Archery in the SCA comes in many different styles. Archers use a wide variety of weapons such as longbows, recurve bows, and crossbows. Our archers attempt to be as true as possible to the time period we play in, so our bows are usually made with natural wood, and arrows are made with wooden shafts and feather fletchings. We do not use modern equipment like compound bows or stabilizers.The Society of Creative Anachronism has two main ways to participate in archery: target archery and combat archery. Many people like to participate in both activities, so be sure to check out both styles! We have everything you need to get started, so don’t worry about buying everything on your own. Come out to practice and give our loaner gear a try!
Target Archery
Target archery is a great activity for any SCA participant of any age! Participants in this particular style of archery use bows and crossbows to aim for different items down range. Competitions include different scenarios that could have been faced by archers during the middle ages. Events may include a variety of situations such as shooting fake animal targets to mimic a hunt, shooting through slots to mimic sieging a castle, and even novelty competitions like shooting out the flame on a candle.
Combat Archery
Ready to join the battle? Combat archery may be just the thing for you! Combat archers participate in large melee battles that have dozens, or even hundreds, of participants on each side. Their armor requirements are largely the same as the armor requirements for Chivalric Combat. Combatants use low powered bows and crossbows, and their ammunition is tipped with rubber heads similar in size to a golf ball to ensure that nobody gets injured. You can find the full armor and weapon requirements in the Society Handbook and our Kingdom Handbook.
Thrown Weapons
In the SCA, we also have throwing weapons! Participants use different weapons, such as knives, axes, spears, and plumbatas to try to hit a target from a variety of distances. Like target archery, thrown weapon competitions may take on a variety of different forms, so be sure to try out everything! The only thing you need to participate is closed toe shoes; we have plenty of loaner weapons for you to try out!