Welcome to the July Edition of the Archers Review Magazine
After last months look at the Mary Rose, this month we actually get to the real reason the story is so fantastic from an archery perspective. Steve and I visited the Mary Rose team and we can now reveal what a treasure trove it is for anybody remotely interested in archery.
Geoff gives us the story of the battle of Vernuiel, from that hot bed of longbow activity the 100 years war, while I take a trip to France to shoot in this years European 3D Archery festival in Tours. This months 10 Minutes With is one I'm sure people have been looking out for as we talk to Sid from Border Bows, about the company, his bow building ideas and his archery.
Shot of the month is a nod to all the hard working course layers as we look at one of the shots from Avalon which for me is one of the best shoots in the country. They really know how to put on a fantastic course, which is both challenging and fun but with out feeling the need to destroy half the arrows in your quiver as some shoots can when they try to push the boundaries. We also have a round up of all the latest reviews just in case you missed them.
Longbows of the Mary Rose
I couldn't say for certain that it was the exposure the Mary Rose got that started me off in archery, I think more likely it was the interest I had always had in the romantic notion of a band of English Longbowmen, out numbered, with no hope of victory and only the certain knowledge that soon they would be slaughtered. Instead of running before their foe, or seeking to surrender, they stand steely eyed and grim faced, their trust in God, each other and their mighty warbows. Time and again this scene was played out across Europe and in particular France in the 14th and 15th century.
Place names such as Azincourt, Crecy, Potiers and Verneuil are but a few of the incredible victories won by such characters with the English weapon of mass destruction - The Warbow.
The Mary Rose is significant in many ways, but for the world of archery and most notably longbow archery it is the only physical link to an age when the bow and the men who shot in it were perhaps the mightiest warriors on the battlefield.
For decades or more before the treasures of the Mary Rose were brought up, a debate had raged between scholars, historians archaeologists and archers themselves... Just how powerful were those bows ? and were the men who used them somehow larger than life ?, were they physically bigger and stronger than even the "normal" men of that time who themselves led hard lives filled with hard labour ?
The facts as far as we know them speak for themselves, smaller English armies whose make up was up to 75% Lonbowmen defeated larger armies time and again, it would be ridiculous to say that those victories were not as a direct result of supreme skill with the bow, or that the bow in question wasn't itself an extraordinary development and departure from "normal" bows.
It would seem that now we have physical artefacts in the form of Warbows and arrows (even skeletons of the men themselves) this particular argument must surely now be put to bed, one way or the other.
There are several bows and arrows on display at the Mary Rose museum but as we discovered in last months edition there is space enough for just 6% of the artefacts which is why the trust is raising funds so that more of the finds can be put on public display. Later in the year the official book recording all the treasures and hopefully drawing conclusions as to the size of both the bows and arrows will be published, with input from many of the most respected names from the world of Longbows archery it is hoped (by the waiting audience) that this will be the definitive study.
For the vast majority of us studying an artefact which is safely tucked behind a glass cabinet is not quite the same as the hands on approach the authors have taken.
However, last month Andy and I received an invitation to come down and take a very up close and personal look to draw some conclusions of our own, we were offered access to the 172 bows and over 2303 arrows and 7834 arrow fragments.
The team led by Alex Hildred are exceptional, Alex herself has been with these bows from day 1, she was a diver on the wreck and has seen the development of the whole project, her approach is very measured and with a knowledge that would put most "experts" to shame she is the ideal companion for us to discover some of these treasures.
I am Longbow through and through, the fact that I shoot all manner of bows takes nothing from the fact that it was the Longbow which inspired my initial interest in archery and to stand with a bow in my hand that is over 400 years old and was perhaps last strung on the deck of the Mary Rose with the intention of being used for it's only purpose... as a weapon of war... is something quite awe inspiring and not a little humbling.
The level of preservation really deserves a mention at this point, I have bows that look in worse condition than many of the Mary Rose warbows, so good in fact is the condition of the one in my hand that I feel as if it could be strung and shot right now. The bows I am looking at and touching are nothing like the Victorian target bows that most of us shoot today. These bows are long, longer in fact than I had expected, most are over 6'6" and many approaching what appears to be 7 foot - I am 6 foot tall and although many bows are much taller than I am, there are others that are just 6 foot in length. The shape too is quite menacing, no slender limbs tapering to an elegant nock, these bows are pretty chunky all the way to almost the tips, where they taper to accept a side nock, the lighter cap denotes where the tip was for so long protected by the horn which has since disintegrated, small grooves show where the side nock was notched into the wood through the horn. These warbows were designed to bend through the handle and come full compass, indeed the phrase "shooting in the longbow" is not meant to imply that you would get inside it, that would be a recipe for a very uncomfortable day out, no, the phrase means that from the side profile you would "look" like you were inside it, as the top limb would be above your head and the lower limb some where around your shins, thus utilising every once of power the bow could deliver.
