Great Southern Archers

A brand of arrows manufactured by Easton Aluminum being made of aluminum and carbon fiber

The term given to the aiming of the bow

The name given to the side-to-side bending motion of an arrow as it leaves the bow

The national archery association of Australia

This refers to the length of a compound bow which is measured between the axles e.g. 42”

The side of the bow away from the archer when the bow is drawn

A brand of Carbon arrows

The arm which holds the bow

The hand which holds the bow

A piece or leather or string fits around the wrist and between the fingers during shooting. It allows the archer to keep a relaxed grip and helps prevent the bow from falling to the ground after release

A device used safely to support the bow when not in use

This refers to actual bow weight, which may vary from the weight marked on the bow due to your draw length. Most recurve and longbows are weight at 28” draw. Drawing more or less then 28” will vary the bow weight. The best method to check bow weight is to use a scale. If a scale is not available you can estimate the bow weight by taking the marked bow weight and divide it by 20. Multiply the answer by the number of inches the draw length differs from 28”. Next subtract (for under 28”) or add (if greater then 28”) the calculated amount from the marked bow weight. Because of the large amount of adjustment available to compound bows the only way to determine bow weight of a compound is to use a bow scale

The weight marking on a bow provide an indication as to the draw weight of a bow. The weight of a bow for recurve and longbows is measured 28” from the back of the bow. Some Asian manufacturers measure the weight of bows using a measurement of 26” from the pivot point. Compound bows are marked based on the peak weight with the bow set at the middle of its draw length range. As you vary the draw length of most compound bows you change the bow weight, usually by increasing draw length you increase bow weight and by decreasing draw length you decrease bow weight. To better catalog and control stock, some manufacturers group bows in predetermined weight ranges e.g. a bow marked 35lb could be a heavy as 38lb or as light as 33lb.

The name given to a person who makes bows

To string the bow

A type of point that is larger in diameter then the arrow shaft. It is designed to prevent arrow wear and to allow easier removal of the arrow from the target butt.

Describes the material or backing used to stop an arrow upon which a target face is attached. Also can be called buttress, boss or matt.

The eccentric wheels used on compound bows providing additional performance due to there radical design

Tilting the bow left or right from the vertical when at full draw

The term used fairly loosely, which could mean the speed imparted to the arrow, the distance at which the bow will shoot or the degree of flatness of the arrows trajectory.

The term used to describe setting up the arrow so it is positioned in the true center of the bow (recurve) or the dynamic centre of a compound bow. Adjustable arrow rests and plungers buttons are used to adjust center shot

A modern style of bow incorporating the use of wheels or cams

Allowing the arrow to move forward while at full draw and before release

The term used to describe a release without any motion. Usually occurs when the inter-phalangeal joints of the fingers gripping the bowstring extend due to the kinetic energy of the bow instead of any muscular reaction

Describes the design of a bow handle with a forward grip.

The process of moving the bowstring with a nocked arrow from brace height to the archer’s anchor point on the face

The weight measured in pounds required to draw a bow. For recurve and longbows the measurement used is 28” e.g 36lb @28”. The bow weight of compound bows is the maximum weight achieved when drawing the bow, this position will vary depending upon draw length and cam/wheel design

The movement of an arrow while in flight due to crosswinds

Dynamic spine (also called Column Load) describes the amount an arrow bends when the string is first released and the bow’s stored energy is applied to the arrow. The amount the arrow bends is determined by a number of factors and can be varied using these factors. Factors that will affect dynamic spine are – shaft length, point weight, weight of shaft, weight of nock and weight of fletches. Weight added to the front of a shaft reduces the spine while weight added to the rear of the shaft increase spine. Shortening an arrow shaft increases stiffness and using longer shaft decreases stiffness. The heavier a shaft is in physical weight decreases the stiffness; a lighter shaft (physical weight) will increase stiffness.

A term used to describe the number of arrows shot before the score is recorded, an end is usually made up of 6 or 3 arrows

The printed coloured paper or cloth attached to the butt for scoring

A piece or leather or string with loops at each end and is designed to fit around the archer’s thumb and index finger during shooting. It allows the archer to keep a relaxed grip and helps prevent the bow from falling to the ground after release

A device usually made of leather worn on the fingers for protection

The term used to describe the vanes (plastic or feather) placed on the rear of the arrow to stabilize the arrow in flight

An archery event where the object is to obtain the greatest distance from an arrow

The act of holding the release position until the arrow has struck the target

A graph showing the increase in bow weight as the bow is draw to full draw

The term used to describe the archers inability to aim on the centre of the target. Usually caused by a lack of confidence or fear of performing poorly a common problem experienced in archery.

The position on the bow handle where the bow is held or the term used to describe holding the bow.

The middle section of a bow also can be called the riser

An arrow, which has not penetrated the butt but held by the target face, the arrow hanging across the target.

