Lefty Arching?

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Lefty Arching?

Postby Mango teh Hat Troll » Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:29 pm

I'm interested in getting into arching. In the game I fight as a lefty, but in everthing else I do (writing, throwing, etc.) I'm a righty. If I fight as a lefty should I arch as a lefty.


Does this post make sense to anybody?
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Postby Shino » Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:34 pm

Try it out, that will solve your delema.
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Postby Reverend » Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:38 pm

Most bows, now days, are geared for the the left hand to grasp the bow and the right hand to draw.

It is possible to find the reverse bows, but they are sometimes a tad more expensive.

If you go with el-cheapo bows from Wal-Mart (you know, the kiddie practice bows) they are usually set so that either hand can comfortably grasp the bow. The downside is that most of those bows only sport a maximum draw of 10-15 lbs.

Try it out. What's the worst that can happen?
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Postby Chicken » Sat Sep 30, 2006 8:35 pm

You can arch either way, whichever feels more comfortable. That said, ideally you should arch according to your dominant eye (not hand).

To find which is your dominant eye (among many methods): make a gun with your hand and point it at something with both eyes open. Don't move your hand and close one eye. If you're still on target, the eye that's still open is your dominant eye. If it moves and you're not pointing where you were before, you just closed your dominant eye.

If your right eye is dominant, you're in luck and can use a right-handed bow just like 90% of the rest of the field, which you hold in your left hand and draw with your right. If your left eye is dominant, you'll want a left-handed bow (hold in your right, draw with your left).

Many longbows and traditional recurves (reproduction horsebows and the like) are not center shot or custom gripped and can be shot with either hand (like the fiberglass stick bows that Darkslider mentions, which you can find in useful weights as well, though they're still crappy). A nice modern bow (including modern recurves) will be definitely handed, however, and you'll need to buy one accordingly.

I'm cross-dominant (right handed, left eyed) and shoot left, so I've had the "pleasure" of shopping for a left handed bow. They don't usually cost any more (it's the same thing, just mirrored), but you will sometimes have fewer choices for draw weight and they're just generally harder to find (especially relevant if you're looking used).

On the plus side, no one ever borrows my bow off the field when I'm dead ;).
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Postby Grim Warhawk AlRitte » Sat Sep 30, 2006 11:31 pm

An easier way to find your dominant eye...

Hold your palms out in front of you and make a triangle with your thumbs and pointer finger
Now over lap your hands so its a smallish 2" triangle.
Now focus on something through there.
Slowly bring the triangle to your face keeping the object in the center of it. Which ever eye it covers is your dominant eye.
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Postby Esalvapar » Sat Sep 30, 2006 11:37 pm

Hmm... it seems when I try either of these excercises, I always get (or start with) dead center. Neither eye seems to be dominant. Is that possible, or am eye just being difficult.

(yay for horrible puns)
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Postby Chicken » Sun Oct 01, 2006 10:26 am

I think you're just doing it wrong ;). Try focusing on something further away - that tends to make it more obvious which one is correct.
If you try Grim's method and you still can't tell once you've got your hands all the way to your face, close one eye and then the other and see which one can see the object. If you can somehow see both without moving your hands, make the hole smaller.
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Postby Olos » Sun Oct 01, 2006 8:56 pm

I use a combination of both :)

make a triangle then alternately close each eye. Like chicken said, make sure it is something far away.

Personally, as far as this goes, I'm all screwed up, here's my list

write right handed
swing 2 handed left handed
swing 1 handed right handed
left eye dominant
right handed arching

Very complicated, but its what feels right for me.

I started arching back when I was about 5, and I guess my father didn't have the good sense to buy a left handed bow, or didnt want to have to find left handed bows that fit every time I needed a new one, so he gave me a patch for my left eye and a right handed bow.

Now, I have to close my left eye, or intentionally focus on the image in my right eye to be able to look at something right...

I also know a guy who shoots a right handed bow with his left eye, he angles the bow to the left to where he can get his eye lined up with the string and shoot. Of course, he isn't the best shooter I know :)
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Postby Grim Warhawk AlRitte » Sun Oct 01, 2006 9:02 pm

Actually, thats how I shoot. I'm left handed and I shoot a right handed bow held left-handed. It looks really messed up to the trained eye, but I've been bow hunding since I was 12 like this. I can put the arrow anywhere I want in a deer at 100 ft. I dont line the string up with the target, I put the tip of the arrow slightly up and to the left of my target while my face is against the string.[/quote]
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Postby Digoza » Sun Oct 01, 2006 9:05 pm

Well, straying a little from topic; I tend to shoot bows left-handed (and I'm left-eye dominant), so, my question, in your guys' experiences, how decent are "Wal-mart" bows? Because hunting around online, I've noticed that 1. it's hard to find good left-hand bows, and B. when you do find them, they are expensive.

