What is archery

Shooting a bow and arrow is called archery. Thousands of years before history was first written, men used the bow and arrow. Archery was important in hunting and in warfare until firearms were developed, and today it is mainly a sport. The American Indian was an expert archer before the coming of the Europeans.

Before the invention of gunpowder the fate of a nation could depend on how good its archers were. For two hundred years after the introduction of firearms, archery continued in warfare; for an archer could shoot several arrows in the time required to reload and fire a musket, while the range was almost the same, about 400 yards. The legend of William Tell s shooting an apple off his son's head, in Switzerland, and of Robin Hood's adventures in Sherwood Forest, show how good the archers were then. A mere handful of English "longbowmen" under King Richard the Lion- Hearted withstood the charge of an entire Saracen army, during the Crusades. Today archery is one of the most popular sports, both in competition and in hunting, and is governed by rules and standards.