Bow (archery)

“ It is a good plan to choose a bow by quality, regardless of strength, and have the best bow that can be procured reduced to the strength suitable. In all cases the horns should be well and truly set on, and the nocks should be of sufficient bulk to enclose safely the extremities of the limbs of the bow running up into them, and the edges of the nocks should be made most carefully smooth. If the edge of the nock be sharp and rough, the string must be frayed, and in consequence break sooner or later, and endanger the safety of the bow. ”

“ P. Muir, who was as good a bowyer as he was an accurate shot, had a favourite bow, that did him good service in 1865 at Clifton, when he took the third place at the Grand National Archery Meeting. This bow in one limb was yew-backed yew, and in the other lance backed with hickory. A bow that is weak in the centre, and not sufficiently strong to allow of the ends being further reduced, may be brought to the required shape, and strengthened by the addition of a short belly. ”

“ It may be admitted that a short bow will cast somewhat farther than a longer one of the same weight, but this extra cast can only be gained by a greater risk of breakage. As bows are usually weighed and marked by the bowmakers for a 28-inch arrow fully drawn up, a greater or less pull will take more or less out of them, and the archer's calculations must be made accordingly. ”

“ The Bow.—As used in the pastime of archery the length of the bows does not vary much, though it bears some relation to the length 365 of the arrow and the length of the arrow to the strength of the archer, to which the weight of the bow has to be adapted. The proper weight of a bow is the number of ℔ which, attached to the string, will draw a full-length arrow to its head. For men’s bows the drawing-power varies from 40 to 60 ℔, anything above this being extreme; ladies’ bows draw from 24 to 32 ℔ Estimating 50 ℔ as a fair average, such a bow would be 6 ft. ”

“ No work exists which aims at giving an exhaustive description of the various forms of bows which have been used by different nations in ancient and modern times, and such an undertaking would be far beyond the scope of the present work. The only form of the bow with which we are now concerned is the English long-bow, and especially with the English long-bow as now used for target-shooting as opposed to the more powerful weapon used by our forefathers for the purposes of war. ”

“ Among the arts that have been carried to a high degree of perfection in this kingdom, there is no one more conspicuous than that of Archery. Our ancestors used the bow for a double purpose: in time of war, it was a dreadful instrument of destruction; and in peace it became an object of amusement. It will be needless to insist upon the skill of the English archers, or to mention their wonderful performances in the field of battle. The victories they obtained over their enemies are many and glorious ”

“ The modern bow used in archery is made of lancewood or yew and for men’s use is usually 6 feet long and for women and children 6 inches shorter. The strength or pull necessary to bend the bow, given in pounds, determines its classification. The arrows for men’s use should be 28 inches long and for women 24 to 25 inches. The target is a straw-filled canvas disk painted in bright colours. ”

“ If the bow have the fault of kicking ever so little, experience will easily detect it by the jolt in the hand. But on no account in this experiment should the string (without an arrow) be fully drawn and loosed. Care should be taken that the bow be sufficiently long for its strength. What has hitherto been said applies to all bows; but in self-bows attention must be paid to the straightness of the feathering of the wood. As a general rule, the lightest wood in a yew-bow will have the quickest cast, and the heaviest will make the most lasting implement. ”

“ It is of great importance to secure a good bow. We would not, therefore, advise the young archer to make one, but to buy one at a good archery shop, where they may be had at all prices. Upon making a purchase, he should examine the bow well, to observe whether it be well set in all its parts, of an elegant cut or shape, and free from flaws, knots, or cracks. He should look well at the ends, and to those points on which the bow-string is fixed, which ought to be tipped with horn. The proper length of a bow for a youth is about five feet. ”

“ It is this spin given to the string as the arrow is loosed that necessitates the delivery of the arrow from the other side of the bow when the thumb-loose of the Oriental archer is employed, because this loose communicates the same spin, but reversed, to the string.
The struggle of these forces is clearly indicated by the appearance of the arrow where it comes in contact with the bow when it leaves the string. It is here that the arrow always shows most wear. It is also shown by the deep groove that gets worn by the arrow in a bow that has seen much service. ”

“ In 1879 the first organization of Archery Clubs was formed at Crawfordsville, Indiana, and the first annual target meeting was held in Chicago in the same year.
Bows for archery are generally made out of tough soft wood, such as yew, with a flat outside called the back and a rounded inside called the belly; they are always strung with latter side inward. Lance wood is chiefly used in the United States on account of its resistance to heat. The bow must be easily controlled, and not too heavy. The strain of drawing a heavy bow is apt to pull the bow hand out of the line of sight. ”

“ Two things are essential to a good arrow, namely, perfect straightness, and a stiffness or rigidity sufficient to stand in the bow, i.e. to receive the force of the bow as delivered by the string without flirting or gadding; for a weak or supple is even worse than a crooked arrow—and it need hardly be said how little conducive to shooting straight is the latter. ”

“ If a bow could be so constructed that an arrow could be shot through it just above the handle, the opening must be large enough to admit free passage for the feathering as well, and the opening must be contrived so that the 'stele,' true to the point of aim throughout its passage through the bow, shall never swerve from the right side of the opening. ”

“ Let the bow-arm be straightened naturally as the strain of the loosing hand is applied to it, and by careful drill each archer will arrive at a method of rendering the recoil of the bow string harmless to the course of the arrow as well as to a naked wrist, which, it is now almost universally admitted, need not be brought into contact with the armguard. ”

“ All races and nations at one time or another have used the bow. Even the Australian aborigine, who is supposed to have been too low in mental development to have understood the principles of archery, used a miniature bow and poisoned arrow in shooting game. ”