I have, however, found cheaper, ambidexterous bows (from companies like Indian, which is the brand a lot of highschools use for their archery units in PE around here) that pull at like 30 to 35 pounds. And, since I'm a little broke right now, and looking to not spend a ton of money, have though about buying one of these. So, yes, I'm aware they're not going to be as good as say the same bow that Kyrian uses, but just how good are these cheaper, lefty/righty bows that pull at 30 to 35 pounds?


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Postby Olos » Sun Oct 01, 2006 9:28 pm

Grim Warhawk wrote:Actually, thats how I shoot. I'm left handed and I shoot a right handed bow held left-handed. It looks really messed up to the trained eye, but I've been bow hunding since I was 12 like this. I can put the arrow anywhere I want in a deer at 100 ft. I dont line the string up with the target, I put the tip of the arrow slightly up and to the left of my target while my face is against the string.
[/quote]

I'd be somewhat interested to see that.

Right now my compound is all out of whack. I got a new string on it, and haven't yet gotten around to lining up the sights again. Shooting the recurve is just more fun :)
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Postby Olos » Mon Oct 02, 2006 2:51 pm

Digoza wrote:Well, straying a little from topic; I tend to shoot bows left-handed (and I'm left-eye dominant), so, my question, in your guys' experiences, how decent are "Wal-mart" bows? Because hunting around online, I've noticed that 1. it's hard to find good left-hand bows, and B. when you do find them, they are expensive.

I have, however, found cheaper, ambidexterous bows (from companies like Indian, which is the brand a lot of highschools use for their archery units in PE around here) that pull at like 30 to 35 pounds. And, since I'm a little broke right now, and looking to not spend a ton of money, have though about buying one of these. So, yes, I'm aware they're not going to be as good as say the same bow that Kyrian uses, but just how good are these cheaper, lefty/righty bows that pull at 30 to 35 pounds?


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one of those bows will likely work just fine for belegarth arching. For my first couple years of fighting, I used a bow like that, that was also starting to split down the limb near the tip(the string was slipping down the crack...) and although being somewhat unsafe, it still shot just fine, and I did just fine for belegarth arching. That bow was starting to get a little crappy tho, so I got a decently nice (as far as cheap wood/fiberglass bows go) bow for arching, its got a decent curve on the limbs, and a nice cutout for the arrow rest, and shoots quite nicely.

If i get rich someday, I'll get a mongolian/hun style composite limb bow for this stuff, but its unlikely that ill ever spend 300+ for a foam fighting bow.
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Postby debuenzo » Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:00 pm

...you cheap-ass










and yea, a composite horsebow would own
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Postby Olos » Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:32 pm

vida and another guy from kutriguri have them.

I /drooled at rag....
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Postby Grim Warhawk AlRitte » Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:38 pm

I'd like to thank my step-dad for my screwed up archery style. He bought the bow for "me" even though I was left handed and a kid he bought me a right-handed adult bow. I learned to use it so he couldn't take it from me as his new bow. He really was a jerk.
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Postby Mango teh Hat Troll » Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:32 am

Chicken wrote:If your right eye is dominant, you're in luck and can use a right-handed bow just like 90% of the rest of the field, which you hold in your left hand and draw with your right. If your left eye is dominant, you'll want a left-handed bow (hold in your right, draw with your left).


So, I did the gun thing and it turns out I'm left eye dominant.

Does anybody have a list of stores (online and off line) where I can get a bow?
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Postby Chicken » Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:43 am

Here's where and what I got. It took a while and it was drop-shipped (shipped straight from the manufacturer, not from the retailer), but to be fair there was a hurricane down there at the time and it was the cheapest price I found.

I'd recommend getting the 30# version, not 35#. The poundage listed for a bow is the minimum - my "35# bow" does now regularly pass weight - but that's with a well-stretched string completely untwisted, after being left strung for a while, and depending on the weather.

If you're just getting into it, though, you might want to see if someone has an ambidextrous fiberglass longbow you could borrow (or buy) that would let you (a) find out if you like archery before you spend a good chunk of cas and (b) make sure that shooting lefty works for you before you buy a bow you can't shoot righty with.
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Postby Olos » Tue Oct 03, 2006 11:42 am

Chicken wrote:Here's where and what I got. It took a while and it was drop-shipped (shipped straight from the manufacturer, not from the retailer), but to be fair there was a hurricane down there at the time and it was the cheapest price I found.