What is a surprise is the variety of bows, I had expected for some reason that they would have been of a uniform size, having made bows myself I know that a stave will deliver only what it can in terms of bow and there is no doubt that the skilled bowyers of the time knew their craft. The surprise was that there should be such an obvious difference in draw weight from one to the next, regardless of what weights you believed them to be it was clear that some were much heavier than others. The other remarkable thing was that a majority of the bows exhibit a "reflex" in the handle, whether natural in the grain of the wood or designed in during production by the use of heat - we don't know. The bows are brought to vivid life when you notice the makers marks on the center sections of many bows - chevrons and dashes can be clearly identified.
I am accustomed to Yew bows and own several, the bows I own feel bulky for the weight, first sight of them would make you think they drew at least 10 to 20# more than they actually do.
My initial reaction was that the bows didn't look as if they would be more than 120-130# in draw, and that was the biggest, it seemed that there were plenty sub 100# bows and even some as low as 80-ish#. Any archaeologist or scientist needs objectivity and patience, above all patience and there I was making assumptions on the basis of my first few moments with the real Warbows.
A huge step back was required, as much to recover from the sheer wonder of actually holding a "real" bow as from the surprise of them not being as I had expected. To be honest I am not sure what i expected, I have seen plenty of heavy weight bows and I think I expected them to be somehow larger.
Even the biggest bows that I have shot always felt that they were not giving the sort of power that they promised, looking 
at these Warbows, the differences are apparent, these bows were made to do one job - kill. The bowyers had hundreds of years of knowledge to draw upon, so if the bows don't look like what I expected then that says more about my knowledge of warbows than of the skill of the makers.
Whilst taking my step back, I can now take a closer look at the bow wood, of exceptional quality and mostly very clean, although there are a some bows with pins the majority show straight clear grain, not all are super close grain but this is wood the like of which we are not likely to see again. Having said that there is a supply of high altitude yew coming in and being made into Warbows, although I have not shot one, these too exhibit the same characteristic of not being as bulky as much of the "ordinary" yew tends to be. Those that have shot them claim less wood is needed to produce more powerful bows - so the bows should not necessarily be judged by their girth. The design also will influence both the draw weight and cast and these bows being made a little thicker through their length and bending full compass will of course achieve greater cast.
With this in mind a second look reveals that these bows are more than they might seem to an eager and impatient eye, certainly there are many of considerable weight here, what 400 years underwater may have done in terms of shrinkage and the salvaging process may too have altered the appearance. The closer I look in to the detail of the bows, the size the shape, the "feel" and as I recall conversations I have had in the past with those who know more about wood than I do, I start to get the feeling that these bows are indeed much heavier than I had thought.
The arrows too gave pause for thought, with the draw lengths ranging from 28" to 30" ( the ratio was more in the 30" length by a factor of about 4.5 : 1)
With Poplar the most prolific arrow wood at 80%, Birch and Alder representing 20% and others being Willow, Hornbeam, Elder, Hawthorne, Walnut and Ash. Given the huge quantities of arrows required where ever Longbows were to be employed it was also interesting to note the time and effort put in to arrows - most of the arrows were "bob-tailed" ( tapered from point to nock), the next most popular were "parallel", then "barrelled" and finally even "breasted" ( tapered from nock to point and described by Ascham as " fit for him as shooteth right afore him" - IE to be used at point blank range). Of course they would know the dynamic efficiencies of tapered shafts, but to be using them on a mass scale when a parallel shaft would have been very much easier to produce tells us something of the regard in which the bow was held as a weapon. Imagine putting horn inserts in to a million arrows. Surely we must think again about the bow as just a weapon used for massed artillery effect and see also that if the technology of arrow making is pushed to the limit then so also must the bow making skills and technology... why then stop even there, were not the archers too the final link in this chain of performance enhancement. In order for all this sophistication in weaponry to be truly effective the operator himself, the archer, absolutely must have been crucial in making the Warbow the battle winning weapon it so obviously was.
