From: "Tom Winter" To: Subject: Scythian Bow Report Date: Wednesday, 23 April, 2003 7:45 AM Dear Stephen Selby, I have much profited from your site, so first, thank you! I now have my own Csaba Grozer old Scythian bow. I learned of it from your site; it occurred that you might be interested in some feedback. I teach Latin and Greek at the University of Nebraska, and I wanted a reproduction for many reasons, including for my lectures on the Odyssey. Greeks, of course, used "Scythian" and "archer' interchangeably; In Athens, Scythian archers accompanied the equivalent of police, and any bow in a Greek vase painting would basically look the same as, or essentially _be_ a Scythian composite recurve bow. So I had to have one! (Another reason: the Scythian has the least mass at the tips of the types available at the Grozer website. This should be a factor towards getting the work of the draw into the momentum of the arrow.) The draw: informed by your site, I experimented with the Mongol release, using some old fiberglass youth bows. I did decide that three fingers would pull more bow for me than my thumb ever would, but am a better informed archer for the experience. I recently switched to left-hand shooting. A daily diet of 100 arrows a day weather permitting, coupled with dry-drawing indoors in the inclement weather, have made my left draw-fingers noticeably thicker than the same fingers on the right hand. I think this has been essential to good shooting. Someone said it before in one of the archery classics: it's not the weight you can draw; it's the weight you can loose. And my drawing thumb would doubtless profit from the same training. But back to my Scythian: Last night, I was doing very well, plunking 17 of 22 arrows into a 16" circle at 24 yards with a favorite 45 lb longbow. (For me, this is good.) I switched to my old Scythian and got a surprise: with the 45 lb Scythian, aiming as with the longbow, my arrows were going about 20" higher. Using the Scythian at the same weight, my aim needed more gap between the pile and the gold. This done, I then put 17 arrows in a row into the 16" circle. Missed next three, ended with 19 of 22 into the 16" circle. Ruined two by hitting them. Now that I can group my arrows, I must stop shooting so many at a time! Sum: my Grozer "old Scythian" is faster than my favorite longbow of the same draw weight, and at least as accurate, or more. My arrow stopper is 6 layers of carpet draped over a wooden sawhorse, and set in front of rising ground. All best wishes, Tom Winter Associate Professor of Classics, University of Nebraska