“ With the thumb-ring the feathers of an arrow can be placed close to its nock, as the usual space of about 11⁄2 in. need not be left on the shaft at the butt-end lest the fingers holding the bow-string should crush the feathers of the arrow—a precaution that is necessary in all European archery. ”

“ James Spedding and Mr. P. Muir, the latter maintained that to be unstrung at each end was as agreeable to the bow as to rest on a camp-stool was to the archer. Some archers contend that it is better to have the bow strung some few minutes before the commencement of the shooting.
All that has been said respecting men's bows, with the exception of strength and length, applies equally to those used by ladies. The usual strength of these latter varies from 24 lbs. to 30 lbs. In length they should not be less than five feet. ”

“ With regard to unstringing the bow during the shooting, say, of a York Round of 144 arrows, at the three distances, a good bow will not need it, if the shooting be moderately quick, excepting at the end of each of the distances. ”

“ To increase or diminish the power of a bow, it is usual to shorten it in the former case, and to reduce the bulk in the latter; but to shorten a bow will probably shorten its life too, and mayhap spoil it, unless it be certain that it is superfluously long or sufficiently strong in the handle. On the other hand, to reduce a bow judiciously, if it need to be weaker, can do it no harm ”

“ Extend the left arm downwards until it is perfectly straight, the hand grasping the handle of the bow, the arrow being held by the nocking end by the two first fingers of the right hand passed over the string and on each side of the arrow, as in the cut, care being taken not to pass the fingers too far over the string, or the sharpness of the loose will be interfered with. ”

“ As a military weapon at the battle of Hastings.The Normans at the battle of Hastings are said to have used the arbalest or cross-bow as well as the long bow. Ever after this, the bow became a favourite weapon. During the reign of Henry II., archery was much cultivated, and great numbers of bowmen were constantly brought into the field; Archery encouraged by statute.and to encourage its practice, a law was passed, which freed from the charge of murder any one who in practising with arrows or darts, should kill a person standing near. ”

“ Almost any tough stick that will bend to a good curve will answer for a bow, but white ash such as is used in hoe- and rake-handles is probably best and easiest to get. A brittle wood like hemlock can be used, if used with great care; indeed, some Eskimos, who can get only dry, brittle driftwood, still make a splendid bow by wrapping it completely with sinew. The bow should be shorter than the archer. Plane each end tapering, first on the bottom, then on the two edges. Leave 6" in the middle straight for a handle. Notice the shape, Plate 8, of the three steps in the planing of the bow. ”

“ Your effort must be to get every part of the wood to do its work, for every inch is under utmost strain, and one part doing more than the rest must ultimately break down, sustain a compression fracture, or, as an archer would say, "chrysal or fret."
"A bow full drawn is seven-eighths broken," said old Thomas Waring, the English bowmaker, and he was right. Draw your bow three inches more than the standard cloth yard of twenty-eight inches and you break it. It is more accurate to say that a full drawn bow is nine-tenths broken. ”

“ As the arrow nears full draw, the weight increases to such a degree that the last few inches will register five or six pounds to the inch, depending on many variable factors in the bow.
The gradient thus formed dictates the character of a bow to a great extent. One that pulls softly at first and in the last part of the draw is very stiff, will require more careful shooting to get the exact length of flight than one whose tension is evenly distributed.
Reflexed bows are harder on strings than those that follow the string. A breaking cord may fracture your bow. ”

“ Three or four pieces of horn or wood are frequently joined together in one bow,—the strength lying alone in a vast collection of small plaited sinews; these, to the number of perhaps a hundred, run down the back of the bow, and being quite tight, and having the spring of catgut, cause the weapon, when unstrung, to turn the wrong way; when bent, their united strength and elasticity are amazing. The bow-string is of fifteen to twenty plaits, each loose from the other, but twisted round when in use, so that a few additional turns will at any time alter its length. ”

“ To make a very fine bow is a real art and requires much experience and many trials. But to make a serviceable bow that will shoot and will hold up for a time is not very difficult. And it is great fun! The first occasion on which you go afield with bow, bowstring, arrow, quiver, bracer, and finger tips all of your own composition, and loose the shaft and the thing not only flies well but straight and far, you will taste a wonder and a satisfaction new to your experience. It will probably take you some time to convince yourself that somehow the whole outfit is not a base imitation. ”

“ From the right side they take the arrow keen,
Ne’er to its quiver to return, I ween;
The bow, the left side’s fitting ornament;
The bow, the tough and pliant bow is bent;
It yields a sound, like thunder from afar,
While flies the arrow, like a streaming star.
None now expects a tale of fabled might ”

“ The glint or flash of a hunting bow will frighten game. I have often seen rabbits or deer stand until the bow goes off, then jump in time to escape the arrow. At first we believed they saw the arrow; later we found that they saw the flash. Bows really should be painted a dull green or drab color. But we love to see the natural grain of the wood.
The finish I prefer is first of all to give a coat of shellac to the backing, leather trimmings and cord handle. After it is dry, give the wood a good soaking with boiled linseed oil. ”

“ I possess several such bows, in each of which there is a dissimilarity of color and pattern. In the bow now before us, the groundwork is vivid green and scarlet, on which are drawn the most elaborate patterns of flowers, leaves, and arabesques in gold. It is impossible, on looking at the surface, not to admire both the beauty of the patterns and the excellence of the paint and varnish, which can be subjected to such violent treatment as is caused by the bending of the bow and shooting the arrow, and yet not be cracked to pieces. ”

“ Another way is to raise the bow, draw to the fullest extent, take aim by moving the hand on the bow handle up or down as the need dictates; loose the string by straightening the fingers while the hand is drawn entirely back.
The archer should never shoot more than three arrows in succession without resting. The fourth and succeeding flights are apt to be inaccurate if the arms are the least bit tired. Always be sure to shoot every arrow carefully—never hurry. ”