We are fortunate right now to be in something of a renaissance as far as Warbows are concerned, with some well known archers able to shoot weights that most thought inconceivable some years ago, I myself am no Heracles but have been known to shoot 120#, there are many folk out there shooting 135# plus and a considerable number shooting up to 150# and beyond. It should be no surprise that the men of the Mary Rose period would be able to do at the very least the same and probably even more.
There are some great bowyers out there now producing bows to the specifications of the bows they have measured at the Mary Rose Trust and by using wood as close in quality ( high altitude Italian yew) as they can get they are coming up with very heavy bows. By producing these bows and by shooting them too you would think that the draw weight conundrum is now an open and shut case. There are however still folk out there who just won't have it.
Having seen and touched the bows I have learned a great deal, not least of which is that the folks who are responsible for these items bear a colossal weight on their shoulders, they know how important it is to be sure of facts before making rash statements, by engaging experts and listening to their opinions, even when those opinions are at odds they try to bring together all the information to make a judgement. I thought I might envy their jobs but in fact I don't - what I am sure of is that in Alex Hildred we have a great custodian in whom we can place these prized and unique Warbows.
As regards my romantic notion of heroic warriors, standing with their bows braced for the enemy's charge..... having seen and handled the warbow, I have an even more profound respect for the men who wielded it - it would be hard to overplay the weapon which more than perhaps any other shaped the world we live in today.
Click here to see the full range of photos we took on the day.
The Mary Rose Trust needs you ! if you shoot a bow then this collection is part of your heritage and we should all play a part in making sure that it is available for everyone to see. The Trust has several ways in which you can help raise funds for the new museum where much more of it can be put on view. One of the most exciting is the Trust’s Mary Rose 500 public appeal, an important part of the final funding drive towards the £35 million needed to complete this historic project, it is seeking 500 individuals, schools, businesses and organisations to symbolically become the ‘new crew’ of the Tudor warship. Each new crew member is asked to raise £500 towards the Mary Rose 500 appeal’s £250,000 target. Why not hold a shoot or special event, you will find all the forms and loads of help on how to join the Mary Rose’s ‘new crew’ or for further information by visiting www.maryrose500.org
The Battle of Vernuiel
The harvest was nearly white.
France was prostrate, the land ravaged and denuded, bled of her children, bled of her wealth. Illustrious captains dead, defeated, captured, her armies destroyed and dispersed, her people in despair, hope dying, vitality seeping away in a war, now, almost one hundred years old. Her arrogant attacker, victories, their blood lust, came upon her once again. Now as the final battle for her soul approached she was all but helpless against this, her most dangerous foe.
One last effort against the curs(e)d Saxon, Bauge* had given her a momentary breathing space, nothing more. Just time to raise her last army, to bring in her allies, the Scots, the lombardians, the remains of her nobility, the remains of France.
At dawn on the 17th August 1424 with the Oriflamme raised the French and their allies marched out of the walled city of Vernuiel and onto the plain that lay before them. In their courage, lay the fate of France. On the city walls, the population watched in silence as the great host past through the North gate.
People in the city began to point, not at the French, but at movement 4 miles to the North, towards the forest of Piseux.
The 'Goddamns'*were here!
Moving like lean grey wolves, the English moved out of the forest on that, hot August morning and made straight for the French army, forming up before them, little more than a league distant. To their left the towers and walls of Vernuiel stood out blue and indistinct against an azure sky.
The English battles maneuvered into the 'Agincourt' formation. My Lord Bedford ( Thomas Lancaster ), noting the ground much favouring cavalry put this tried and tested formation into practice, placing 4000 of his archers on the left, 4000 to his right and 1800 men at arms in the centre two ranks deep. The archers were to be protected by the by now usual hedgehog of stakes cut from the forest bivouac.
The French centre under Armalle consisted of 4000 men at arms, 10,000 Scots men at arms and archers under Archibold Douglas,( our old friend from Homildon hill ) 4000 cavalry on the right, 2000 French plus 2000 lombardian mecenaries' with the much vaunted armour, rumoured to be impervious to the sheaf arrow. Confidence mixed with anxiety permeated the schizophrenic Frenchmen, only the Scots, confident as usual, in their own prowess and numbers, proud, issued no quarter.......none was forthcoming.
