Archery terms

Below is a list of Archery terms that will educate, fascinate and allow you to wow your friends with your newly gained knowledge of Archery terms and facts! You know they will thank you for it...perhaps.

Ever wanted to know what Want to know where the nock is? Discover where the name Fletcher came from? Are you an Ambi-Ocular archer? Do you want to know where the belly or the face of the bow is? Do you want to know what a Bowyer does? Why should you never dry-fire a bow? Should you be afraid of a Field Captain? Can you put your limbs on the riser the right way? Have you ever had to Let Down a bow? Do you know where the nock point is?

Below is an A to Z of Archery terms. Some will become familiar to you, and some you will never need or hear uttered by Leith Community Archers instructors or volunteers. Archery is an ancient activity, and the origin of some surnames, words, and phrases we use today have originated from archery terms.

Fletcher was the name of the person who used to put flights on the arrows and Bowman was more simply an Archer. Today Fletcher has become a common surname as has Bowman (Archer), similar to Smith (Blacksmith), Fisher (fisherman), and Cooper (barrel maker). For more information, you could visit the Wikipedia page on Archery. There you will find lots of interesting facts about Archery.

Why not add another string to your bow, or add another arrow to the quiver and read on?

A B C D E F G H I K L M N P Q R S T V Y

There are currently 12 names in this directory beginning with the letter C.

Cables

Are used to connect the string through the cams to the limbs on a compound bow

Cam

Are found on compound bows and are used to provide the let-off and additional power. They act as a pulley and can be found on the end of the limbs.

Carbon Fiber

A Type of material that is used to produce arrows, some bows have also started using them for the limbs.

Cast

When a bow is able to shoot an arrow a specific distance

Center Serving

This part of the string helps to protect it from wear. It is found in the centre of the bow string and is located where you nock your arrow.

Chest Guard

Is often worn to help stop the bow strings from hitting the clothes or the body. It will normally cover one side of the chest.

Clicker

Helps to tell the archer when they should release the bow, it is a device that clicks when the bow is drawn to the ideal draw length.

Clout Archery

Imagine playing golf with a bow and arrow and you have something close to clout archery. It is basically a game where the idea is to shoot an arrow and have it land as close to the flag as possible. Around the flag is a target and the closer you get to the flag, the more points you get.

Composite Bow

Is a type of bow that is made from combining different layers of materials together.

Compound Bow

One of the types of bows that is widely used. It uses mechanical aids to help reduce the weight when you fully draw the bow. This allows your to aim better, manage lower draw weights and also produce faster shots.

Cross Dominance

Is when an archer has a stronger eye and uses the opposite hand to shoot, as an example is left eye dominant but still shoots from their right hand.

Crossbow

A type of bow that is horizontal instead of vertical. You place the bolt into the crossbow, draw back and lock it into place. These bows are then held and fred with a trigger. Think a cross between a bow and a gun.