Native American Weapons

People have been using the bow and arrow for thousands of years. The origin of the weapon is unsure, but many believe they originated in South Africa. In North America, the Native Americans took advantage of this weapon for both defense and also as a hunting weapon. The bow has advanced significantly since the Native Americans used it. The bow has always been a crucial piece of weaponry, and now with technological advancements we can accurately shoot an arrow up to 200 yards. Although we have become less dependent on the bow and arrow for survival, but it is still widely used in hunting and competition. The three types of bows are recurve, compound, and crossbow. The first bow that was invented was the recurve bow. Recurve bows are the oldest

Recurve bows are the hardest bows to shoot purely because they have no user assists, user assists include anything that would help the shooter. An example of a user assist is a string “let off”. The string let off is a feature that allows the archer to hold the string back for long periods of time. There is no string let off when the archer pulls the string back, the archer has to hold it back until he or she decides to fire. Traditionally recurve bows have limbs that curve away from the archer when the string is detached and putting the string on pulls on the limbs, which is where the energy is stored. To shoot a recurve bow, the shooter must nock an arrow onto the string, nocking the arrow is attaching it to the string with a clip that is on the end of the arrow, allowing it to snap on to the string. After the arrow is nocked, the shooter must rest it on a stationary arrow rest, usually the top of the grip. The grip of the bow was

The first compound bow was patented in the late 1960’s, which was the first step in the evolution of archery. The basics of a compound bow is a recurve with shorter limbs and a pulley system at each end. A compound bow generally consists of two cables that pull on each end of the bow, and a string in which the arrow is nocked and from which it is fired. The archer pulls the main string, the main string then pulls the cables, and the cables pull the two opposite limbs towards each other. Compound bows can produce much more power than the recurve because the limbs can hold much more energy. As a result the bow can accurately shoot at around 40 yards. The compound bow is much easier to shoot. This type of bow comes standard with the let off feature, which basically allows the archer to hold the string back much longer. When drawn back to about 95%, there is a let off the archer would feel, and the weight he or she is holding is just a fraction of the overall draw weight. The draw weight of the bow may be 60 pounds, but the archer may only be holding roughly 30 pounds. The device that allows this to happen is the cam, the cam is half circular with a sharp oval on the other side, so when the string reaches the oval portion, it holds at that point with less energy required. This feature reduces fatigue when shooting and makes it an ideal choice for hunters. Compound bows are the