Archery is beset with jargon, much of which is derived from earlier times, is often poorly defined and is frequently misused. Also different styles of archery tend to have their own jargon or use the jargon in different ways.
The Archery Manufacturers and Merchants Organization, now ATA
The Archery Trade Association. Based in the USA.
One of more contact points on the body that the archer can feel when the bow is fully draw. The archer draws to the same points for each draw to ensure consistency.
In bows where the arrow rest position cannot be placed on the bow's center line, it is possible for a properly "tuned" arrow to still travel a center line path. The arrow will bend around the bow after release and after passing the bow return to center line of flight. This action requires that the arrow's dynamic bending characteristics be matched to the bow's dynamic draw characteristics.
The majority of traditional bows relied on the Archers Paradox for their accuracy, so the effect and the solution was well known and part of the art of archery, however it was not until the 1940's that a rigorous understanding of the paradox ...
Ballistics is the theory behind the launching, flight and impact of a projectile under the influence of gravity. While the projectile is within the launching device (i.e. the bow) it is referred to as the internal ballistics; while in flight the external ballistics; and during impact the impact ballistics.
An arrow without fletching, often used in tuning.
An arrow that tapers in both directions from some point, typically about 1/3rd the length of the arrow from the front. The barreling reduces aerodynamics drag for the same mass and spine.
An unsharpened arrowhead for small game. Such points are more likely to fall from trees.
The distance between the string and the valley of the grip or handle. It is important in determining the point when the arrow separates from the string on release.
Bow efficiency is a measure of energy transfer loss in the process of launching an arrow. It is equal to the arrows kinetic energy at launch divided by the bow's potential energy immediately before release. Typical values range from 75% to 85%. The losses are be due to friction and the inevitable miss-match in the moving masses associated with the bow - see Virtual Mass.
A marketing term for the launch speed of an arrow. The ATA sets the standards by which it is measured, especially the arrow mass, bow draw length and the bow draw weight. It is possible to correct the published value to the archer's particular bow and arrow.
A maker of bows.
A point with two or more sharpened blades for hunting live game.
A target traditionally made from compacted straw, but now days more likely a plastic foam.
Angle of bow string from the vertical. While this has little or no impact on the internal ballistics of the launch, it has a significant impact on sighting as the arrow can be launched with lateral velocity component.
The greatest horizontal distance bow can send an arrow.
A bow that allows an arrow to move along the center line of the limbs.
A mechanism that clicks when an arrow is at full draw, giving the archer an audible and visual indication when to release.
A contest where archers fire towards a distant clout flag (usually a flag) and are scored on the distance each arrow is from the clout. Similar rules to golf.
An index fletch typically identified with a different color used to quickly identify the arrows orientation on the string. Usually at right angle to the nock's slot.
A bow constructed by laminating various layers of wood, horn, sinew, fiberglass, carbon fiber so as to benefit from the properties of the different materials.
A bow augmented with a system of pulleys (cams) and strings arranged to improve the bow's draw curve and available energy.
Markings on an arrow to identify owner, design or brand
The rear end of an arrow where cresting is applied.
A metal or string loop attached to a bow's string about the nocking point. Provides an attachment point for mechanical releases.
A traditional Japanese longbow.
The decelerating force applied to an arrow by the air through which it moves. It is a significant force, typically 1 to 2 G at launch. Cross wind induced arrow drift is directly proportional to arrow drag.
On drawing or letting down a bow the archer applies a force close to the nocking point. A graph of this force against the nock point position is the static draw curve. There area under this curve is proportional to the bow's input energy from the archer.
On release, the bow's string applies a force to the arrow's nock. A graph of this force against nock position during launch is the dynamic draw curve. It is related to the static draw curve but usually very different in shape. The area under this curve is proportional to the energy imparted to the arrow which is always less than the input energy due to bow inefficiencies. The shape of this curve also impacts dynamic spine tuning and not tacking it into account is one reason why spine tuning is more an art than a science.
The drift off mark caused by a cross wind.
Releasing without and arrow. A dangerous act.
Outdoor target shooting where targets may be at unknown ranges. Range estimation errors become important, especially of longer ranges.
From the French Fédération Internationale de Tir à l'Arc, now referred to as The World Archery Federation (WA), the governing body for the sport of archery.
A horizontal (yawing) oscillation about the center of gravity of the arrow during flight. When it happens at higher frequencies it can be called minnowing.
The distance between the base of the hand and the top of the extended thumb. Used to set the brace height of longbows for the individual archers.
An arrow maker. From French flèche, meaning "arrow".
The stabilizing vanes or feathers on an arrow.
A bow string that is plaited or spliced to avoid the use of serving. Nowadays rarely used except by traditionalist.
A category of archer aimed at achieving the greatest possible cast or range.
A type of walk-back tuning where the sight's vertical scale set to a longer range (10 - 60 m) and the windage adjustment adjusted at a very short range (~2 m). The rest's horizontal position or plunger is adjusted to bring the longer range group to vertical alignment with the short range group. The windage is adjusted again at the short range and the process repeated.
A measure of the position of an arrow's center of gravity relative to the geometric center of the arrow expressed as a percentage of the arrow's length.
