[Archers] An interesting observation

Tue Mar 27 14:48:40 PDT 2012

COG, having just made this transition I can honestly say, "it depends.." I
grew up being a competitive rifle and handgun shooter. Was a sniper in the
Govt for some time and competed in 1000 yard high power rifle competitions
for years where 2 thousandths of bullet run-out would mean you miss the
target by 12 feet at 1000 yards. So coming from the long bow world this was
a very natural transition for me. I understand breathing, solid hold and
smooth release with the cross bow. There is also the technology of the cross
bow that aids in accuracy as well, but: it still comes down to the archer
behind that bow and understanding the equipment. I do find overall the cross
bow is a bit easier to master than the longbow but that is not a given and
should not be tossed around as jealousy by any of us. I was guilty of that
years ago when I thought they were simply point and shoot, I can attest they
are not for the most part. All of the dynamics that we deal with in the hand
bow world apply here as well. Now add in the setup of the prod, tightness of
the prod to the bow, the bolts, etc and it is just as complicated as the
bow.

Something as simple as being right handed and my right arm being stronger
than my left was driving me crazy because all of my groups were to the
right, Lord Carl watched me one day and saw that I was pulling the string
off center causing my issue. Here I was blaming the equipment, my bolts, me
being "cock-eyed", etc and it turned out to be something that simple. Having
walked in these shoes now, I have a real respect for the cross bow and have
been really enjoying the learning to shoot it properly along the way!

In Service,

Janyn

From: archers-bounces at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org
[mailto:archers-bounces at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org] On Behalf Of John Atkins
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 9:53 AM
To: 'Jonathas'
Cc: archers at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org
Subject: Re: [Archers] An interesting observation

WOW!  Those are very interesting numbers.

OK, and please remember I'm just interested in the discussion of this not
pointing any fingers nor gathering info for diabolical reasons, what do
these numbers mean?  Some possible answers below:

-          Handbow shooters don't practice as much as crossbow shooters

-          Crossbows are inherently more accurate

-          Crossbow shooters in the higher ranks are more dedicated

-          More of the "better" handbow shooters are also hunters and better
at hitting targets at unknown distances and/or moving

History tells us it took many years for an archer to become highly
proficient with a handbow while it took considerably less time to become
equally proficient with a crossbow.  Is that another possible factor here?

I'm really just interested in the discussion of proficiency here.
Personally I think Atlantia's top crossbow archers are highly dedicated
archers who practice a great deal and "fiddle" with their crossbow and bolts
frequently to constantly improve their performance.  I'm not saying handbow
shooters don't also do this, it just seems Atlantian crossbow folks lead the
pack.

Let the discussion continue,

Cog

PS:  I've got 6 crossbows hanging in my garage.  Can I trade any in for
cookies?  J

From: james.kriebel at gmail.com [mailto:james.kriebel at gmail.com] On Behalf Of
Jonathas
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 9:32 AM
To: John Atkins
Cc: archers at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org
Subject: Re: [Archers] An interesting observation

Pulling Handbow v Crossbow RR ranks from across the Kingdoms using the
Scores Site I see the following numbers of Archers who have a 100+ average
in their Kingdom's RR.

Middle has the most crossbows, Atlantia is the most lopsided in favor of
crossbows.
Aethelmearc has the most handbows, An Tir is the most lopsided in favor of
handbows.

Handbow / Crossbow - Kingdom
10 / 6 - Aethelmearc
5 / 1 - An Tir
1 / 2 - Ansteorra
3 / 0 - Artemisia
2 / 11 - Atlantia
0 / 0 - Glenn Abhann
0 / 0 - Lochac
6 / 14 - Middle
0 / 2 - Outlands
0 / 0 - Trimaris

27 / 36 - Total

On Mon, Mar 26, 2012 at 5:45 PM, John Atkins <cogworks at triad.rr.com> wrote:

I realize this subject has been beat to death many, many times, HOWEVER,
perusing the RR scores list I see that all Grand Bowmen Elites are crossbow
shooters.  There is only 1 archer listed as a Grand Bowman Elite who is NOT
a crossbow shooter, although he is now perverted to the dark side and listed
again as a Grand Bowman Elite with the Devil's instrument.  (Hey!  It's a
friendly joke!)  So there exists a question embedded in this, why is it,
seemingly, only crossbowmen make it to the Grand Bowman Elite
classification?  I realize every single on who is currently listed there on
the list is a highly dedicated archer and practices, practices, practices
and nurtures their crossbow perhaps more than some of their family members.
But the question remains.

Perhaps we could discuss this.  Not looking for any diabolical, devious, or
catastrophic solutions here, just a friendly discussion.

cog

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