>> I dont recall King John trying to restrict arms as a means of preserving the peace. <<
Ouch. I might have allowed some of the legend of Robin Hood to leak into the reality of King John, on that one. He is often depicted as having siezed the swords and other weapons of the townspeople to prevent their support of Robin Hood. I can’t really figure where else I might have learned that one from.
>> Actually NOT practicing archery on Sunday afternoon was punishable by fine. <<
I can’t really picture how that would take place. Did you mean that a certain class of people were fined?
Every able-bodied freeman was expected to spend sunday afternoons shooting longbows. Failure to do so would collect a fine. It was a device to ensure a plentiful supply of troops in case of war, of course.