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Friday, October 13, 2017

Right Handed Bow VS Left Handed Bow

How to tell a Right Handed Bow from a
 Left Handed Bow
 by Larry Vienneau
never trust a seller, they often know nothing about archery. This photo shows that both the model and photographer are clueless when it comes to using a bow. 

It seems that many archery sellers from Asia are not well-informed about the bows they are selling. I came across an example on eBay that illustrates this issue. In the photo, the model is holding the bow upside down, which is a serious mistake that could result in injury if she were to release an arrow. Additionally, the photographer posed the model as if she were a left-handed shooter, which is not accurate.

Did you know that only about 10% of the population is naturally left-handed, while around 18% of right-handed individuals are left-eye dominant? Unfortunately, archery manufacturers have been slow to cater to this demographic. In the 1950s, some manufacturers created dual shelf bows that could accommodate both left and right-handed archers, but others ignored left-handed archers altogether and only produced right-hand models. It wasn't until the late 1950s and early 1960s that manufacturers started producing both right-hand and left-hand bows, oftentimes charging more for the left-hand version or requiring a special order. As a result, there are far fewer good vintage or used left-handed bows available today. For instance, a typical search on eBay for used recurves yields approximately 300 auctions, but only 25 of those are for used left-handed bows, which is less than 10%. A search for new recurves on eBay results in about 1,700 auctions, and a search for new left-handed bows yields only 160, again less than 10%.


While searching for used left-hand bows, it can be frustrating to find that four out of the 25 options available are mislabeled. It's one of my pet peeves when bow sellers on eBay can't distinguish between a right-handed bow and a lefty. It's even more aggravating when a seller is too stubborn to take suggestions or comments. Some sellers have been shooting their bows backward for years, and when confronted, one seller even dared to say, "What difference does it make?" 

Safety is of utmost importance when it comes to using a bow. When the limbs of a bow are strung backward, they are not designed to handle the stress, increasing the risk of breakage. Additionally, there is a possibility of the string slipping off during a full draw, which can pose a danger to both the shooter and any spectators present.
this bow could break or the string slip and injure the child
 

On the internet, you can find numerous instances of individuals shooting bows that are strung in reverse.


this fellow is supposed to be an archery instructor, he has his bow strung backward

here he is instructing his student, please note that all of the bows are strung backward
shooting incorrectly strung bows is dangerous

There has been confusion surrounding the proper way to string a bow, which has been further perpetuated by Hollywood. A promotional image for the movie "Exodus: Gods and Kings" shows Christian Bale holding a horsebow that has been strung backward.



how a horse bow should look when strung

"Brave," the Disney movie, depicted a young girl challenging the traditional gender roles in medieval England and became a beloved children's film. Additionally, it sparked interest in the sport of archery among young girls. However, at the movie's premiere, a red-haired girl was photographed holding a bow strung backward, which went unnoticed by the organizers.


this is a properly strung bow
It is worth noting that many photographers incorrectly pose their models while shooting bows.
she has no idea what she is doing.

I guess they thought no one would be looking at the bow.
.
ditto

the onlooker is waiting for the string to pop off and wondering why does she not have an arrow on the string??

no caption is needed here. 
As I browse the various bows available for purchase online, I frequently come across bows that have been strung in the wrong direction.
two backward-strung right-handed bows, they appear to be left-handed. 
Some believe that storing a bow this way internationally is safe, while others may not be aware of proper bow storage practices. In the past, such ignorance could be excused, but with the abundant information online today, anyone with even a slight interest in archery can easily learn how to properly store or string a recurve bow. Therefore, there is no longer any excuse for ignorance on this matter, and a little initiative to do some research can go a long way.

Shooting Right-handed, bow held with left hand - shooting left-handed, bow held with the right hand.

One common misunderstanding is that people think a right-handed bow is held with the right hand. However, a right-handed bow is actually held with the left hand and pulled back with the right hand. On the other hand, a left-handed bow is held with the right hand and pulled back with the left hand. The hand used to pull back the bow determines whether it is right-handed or left-handed. 

two nearly identical Ocala 14A bows. One is left-handed and the other is righthanded

Sometimes, sellers who lack knowledge about bows may string them backward, which can make a right-handed bow appear to be left-handed. I had a conversation with a seller who insisted on selling me a left-handed bow, but it was actually a right-hand bow strung backward. I shared a picture of someone shooting a bow strung backward to clarify, but the seller insisted that it was how they shot.
lefty strung backward
I took a picture of my son's bow which was strung backward for a right-handed person (lefty), and then I corrected it by stringing it for a right-handed person (righty). As a result, the seller admitted his embarrassment that he had been shooting his bow incorrectly for years.

I usually send these sellers the 3Rivers Archery YouTube video; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4pHS_4EU7g

left-handed bowstrung, rest on the right side of the bow                                                right-hand bowstrung, rest on the left side of the bow

Most sellers are very thankful for the help and will change their listing to correct the dexterity.

Send them this link if you find a seller who insists that the listing is correct.  
http://shakespearearchery.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_24.html


© Copyright, Larry Vienneau Jr.

All rights reserved.
 

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for this precise comparison. It is really helpful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I absolutely love your blog.. Great colors & theme. Did you develop this website yourself? Please reply back as I’m looking to create my own website and would love to find out where you got this from or exactly what the theme is called. Thank you!
    Hunting Blog

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, What a Excellent post. I really found this to much informatics. It is what i was searching for.I would like to suggest you that please keep sharing such type of info.Thanks archi professionali

    ReplyDelete
  4. excellent process that you reveled here, thanks a lot

    ReplyDelete
  5. I Knew in 1999 when I got a bow at Garage sale where the old owner got the Bear Grizzly for $25 from his dad he had taken the string and had it strung the wrong way. He had went as far as to tie a knot in string that had turned white over the years to have it fit this way trying to sell the bow as a left hand bow but I knew from seeing other bows get used and tossed the string into his garbage can as soon as it was bought by me and my dad was busy buying his bow/haggling the price. The Bear Grizzly bow due to this has had some minor twisting in the limbs. Later in 2001 at a summer rec archery program I found I was a left eye dominat so I did not keep the really nice bow and gave it to my brother for a birthday gift a bit later in 2000's. The Son owho had his fathers bow did use a Bow but he used only modern Compounds being one those guys who thinks all recurve and longbow/flatbow are useless for hunting/bow-fishing but only good for target if that seeing as how Compounds can do that job too and that all bows in the recurve and manor that are not ILF style are garbage.

    The other bow my dad got a Root Shakespeare Targetmaster of the very late 1960's to early 1970's from same sale for $20-$30 was lucky and had a missing string so my dad got that bow unharmed in that part. The Targetmaster however has cracking on the fiberglass outer backing near the screw point that does not seem to be affecting the bows performance or safety since almost all of the Shakespeare/Root Targetmaster models with fiberglass baking seem to have this issue around the one lower front screw in point on the bow for the models that had the screw point for a weight/dampener for the bow since the model does shake a bit when used.

    ReplyDelete