Don’t you know, archery is all about skill? I guess you know that. Archery is one of the oldest games in the world, and archers are practicing it for centuries. So, I think it’s not surprising to see archery as one of the leading sports of the Olympics. In Olympic 2016, 206 countries participate in the Olympics, and most of them send their archers to compete in the event. But if you are planning to participate in the Olympic archery, then initially you will require a suitable Olympic archery bow.
What type of bow is used in Olympic archery?
There are various types of bows available nowadays, but the Olympic archery association only allows recurve bows. Recurve bows are simple, and archers are using them for centuries. Besides, it is simple and much more accurate than other types of bows.
Archery is an ancient game, so no doubt it must be included in the Olympic Games. But there is something to notice closely about the Olympic archery. You most probably can see that every archer’s bow looks the same if you have watched the Olympics.
Why Onlyrecurve bow?
Some may ask, why the compound bow is not used in the Olympics? Well, there are a couple of reasons behind it. So, let’s see what are those.
The Olympic archery association tries its best to ensure a level playing field. Compound bows mostly popular among the archers of Europe and North and Central America. But Asia, Australian, and African archers still prefer the traditional recurve bow for archery. That’s why, to ensure a level playing field, the Olympic association only allows the recurve bow for Olympic archery.
Olympic archery compound bows are overpowered. They are more suitable for hunting, as they have to hunt down a movable target. But recurve bows are also strong, and some recurve bows have more than 70 pounds draw weight.
Olympic archery bow parts
A recurve bow is manufactured from a couple of parts and all of them are important. In modern archery, archers also prefer some additional accessories which definitely improve their accuracy.
Riser and Limbs
These two parts are the backbone of an Olympic recurve archery bow. The riser is mostly made of wood and responsible for the grip and accuracy of the bow. A good riser always gives a better performance than the average quality risers.
Limbs generate the power to lunch the bows. The Olympic archery bow draws weight depends on limbs. Most of the archers prefer mid-range draw weights for their bow. Higher draw weight bows are challenging to achieve pinpoint accuracy. Limbs could be made of fiberglass, aluminum, or some other materials.
Some archers prefer takedown bows to customize draw weights and other stuff. But Olympic archery bow setup is quite easy, and it doesn’t require more than a minute to assemble the bow.
Bow weight is also an important factor, and for an archer. The Olympic archers mostly prefer lightweight bows because these are much easier to operate. But the Olympic archery bow weight mainly depends on these two parts.
Stabilizer
The purpose of the stabilizer is to stabilize the bow. It is a long metal stainless steel rod that absorbs most of the vibration of the bow. It also put some additional weight on the bow, so after releasing the arrow, it equalizes the weight of the bow. So, the archers don’t have to worry about anything, and they can focus on their aim. Some archers even use more than one stabilizer.
Bow sight
Archery is indeed all about skill, and in general level practicing, some archers avoid bow sight. But when you are up for the Olympics, you should consider all the options, which will improve your aim. There are different types of Olympic archery bow sights. It is mostly a circular piece of metal or plastic with internal instruments that allow the archer to line up the shot. Most of the archers prefer the smaller size sight that is set on the frame just above the riser, parallel to the archer’s head.
String silencers
Sometimes archers find it annoying the bow sound and vibration. That’s why to reduce them; they use string silencers. But most of the time, it depends on the preference of the archer.
There is a significant fact behind it. Olympic game organizers have restricted other archery bows because every component comes from different countries. But for the same justice, everyone should get the same opportunity. So, that’s mean only one type of bow you can use for Olympic archery. And that is “Recurve bows.”
Bow String
There are different lengths and materials of bowstring available in the market. Thick strings give higher poundages, but these are also a bit slower than the regular string. All the archers use nocking points in their string. It gives them better accuracy and more control over the arrow.
There are also different colors of bowstring available. But the professional archers prefer the white or other light color strings. Because in the hot summer, the dark color string reflects, which distracts the archers.
Best Olympic Archery Bow
As I have mentioned earlier, most of the archers prefer takedown bows for their archers. Because, in the case of takedown bows, they can easily customize them according to their choice. But the Hoyt Prodigy RX and the Hoyt GMX riser and the most popular choice among the archer.
According to the sources, 36% of archers in the Olympics use these risers. In the case of limbs, Hoyt’s Quattro model is the most successful, and 45% of the archers use these limbs. The Hoyt Archery is producing Olympic recurve archery bow since 1931, and with these statistics, I can say, they are doing their job pretty well.
Final Verdict
Archery is one of the most played games in the world and alone in the United States, 23.8 Million archers practice archery. So, you can understand the competition in modern archery. Finding a suitable bow is obviously essential, but for getting the maximum performance from the bow, it is also necessary to attach all the necessary accessories. These attachments undoubtedly improve the performance of the archers.
I hope after reading this, it will help you to select your Olympic archery bow. But collecting quality arrows is also essential to get good accuracy.
The https://recurvebowguide.com covered best recurve bow reviews on their site. You may visit the site to learn more.
