Archery and LOTR

[WayneLigon]

A friend of mine who has an interest in archery did this page where she talks about archery, the LOTR movie, and the reality of using a bow. Very interesting. Also some good thoughts on playing an elf.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Neat site! It's been a while since I played with a bow; makes me want to go out and nock some arrows!

 

[RabidBob]

Facinating stuff - thanks! Makes me want to take up archery again.

 

[Bagpuss]

Pretty cool. I'ld consider getting my bow out of the loft, if I hadn't sold it.

 

[Ranger REG]

Interesting analysis.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the films and Orlando (with or without the help of digital) made his Legolas elf character come alive on the big screen. Just enough to impress me that he is an experienced archer. (6th level?)

Could Peter Jackson have searched for a more professional archer-slash-actor? He could but then he will probably be behind production schedule. I mean it was bad enough he couldn't find the right actor to portray Frodo until Elijah sent him an audition tape near crunch time.

I await an analysis on Aragorn/Strider's swordfighting technique (performed by Viggo Mortensen).

 

[Bob Aberton]

That was a neat site.

As an amateur archer myself, I can appreciate the difficulty of some of those shots (I have about a 75% accuracy at 20 yards, feh )...

Having the right bow must help - I'm righthanded and I've been shooting with a lefthanded bow...

 

[mmu1]

It does make archery sound fun, but what I'd really like to learn is how to shoot a bow without all the gimmicks modern ones have.

I mean, seriously - multiple stabilizers, pulley systems, sights, scopes, little thingamajigs to draw and release the bowstring with so you don't even use your own fingers... Isn't the appeal of muscle-powered weapons supposed to be a certain simplicity?

Kind of had the same problem when I tried target shooting... Olympic-class rifles and special shooting jackets with a harness you clip onto the rifle are nice, but plinking away with an ordinary .22 or a handgun is a lot more fun, and doesn't feel so damn impractical.

 

[Vocenoctum]

Well, a lot of the modern bows were developed because there's a market for them among hunters.
There are bow seasons, there are rifle seasons, etc. so hunting with a bow gets you a better chance to get what you want.

 

[mmu1]

Well, a lot of the modern bows were developed because there's a market for them among hunters.
There are bow seasons, there are rifle seasons, etc. so hunting with a bow gets you a better chance to get what you want.

My beef is more with competition bows than hunting ones, but those can get silly too. Hmm... Perhaps we should have spear-hutning seasons, that'd simplify things.

 

[Chauzu]

Perhaps we should have spear-hutning seasons, that'd simplify things.

I'm sure they would eventually make those silly, too.