1 Topic by morton509 (edited by morton509 2016-04-03 17:21:52)

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Topic: Steppe bows

Geoarcher and Hun?  And anyone else?  Which Steppe peoples bow would you say shoot similar to a Korean bow in ease,smoothness and overall feel?  If any.  I have been looking into branching out from Korean.  I prefer a smaller bow using the thumb draw and it seems the Scythian and Turkish styles are typically smaller than say Mongol or Hun.  In your experiences, how do these steppe bows do at 145 meters?  Are most or all Steppe bows strung in the center so they can be shot with different draw styles, thumb or fingers?  I've read allot of the horse archers could shoot multiple ways with both hands.  Also any top bow makers you could name for purchasing a Steppe bow would be great.  The Korean bows are just so petite, strong and easy its hard to break away.  Most the other style bows seem so bulky in comparison.  I say Steppe bows in a broad general sense referring to all the bows of Asia and the middle East that seem to have evolved off each other.

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2 Reply by geoarcher (edited by geoarcher 2016-04-03 18:47:33)

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Re: Steppe bows

As you probably have witnessed by now particularly on my Scythian thread, the more accessible modern synthetics are obviously not the same as what was traditionally produced in days bygone.  And if we try and answer such without saying so we may be thought policed.  smile   

Ergo excessive boiler plate is needed for these discussions.

So anyway, what are you trying to do here exactly?  Are you trying to get an actual hornbow or another synthetic?

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Re: Steppe bows

Synthetic.  The horn bows seem unnecessary for what I want.

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Re: Steppe bows

Korean synthetics compared to nearly any other modern synthetic are pretty unique in design in that no other synthetic bow will give you quite the same experience that's made in the spirit of the asiatics.  All I can say is that the only other synthetic I pull for frequently because of good working dynamics with a thumb draw in my collection is the Damascus model that Lukas makes.  It's also a favorite among modern day horse archers who compete.  Lukas also makes a good Turk bow from what I hear.  You'll just have to be willing to shell out all that cash.

I'd recommend mariner bows to you but they aren't really that petite but are a great value and perform well.

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Re: Steppe bows

Thanks for the opinion and info.  I will check it out.

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6 Reply by Pedro C (edited by Pedro C 2016-04-05 07:36:32)

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Re: Steppe bows

The medicinebows wood/sinew bows are interesting. I agree, horn bows don't really seem to feel like from another dimension (though pretty nice) yet they're hard to take care of and if you mess up, prone to failure. Kind of weird how they were meant to be weapons of war.
How much draw length do you want? The yuan cinnabarbow design seems interesting. I'm not sure if I'd go with Kaiyuan, Yuan-kublai, Han Wind 2, or one of the Ming models myself... The shorter Ming model is pretty short but not that short. I guess there isn't a synthetic Turkish model that's as fast as the Korean bows?..
Most of the synthetic ones, + my magyar horn bow once balanced, are strung at the center.

I mean, the Yuan Kublai is 52.75" and my janggung is 53", sooo...

Then there's the Bamboo Archery scorpius. Seems seriously fast, and short! Gives you 30" of draw. 55 J of kinetic energy with a 40# bow if I'm reading this right?

I like Korean bows, but I'm not sure if I want to shoot with a collapsed wrist.

Does smoothness just mean no stacking, irrelevant of initial draw weight? Would a manchu bow be much, much smoother than a korean bow?

Pedro C's Website

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  • ~HUN~
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Re: Steppe bows

geoarcher wrote:

And if we try and answer such without saying so we may be thought policed.  smile

Sorry you feel that way Geoarcher but I stand by my statement. Maybe I will not reply to threads as you still don't seem to appreciate my point.
Nothing to do with material. The discussion was going down the road of historical technique, I simply pointed out it was meaningless.

In answer to OP, none.

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Re: Steppe bows

~HUN~ wrote:

The discussion was going down the road of historical technique, I simply pointed out it was meaningless.

It sounds more like negativity to me.  I enjoy discussing many aspects of these traditions.  People may be unfamiliar with Scythian bows, why not discuss them and their history?

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  • ~HUN~
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Re: Steppe bows

You've got it all wrong, there is no negativity. As for discussing the Scythian culture and weaponry I'm all for it, the subject is more fascinating than any other steppe culture, in my opinion.
It would probably be better in a new thread though, rather than derail your thread in bows for sale.

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  • Registered: 2012-06-12
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Re: Steppe bows

I would agree to more in depth discussions on bow types, particularly the Scythian, for future topics/threads however I do take exception to the term 'meaningless' in certain contexts though.

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