System Only Gives Me Useless Gifts

After talking to Bu Tao, Li Yun headed to the archery club located at the edge of downtown Yide. He entered the front counter of the Yide Archery club where various bows were displayed on the wall. The clerk greeted him and asked him to check-in.

The archery club was the only place Li Yun found online that had a wide variety of bow and arrows to try out. He wasn’t planning to practice, he was only testing out to see what bow he should buy.

There were simple reasons why Li Yun wanted to buy the bow and arrow. There were no legal weapons allowed in China that gave him a distance advantages like the bow and arrow. Guns were heavily restricted, and to be caught with one was like being associated with terrorists. Even crossbows, slingshots, and spray mace were restricted. In many gang fights, the preferred weapon was the knife. Someone with a gun was very rare unless they were cops and from organized crime. Unless he had some political power, he wasn’t going to be carrying a portable tranquilizer gun like Rouxi.

Bow and arrow did not have restrictions. And if needed, it was something that could be constructed in the wild. He had plenty of space in the laboratory to practice with a target if he wanted to.

"Can I also register as a member?" Li Yun asked the clerk.

"Sure, are you a college student?" The clerk asked out of habit. The club provided discounts for students.

"Ah, no, I'm just using this for hunting," said Li Yun.

"Ooh, are you getting a hunting license?" the clerk asked.

Li Yun casually nodded, but the clerk knew that 90% of the people who hunted didn't care about getting a hunting license. So local officials didn't care about enforcing the wildlife law.

After he registered his name, he moved to the display case area to select three different bows available with various arrows. He saw a crowd of high schoolers with their instructor in front of him.

“The bow is made of two main parts, the limb and the bow string," the instructor explained. "Traditionally, the limb is made of wood, but modern bows use fiberglass and carbon fiber. As we draw the bow string, we exert a compression force on the string and the tension force on the limb. When we release the bow string, the combination of forces will project the arrow as far as the forces allow. So for a longer distance, you need a bow with a heavy draw weight.”

The highschoolers watched with interest. This was the closest they got to a weapon other than a knife, so some really wanted to try shooting as soon as possible. Some didn't pay attention and fiddled with their bow.

“The part in the center of the limb is considered the riser,” the instructor grabbed his left hand slightly below the middle part of the limb. “It is where we grip the bow, rest the arrow, and aim.”

The instructor divided the class into three teams.

“Okay, today we will practice with a recurve bow and longbows. Both have their advantages and disadvantages for beginners. Longbows are much simpler in design, lighter, easier to handle for long distances, and quieter. Recurve has better accuracy, smaller, easier to handle for short distances, and is faster. These pros and cons are also generalizations. Once you’re familiar with shooting, either can be accurate or easier to draw.”

Li Yun understood from research that the longer the bow, the higher the draw weight. However, the size of the bow made it difficult to traverse. Li Yun wanted something more portable. Every bow had a purpose, so a rabbit hunter would not want or need to carry a large bow meant for killing a bear.

Longbow, despite the name, didn't necessarily mean it was long. It was simply the shape of the bow and how it attached to the string at the tip without touching the limb. It was slightly longer than a recurve of the same length, but a recurve bow can also be long. Recurve bow, especially composite bow, was shorter due to the curved and swept tip, so it was often the preferred weapon of choice for mounted archery.

“There are other considerations like stability. A bow with a heavy draw weight required a person to exert a lot of energy. It takes away a person's ability to properly aim. Aiming with a bow and arrow wasn’t just aim and shoot, there were stances and release techniques that needed to be considered.”

Li Yun was more familiar with recurve bows as they were more prominent in competitions. Despite having sight, stabilizer and a clicker, competition-based bows were cumbersome when used for hunting. The additional items provided accuracy and stability, but were much more difficult to use in the wilderness.

It seemed like a contradiction, but many barebow archers fared better during hunts because they relied on experience and instinct to hunt rather than the extra equipment. It was only needed during competitions when aim was necessary for better points. 

Li Yun grabbed both bare longbow and recurve bows from 360-400 Newton (80-90lbs) draw weight to test it out. Some of the regular club members were startled by Li Yun's selection.

"Who is this guy?" they asked.

"He's going to break his arm."

"Not his arm, he's going to break his body!"

"Let let him try, every newbie wants to test their draw weights by testing the largest bow available."

The typical draw weight for Li Yun's weight was closer to 270 Newton (60lbs). Li Yun ignored the whispering and filled his quiver with different arrows of different arrow weights. 

The arrow weight was one of the more important in determining kinetic energy. Measured in grain, the more grain the arrow processed, the greater the kinetic energy and shooting distance. However, a heavier arrow also reduced the velocity. By determining the kinetic energy, a person would be able to determine what bow and arrow would be appropriate for hunting.

With the bow and arrows selected, he moved to the target range area to practice. There were many people using the target range, but he squeezed into the only vacant spot available.