I’ve been fascinated by archery my whole life. I remember making bows from sticks and yarn; arrows from rolled up paper – whatever was handy! The more like Indians we could be, the better. We spent many hours pretending to be Uncas and Chingachgook from The Last of the Mohicans.
In 2018 I became more seriously interested, bought a cheap bow, and started practicing. At this point I was still using a “European” three-finger draw. That’s what I knew from camps and such growing up. Jill and Alice have often joined me. Archery remains a favorite family activity!
Speed Shooting
Like thousands of other archers, I was inspired by this video from Lars Andersen. Totally different from the archery I had grown up with, and much more historical. This type of archer was the machine gun or mounted turret of his time.
At first it was just the neatest thing I had ever seen, but gradually I realized that with practice I could do what he does. I was hooked. I put my arrows on the “wrong” side of the bow and started practicing. Many targets/boxes have been destroyed in my quest:
These videos from 2020-22 show my early journey in this art:
Bowmaking
Many of my hobbies are “spin-offs” or derivatives. For instance, my love of guitar has led me to musical electronics, which led in turn to soldering and even circuit design! I found this clever guy around 2021 and was inspired by his amazing PVC bows. I bought a heat gun and started adapting his techniques. After starting with simple strings made from paracord, I also started making bowstrings to fit each bow using the “Flemish twist” method. These photos & videos from 2021 – 2023 show my progress as a bowyer:
Over the years I’ve experimented with different PVC gauges/lengths and various designs. It’s a cheap hobby because a 10-foot section of PVC can make two bows! And a PVC bow is impervious to weather and can last for years.
Combat Archery
In 2022 I bought some foam arrow tips. These revolutionized our family archery sessions. Suddenly we could run around and shoot at each other instead of just targets!
These “archery tag” sessions became a family hobby. Target shooting is fun for getting better at accuracy, that’s about it. But this brings archery to a whole different level. It’s like playing catch for years, and then suddenly discovering baseball!
Archery tag trains things that target shooting can’t. Alice and I started catching arrows out of the air, shooting down arrows in flight, developing different situational draw techniques, firing at moving targets, firing in motion, and using tactical distraction shots. We did all of these things naturally. Just like in paintball or laser tag, you intuitively try to hit your target while avoiding getting hit.
This sport attracts people. They walk up to us to ask questions all the time. They are always excited to try my bow, even if they have never shot a bow before. Combat archery is universally contagious!
We’ve invited families over for dinner and got them to try it out. Always an instant hit. Even people who haven’t fired a bow in their life pick it up right away. There is something natural and primitive in giving a kid a bow, some basic instructions, and telling him, “Now go shoot your dad!” Even a clumsy kid will find a way to make that happen, especially when Dad is shooting back.
Classes
All of these hobbies and hours of practice led up to me teaching my first archery class in summer 2024. Jill helped me plan it and sign people up. The description:
Learn how to make your own archery bows out of PVC pipe and polish your archery skills! We'll do archery crafting and War Games!
Thanks to the work of archers such as Lars Andersen, the traditional style of archery is surging in popularity. This class will be separated into two halves.
Part one will include all the craftsmanship to make your own
traditional-style horsebow out of inexpensive PVC, and your own custom-fitted bowstring using the Flemish twist method. Both of these will last for many years.
Part two will be outside, and cover various war archer techniques such as Turkish/Slavic draws and rapid firing. Using foam-tipped arrows for safety, we will engage in mock battles (archery tag) and various games/drills designed to put these techniques into practice.
Be advised that getting hit with arrows, even foam-tipped ones, can sting. You will be peppered with arrows, and some will hurt a bit – generally much less than paintball! But you will also learn to catch arrows in mid-flight and send them right back, and to dodge arrows while shooting!
Mr Holt has been teaching for over 25 years, and has taught many people to do fun things.
The class filled up quickly, mostly with kids we knew from various homeschool groups. Overall it went great. Some of the bows/strings didn’t come out well, but I learned what not to do for the next class. Here’s some photos of the fun:
I taught the second class in the summer of 2025, and it went just as well! I had two extremely helpful assistants, who had both helped out last year.
This year several of the students could not be there for some of the later classes – the shooting part! Even so, I’m always amazed at how quickly people pick this hobby up. Several kids this year went home and practiced on their own, setting up ambushes for their family all week.
We added some games this year. “The Gauntlet” was fun. “Orcs vs Elves” was a huge hit, although the orcs mostly just got slaughtered (we will come equipped with shields next time).
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