These bows continued to be used for a time in the Realms in Exile but few if any survived to the end of the Third Age. These bows were unmatched in range and were greatly feared by the enemies of the Númenóreans. The Númenóreans used bows made of steel with steel tipped arrows an Ell long. Earlier in his journey with the Fellowship of the Ring, he used a bow from Mirkwood, and it was later replaced by the bow of the Galadhrim Lady Galadriel gave him.
Legolas was the most renowned archer throughout the Third Age. They used a spiral method of fletching (attaching feathers to the arrow shaft), thus making their arrows more accurate, up to a quarter mile. Their arrows were almost four feet long and usually made of ash with a tip made of gold and shaped like a Mallorn leaf. The Elven archers from Lórien used large bows of Mallorn wood strung with elf-hair. ElvesĪ fully armed elf Archer with a quiver of arrows Some of Thorin's company used bows to hunt with in The Hobbit.