A segment of denser wood at the front of an arrow to strengthen point attachment and improve flight stability.
An arrow with high drag fletching to reduce the flight range. The fletching may be designed to change shape during flight.
A traditional unit of mass defined as 64.79891 milligrams and corresponds to 1/7000 th of an international pound. There are 437.5 grains to an ounce.
A Korean style of archery
A traditional form of archery from horseback, usually with short reflex bows.
Shooting without the aid of sights. Popular with traditional archery, it requires good brain, eye and hand coordination only gained with experience.
Traditional Japanese style of archery.
Live Action Role Playing arrows are designed to be safe when role playing. Generally achieved by a padded arrowhead.
The percentage reduction in draw weight from peak at the fully draw position, especially for compound bows.
The flexible mechanical energy storing parts of a bow.
A self bow common in medieval times. Usually over 1780 mm (5'10").
A long stabilizer rod to improve grouping and reduce vibration.
1. The end of an arrow with a notch for accepting the bow string.
2. The grooves in a bow's tips to secure the bowstring
3. The act of fitting an arrow to the bowstring.
The addition to the bow string that locates the nocking point - the place in the string for the arrow's nock. Typically made from serving or a brass crimp-on ring.
A sprung mechanism that provides some control over the interaction of a flexing arrow and the bow.
Front tip of an arrow. Also called arrowhead, head, pile or tip.
A category of archery where archer stands under a mast and shoots vertically at target "birds".
Vertical (pitching) oscillation of an arrow during flight.
An arrow with a detachable head that is designed to remain in the wound when the arrow is removed.
A bow on which the unstrung tips bend away from the archer
A bow on which the entire length of the unstrung bow bends away from the archer.
A bow where the limbs bend away from the archer when held in the firing position.
The act of release and arrow. May also refer to a release aid - a device, typically with a trigger action, to assist with the release action.
A device that supports an arrow prior and during release
The central part of a bow that includes the handle. Modern usage tends to apply to the rigid center section of a bow with detachable limbs.
A bow fashioned from a single piece of wood. The wood is often very carefully selected to include both sapwood and heartwood.
Thread wrapped around the main string to protect and form the string.
An extension extending towards the archer from the riser that allows the firing of shorter arrows. Used in serious flight shooting.
A regarded as measure of the stiffness of an arrow. The units are deflection divided by the force applied (L/N), so it is more a measure of flexibility where a larger value implies greater flexibility.
This is total different but related to static spine. It is a measure of the stiffness of an arrow at release when large (300 to 800 G) mainly longitudinal forces are involved. The accelerating force from the bow string is opposed by the inertial forces of the various parts of the arrow cause the arrow to bend. This bending is desirable if well managed by spine tuning.
An end weighted rod used to reduce aiming wobble and improve bow balance. May include well place energy absorbers to reduce vibration.
The element that transfers bow energy to the arrow. Made from a wide range materials including hemp, silk, sinew, Dacron and other synthetic materials.
A small piece of leather to protect the fingers during release.
A bow that can be easily disassembled into 2 or 3 pieces to make it more transportable.
The difference in distance between the string and the fadeout (or other recognizable point) for the upper and lower limbs.
The position of the nock in the vertical plane at any time depends on the relative strength of the bow's limbs. In the static case the tension in the string is the same above and below the nock, and the nock is at a simple balance point. As soon as the arrow is released inertial forces are added. String tension above and below the nock may no longer be equal, so the dynamic path may be different to the static path, resulting in a launch with some additional complexity. This is why tiller is important as it tends to define the nock vertical movement direction when the string and the arrow separate.
The velocity which a free falling arrow will reach. It is the velocity where the drag force equals the gravitational force on the arrow.
The twisting of the bow during release. This is generally undesirable as it causes arrow flight to the left or right. With sights fitted, it is possible to compensate to some degree by placing the sight-point some distance in front of the grip.
A devotee of archery and all things associated with archery.
The domination of the archery "industry" by the USA means the imperial system is most common. Perhaps the weirdest unit is the grain which is now defined to be 0.06479891 kg and is 1/7000th of the international pound which in turn is defined in terms of a kilogram. There are no doubt good historic reasons for use of the grain, but it does tend to unnecessarily confuse things.
As a matter of possible interest, FlyingSticks exclusively uses metric units for all internal calculations, doing conversions to other units only on input and output. This can be the cause of some rounding issues.
The stabilizing fin of an arrow
A theoretical concept (Klopstep, P.E. 1943) where all the various moving masses of the bow during release are simulated by a simple virtual mass at the nocking point on the string. The bow must accelerate this mass along with the arrow, thus diverting a proportion of the available energy. This energy is ultimately dissipated (after the arrow has left the string) in dampened vibration, hysteresis in energy storing materials, friction and sound. The virtual mass is assumed constant for a bow, however there is some evidence that it varies a little with arrow mass. The aim is to minimize the virtual mass.
A tuning methodology requiring the archer shoot at different distances and measures horizontal offsets and group sizes.
The World Archery Federation is the governing body for the sport of archery. Formerly FITA (Fédération Internationale de Tir à l'Arc), and still frequently referred to as FITA.
A traditional Japanese horse mounted style of archery.
A traditional Japanese asymmetrical bow.