When people learn that I’m a traditional archer, they tend to ask me a number of questions. I thought this might be a fun blog post, so here we go!

How far do I shoot?

I don’t shoot very far! Because I’m currently focused on form (more on that below), I am only shooting from between ten to twenty meters.

How accurate am I?

I’m not at all because I’m currently focused on precision. This is mostly a matter of form and consistency, which is why I don’t have to “shoot” (“loose”? “let”?) from very far. I can spend an entire session at 10 meters and get very rapid feedback on this, so I do. (Note: I’m being pedantic about precision vs accuracy, explanation in the image below).

A variation of this question is sometimes if I’ve ever “robin hooded” an arrow. Robin hooding is when you shoot one arrow back into another one.

My answer today is “not yet!”

Have you seen the video of that Danish guy? Lars something? It’s really amazing!

Ah yes, Lars Anderson. He’s done a couple of videos but one in particular has gotten a lot of attention recently.

The videos are pretty amazing to watch and highly entertaining, but you won’t find me doing those things any time soon. I’m perfectly content right here.

Where do I go?

There’s an archery range in Golden Gate Park which is free to use. Nearby is the San Francisco Archery Pro Shop which has good lessons and cheap all-day rentals.

How did I get started?

I had been interested in archery for several years but it wasn’t until a couple of months ago that I finally tried it.

I went to a local shop and took my first lesson. It was so much fun that I took another one and, when I tried to sign up for my third, my instructor suggested that I should make some time to practice all of the things I’ve just learned on my own.

So I rented the equipment a few times and eventually just bought my own.

What did you buy?

I bought a pretty basic recurve bow and everything else I needed:

• Six arrows

• A quiver

• An arm guard and glove

• A bow stringer

• Target pins

• And carrying bag

All in all, it cost me about $350.