Archery Terms For Beginners: Everything You Need to Know to Speak the Language

Learn To Speak The Language of Archery

Archery, like any sport, has its own set of terms and slang. Some are pretty obvious once you see them and others, not so much. Part of this is because archery has been around for so long. Evidence of stone and bone arrowheads found in Africa date back 72,000 years. The Holmegaard bows, discovered in a swamp in Denmark, date back to 7000 BC. Some archery terms are derived from a different time and a different language. Like “Fistmele”, which is a Saxon term for the measurement of distance of the bowstring to the handle of the bow using a clenched fist with your thumb extended. Imagine a “thumbs up”. Today we call this the “brace height”. I have spared you most of the throwback terms, in favor of the terms currently used. This is by no means all of the archery specific terms that are out there. But it is a good start and should cover most of what you will hear as you learn the sport.

A-Z Archery Terms for Beginners

3-D Archery-Target archery that uses life-like targets of animals, usually in a natural setting.

Anchor/Anchor Point-A spot on the archer’s face where the bowstring is held when the archer is at full draw.

Archer-A person who practices archery, hopefully, with a grasp of the basic skills.

Armguard-A protective covering worn on the inside of the forearm of your bow arm. Used to protect your arm from the bowstring striking it.

Arrow– The projectile fired by the bow. Consisting of the shaft, point, nock, fletching, and optional cresting.

Arrow Case-A protective container used to store and protect your arrows, especially when transporting.

Arrow Flight-The path of the arrow after it leaves the bow.

Arrow Plate-A piece of material, usually felt or leather, just above the handle on the side of the bow, where the arrow passes as it leaves the bow.

Arrow Shelf-A shelf cut into the bow, on which the arrow rests during the shooting process. Usually protected by leather or similar material.

Ascham-A tall, narrow cabinet in which bows and arrows are kept. Similar to a gun cabinet. Named after Roger Ascham, archer and author of Toxophilus, the first English language book on Archery.

Ascham Oaks-What we have named our homestead, in reference to the above. Ascham Oaks=a place to keep our bows and arrows.

Back-The part of the bow which faces the target when held by the archer.

Beau-The name of our adorable, slightly neurotic, rescued, mixed bred dog.

Belly-The part of a bow which faces the archer when shooting.

Bow– A piece of sports equipment designed to shoot an arrow.

Bowstring-The string connecting the two ends of the bow.

Bowyer-A maker of bows.

Bow Arm/Bow Hand– The hand/arm that is holding the bow. If you are a right handed archer, it will be your left. A left handed archer uses their right.

Bow Square-A ruler that clips onto the bowstring and extends perpendicular to the string. Used to measure brace height and to locate the nock point.

Bow Stringer-A strong cord with a loop or pocket on each end that are placed on the limb tips, to help the archer string/brace the bow.

Bow Weight-The weight, in pounds, required to pull the bowstring. Usually measured at 28″ of draw. Expressed like this: 30#@28″, which would refer to a 30 pound bow when measured at 28 inches. Also called draw weight.

Brace-To string a bow by fitting the loops of the bowstring into the string grooves, putting the bow under tension. This term comes from having to “brace” the bow against your leg to be able to bend it enough to get the strings in place.

Brace Height-The distance between the bow handle and the bowstring when not drawn.

Bracer-Another name for an armguard.

Broadhead-A bladed arrow head used for hunting.

Butt-A back stop on which target faces are attached to be shot at.

Clyde-The name of our stubborn, hard headed, but lovable Airedale Dog.

Cock Feather/Index Feather-The feather placed at right angles to the nock. Usually of a different color from the other two. This feather faces away from the bow when the arrow is nocked.

Crest/Cresting-The decoration on an arrow, usually near the fletching. Each archer has his own color scheme which identifies his particular arrow.

Compound Bow-A bow that uses a system of cables, pulleys and cams to maximize energy storage in the limbs of the bow. Considered modern archery.

Dominant Eye-The eye which has the most neural connections to the brain, used in aiming the arrow. Not always the same as your dominant hand.

Draw-The act of pulling the bowstring back as part of the shooting process. This is the second part of the classic command that the master archer used to direct his archers in combat. “Nock, draw, release”.

Draw Hand-The hand used to draw the bowstring. This hand should match your dominant eye.

Draw Length-The distance from the back of the bow at the grip to the archers anchor point.

Dry Fire-Drawing and releasing the bowstring without an arrow on the string. This can permanently damage the bow and harm the archer.

End-A group of arrows shot before stopping to retrieve them from the target.

