Archery Terms Glossary

All archery terms (A–Z)

• Anchor Point

  The anchor point is the fixed spot on the archer's face or jaw that the drawing hand or string contacts at full draw, reached the same way on every shot. Common references include the hand against the jaw or the string touching the nose or lips.

• Arrow Spine

  Arrow spine is the measure of an arrow shaft's stiffness, or how much it resists bending. It is most commonly expressed as a static spine number equal to the deflection in thousandths of an inch when a standard weight is hung from the center of the shaft supported at two points; a higher number means a more flexible (weaker) shaft and a lower number means a stiffer shaft.

• Brace Height

  Brace height is the distance from the deepest part of the bow's grip (the throat or pivot point) to the string when the bow is strung and at rest. It is measured perpendicular to the string and is one of a bow's core setup dimensions.

• Cam

  A cam is the rotating, often elliptical wheel mounted at the end of a compound bow's limb that the string and cables run over. The shape and timing of the cam system define the bow's draw cycle, including how draw weight builds and where let-off occurs.

• Cant

  Cant is the side-to-side tilt of a bow away from vertical during the shot, as opposed to holding it plumb and upright. A small cant may be deliberate in some traditional styles, while in sighted shooting it is usually unintentional.

• Center Shot

  Center shot is the left-to-right alignment of the arrow rest so the arrow points correctly relative to the string and the bow's centerline as it leaves the bow. It is set by adjusting how far the rest, and on a recurve the plunger, positions the arrow sideways.

• Clicker

  A clicker is a thin spring blade or wire mounted on the riser of a target recurve bow, under which the arrow point sits. As the archer reaches full draw, the arrow point slips out from under the clicker and it snaps against the riser, producing an audible click.

• Creep

  Creep is a slight forward movement of the drawing hand and string, letting the draw shorten just before or during release, instead of holding firmly at full draw. On a compound bow it means easing forward out of the back wall of the draw cycle.

• Draw Length

  Draw length is the distance the bowstring travels from its resting position to the archer's full-draw anchor point, measured for a given archer. Under the common AMO/ATA standard it is defined as the distance at full draw from the nock point to the pivot point of the bow's grip plus 1.75 inches.

• Draw Weight

  Draw weight is the amount of force, measured in pounds, required to draw a bow to a specified draw length. For recurve and traditional bows it is conventionally rated at a 28-inch draw and increases roughly as the bow is drawn farther; for compound bows it refers to the peak weight reached during the draw cycle.

• Field Point

  A field point is a simple, conical or bullet-shaped metal tip screwed or glued onto the front of an arrow for target practice and field shooting. It is sized to match the arrow's insert and is sold in standard weights such as those measured in grains.

• FOC (Front of Center)

  FOC, or front of center, is the percentage of an arrow's total length by which its balance point sits forward of the physical center of the arrow. It is calculated by finding the balance point, measuring how far it is ahead of center, dividing that distance by the overall arrow length, and multiplying by 100.

• Follow-Through

  Follow-through is the act of maintaining form and direction through and immediately after release, rather than relaxing or moving the moment the string is let go. The bow arm stays up and the release motion continues naturally until the arrow is well on its way.

• Group

  A group is the cluster of arrows on the target from a series of shots aimed at the same point. Its size, the spread between the arrows, describes how consistently the shots landed together.

• Insert

  An insert is a small threaded sleeve, usually aluminum, that is glued into the front of an arrow shaft to accept screw-in points. It provides the standardized threads that let an archer attach and swap field points or other compatible tips.

• Kisser Button

  A kisser button is a small disc or bead fixed to the bowstring that touches a consistent point on the archer's lips or the corner of the mouth at full draw. It gives a tactile reference, complementing the hand-to-face contact of the anchor.

• Let-Off

  Let-off is the reduction in holding weight that a compound bow's cam system provides at full draw, expressed as a percentage of the peak draw weight. A bow with 80 percent let-off drawn to a 60-pound peak weight, for example, requires the archer to hold only about 12 pounds at full draw.

• Limb

  A limb is one of the two flexible arms of a bow that bend and store energy as the bow is drawn and then release that energy to propel the arrow. Bows have an upper and a lower limb, and on takedown recurves the limbs are separate parts that bolt into the riser.

• Nock

  A nock is the small, usually plastic, fitting at the rear of an arrow with a slot that snaps onto the bowstring. It holds the arrow on the string at the nocking point until release and is fitted to match the string's serving diameter.

• Nocking Point

  The nocking point is the marked or fixed location on the bowstring where the arrow's nock is placed so that the arrow sits at the same spot for every shot. It is commonly set with a crimped brass nock set, served thread, or tied-on markers above and/or below the arrow.

• Peep Sight

  A peep sight is a small ring with an aperture installed between the strands of a compound bow's string at eye level. The archer looks through the peep at full draw and aligns it with the front sight, using it as a consistent rear sighting reference.

• Plunger (Button)

  A plunger, also called a cushion plunger or Berger button, is a spring-loaded pin that threads through the riser at the arrow rest and contacts the side of the arrow. Its spring tension and depth are adjustable to control how the arrow behaves at the moment of release.

• Riser

  The riser is the rigid central section of a bow that the archer grips and to which the limbs, rest, sight, and other accessories attach. On takedown recurve bows the riser is a separate machined or molded component, commonly made of aluminum or carbon, that bolts to the limbs.

• Serving

  Serving is the protective wrapping of thread bound tightly around sections of a bowstring or cable, most importantly the center where the arrow nocks and where the fingers or release contact the string. It is wound over the load-bearing string fibers underneath.

• Stabilizer

  A stabilizer is a weighted rod, or system of rods, that mounts to the front and sometimes the sides and rear of the riser to add mass and dampen movement. It typically combines a length of rod with adjustable weights at the end.

• String Walking

  String walking is a barebow aiming technique in which the archer places the drawing fingers at different, measured positions below the nock on the string depending on the target distance. Moving the fingers lower on the string changes the arrow's launch angle to adjust elevation without a sight.

• Tiller

  Tiller is the relationship between the upper and lower limbs of a bow, measured as the perpendicular distance from the string to the point where each limb meets the riser. The difference between the two measurements describes how the limbs are balanced relative to each other.

• Vane

  A vane is a fin attached near the rear of an arrow, typically made of plastic or a similar synthetic material, that steers and stabilizes the arrow in flight. Most arrows carry three or four vanes, the synthetic counterpart to traditional feather fletching.