Editing Archery (section)

===Decline of archery===
The development of [[Gunpowder warfare|firearms]] rendered the [[bow and arrow]] obsolete in warfare, although efforts were sometimes made to preserve archery practice. In England and Wales, for example, the government tried to enforce practice with the longbow until the end of the 16th century.<ref>Steven Gunn, ''Archery Practice in Early Tudor England'', Past and Present, (2010) Vol. 209 (1): 53–81. {{doi|10.1093/pastj/gtq029}}</ref> This was because it was recognized that the bow had been instrumental to military success during the [[Hundred Years' War]]. Despite the high social status, ongoing utility, and widespread pleasure of archery in Armenia, China, Egypt, England and Wales, [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|the Americas]], India, Japan, Korea, Turkey and elsewhere, almost every culture that gained access to even early firearms used them widely, to the neglect of archery. Early firearms were inferior in rate-of-fire, and were very sensitive to wet weather. However, they had longer effective range<ref name="koreantrad" /> and were tactically superior in the common situation of soldiers shooting at each other from behind obstructions. They also required significantly less training to use properly, in particular penetrating steel armor without any need to develop special musculature. Armies equipped with guns could thus provide superior firepower, and highly trained archers became obsolete on the battlefield. However, the bow and arrow is still an effective weapon, and archers have seen military action in the 21st century.<ref>Bows and arrows: deadly weapons of rural Kenya's war. Njoro, Kenya (AFP) 2 February 2008 http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Bows_and_arrows_deadly_weapons_of_rural_Kenyas_war_999.html accessed 21 July 2012</ref><ref>Peace and Poison Arrows in Kenya. By Alexis Okeowo/Nairobi Friday, 29 February 2008. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080302151221/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1718460,00.html] accessed 21at July 2012</ref><ref>The National Disaster in Sad Pictures! http://www.ogiek.org/election-war/election-war-4.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304130250/http://www.ogiek.org/election-war/election-war-4.htm |date=4 March 2022 }} accessed 21 July 2012</ref> Traditional archery remains in use for sport, and for hunting in many areas.