Field Archery-A type of archery done outdoors around a course, similar to golf, with targets of varying sizes and distances.

Finger Tab-A small piece of leather or similar material used to protect the archers finger from the bowstring.

Fletch-Putting the feathers on an arrow.

Fletcher-An arrowmaker.

Fletchings-The natural or artificial feathers/vanes on the nock end of the arrow to stabilize the arrows flight.

Flight Shooting—Distance shooting; to see how far you can send an arrow.

Flu-Flu Arrow-An arrow fletched with overly large feathers, that slow the arrow quickly after a short distance. Used for shooting short distances or aerial shots.

Full Draw-When a bow is drawn all the way to the archers anchor point.

Grip/Handle-The area of the bow that is held by the archer.

Hen Feather-The two feathers that are not the cock or index feather.

Hold/Holding-The slight pause just before you loose the arrow.

ILF Bow-A take-down bow that uses the “international limb fit” connection between the riser and limbs. In theory, any ILF limbs will fit any ILF riser. The ILF riser has the ability to adjust the angle of the limbs separately, to allow for adjusting the tiller of the bow.

Indoor Archery-Target archery done indoors.

Limbs-The parts of the bow that bend to store the energy require to shoot the arrow.

Long Bow-Any bow that the bowstring only touches the string grooves when strung.

Loose-To let go the string with the shooting fingers; to shoot the arrow.

Modern Archery-Archery performed with modern compound bows.

Nock-The act of putting an arrow on the bowstring. This is the first part of the classic command that the master archer used to direct his archers in combat. “Nock, draw, release”.

Nocks-The grooved tip on the end of the arrow, that clicks on the bowstring.

Nocking Point-That point on a bowstring where the arrow is nocked or placed when you are ready to shoot.

Over-bowed-A bow too strong for its user.

Point– A metal tip that glues or screws on the end of the arrow that faces the target.

Quiver-A receptacle for holding arrows. They are of various shapes, sizes and materials. Some are worn at the waist and some at the shoulder.

R100-Billed as the “Greatest Archery Shoot In The World”. A traveling 3-D archery shoot, that consists of 50 targets based on animals from North America and 50 targets based on animals from Africa.

Range-The location at which you shoot your bow.

Recurve Bow–A bow with ends that turn back toward the target.

Release-To let the arrow and string go; to shoot the arrow. This is the last part of the classic command that the master archer used to direct his archers in combat. “Nock, draw, release”.

Riser-The middle part of the bow that the limbs attach to. The grip is part of the riser.

Serving-A protective thread wrapped around the bowstring. In the middle of the string where the arrow nock fits.

Sight Window-A cut away section of the riser directly above the arrow rest, that allows better visibility of the target.

Shaft-Main part of the arrow.

Shooting Glove-A glove that protects the three fingers of the draw hand from the bowstring.

Shooting Line-A line, parallel to the face of the target, at which you stand to shoot.

Shot Sequence-A progression of precise, repeatable steps that execute the shooting process.

Sight-A device, that attaches to the bow, to aid in aiming.

Spine-This refers to the stiffness of the arrow as it pertains to the flexing during arrow flight.

String Grooves-Grooves cut into the tips of the bow limbs to secure the bowstring in place.

Tackle-All the equipment of an archer—his bow, arrows, arm-guard, finger guards, quiver, etc.

Take-Down Bow-A bow designed so that the limbs can be separated from and reattached to the riser using a bolt system.

Target-The object the archer aims at. Traditionally it has 10 concentric rings scoring from 1 to 10.

Target Archery-Shooting fixed distance targets at an archery range.

Target Face-The sheet of paper, printed with an object to aim at, that is attached to the target butt.

Tiller-The timing of the bow limbs, so that they come to rest at the same time at the end of the shot cycle. Proper timing makes a bow quieter and have less vibration.

Toxophilite—One who loves, studies and practices archery.

Traditional Archery-Archery performed with recurves and/or long bows.

Tuning-The process of adjusting the bow and arrow to achieve the best possible arrow flight.

Under-bowed-Too weak a bow for the archer.

Vane-An artificial feather, usually some form of plastic, used to fletch an arrow.

Waiting Line– A line behind and parallel to the shooting line where archers wait to shoot.

When Words Fail, Shoot Anyway

After writing this post, I have a new found respect for Webster’s and Wikipedia. Trying to describe something with words only to someone who may have never seen one is challenging. I hope these make sense. If you are confused, leave me a comment and we will figure it out together. In the meantime, don’t let the fact that you call the arrow “a thing-a-ma-gingy that shoots from the bow”, stop you from trying archery!