Bedford and Salisbury advanced to within bow shot of the French host at around 4 of the clock. The archers of his left division proceeded to hammer in their stakes. Being a hot summer, the ground had baked hard, much difficulty was encountered in the placement of their hedgehog. Observing this the French cavalry seized their chance and charged the English bowmen, running down those too slow to move into the protection of the men at arms. With tremendous esprit de corps the archers rallied and merged with the centre of Bedfords army. The cavalry swept through the now none existent left wing, instead of reforming and charging the archers again, carried on to the baggage train, which lay 1/4 mile away. Unknown to them, ( the French ) it was guarded by 2000 archers of the rear guard, who, seeing the battle before them, itched to be involved, they were about to get the itch scratched.
2000 French cavalry charged toward the rear guard, were met by archers who had had time to drive in their stakes, were dreadfully mauled, veered off the battlefield and were seen no more. Meanwhile the lombardian cavalry charged toward the left of the English but the archers that had re formed in with the centre battle, shot them away before they could close. Seeing easier pickings in the baggage, like the French horse before them, veered away and made straight for it.
Aware of and perhaps despite the Italian claim that they could withstand the sheaf, the archers of the rear guard awaited the Italian charge with interested confidence. I say this because I have in my possession a description of the battle from one of my ancestors who fought for my Lord Salisbury and who was in the rear party.
His name was William de France and this is his transcript;
"Ah tell thee summat for nowt. When old Tom ( Bedford ) telt us to stay with the baggage, there were a reet uprore. Fuggin ell! Wee all said, an all was reet strowly. But Old Tom got his hangin face on so we shut up quick. Watch my back e said, so we did. We waited a long time afore owt happend, saw the lads on the left get a bit dusted but they managed to get sorted, the Frenchy horse just poked at em! Then they came for us, surprised when they saw us, but we just shot em off the field, no idea where they went. Then it were the Lombards, they came at us at a fast old lick like. Not had not time to collect our shafts that Jonny Crapaud had copped, but we still had plenty. Some of the Craps horses were still down an thrashin about which made it difficult for the Lombards to maintain the pace, an that broke things up a bit, but were makin a better fist of it than the Frenchies. We started to gaul them at around the 400 pace mark, a few flowers* peeled off but that were all. So then we gave em the chisels* at 300. A lot did bounce off, an still they come on, but slower now. Shot at a steady six up to that point, but then upped the rate to all out when it was down to 200, which was what you could manage. When you see all those big horses coming at you, the 'Gents' wanting to kill you, you manage, a lot! When they got closer, around 150 they started to tumble, shafts cutting em down, armour? Not keeping anything out. Shafted them right good an proper I can tell you. Well after that little kiss they sheered off an went away, I know not where!
The centenaurs an the ventenaurs got us all together because we could see our lads hard pressed agin the Schottiss. So we legged it up to our Lord Salisbury, tipped our hats as we passed, drew our falchions an speared straight into the left of the hellions. Then it was a reet hacking game I can tell you, heads, arms, legs flying all over the place, more blood spurting than a goose fair." IBID
Bedford, having badly beaten the main French body under Armalle, forcing it to flee in panic, to the utter dismay of the watching citizenry, back across the moat and into the city. The brave Armalle, desperately trying to rally his men was drowned in the moat, sinking like a tyre iron in a swimming pool.
Of that great army of France only the Scots were left. Bedford, peeling of from the pursuit of the main body came at the Scots from their right as they faced and were fixed by Salisbury. With the rear guard archers attacking the Scots on their left, the trap was complete. With the issue by themselves under the Oriflamme, of no quarter, the Lions of the North received none.
The losses were staggering, of the 18,000 French, Lombards and Scots who saw the sun rise, only 4000 saw the sun go down.
As for ourselves, we lost 1600 men, bad day for us
France called it the second Agincourt. They were right. It was the culmination of 1066.When Norman and Anglo Saxon combined their fates and for good, or ill attacked the 'Vasty fields of France' *
All honour was now theirs
Until that loony French tart from Domremy came along and spoilt everything.........
* Goddamns...English soldiers always swearing this word. French then called them this as an example of their devilishness and lack of respect for God.
* Bauge...battle the English lost.
* Flower..Frightened
* Chisels..Hardened bodkin points
* William Shakespeare.....Henry V
* Loony French tart..........Guess!
