Archery - Anatomy of Recurve Bow

Understanding the anatomy a bow is the most important task for any Archer. From the day you start using a bow, you need to know the different parts of bow and how they work. It is in fact more of a bliss to know them before you start using the bow.

 Below is the diagram of a complete recurve bow.

Now lets see different parts of a bow one by one

• Riser
• Limb
• String
• Arrow rest
• Sight
• Clicker
• Mono rod
• Side bar
• Plunger button
• Nock point

Riser : It is the middle part of a bow which is used to hold the bow. It also has the mechanism through which the limbs are held tightly. The other ends of limbs have grooves for the string to sit on firmly. 

 It is very important you select the riser carefully as it is the one that accommodates limbs, mono  rods, plunger and the sight without which there will be a lower accuracy in shooting.

Limbs : They are the one to take the maximum stress and bending in the bow. Weak limbs may result in reduced kinetic energy and increases their susceptibility to break and thus cause major injuries especially to the face. Limbs are made of polymers, carbon or even metals. Select the one that suits you the best in terms of pulling power, weight and price.

Polymer limb

The limb set

String : The source of all energy for a bow. Although the string doesnt break easily, it is more prone to being damaged by rubbing and improper handling. It should be maintained by frequent waxing. The length of string too plays a major role in the tightness of a bow and the power. String can be custom made or bought from a company.

 

Arrow rest : It is designed for perfect placement of arrow with respect to the sight, archer's eye and the target. It has the ability of flexibility to that the fletches of arrow do not damage. It has only two degrees of freedom.It should be glued to the bow.

Clicker : It helps to hold the arrow steadily. Since the shooting scenarios may change during unexpected weather conditions, it is better to keep the arrow firm in its place. Clicker does the job for us. It holds the arrow and one must keep pulling the string and once the clicker clicks, the arrow must be released without any delay for improved accuracy.For using clicker, the arrows must be cut upto you 'draw length'.

Plunger : It works as a support to clicker. It prevents the arrow from going to absurd angles when the clicker is used and prevents the arrow from touching the riser of the bow and thus reduces the damage of the arrow fletches.

The left end of the plunger goes through the hole provided in the arrow rest

Sight : The accessory though which you see the target. It is attached to riser with customisable screws. It has markings for different distances. One has to adjust the sight to that particular distance he wishes to shoot.It is very important you maintain the sight correctly as different people has different sight settings for particular distances.

Mono rods : Because you pull the string backwards so hard before release, it is possible that the bow may bend slightly after release before the arrow has took off completely. This results in missed targets. For this purpose, we use mono rods (or) stabilizers to stabilize the bow and to prevent if from turning. Weights, if needed can be added to the end of the rob for better stabilization.

The left end central bar is screwed to the riser

Side bars : They act as extension bars to mono rod. In the above picture, the side bars can be seen clearly.

Nock point : This is where you insert the nock of the arrow and get ready for shooting. It is made separately using a special thread and is slightly thicker than the nock and fits when the nock is inserted completely.

These are the important parts you should know of a recurve bow. Once you get familiar with these parts, you will know the importance of them in shooting.