Star Trek killed the Recurve Bow

Captain Kirk in 1969 Jennings Compound AD

Bill Shatner using a recurve before he turned to the "Dark Side"

William Shatner with a Shakespeare Recurve

Captain Kirk Killed the Recurve!

by Larry Vienneau

I know what you are thinking…what the heck does Captain Kirk have to do with Shakespeare Archery? Well believe it or not, he has a lot to do with it. OK, I admit it, I might be a bit of a Star Trek nerd but William Shatner using his Star Trek fame helped end traditional archery (for awhile anyway). Jennings was the first manufacturer of the compound bow. They used William Shatner of Star Trek fame to promote a new “Space Age” bow design.  It was a clever use of celebrity and technology which ultimately lead to the decline of the recurve and birth of the compound. William Shatner owned several Shakespeare recurves and was friends with Shakespeare Archery Executive and Pro Dick Wilson and Shatner also knew Ernie Root.

Holless Wilbur Allen changed the direction of archery forever when he discovered that he could make a new, faster bow by sawing off part of the limbs of a recurve bow and attaching pulleys to the new ends.  In the early 1960s he decided to try improving the current design of bows by using the pulley’s mechanical advantage to pull more weight than normally possible.

As Holless was exploring different ways of using the pulleys, he discovered that by using one with an offset axle (eccentrics), he created one of the biggest advantages of compound bows, “let-off”.  When coupled with a cam shape instead of a round pulley, the draw length, weight and force curve could be changed and improved.

On June 23, 1966 Holless applied for a patent “Archery bow with draw-force multiplying attachments”; in December of 1969 it was granted.  He teamed with Tom Jennings, and the first compound bows began to be manufactured.

One of the first Ads for a Jennings compound bow from 1968 was with William Shatner, from Star Trek. Yes- Captain Kirk killed the recurve bow!!!! William Shatner helped the compound assume it's prominence in the archery market, and led to the decline (for a short while) of the recurve.

The invention of the compound led to the demise of Shakespeare Archery. Rather than investing in the new technology, Shakespeare opted out of archery and concentrated on fishing equipment in 1975.

This is the article that helped introduce the compound. It appeared in BOW & ARROW November / December 1968 pp 14-17 by Jim Dougherty - (I don't think Mr Dougherty liked the bow very much..he barely mentions it in the article!!)

William Shatner in one of the first ads for a compound bow in 1968

Shatner with recurve 1967

Bill Shatner with his (Shakespeare Model X-15 ?) recurve in 1967 and
 today as he reminisces about how he killed the recurve
recent photo© 2012 by Jeff Greenwald

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© Copyright, Larry Vienneau Jr.

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