I'd recommend getting the 30# version, not 35#. The poundage listed for a bow is the minimum - my "35# bow" does now regularly pass weight - but that's with a well-stretched string completely untwisted, after being left strung for a while, and depending on the weather.

If you're just getting into it, though, you might want to see if someone has an ambidextrous fiberglass longbow you could borrow (or buy) that would let you (a) find out if you like archery before you spend a good chunk of cas and (b) make sure that shooting lefty works for you before you buy a bow you can't shoot righty with.


I think a simple "QFT" will do for pretty much this entire post.

Way to go Chicken :)
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Postby Digoza » Tue Oct 03, 2006 4:47 pm

awesome, thanks for posting that link; I now know where I can get a reasonably priced, pretty good, lefty bow.


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Postby Nakamoto Amuro » Wed Oct 04, 2006 4:34 am

Chicken wrote:Here's where and what I got. It took a while and it was drop-shipped (shipped straight from the manufacturer, not from the retailer), but to be fair there was a hurricane down there at the time and it was the cheapest price I found.

I'd recommend getting the 30# version, not 35#. The poundage listed for a bow is the minimum - my "35# bow" does now regularly pass weight - but that's with a well-stretched string completely untwisted, after being left strung for a while, and depending on the weather.

If you're just getting into it, though, you might want to see if someone has an ambidextrous fiberglass longbow you could borrow (or buy) that would let you (a) find out if you like archery before you spend a good chunk of cas and (b) make sure that shooting lefty works for you before you buy a bow you can't shoot righty with.


* I should have checked them out before buying on Ebay!.. Too bad it's already on the way >_<.
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Postby Oisin » Tue Oct 10, 2006 10:19 am

Ok, so here's my funky eyeness. My right eye is definately dominant (as is my right hand, and my right foot, etc), but my left eye is actually better. I see 20/15 right eyed and 20/13 left eyed. I have no clue whether this is natural or just do to me using my right eye more.

Anyway, though, the way I shoot is kinda odd. I look for targets mostly with my left eye, because i really can noticably see better with it, but then I am with my right. Although tbh, on the Belegarth field, most of my shots are snap shots. Kinda odd, really--I shoot better if I don't take time to aim. I can shoot very well instinctually, but only decently when taking a careful, aimed shot.

Wierd, no?
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Postby MagnusofDregoth » Tue Oct 10, 2006 3:57 pm

A place where you can get good handmade, non-handed bows is Rudderbows Archery For 80 bucks, I got a 32# 72" stave longbow that looks GREAT and shoots darn well, in addition to being very light. If you want to spend more $$, they have some awesome LoTR reproductions in Bel-legal weights.
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Postby Malagant » Wed May 23, 2007 9:22 am

I was refered to the BearScout Bow. It can be left or right handed with a 30-35 lbs draw weight. it's $40.00 at * Sporting Goods.
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Postby Aegis » Wed May 23, 2007 12:51 pm

Olos wrote:I use a combination of both :)

make a triangle then alternately close each eye. Like chicken said, make sure it is something far away.

Personally, as far as this goes, I'm all screwed up, here's my list

write right handed
swing 2 handed left handed
swing 1 handed right handed
left eye dominant
right handed arching

Very complicated, but its what feels right for me.

I started arching back when I was about 5, and I guess my father didn't have the good sense to buy a left handed bow, or didnt want to have to find left handed bows that fit every time I needed a new one, so he gave me a patch for my left eye and a right handed bow.

Now, I have to close my left eye, or intentionally focus on the image in my right eye to be able to look at something right...

I also know a guy who shoots a right handed bow with his left eye, he angles the bow to the left to where he can get his eye lined up with the string and shoot. Of course, he isn't the best shooter I know :)


thats me identically, i also kayak left handed.
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Postby Malagant » Wed Jun 06, 2007 10:59 am

I'm the exact same way Mango, (altho I do everything else with a random arm.) I tried arching right handed and since I fight left handed it just didn't feel right. Along with the fact that my right eye isn't my dominent eye. I would suggest arching left-handed. It's assuring also that you can buy a right/left handed bow for about the same price if you change your mind.
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Postby Dabbanoth » Wed Jun 06, 2007 11:25 am

Zombification, this thread was dead in october of 2006
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