*pew*
Hi everyone, this is NUSensei.
Some people who have been watching my recent Olympic archery videos have been very
critical about the style and equipment used and among other things one of these
scathing comments is: "why don't you just put a laser sight on the bow?"
Well...
Don't worry, I'm kidding. This is not a real bow.
This is the AccuBow. It is a training device that started on Kickstarter and
it has a few interesting features. The main feature is the bow shape, which is
much different from a normal stretching band. It has an adjustable latex band
which allows you to train from very low draw weights to very high draw weights
but the distinctive feature of this training device is that it does come
with a laser pointer. I know most people who say this comment about laser
sights on bows do it sarcastically as a way to mock archery equipment, but being
serious though, why don't bows use laser sights? You can find laser sights online
for bows. These are very rare. They're not normally used because most people have no
use for them and I feel that at times these sights are kind of sold without
the best interest of the archer in mind.
The other problem with these sights is
that you need to see the sight and see the laser on the target and at
typical shooting distances which might be 30 to 70 metres away. You can see
lasers that far if the laser strong enough. However, there may be legal
limitations as to what kind of lasers you can acquire. When most people talk
about laser sights they refer to what they've seen in the movies and video
games where the laser sight is a red dot which paints a target and that shows you
where the bullet will land and therefore you don't need to aim. A laser sight is
not that simple and anyone who is familiar with firearms
and laser sights will understand that. There are numerous problems which can
arise even though you are using a laser sight.
At the same time I'm going to address the common criticism of Olympic style
archers that apparently can't grip their bows and that a skilled shooter should
be able to keep the bow on target. The last criticism is often from people
who have never handled a bow. You greatly underestimate how much natural shake
there is in the human form. It is impossible for someone to entirely
mitigate that shake. It doesn't matter how skilled you are, it is impossible to
mitigate. I will show you. In archery, a laser can be a useful diagnostic tool.
An archer might use a laser to help them identify the point of aim and their
alignment. At the same time, the laser would also help spotlight exactly how
much the bow is shaking and again, there is always an inherent amount of shake in
the shooter. The body is tense. It is impossible to keep the bow perfectly
still. Let's see.
What I'm going to do is stand three metres away from the door.
I'm going to point the laser on the door handle. I'm going to be using a 10 pound
draw on the AccuBow, which is the lightest draw, which means I should have
perfect control of my bow. Pay attention to the way the laser pointer moves.
This is me holding the bow as still as I can.
And that was about a 10-second hold. If I do it again,
fresh draw, on target
It's not any better is it?
This isn't me intentionally
showing that I can't hold a bow. I'm not a novice. But you can see that the laser
sight is very twitchy on the target and even holding the bow normally, it's very hard
to keep still. That is the inherent inaccuracy in the human body. The fact that we
are supporting a bow with our upper body and our arms with no other support
means that it is impossible to hold this still. Now you might think, well, you're
using a 10 pound draw. If you use a heavier draw then you should be able to
hold it steady. In actuality a heavier bow is harder to
keep steady especially if you're not an experienced shooter. But for the sake of
the argument let's wind this thing up to a heavier draw weight and see what happens.
So again, we are approximately three meters away. I'm using what is
approximately a 40 pound draw so we'll try to keep this still at full draw and
it's a lot harder there looks.
This is actually an increase in shake.
Wow, that's a lot of shake. Let's try again I'm going to be using a mid 40 pound
draw.
That's even worse.
All arches accept that there is an inherent
amount of shake. Good conditioning and practice and training will help
mitigate the degree of shake that you have but there will always be some sort
of shake in your upper body, in your arms in your hand, in your fingers and you saw
on a tiny doorknob at 3 meters how much variation there is. In fact, archers who
are trained for target shooting are told not to try to keep the sight steady on
target because it's impossible. The archer will cause more problems trying
to hold the sight steady than letting the sight float. Arches will let the sight
float and they'll execute the best possible shot subconsciously. That is why
archers use stabilizers. Stabilizers help keep the
bow stable on all axes. That is also why archers who are doing doing target shooting will
keep a loose grip or keep an open grip so they don't have the extra tension
from the hand. Every little bit makes the sight go off as you saw before. Remember, a
few millimeters off here means centimeters or even meters off at the
target at the other end. That is why a barebow shooter or a longbow shooter or
traditional shooter cannot consistently hit the target without some kind of aid.
This isn't an attack against traditional shooters, but many people overestimate
how accurate former archers were. The fact is, it cannot be done. It is a
superhuman ability to hold perfectly still. You will need a high-tech modern
Nanosuit to do so. And if you think I'm exaggerating, you try it yourself.
Take out your cell phone use the camera app. Use maximum zoom and try to hold the
thing steady.
You can't. And that is what professional cameramen have harnesses
and rigs that cost more than camera itself, because you
cannot attain perfection with your bare hands.
What does this have to do with laser sights? You can't keep the thing on
target. That defeats the whole purpose of a laser sight. Another problem is that
you can only calibrate the laser sight for one distance. This isn't too bad for
a firearm where if you sight to 50 meters, then your bullet should still impact
near that laser dot regardless of whether you're at 10 meters or 50 meters.
For a bow, the ballistics of the arrow make a big difference.
Your arrow will land completely differently if you're at 20 meters
compared to 50 meters. You cannot make a sight work unless that target is that one
specific distance. The biggest problem with the laser sight and sights in
general is that it doesn't automatically make you a good shot, and the same
problem is seen with firearms. With firearms, you need a good grip, good
muzzle control and good trigger control. If you don't have these things, then it
doesn't matter if you're using a laser sight. You will not hit your target.
Similar things apply to archery. You require a consistent anchor point. You
need to make sure the bow is held at the right angle or perfectly straight.
You need to make sure your shot execution and release are perfect. If you
don't have these things, it doesn't matter what sight you use, whether it's
barebow, iron sight or laser. The thing with a laser sight is that the dot is on
the target there, but it doesn't tell you what you are doing here. What if you are
holding it too low and you don't realize it. What if it's too angled and you don't
realize it. The sight will not tell you that but your shot will reveal
everything. It's not even useful in a tactical
situation. Again, because painting the target of a laser doesn't mean you will
hit it. The fact that you can angle the bow in any way or draw it to any point
on your body in a snapshot situation means that your arrow can go anywhere
from directly on target to 5 meters off. That's why the laser sight is really a
mall ninja thing. You don't see it on bows because functionally it doesn't
have a place in the shot process nor does it have a place in most
applications of archery today. If you happen to be in a zombie apocalypse
scenario, then a laser sight is not your answer. You may as well rely on
instinctive. In summary, is it possible to mount a laser sight on a bow? Yes.
Physically, it's possible. However, there is very little reason to do so. In fact
there are several reasons why you shouldn't. The first reason is that
inherently, we humans are unstable shooting platforms. It is impossible for
us to maintain the bead on the target. If you can't maintain a bead on target,
what's the point of using a laser sight? The second reason is that the laser
sight does not replace form. Yhe laser sight will not inform you if you are
anchored correctly or aligned correctly. It's simply a single point of reference
on the target. It doesn't reflect what you are doing here. Good accuracy is
achieved from good form, not from a good sight, and that applies to all forms of
shooting. Anyway I hope you found this interesting.
This is NUSensei. Thank you for watching and I'll see you next time