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| Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie De La Garza Archers have plenty of options when it comes to picking out a bow: Bill Schofield of Caribou pointed out the differences between, from front, a compound bow, recurve bow, long bow, recurve crossbow and a compound crossbow. When Schofield began learning archery back in the 1980s, his preferred equipment was the compound bow — over two decades later, Schofield’s favorite means of shooting is the long bow. |
By Natalie De La Garza
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — Flipping through the channels at home, an archer isn’t hard to find. Popular shows like HBO’s series “Game of Thrones” isn’t without its bows and arrows, not to mention the popularity of long bow-wielding protagonist of movie/book series “The Hunger Games” Katniss Everdeen, or “Avengers” superhero Hawkeye and his recurve bow. Even on AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” the character Daryl is often shown with his compound crossbow.
Archery may not be as widely practiced as it once was before the days of firearms, but the sport continues to draw followers of all ages and abilities.
Outdoor Safety Instructor Bill Schofield is one of 700 volunteers statewide with the Maine Fisheries and Wildlife Department, and he teaches courses in archery (and crossbows), snowmobile, ATV and firearm hunter safety at the Caribou Adult Education Center.
Schofield has seen a surge of individuals expressing their interests about crossbows over the past three years, and while the “bow” similarity between the two sports is unmistakable, they’re distinctly different activities with different rules and different seasons.
But one step on the path of obtaining a crossbow license is completing an archery safety course, which is where archers of vertical and horizontal persuasion find commonality.
There are pros and cons for all types of bows — and Schofield explained that both crossbows and bows could be recurve or compound.
A recurve bow “puts more power in the limbs,” he said, and explained how the pulleys in compound bows make them much easier to fire. It takes less muscle to draw the string of a compound bow versus a long bow, but the string of any standard bow is generally easier to draw than a crossbow.
Referencing two crossbows in front of him, Schofield pointed to the recurve crossbow and explained that it required 100 pounds of pull to draw the string. The compound crossbow next to it required 150 pounds of pull — and both had specific pieces of equipment that allowed the archer to draw back the string.
Comparatively, when Schofield draws back the string on his favorite long bow, he’s holding back around 60 pounds of pull. Using a compound bow, that number drops to 30 pounds.
“You can shoot more arrows from a long bow — ten a minute — but five from a crossbow because of the way it’s loaded,” Schofield explained.
“The biggest difference is [the crossbow] is heavy – very heavy,” Schofield explained.
He doesn’t see any advantages to using a crossbow over a compound bow — save one.
Shoulder injuries (and injuries alike) would hinder one’s ability to draw the string of a bow; for those folks, the crossbow’s style of loading affords a means of participation otherwise unavailable.
While crossbows are seeing a surge of popularity, “the majority of archers are compound shooters,” Schofield said, but he pointed out that Olympian archers are equipped with recurve bows.
Despite how effortless and easy archers on television make the sport look, Schofield stressed the importance of checking in with one’s local police department to make certain their practice location and arrangement is compliant with town/city ordinances before beginning any sort of bow or crossbow endeavors.
“If you can hit a six-inch pie plate at 20 yards consistently, then you’re ready to go out and shoot,” he explained, reiterating that all archers need to obtain the proper certification before heading out to the woods.
Additional information on the archery safety courses offered through Caribou Adult Education can be found by visiting http://rsu39.maineadulted.org/courses/course/archery_hunter_
safety.
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| Contributed Photo Ten-year-old Matthew McCormack, a first year junior hunter, filled his moose tag on the first week of the 2013 moose hunt in Perham, taking down a bull that weighed 687 pounds dressed with a 33-inch antler spread. Matthew is a fifth-grader at Woodland Consolidated School and is the son of Denise and Pat McCormack. Matthew is pictured here with Pat, who accompanied him on the hunt. |
Contributed Photo Keith Draper, a senior at Caribou High School, bagged a 1,008-pound bull moose while hunting with his father, Mark, in Zone 1 on Sept. 24. Mark called the moose out of the wood, but failed to drop it with his first shot. As a sub-permittee, Keith downed the moose with a couple of quick shots. The bull sported a 58.5-inch rack. |
