Bow International is the world's only specialist target archery print magazine, and within each issue you'll find news and reviews, new gear, technique, advice and tips; plus exclusive interviews from the world's greatest archers.
Welcome to Issue 185, the Tuning Special. The outdoor season is almost here and there is no better time for fine-tuning than now. For some, tuning may seem a never-ending or a complex task - but it doesn’t have to be. In this issue our expert staff share their tips and knowledge on tuning conditions and gear, hopefully proving that tuning does not have to be challenging. Duncan Busby will break down the compound bow tuning process in great detail, and Felicity May will share a selection of gear that will take your recurve bow to higher level of performance. World expert coach Juan Carlos Holgado will share the wealth of knowledge in guiding you to archery release mastery, and Dr James Park will give his scientific take on the…
Team GB’s top recurve archers Bryony Pitman, Sarah Bettles and Alex Wise have announced their departure from the World Class Olympic Programme to pursue their careers. It does not mean that they will stop archery altogether, it simply means that these athletes have fulfilled their ambitions and are ready to move on with their lives. This announcement coincided with the departure of Archery GB’s Performance Director Tom Duggan, who will become the Performance Director for Canoe Slalom and Kayak Cross at Paddle UK. All three of the GB athletes started archery in their teens and have many great memories from their subsequent journeys. Here is what they said to AGB when they were asked to comment on their departure: Pitman: “I decided to leave for a few reasons, but ultimately,…
First time host The Great Chicago Open crowned its champions on February 14th. Canada’s representative Devaang Gupta upset the crowd favourite, Brady Ellison, by taking the Recurve Men’s gold in a gripping shoot-off against the USA’s finest in a 5-5 match tie. Devaang had only had one medal to his name, a recurve men’s team silver from the 2024 Pan American, to match the veteran Olympian Brady’s 92 World Cup, World Championships and Olympics haul, excluding countless other big wins. The Ladies’ Recurve gold went to the USA’s Casey Kaufhold, Brady’s Paris 2024 mixed team partner, who has just come off the Lancaster Classic podium with another, her third Classic win (2020, 2023, 2025). Safe to say, both the USA’s contenders will be top picks for the World Indoor Series…
The event was limited to 300 archers and quickly sold out. While the scoring format, two arrows at each target with 12 for an inner kill, 10 for a kill and 8 for a wound, was shared in advance, everything else was kept a closely guarded secret. The inaugural National Field Archery Society (NFAS) indoor championships took place near Coventry on 18 and 19 January 2025. A sports hall full of archers, avoiding the winter weather, is a common sight in January. But while the archers were standing in a straight line, the targets they were shooting at were anything but. A mix of 3Ds and paper faces were scattered across the blue floor, clustered or solo, in the open and behind scenery. The original idea, to bring the experience…
All Olympians past and present are welcome to go to the World Archery Excellence Centre to sign the Olympic plaque. Each Olympic Games has its own plaque signed by numerous athletes, and these are hung on the wall above the shooting hall. This time, Alex Wise and Penny Healey of Great Britain made the trip to sign the Paris section. We caught up with Alex and Penny to talk about their day. ALEX: “A GREAT WAY TO SIGN OFF MY CAREER OF INTERNATIONAL RECURVE ARCHERY!” PENNY: “IT WAS A FUN EXPERIENCE AND A ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY.” Alex related: “We caught the first flight out from Manchester Airport to Geneva, landing at 11am. The five o’clock alarm was a shock to the system, but well worth it. Flying into…
The outdoor season is looming, but before we switch gear we wanted to take a quick look back and highlight some of the gear choices from our top four standout 2025 Lancaster Classic champions; Bow did a summary of key match results from the 21st instalment of the Classic in Issue 184, so be sure to check it out. The Classic, which takes place at Spooky Nook, Pennsylvania, is one of the biggest indoor tournaments, with big prize money, and one of the most exciting for the spectators, as the format is unique and a fresh departure from the standard WA18. First, the Classic makes a distinction in the gold ring scoring – here the bullseye counts as eleven points, compared to WA’s ten. Second is the additional twelve ring,…
