Hello! My OH is a keen and proficient archer OC, and is interested in coming to see where I disappear to. His bow is definitely not suitable for empire (uuuuuuber modern although he van tune it to the correct poundage), but looking at IC appropriate bows we’re looking at £60+, which is a lot to spend if he ends up not coming back. If we paint or cover the yellow parts on this bow, would it be ok? https://www.bowsports.com/acatalog/Rolan---Snake-Bow.html#SID=4093
Absolutely fine - when you said ‘ultra modern’ I was thinking some kind of Crysis 3 style compound bow with pulleys and stuff.
Just wrap the arms of the bow with cloth (black canvas maybe?) and that’ll look the part very nicely.
That’s what I think at least…
Tim
Yep, the bow he has is as you’ve described, this would be a new purchase to use IC without breaking the bank. Thanks for the advice!
Ah, sorry, misread that!
Do be aware that LARP Archery is a bit different, and that arrows do break/go missing/eaten by kobolds ect.
Good point- I have yet to look into the mechanics of how many arrows he’ll need, how to retrieve them, the return rate etc…
Before an event: make sure you can clearly identify your own arrows. Writing your PID on the foam head is one way of doing it. Make sure they are allowed as per the rules (https://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/empire-wiki/Bow_safety).
At the event: get your bow and arrows weapons checked ASAP, saves lots of time pre-battle if you’re already sorted.
On the field: pick up arrows that are fired at you by others, check them for safety, and fire them back.
After battle: take all the arrows you still have left to GOD, pick up your own while you are there. Come back a couple of times over the course of the event to see if the rest of yours are there yet.
On average we tended to lose one or two per event through breakage or genuine loss.
From other archers buying a dozen and expecting to lose or break a couple an event seems to be about average.
Once the battlefield, pick up any arrows you come across and if intact after checking feel free to shoot it back. If not intact leave next to a tree or occasionally refs or water carriers may take them (not often though, they need their hands free).
At the end of the battle as your character return anything you have collected that isn’t yours to GOD, Lost Dave takes them, or drop off at Monster if your were monstering, then give it an hour at least for everyone to do the same and go back and check the bins in GOD for any of your lost ones.
Marking the end of the arrows using a sharpie with some symbol you will recognise is great, (OC is fine, unique is the important bit!), Putting your Pid on a bit of insulating tape on the shaft near the nock is also useful. Labelling both ends means if you only get half back you can still cross that off your inventory tally.
Also as a trained archer converting to larp archery, you will find the arrows do not go as far as you would expect, and tend to drop downwards further than you would expect (Aerodynamics of an empty yoghurt pot, i.e. not great!). Also be aware that because they don’t stick in the target arrows shot at plate armour and shields will bounce back somewhat which should affect your target choices.
Practice against a soft target, sheet on a washing line or propped up larp shield will give you a feel for this. Don’t shoot hard targets unnecessarily, it will eventually cause the foam to deteriorate.
Get used to checking every arrow before knocking to your bow. It’s good practice to do this even while practicing and not aiming at people, as you really need it to become automatic. Any larp archer should be able to show you this, but worth asking the official weapons checkers to get a definitive guide and it’s also useful to get a feel for other makes of arrows, and both fibreglass and wooden shafts.
For your quiver you will need something that keeps the quiver upright and open at the top. Larp arrows have to be stored head up, which makes them top heavy and most real archery quiver styles will flip over and tangle if used for larp arrows.
Practice loading arrows back into your quiver while on the move otherwise you will quickly be picked off by skirmishers on the other side.
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Well, it’s about the quiver, not the arrows. You can store the arrows head down but only if the quiver is really wide at the bottom to accommodate the bulky heads. Some people have quivers like that, and store the arrows head down, and it works fine.
So much useful information, thank you! I have been away from the forums for far too long.
Welcome back then, invite your other half on as well 
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Bear in mind max pull of 30 lbs!