How about the real Robin Hood

[VioletDove]

I’d like to think there was.

Errol Flynn was that probably the best Robin Hood. I watch that movie every time it comes on the classic movie channel. I still watch the animated Robin Hood too. 

I tried archery for awhile. When I was growing up my parents couldn’t afford a bow for me so I got my own a few years after I moved out. It was cheap and not very good. My husband had a compound bow and whenever I’d practice he would come out and destroy my targets with his arrows. He bought me a compound bow but my wrist joints hurt so bad I didn’t have enough strength to pull it back. I’ve since given it up.

I dislike compound bows, and they are almost all you can find in most stores now. I call them "bows with training wheels". Sure, they are easier to draw once you get past the "break", but they seem to me to be HARDER to draw up to that point, and that sudden break of tension in the string throws me off every time.

If archery as a target sport is what you are after, as opposed to hunting, you might check into a lighter weight bow. I have 3 fiberglass bows, one of about 20 pounds draw, one of 25 pounds draw that my dad got for me when I was a kid (yeah, I still have it), and one of 45 pounds or so draw - that last one is the only hunting-legal one out of the bunch. The draw weights may not be exact, because over the years I've had to replace the strings, and I make my own strings, so if the string length differs a little, that will affect the draw weight. Longer makes it weaker, shorter makes it stronger.

I've got some Black Locust seasoning out for wooden bowstaves under the shed, and it should be ready to work into bows this summer. I know that in Robin Hood's day yew was the go-to wood for English Longbows, but I just don't have any of it here to work with. I used to make my own bows, and Black Locust was what I usually used, just like most of the Indians that lived in this area. It's tough and durable. and not prone to rot - and a bit more forgiving of shaving errors than woods like Osage orange are. There are Black Locust fence posts here that have been in ground contact over 75 years, and still strong as ever.

.

I have a bow in my storage building that is a 20 pound draw. I may get it back out and get a target set up. Maybe when my husband isn’t here to ruin my fun and my targets.

I’ll bet black locusts make really sturdy bows. You’re right about those fence posts. I’ve seen some around here and they seem to last forever.