Archery: Steps to Success

by Kathleen M. Haywood, Catherine F. Lewis

Previous editions have sold more than 90,000 copies. Describes the skills, techniques, and strategies to shoot safely, accurately, and consistently, using recurve or compound bows, in target and hunting situations. Through step-by-step, progressive instruction, each phase of the shot is covered: stance, draw, aim, release, and follow-through. New to this edition are full color photographs which clarify detailed written descriptions of proper techniques for shooting form, sighting and aiming, and anchoring. Drills and assessment exercises allow readers to apply and develop the physical and mental skills while a scoring system for each exercise promotes progressive skill development. "

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference

280 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1989

About the author

Kathleen M. Haywood is Associate Dean and Professor in the College of Education at UMSL (University of Missouri-St. Louis) in the Department of Educator Preparation, Innovation and Research.

Reviews

[Robert Lee Hadden · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent work, and one that I wish I had been able to use when I started archery many years ago. There are many helpful hints here for those picking up the hobby. Also there are many steps to make archery more precise and less of a slap-dash sport that I first learned.
This being said, there are some changes I would recommend for new editions. There is no index. There is a glossary of archery terms, but it is limited, and the traditional word "cock feather" for example is only used with the more modern term of "index feather." The bibliography or "References", in a word, sucks with only three entries. For a book that is designed as a text for archery classes, these academic violations are remarkable.
There is an excellent section on determining the dominant eye for shooting, but other information on archery for left-handers is scattered throughout. There are also some excellent photos on left handers shooting and aiming as well. But a single section or chapter on left handed shooting would be a better use of the text.
The photos need some attention as well. Some of them have diagrams drawn over the subject with dark lines, but which are invisible (and thus miss the mark!) when the subject is wearing dark clothes. The captions also need more explanatory text and describe in more detail what is shown.
There is an excellent chapter on bowhunting, but most of the text is concerned with target competition. The sections on mental preparation for competition is good for many other sports as well. There is little about bow fishing, and a discussion about field archery is also scattered throughout the text.
However, most of these are also problems of editing and publication. I hope the fifth edition will see an index, and an improved glossary, and an improved bibliography, better captions and tightened text. Nevertheless, this is a good textbook for teaching the sport of archery. However, it can be better still.

[Onda]

Great basics, mainly about shooting techniques and tuning the equipment. New to archery? Read it.

[Logan Streondj · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reasonably thorough overview of all things archery. The focus is mostly on target archery, with tabulation of points, though it is a decent enough learning model. It does cover other forms of archery as well such as 3D archery, and bowhunting. It covers mostly recurve and compound bows. And covers carbon and aluminum arrows.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to dip in and out of as a novice or more accomplished archer

[AH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't wait to try all the drills and record my progress

Ptr: 93

[cellomerl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a real noob to archery, but enjoying it a lot, and wanted to find a good preliminary guidebook. This book starts from first principles and provides very thorough explanations. The authors' writing is clear and comprehensive. After I started reading it, I immediately put many of the principles into practice at my next shoot. The book covers a wide range of different archery activities. It would have been improved by more and better pictures and diagrams. It is also like a textbook full of exercises and scoring methods, and I skipped over some of these while reading it. I'm sure I'll use this book as a good reference later on.

[Juliana Es · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more like an activity book, but it is written with such clarity that any novice in archery will be able to follow the steps laid out by the author.

A good book, but an old copy (which belongs to the library I work for).

[Austin B · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is only good if you like archery or fixing bows. Otherwise you most likely wouldn't want to read it. I would not recommend this book.

[Ty_kelly Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

It show simple tips that help you or someone who doesn't own a lot of equipment and helps you shoot straighter and helps with buying the right equipment.

[Cloay · Rating 3 out of 5]

- available in SG NLB 799.32 (Serangoon)

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

More info about archery. Zipped through it in search for knowledge to improve my own shooting.