European 3D Archery Festival 2010
For most people involved in a hobby, especially when coming in to them as an adult, the introduction is rather sedate. A friend or work colleague is the usual route in to many pastimes and it often takes a while before their interest peaks and they look for more serious endeavours in their chosen field. Not so for me as my route in to the elite competition of archery was both swift and a minor disaster. I had done archery a number of times, first via the scouting association, then a 6 week course in the summer and then at a small family run local club, where the social aspect was more important than actually teaching anybody to shoot to any decent level (although I must add things were always very safe).
Then I met Steve via his excellent "Robin Hood Events" format, an great way for people to try archery without the commitment in both time and money. A couple of visits to Robin Hood Events and my brother in law Martin and I were hooked, he a seasoned target archer and I a mere novice. The hospitality, friendliness and general inclusiveness of Robin Hood Events and Steve meant that we were made very welcome and this led on to an invite to join Steve and a few friends to a trip to France for the first European 3D Archery Festival, held in Tours in central France. So totally unprepared Martin and I set off on a mammoth trip to France to shoot against some of the best archers from across Europe, which of course is where things took a turn for the worse. Having never shot field before we were thrown in at the deep end, not only having to cope with the course, the extreme heat (it was the height of summer in central France) and the language barrier, I had hardly any real archery experience and it showed. The horrors of the weekend shall be kept for another day but I came dead last, not just in my class, not just the men, but dead last out of everybody. To be fair I was close to one chap but he had given up after lunch so there was no crumb of comfort to cling to there.
From there things could have gone one of two ways, I could have given up there and then, walked away at least in the knowledge I had tried or I could carry on, use the experience as a source of inspiration. The fact I am here today writing this should give an indication of which path I took, coming last was a humiliation which drove me on, for the next year I read everything I could about archery, I listened and learned all I could from anybody who had anything to say and I worked, shot until my fingers bled, shot until I could shoot no more, I was never coming last again. To say that trip to France was influential is an understatement, it left an indelible mark on my soul, drove me on to be the archer I am today and the yearly trip to France has been the highlight of my archery calendar ever since.
This year saw the 4th festival, again held in Tours as it has been since the start. It takes place in the grounds of the Château Cande, which is a wonderful location for a shoot. The festival is organised by CAVL Montlouis an archery club based in the area and affiliated to the FFTA, the French governing body of archery. There are a number of archery organisations around the world but this is under the umbrella of FITA which is normally associated more with target archery. But the festival is no small club shoot, the organisation is fantastic and this year there were close to 500 archers attending. My wife (Wendy) and I set off France early on Thursday and drove the 450 miles via the Channel tunnel, Friday was spent resting before registration opened in the evening which was followed by a quick practice.
The organisation as I mentioned is second to none, with an area set aside to gather before setting off to the targets. Small flags denote your course and target number and there is a quick safety briefing and recap of the rules under which we will be shooting. This year we were shooting under the French rules, 2 arrows shot at each target scoring 5 for a hit, 8 for a kill, 10 for the inner kill and 10+ for the pro ring in the very middle. I was on the blue course, peg 38 with my companions for the day, Alain, Patrick who I had shot with in previous years, Daniel and a young nervous looking Spanish chap Yeray. I speak a small amount of French but generally understand whats' going on but it can be a little difficult when the conversation turns to archery as your basic school level French doesn't extend to the in's and out's of archery terminology. In previous years I had been lucky enough to have been on a peg with at least one English speaker, Christophe the first year, the awesome Spanish champion Raul Ibanez the second year and Jacqueline last year, however this year nobody spoke English. But rather than be a problem I think we all enjoyed the experience of trying to communicate with each other in our small snippets, of course with the added fun of also having Yeray who spoke only Spanish, I do know some spanish but it only extends to please and thank yous and something about losing my car keys.
Our first target was a small dragon which the French lads insisted on calling a Pokemon, in previous years I had terrible starts so it was great to see both arrows find the target, this continued on two small skunks and then a bedded deer. We then came to our first longer target, a huge Elk, the style shot in France is all about the inner kills and the longest targets are 30 meters away maximum. For me this was bread and butter, I was up first and banged two right in the kill to a round of applause which was nice. This is where you see the difference between the various archery styles and skills as for the first time the rest of the group were missing the target. It was 3 more targets before I missed, on a polar bear down hill, I wasn't a mile away but a miss all the same, this is where the French scoring is different to the UK, a miss is brutally punished and too many of those and you are well off the pace quickly. I was back on the traget for the next few and then a fantastic double 10 on a deer, two arrows next to each other within an inch. One of the great things about this shoot is the quality of the targets, and our next was a really special one, the area is wonderful and we were in the lake section, the target was a large great white shark coming out of the water. The other great thing about France is that you can use binoculars and ever target has a picture at the peg detailing the kill and inner kill areas, this means you really can shoot for the 10 each time even if you have never seen the target before.
