Compound Bow
Compound bows are some of the strongest, fastest, most accurate bows around. They employ a system of pulleys and cables that makes drawing the bow easier without sacrificing the strength of the shot.
Like recurve bows, compound bows are made up of a riser with two limbs. The difference is, at the end of these two limbs, there are two things that look like wheels connected to a system of cables. These wheels are called cams.
The riser on a compound bow is usually made of aluminum or carbon fiber and the limbs are made of a fiberglass composite material.
Recurve Bow
Recurve bows are capable of shooting an arrow with more energy and speed than a straight limbed bow because the curves in the limbs allow it to store more energy and deliver that energy more efficiently.
Recurves are made up of a riser and two limbs.
The riser is the central piece of the bow where you put your hand.
Olympic recurves are the kind of bows used in the Olympic archery events. The Olympic recurve bow is equipped with a sight, a clicker, and a stabilizer.
The sight allows the archer to aim with more accuracy, but it does not provide any magnification.
The clicker is a metal bar that sits above the bowstring. It is set to make a “click” when the archer has drawn their bowstring to a predetermined length. This allows an archer to pull their bowstring back to the same length every time.
The stabilizers are weighted bars that stick out from the front or sides of the bow. Stabilizers add stability to the bow and reduce the number of vibrations. Every archer sets up their stabilizers a little differently.