the draw. Pope and Young soon infused a fledging nation with the romance of archery, and the rest is history. The Yahi Indian’s name was Ishi, and the two white Americans were Saxton Pope and Arthur Young. And it was one Indian in particular in the early 1900’s who helped spread the romance and allure of hunting with homemade bows and arrows to two white men in California. In North America, Native people were the first to use bows for hunting and warfare. Whether the “arch” in archery refers to the arch of an arrow in flight, or the arch of a bow, the word implies the use of both the bow and arrow together. It was during this time that the name “archery” found its way into language from the Latin word arcarius, and from arcus for “bow”. The Dark Ages saw the adaptation of bows into short horizontal crossbows that proved no match for the repeated shooting speed and accuracy of the longbow – one reason England dominated so many European Medieval battles during those times. The first bows weren’t much more than flat sticks bowed by a string that later became refined into elegant European yew longbows or Mongolian recurves made from composite animal horn and sinew. The bow and arrow would become the most influential weapon throughout human history before the invention of gunpowder. Scientists haven’t yet been able to unravel that distant part of the past from 20,000 to 40,000 years ago when the bow and arrow first emerged. Whether Neanderthals and Homo sapiens really fought using bows and arrows can only be wild speculation. Though the probability of all that may be a stretch, we know who won that prehistoric war.

COMPOUND CROSSBOW DIAGRAM PLUS

It may have marked two pivotal points in prehistoric history – invention of the bow and arrow plus the start of the first war between Neanderthal and Homo sapiens. After vigorous back and forth action with the bow, suddenly, Norm gets his fire going then plucks the string in joy, only to somehow launch the straight friction stick that accidently shoots Hank, the visiting Homo sapiens, right in the eye. Imagine two cavemen trying to start a fire with a bowed stick and a looped string using another straight friction stick to get things smoking. But first, a little historical perspective.Īnthropologists aren’t sure if either “Norm the Neanderthal” or “Hank the Homo sapiens” (which is Latin for “wise man”) first invented the bow and arrow. And to figure out what is the “right” style of bow for you, you’ll need to understand some of the science and physics of archery. But before you dive into your cool superhero outfit, you need to get “outfitted” with the right bow for your superhero adventures. So, the cams of the bow are what change the bow in essence from a traditional bow to a compound bow.Free Downloadable Classroom Activities: Want to become an Archery Superhero? The energy is stored in the bow’s limbs until the archer releases, which unleashes the multiplied energery, propelling the arrow toward its target.

COMPOUND CROSSBOW DIAGRAM FULL

This is where the archer is at “full draw.” At this point, there is a percentage of “letoff” that allows the archer or hunter to hold the force of the bow at a fraction of the actual pounds of pull being exerted.įor example, a bow that is set to a 70-lb draw weight with a 70% letoff will only take 21 lbs of force to hold at full draw. The bow has a “back wall” where the cams will not turn any more. This allows the bow to store more energy than the person pulling the bow string is actually exerting. The cams act as the “multiplier” of the energy of the person pulling the bow string. The cams are connected to the axles of the bow. On a compound bow, the cams are the round, or oval-shaped discs that work much like a block-and-tackle pulley system. Find out more about what each part does by clicking the words below: In the above diagram of the Nexus2 by Prime Archery, you can view the parts of a compound bow.

Compound crossbow diagram