The courses are split in to two loops and we were soon at the end of the first loop and it was time for lunch, if there is one thing the French do well it's lunch so we headed back to the main area to enjoy some good food and a rest as the heat was extreme. This is central France in the height of summer and while it gets hot in the UK you can usually find some shelter in amongst the trees, yet hear the heat never gave you a moments peace.
Once lunch was done with we reassembled in our groups and were once again led out. We were in the higher part of the grounds this time and it was some considerable walk to the targets. Once we had arrived we took a quick breather and it was back on with the archery. I was shooting well, possibly as well as I have ever shot in France and by this time the scores within the group were starting to fragment, Alain led the way closely followed by Yeray and myself, with the others a small way behind. Our last few targets for the day were out in the open with the sun on our backs, we had kept hydrated during the day and kept our strength up and we all finished strongly. A long walk back followed and we went over the score cards to check and sign them. I had come in with 462, a best ever score for me in France and while it was never going to trouble the leaders was very respectable. We hadn't got off the course until gone 7pm and we were ready for some food and then off to bed to recover ready for the next day.
The following morning we travelled to the shoot to see how we had done, the top 8 archers in each class go on to contest the final while the rest are split in to groups of similar ability to shoot off for those extra one or two places and to win back their entrance fee. I had come in 23 on the first day and was in the third tier group for archers places 20 - 25, I had the pleasure of Yeray's company again as he had just beaten me on the first day, Bruno another archer I had shot with previously, Patrick and Jordi another Spanish archer. We had the very good fortune that Jordi was tri-lingual and spoke both French and English which meant that communication between all of us was much less effort than the day before and Yeray had the benefit of shooting with somebody from his own country. Having shot the blue course on the first day we swapped to the red course, however today we would only shoot half the course, on the 21-40 target loop. Also to speed things up we were shooting just the one arrow rather than the two from the previous day, although in practice this made very little difference in the time it took to shoot, but it did make for a less physical day in yet more high temperatures.
One great thing about this format is that the people you are shooting with are all very similar to you in ability. It's clear to see that the odd person has shot exceptionally well the day before and possibly somebody else has shot lower than their usual potential, but you are very much on a level and the scores remain very tight for the whole day. I had another very good day, missing just the once and came in with 120, which again was one of my best days. Once we had finished it was back to the main area close to the Château, the top groups of 8 had now been reduced to 4 and the final was taking place in the shadows of the Château, this is where this shoot sets itself apart, while the targets we had been shooting for the two days had been great the ones reserved for the final are something special, a full size giraffe, a rhino and various other exotic animals. The targets are a sight to behold, as is the archery on display as some of the best archers in Europe were in attendance. Unfortunately we had a long journey back and a train to catch so left before the medals were awarded.
This is the best shoot I have ever been to, the shoot itself is excellent, the organisation top class and the hospitality, friendliness and comradeship of the other archers second to none. If you only do one shoot a year make sure it is this one.
Shot of the Month
Normally in shot of the month we feature the archers, but this month we have a small nod to all those course layers who spent a huge amount of effort setting up a course for us to shoot. This shot was at Avalon on an excellent course. The bear was a good 60 yards away across a small valley, the trees forming a great looking window.
Not happy with one difficult bear to shoot, this little cheeky one also made an appearance.
10 Minutes With...
It's no secret that Border make some of the finest bows in the world, but the bows are not magic'ed ( I know it's not a word .. point is, it should be) out of thin air. So this month we take a quick peek behind the brand and spend 10 minutes with Sid Snr one of the driving forces who has made Brorder Bows one of the most lusted after makes.
1. How long have you been involved in Archery and how did you get started?
I started in 1973 or 74 shooting Bowhunter IFAA shot some of the highest scores in the mid to late 1970's in the World at that time and held 6 course records in Scotland. Before archery my sport was Rugby but a promotion when I was 23 (I had been a design engineer with a Forklift company) had me travelling Africa supporting dealers on the technical side of the product and the trips were 5 weeks away and no way to keep match fit. I was also just married and archery was something that Ann and I could do together when I was home.
