[Archers] My take on the Royal Round and hand strapquestion.

[James Kriebel]

Just to add a bit more to the discussion.  As with any equipment there are many different types, with different purposes.  As I spent many winters in Pennsylvania shooting with archers who still use training wheels on their bows and other toys to help them hit the target, I would like
to point out the different purposes.

In one way a hand strap can act like a lanyard on a sword (that is to keep it from flying away) in this respect they are a safety device.  I would frown upon it but not object at all if an archer chooses to use one if his/her style of shooting might allow the bow to jump from their
hand, as there are many ways to maintain a very loose to non existent grip while still maintaining control of your bow.

Another way the hand strap can be used to actually support the bow from your wrist, which allows almost no grip at all, and is an advantage in that the strap will always react in the same way when the arrow is released, unlike your grip and hand.  This style of strap I would strongly
oppose as it was not invented until well after the advent of training wheels.  If hand straps are allowed, the rules needs to be carefully worded to avoid this style of hand strap.  This style of strap is big and modern advantage.


Jonathas Reinisch

Lawrence Castell wrote:

> Maybe what we are saying here is that hand straps should not be an invalid requirement but make it an actual requirement. Everyone will have to wear one for the safety on the line. This really sounds like it should be required with every longbow and recurve. I could live with that.
>
> Ignacio
> H., V., K., & S.
>
> >>> "Andre Detommaso" <detomamd at yahoo.com> 04/30/02 09:35AM >>>
> My Lord,
>
> I appreciate you answer, but I don't think you
> understand the issue here regarding hand straps. The
> bow type or its weight has nothing to do with being
> able to hang on to the bow. A loose hand is a
> requirement for accurate shooting. This increases the
> chance of letting go of the bow. Hence the need for a
> bow strap to avoid possible problems. If you hold on
> to the bow tight enough to guarantee that you will not
> let go of it, then you will not be shooting as well as
> you can, as you will torque the bow and affect arrow
> flight. This is not an opinion, pick up any archery
> book and it will say the same thing. The hand strap is
> a safety device, pure and simple. Banning it makes the
> range less safe. What happens when an archer
> accidentally lets go of the bow and the bow explodes
> or the arrow flies who knows where and injures
> someone? Do you tell them, "excuse me my Lord, you
> need to hold on to your bow"? A little late at that
> point. And don't think it can't happen. I've seen it
> happen to very experienced archers, who correctly
> concentrated on aiming instead of maintaining a tight
> grip on the bow. As I said, why should Atlantia be the
> one and only Kingdom to take the step of banning a
> safety device?
>
> Regards,
> - Lorenzo
> --- David Peno <dpeno at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > All,
> >
> >      As to the question regarding hand straps and RR
> > averages. I feel that hand straps should not be
> > allowed. The SCA archery ranges must be able to
> > accomidate all archers that come to the line. If an
> > archer is unable to maintain his or her grip on the
> > bow they need to be using  a different bow. Yes, I
> > understand that this will not cover every archer
> > that
> > comes to the line, but in the interest of safety we
> > can't take chances. With regards to RR averages, you
> > only need to shoot 3 RRs to get an average. The
> > investment of time is very small and a marshall
> > needs
> > to show he or she understands how RRs are run and
> > scored. They may be asked to run a RR range at some
> > point and they need to know how they are run.
> > Anyway,
> > this is just my 2 cents.
> >
> > John de Lochabre
> >
>
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