Since the Archer of the Heathland series is about archery, I thought it would fun to start a discussion of some of the archer errors that appear in film. Enjoy!
Error #1 Creaking bows: In movies, why do bows being drawn creak as the string is pulled back? You will see this in virtually every movie, film, or TV show. It has become the stock sound effect for archery.
Let’s put this in print once and for all. BOWS DON’T CREAK! Why would they? When wood is bent it makes no sound until, or unless, it is stressed to the breaking point. Strings don’t creak either. They are almost always waxed to keep moisture out and wax simply doesn’t creak. It actually lubricates the sting loops in contact with the bow. No sound! Nope. Nothing. Just silence.
Bows CAN produce some noise when drawn as the arrow slides across the arrow rest. This depends on the kind of rest being used. Some are completely silent. If the archer is wearing a glove or finger tab, sometimes the string moving against the glove as it is drawn will make some noise, but neither of these sounds is loud and neither could be described as creaking.
Traditional Asian bows that have the large wooden tips called siyahs make some noise as the sting loop slips over the wood. Some of these bows have leather in the string groove, which can also make noise as the bow is drawn. But in no case is the noise loud enough to create the creaking noises used in Hollywood.
Bows DO make noise when the string is released because the limbs are recoiling to their original position at tremendous speed. The string often makes contact with the archer’s arm, and the arrow makes some contact with the arrow shelf and/or the face plate.
Recurves tend to be louder when shot than longbows because the string will make contact upon release with the recurve part of the limb near the tips. Bows can be quieted with a string silencer that reduces the vibration of the string. And recurves can be quieted by grooving the limb where the strings strikes it or by adding a pad there. Wooden arrows also tend to be quieter than the modern aluminum or carbon arrows.
A traditional longbow that employs vibration dampeners to the string and that shoots wooden arrows can be very quiet—almost silent. So an enemy will not hear a bow being drawn, but he/she might hear it being shot if the archer is close enough for the quiet sounds to reach them.
All arrows make noise as they move through the air. The loudness, pitch, and tone depends on the size and type of fletchings being used. Some fletchings are created to intentionally produce an audible whine as the arrows flies.
So there you have it. Bows do make noise, but they never creak like they do in Hollywood films. If your bow is creaking, you have serious structural damage that makes that bow dangerous to shoot.
Cheers,
James