2. When did you make your first bow and what was the result?
The first bow I ever made was a crossbow and that was before I got involved in archery. The bow was made but I could not find a string material that would not stretch. At that time I knew nothing of archery. However my search for string material led me to a colleague that worked at the other end of the factory that I worked in and I was introduced to a Quicks catalogue. This guy was an archer and it coincided with the need to find a sport other than running 400 meters during the Summer and Rugby during the winter and he taught both Ann and I to shoot. I think I made my first TD recurve round about 1974/75. After that I read Howard Hill and then followed many years of making longbows (AFB in the UK) of every conceivable shape no two the same searching for recurve performance.
3. What's the one tool in your workshop which you couldn't do without?
Our team of bowyers who make the bows and follow our processes with diligence. The mechanical tools we need all of them. "Teamwork and the recognition of skills and contribution." For example we have a guy with a degree in Chemistry handling cores and the bow weight calculations. Dave has been making Border bows for 40 years!
4. What do you think the next big innovation in bow building will be ?
I don't think you get dramatic breakthroughs in reality that is like waiting for the lottery to come it. It's all about research and development it is progressive hard work and constant that is what brings about change. There is nothing new in trad bow design what is new is that modern materials give you the chance to pass some of the Speed/stability barriers that were there before. It is the reason that we no longer make bows with Glass Fibre. Carbon and other composites are many times more expensive than glass but the performance can be worth 10 lbs in bow weight. In other words a 40lbs bow can perform like a 50lbs and be twice as stable and forgiving to shoot.
6. What is it about your bows or the way you make bows that sets you apart from other bowyers ?
I'm one of 12 people here at Border and so we are not one person. What you get from Border is a combined effort. I think what sets us a part is that we try harder, we push the limits on design on geometry and materials and we push our production processes in order to get these different and difficult elements to come together in a product. We push ourselves on our levels of support after the product has left our workshop and is in the field. For example we offer a 28 day return policy irrespective of the level of custom, Irrespective if the archery tried before he bought or just mail order. We offer this Worldwide! This gives archers a chance not to be stuck with something they don't want after having bought it. It also means that we are held to account for the information that we have given during the buying process. Some companies sell and promote their products with very exaggerated claims on performance etc this 28 day returns policy prevents us from doing that as the product can be returned if it does not live up to expectation. We leave ourselves no where to hide. There are other who mimic our technology levels but none have the freedom of design and process that we have. For example we take steel stock, raw carbon material in diverse and multiple specification not just weave pattern and timber and turn them into our own product all in house. We have full control over every element of production and design. We have computer models that mimic bow performance and can analyse not only speed in each element of the shooting system limb, string, arrows and the weight distribution. We have stress analyses and radius of curvature analysis that enables us to time the roll-over of the recurves. We can vary the torsional stiffness of recurve limbs and as a result we have very different and yet complex bow facings for recurved products or longbows. We have our own CNC milling and turning capability. Our Trad bows are all made by hand with the exception of the metal work that they employ. What we have is a team of people the vast majority of whom are dedicated to the cause of making the very best that we can.
7. Do you still have time to shoot ?
Very much so my shooting is very much a part of me as an individual. I'm not a competitions shooter. Winning tournaments is not vital for me and never has been but being the best is. Well of course there are always some that are better. I have always been competitive very competitive however being 60 now I have come to realise that being the best is transitory and in the vast majority of cases in whatever sports related activity is short lived. How many people do you talk to refer to their European or National victory in 1982 or some other remote date 2004 for example with few further victories. To win a tournament does not in itself make you the best only that others did not turn up on the day or did not shoot to their very best on the day. If the number and quality of the turnout is low then taking first has limited merit.
Having said that winning a high level tournament where a strong turn out has occurred is like having a degree in some study or other indicates the level of competence achieved at one time or another and an historic statement in its self. At Border we have 6 that shoot Ann took 5 NFAS Scottish champ titles four consecutively. Dave Johnston took a European barebow in his time and the other Sid came second in an NFAS champs and 1st at the Scots NFAS all under 18's in his time. Our Field course here we hold monthly shoots and one full International shoot per year. We have over 80 3D targets in 20 acres of woodland and a resident club of just under 50 archers many living over 2 hours drive away.
8. What’s the best shot you ever made ?
Every one that went straight!