The term which describes an arrow which has embedded into one of the scoring areas of a target face

The pause between drawing and release where the aiming process takes place.

FLETCHING - A tool used for making or repairing fletches on an arrow. STRING – A device used for making bowstrings

Small attachment on the string usually felt by the lips at full draw and made of plastic, helps with consistency in draw and elevation

The flexible upper and lower parts of the bow which bend when the bow is drawn

A old style simply bow with straight limbs

The physical weight of the bow

The plastic attachment on the rear of the arrow which allows the arrow to be attached to the string

The position of the feet on the shooting line, where the leg furthest from the shooting line is a half to a whole foot in front of the other one

An archer shooting a bow, which is too heavy in draw weight for their ability.

A method of bow tuning where arrows are shot through paper adjustments are made by reviewing the teat patterns, commonly used for tuning compound bows.

The term used to describe the flight path of an arrow or the curve shape of fletches.

An undesired movement of the archer’s head at the time of release in an attempt to follow the arrow trajectory to the target

Rear sight fitted into the bowstring and used with compound bows.

The undesired action of squeezing the arrow nock tightly between the fingers during draw of at full draw causing the arrow to move (fall) off the arrow rest

The pivot point is the deepest part of the bow grip where the bow normally rests and pivots against your bow hand

A test carried out using spray powder to check for arrow clearance. The powder is sprayed on the bow window and arrow rest, as the arrow is shot if there is any problem with clearance a mark will show in the powder. Appropriate adjustments can then be made.

This is a term used for compound bows and the refers to the bow string forward movement the brace height and the true draw length

An arrow which does not penetrate the target face or butt and bounces off the target

A recurve bow is a form of bow defined by the side-view profile; in contrast to the simple longbow, a recurve bow has tips that curve away from the archer when the bow is unstrung. By one technical definition, the difference between recurve and other bows is that the string touches sections of the limbs of recurve bows when the bow is strung. A recurve bow stores more energy than an equivalent straight-limbed bow, giving a greater amount of cast to the arrow. A recurve will permit a shorter bow than the simple bow for a given arrow energy and this form was preferred by archers in environments where long weapons could be cumbersome, such as in brush and forest terrain, or while on horseback. By contrast, the traditional straight longbow tends to "stack"—that is, the required draw force increases more rapidly per unit of draw length as the string is drawn back. Recurved limbs also put greater strain on the materials used to make the bow, and they may make more noise with the shot. Extreme recurve may make the bow unstable when being strung. An unstrung recurve bow can have a confusing shape and many Native American weapons were incorrectly strung backwards and destroyed when attempts were made to shoot them. More information at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recurve_bow

A mechanical device for releasing the string, usually used with compound bows

The Regional Governing Bodies of the sport in Australia, Archery NSW, Archery ACT, Archery Victoria, Archery Society of Tasmania, Archery SA, Archery Society of WA, North Queensland Archery Association and South Queensland Archery Association.

Arrows distributed unevenly over a large portion of the target face and / or ground

The magnified sight used for compound bows.

The protective thread wrapped (bound) around the bowstring at the tips and in the center where the arrow is nocked

A three finger protective device used to protect the fingers from the bowstring instead of a finger tab

The cut out section (usually past center) of the bow handle (riser) which has the arrow rest fitted and allows for clearance for the arrow

The amount of bend (deflection) of an arrow measured in thousands of an inch when it is depressed by a 2 pound weight at its center

Describes a method of categorizing the stiffness of arrow shafts. Static spine is measured using a spine meter and determines the amount of deflection (bend) a shaft has when suspended between 2 points and then has an 880gram weight (approx 2 pound) hung from the center. The measurement is taken in thousandths of an inch. Some arrow shafts like ACE’s use this measurement to identify the shaft size e.g.: ACE 670 indicates that the arrow has a deflection of 670 thousandths of an inch. To standardize these measurements aluminum and carbon shafts are measured using a 29” shaft with the 2 points of contact 28” apart. For wood shafts the 2 contact points are 26” apart.

The fingers of the drawing hand used to hold and release the string

The term used to describe archery equipment

The coloured paper or cloth placed on a target butt and used for scoring

The undesired twisting of the bow and / or bowstring during any part of the shooting process

From the Greek, one who practices archery and is interested in all its aspects, including its history

A bow with a bowstring too long which results in a low brace height and reduced efficiency

The reduction in weight during the draw process of a compound bow

A term used for compound bows to describe the balance between the wheel / cams. Ideally the wheels/cams should rotate (be in time) the same during the draw and most critically at full-draw. If the wheels/cams are out of time at full draw the will cause an up and down motion on the nock of the arrow upon release. Difficulty will also be experienced holding the sight steady when at full draw.

All Easton X10 shafts are made from one size of aluminum core tube. The aluminum tube is identified the same as an aluminum shaft e.g. 906 (9/64” in diameter and .006” in wall thickness). The shaft