[Horsebow] Chinese horsebows

DavidH

New member
Have found a very interesting site which has masses of information on Asian archery. The site isn't very user friendly but could be very useful to those of us who are getting into Asian bows

ATARN Home Page

you'll find a page on stringing the bow

Ju Yuan Hao Bows
 

DavidH

New member
My new horsebow got its first outing today and I'm absolutely delighted. Shoots really smoothly without any shock. Draws up with no stacking and I can use my existing longbow arrows without any problem. they are spined 40/45 with the bow at 50#. Had 4 other people try it and none had shot one so I was helping the cause of traditional bows. I aimed exactly as I would for longbow and started at 40 metres. Was tempted to shoot at a very short distance but there were no short targets out so I just went for it. I was hitting the target within two ends and although I don't have any tight groups yet, I put that down to inexperience rather than the bow. I didn't even get to the point of putting a face up. I now need to get a decent knocking point in the bow, I just experimented with a bit of tape today.

To anyone tempted by these very low cost Chinese bows, go for it, but expect a lot of people queuing up to try it out:)

One other thing, Id definitely say the way to go is to use the two person method of stringing. Its stress free and simple, once you get the measure of how much you need to bend it
 
Have you tried the method where it goes behind your left thigh, rests on the front of your right thigh, and then you bend it round with your left hand, slip the string on with your right hand and then step out of the bow! If that description makes any sense ha ha ha! I have a Korean horsebow, i'm quite a small woman, and i can string it alone fairly easily now. That is after I made myself a thick leather pad to go over my right thigh to avoid the stonking bruises I got on the first attempt lol!
Everyone who has a go with my horsebow loves it, I bought it as my first ever bow, now because it's all I know, my dads recurve seems big and clunky!
 

drew.h

New member
I've also been looking at these bows. Watching at videos on how to shoot them I see the traditional way is with the arrow on the right of the bow (for a right handed archer), resting on the thumb and index finger. Do they shoot as well with the arrow to the left of the bow resting on the hand?
 

Riceburner

Active member
I think you're right Raven. For anyone following my trials and tribulations on the string length, they did supply the right string, it was their info that was obscure. They said the string is 140-146cm, what they meant was length of bow when strung (I think), Stringing, to anyone thinking of getting a horsebow, is not easy. I ended up using a version of a method shown on Youtube

ATARN presents: Chinese Archery [part 1] - YouTube

By the way its worth watching the rest of his videos, the one where he simulates riding and shooting is just hilarious, but he is very informative.

I sat down, bent the bow across my knees, the string went behind my knees ( are you getting this!) and my wife hooked it on to the nock. I have read that you shouldnt draw a horsebow that you cant string on your own. That is piffle. The force needed to create the bend in the limbs is way beyond the poundage of the bow when strung. Using a stringer is near impossible, at least for me. If anyone has other advice on stringing Id love to hear it.

Anyway the bow looks superb when strung, and considering the price I paid, its exceptional value. Hoping to get out and shoot it on Sunday

I string my Samick Mind 50 (60lb) using the "behind the knee" method - (if you have a Quicks catalogue there's a series of photos on the page advertising the Kaya KTB leather covered horsebow that demonstrates it very clearly). I have no issues with it, apart from having to be careful I don't get the bow muddy when I lift my foot out of it!
 

Riceburner

Active member
Have you tried the method where it goes behind your left thigh, rests on the front of your right thigh, and then you bend it round with your left hand, slip the string on with your right hand and then step out of the bow! If that description makes any sense ha ha ha! I have a Korean horsebow, i'm quite a small woman, and i can string it alone fairly easily now. That is after I made myself a thick leather pad to go over my right thigh to avoid the stonking bruises I got on the first attempt lol!
Everyone who has a go with my horsebow loves it, I bought it as my first ever bow, now because it's all I know, my dads recurve seems big and clunky!
That's exactly the method I use. :)
 

Riceburner

Active member
I've also been looking at these bows. Watching at videos on how to shoot them I see the traditional way is with the arrow on the right of the bow (for a right handed archer), resting on the thumb and index finger. Do they shoot as well with the arrow to the left of the bow resting on the hand?
with the arrow on the "outside" of the bow (right side of bow, right handed archer), you need to draw with your Thumb (ie your right thumb hooked around the string from the left side of the string - opposite to the way you'd hold the string with your fingers).

The main benefit with this is that the arrow can be set into the string and on the bow very quickly - eg when on horseback.
 

DavidH

New member
Well, this bow is amazing,Tested it for distance which is at least 180 yards with my elb arrows( we didn't measure too accurately) and the arrows flew beautifully. I could definitely use some advice on aiming. At 20 yards I started to get some grouping yesterday, at times roughly all within a Portsmouth face, but the arrows fly so straight that the point is way below the boss. Of course you could shoot instinctively (view that thread!) but otherwise you'd need to find somewhere along the bow as a reference. What do others do, same as longbow?
 

Riceburner

Active member
Well, this bow is amazing,Tested it for distance which is at least 180 yards with my elb arrows( we didn't measure too accurately) and the arrows flew beautifully. I could definitely use some advice on aiming. At 20 yards I started to get some grouping yesterday, at times roughly all within a Portsmouth face, but the arrows fly so straight that the point is way below the boss. Of course you could shoot instinctively (view that thread!) but otherwise you'd need to find somewhere along the bow as a reference. What do others do, same as longbow?
I shoot "instinctively" for what it's worth, ie I don't use any formalised measurement techniques, consciously looking at the gaps between any given two points.

I just raise the bow, concentrate on the target, and let my arms settle then attempt to release the arrow as cleanly as possible. :)
I do use a little bit of "guesstimation" as well, but I couldn't really describe how - it's a case of "hmmm - that looks a little low, lets lift a bit... BANG!". More often than not, when I do a conscious adjustment, I'm wrong. :poulies:
FWIW I find the shortest distances to be the hardest!

I've not been using my bow much this past year (received it as a gift last Xmas, then it de-laminated and I got a replacement around mid-summer), but each and every time I use it, I shoot better. :)
 

DavidH

New member
Thanks Riceburner. I felt much more relaxed with the bow today and just let it happen. I was shooting at 40 metres alongside a barebow archer who was string walking. His groups were a little better but not by that much. Three of us then went roving (my first time) and you cant do anything more than lift the bow, draw and let go. Distance is almost irrelevant, as you just point out a leaf or mound or whatever and then go for it. I guess a bit like throwing a stick or ball.
 

Cho Ng

New member
Have a look at Home somewhere on the website there are instructions for stringing a bow. Also gives you a chance to have a look at his extremely expensive but beautiful bows!

Something I am considering for he future but I'm always worried the bowyer(for any bow I buy)might disappear before I manage to save up enough.
 

Cho Ng

New member
I just want to get it so I can hang it up as a piece of art! Imagine breaking one of those while trying to string it!
 

Jhoneil

New member
Lunch break shooting

[video=youtube_share;ExXXimUED2I]http://youtu.be/ExXXimUED2I[/video]

Just me shooting a Mariner Han Wind bow 60#@32?. My dog barks when I hit the target.
 

Steve_W

New member
Do you have a link to the seller? I've been thinking about a horse bow for a while now, and at that kind of price I could be tempted.
 

drew.h

New member
I've had my horse bow for a few weeks now. Went for a Mongol style from a seller in Hungary. Best ?76 I ever spent. My first 6 shots were better than I'd been doing with my recurve, but then they started to go all over the place. Turned out it was just the string stretching and the brace height was too short, causing the string to hit my wrist. Used it a few times indoors and twice on the field course. The size and weight is just what I wanted for field archery.
 
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