9. How many bows do you make a year ?
Between 900 and 1400 depending on many factors. In the recent past that was restricted by the availability of people who actually want to work and have enough pride in themselves to be concerned about the quality of their work. This is also related to the current employment laws that make it very difficult to have a full crew in at any point in time. It makes accurate delivery dates a nightmare as one man down can shrink production by 30% or more. Over 70% of what we make is export mainly Europe but sales into the USA and Canada and beyond and our target ILF limbs sales have mushroomed into Hawaii, Singapore Brazil we now have bows in Russia.
10. What’s the spec on your personal bow of the moment ALSO…….What’s the spec on the arrows you shoot ?. Wood- (POC, Sitka, Pine, other ?)/Carbon/Ally, total weight, fletch size, point weight… etc the full spec.
I make lots of changes to my kit I need to trial as much as I can. I get many emails asking advice Flight, barebow marked distance field, unmarked and 3D. On the other end we have bowhunting seriously big game to small game, carbon arrows with extreme FOC through alloys to wood, Sitka, Pine, HEX, POC etc. Spine questions, tune issue, stabilisers and string walking. The full gambit really and so I need to research each out in order to be in a position to advise. Luckily I have a vast number of talented Border bow users I can tap into. The overall situation is that I need to try and that makes change inevitable. I had been shooting a 60" Ultra 60lbs at 28.75" and heavy high FOC carbon arrows in the 580 grains 100 grain brass inserts and 150 grain points combined with a 6 arrow bow quiver. We have just produced our first flatbow (modern longbow) called the Hawk that is aimed at the North American market 60" to 66" in length it is very stable and the fastest longbow that we have ever made. It is legal in FITA longbow but illegal in NFAS and IFAA having reflexed outer limb sections when at brace height. I'm having one of those 62" and 62lbs at my draw length and I fancy some heavy Douglas Fir shafts for it. In NFAS I'll happily compete in the Hunting tackle section as it will be much faster than most recurves and only a few fps slower than our HEX5 limbs. Our other longbows are all competition legal and designed to operate longer for a shorter draw. The Hawk is designed for high stable performance in shorter overall bow lengths to drawlengths.
New Reviews
After a rush of bow reviews in the last few months this month saw a steady stream of items up for review. We now have a number of items waiting to be reviewed so make sure you keep checking back to get all the latest info on what's hot in the archery world. We also have a regular news feed on the home page letting you know what's in the pipeline, so keep an eye on that for a sneak preview of what's just around the corner.
Top Hat Points
A point is just a point.. right ? not any more.. read this review and check out what we thought of these Geman manufactured points, designed to be so much more than the bit you stick on the front of an arrow
Click Here to Read the Review...Little John Matched Arrows
Last month we tested some arrows by Little John Arrows, they were great but were an assortment of different arrows used to demonstrate Johns skills as a fletcher. This month we finally got our hands on a set of matched arrows, this is where the true magic is and we gave them a good test to see how they performed.Click Here to Read the Review...
Karrimor Whirlwind Low Weatherite Boots
With summer here and hopefully some better weather you don't want to lugging about a great pair of ankle high fully waterproof hiking boots. We take a look at an alternative in the form of the Karrimor Whirlwind.Click Here to Read the Review...
Roger Henrie Wing Shooter
No doubt like us you have shot the middle out of all your targets, your form is great and you don't miss. What you need now is to step up to the next level which is arial targets, what better way to get them up there than the Roger Henrie Wing Shooter.Click Here to Read the Review...
Eros Archery Target bt Target Tech
We reviewed the Atlas target in May and it is a fantastic target to say the least, however if your budget doesn't streatch that far then Target Tech have an alternative. We have been giving these a good test for the last 3 months which we think is long enough to make sure they were as great as their big brother.
Click Here to Read the Review...
Archers Review is dedicated to carrying on the great tradition of sharing archery knowledge, in many ways we are still re-discovering the skills of our forefathers, unlike just about any other competitive sport, in archery the learning never stops, as we grow as archers the enjoyment increases, so we invite you to share with us all the skills, tips and hints that will help us all to be the best archer we can be.
If you have something to add feel free to mail in your articles, it can be on any aspect of archery from training to bow set up, a quick hunting tip or a specific archery question you would like to know the answer to, someone somewhere will have an answer for you.
MAGAZINE
In this months Magazine
Longbows of the Mary Rose
Vernuiel 17th August 1424
European 3D Archery Festival
Shot of the Month
10 minutes with...
New Reviews
Click the links to jump to any part of the magazine
