Book: Hunting with the Bow and Arrow

S >> Saxton Pope >> Hunting with the Bow and Arrow




To keep the arrows dry, and to cover them while traveling, we make a
sheath for the quiver of waterproof muslin. This is long enough to
cover the arrows and has a wire ring a bit larger than the top of the
quiver sewn in the cloth some three inches from the upper end. This
keeps the feathers from being crushed. The mouth of this cover is
closed with a drawstring. On the side adjacent to the strap of the
quiver, an aperture is cut to permit this being brought through and
fastened to the belt.

The bow itself has a long narrow case made of the same cloth, or
canvas, or green baize with a drawstring at the top and a leather tip
at the bottom. Where several bows are packed together, each has a
woolen bow case and all are carried in a canvas bag, composition
carrying cylinder, or in a wooden bow box. In hunting we prefer the
canvas bag, but you must carry it yourself, any one else will break
your bows.

The bracer, or arm guard, is a cuff of leather worn on the left forearm
to prevent the stroke of the bowstring doing damage. Some archers can
shoot without this protection, but others, because of their style of
shooting or their anatomical formation, need it. It can be made like a
butcher's cuff, some six or eight inches long, partially surrounding
the forearm and fastened by three little straps or by lacing in the
back. Another form is simply a strip of thin sole leather from two to
three inches wide by eight long, having little straps and buckles
attached to hold it in position on the flexor surface of the wrist and
forearm.

[Illustration: NECESSARY ARCHERY EQUIPMENT]

The bracer not only keeps the arm from injury, but makes for a clean
release of the arrow. Anything such as a coat sleeve touching the
bowstring when in action, diverts the arrow in its flight. On the
sleeve of your shooting jersey you can sew a piece of leather for an
arm guard.

While one may pick up a bow and shoot a few shots without a glove or
finger protection, he soon will be compelled to cease because of
soreness. Doubtless the ancient yeoman, a horny-handed son of toil,
needed no glove. But we know that even in those days a tab of leather
was held in the hand to prevent the string from hurting. The glove
probably is of more modern use and quite in favor among target archers.
We have found it rather hot in hunting, so have resorted to leather
finger tips. These are best made of pigskin or cordovan leather, which
is horse hide. This should be about a sixteenth of an inch thick and
cut to such a form that the tips enclose the finger on the palmar
surface up to the second joint and leave an oval opening over the
knuckle and upper part of the finger nail. The best way to make them is
to mould a piece of paper about each of the first three fingers on the
right hand, gathering the paper on the back and crimping it with the
thumb nail to show where to cut the pattern. Lay the paper out flat and
cut it approximately according to the illustrated form.

Transferring these outlines to the leather, cut three pieces
accordingly, soak them in water and sew them. This stitching is best
done by previously punching holes along the edges with a fine awl and
sewing an overcast stitch of waxed linen thread which, having reached
the end, returns backward on its course through the same holes. This
makes a criss-cross effect which is strong and pleasing to the eye.

The ends of the finger cots should be sewed closed, protecting the
fingers from injury and keeping out dirt. While the leather is still
soft and damp, place the tips on the fingers and press them home. At
the same time flex them strongly at the joints and try to keep them
bent there. Such angulation helps not only in holding the bowstring,
but keeps the tip from coming off under pressure. When dry, these
leather stalls should be numbered according to the finger to which they
belong, coated lightly with thin glue on the inside and waxed on the
outer surface. Then they are ready for use.

An archer should have two sets of tips so that, should misfortune
befall him and he loses one, he is not altogether undone. When not in
use keep them in your pocket or strung on the strap of your bracer. In
by-gone days they were sewed to straps which fastened to a wrist belt,
thus were more secure from loss, but more cumbersome.

From time to time oil your tips and always keep them from being
roughened or scratched. With a small amount of glue in the tip one has
only to moisten his fingers in his mouth and the leather stall will
stick on firmly. We have also used lead plaster of the pharmacopoeia
for the same adhesive purpose.

In the absence of pockets in ancient days, the archer carried his extra
equipment in a wallet slung at his waist. Even now it seems a handy
thing to have a deerskin wallet six by eight inches, by an inch or more
deep. I frequently carry my tips, extra string, wax, file wrapped in a
cloth, and a bit of lunch, in such a receptacle.

With his bow, his quiver, a wallet, our modern archer is ready and
could step into Sherwood Forest feeling quite at home.




VIII


HOW TO SHOOT


First, brace your bow. To do this properly, grasp it at the handle with
your right hand, the upper horn upward and the back toward you. Place
the lower horn at the instep of your right foot, and the base of your
left palm against the back of the bow, near the top below the loop of
the string. Holding your left arm stiff and toward your left side, your
right elbow fixed on your hip, pull up on the handle by twisting your
body so that the bow is sprung away from you. The string is now
relaxed, and the fingers of the left hand push it upward till it slips
in the nock.

Don't try to force the string, and don't get your fingers caught
beneath it. Do most of the work with the right hand pulling against the
rigid left arm.

The proper distance between the bow and the string at the handle is six
inches. This is ordinarily measured by setting the fist on the handle
and the thumb sticking upright, where it should touch the string. This
is the ancient fistmele, an archer's measure, also used in measuring
lumber.

Hunting bows should be strung a little less than this because of the
prolonged strain on them. Target bows shoot cleaner when higher strung.

Change your bow to your left hand and drop the arm so that the upper
end of the bow swings across the body in a horizontal position. Draw an
arrow from the quiver with the right hand and carry it across the bow
till it rests on the left side at the top of the handle. Place the left
forefinger over the shaft and keep it from slipping while you shift
your right hand to the arrow-nock, thumb uppermost. Push the arrow
forward, at the same time rotating it until the cock feather, or that
perpendicular to the nock, is away from the bow. As the feathers pass
over the string and the thumb still rests on the nock, slip the fingers
beneath the string and fit it in the arrow-nock.

Now turn the bow upright and remove your left forefinger from its
position across the shaft. The arrow should rest on the knuckles
without lateral support. Now place your fingers in position for
shooting. The release used by the old English is the best. This
consists in placing three fingers on the string, one above the arrow,
two below. The string rests midway between the last joint and the tip
of the finger. The thumb should not touch the arrow, but lie curled up
in the palm.

The release used by children consists in pinching the arrow between the
thumb and forefinger, and is known as the primary loose. This type is
not strong enough to draw an arrow half way on a hunting bow.

Stand sidewise to your mark, with the feet eight or ten inches apart,
at right angles to the line of shot. Straighten your body, stiffen the
back, expand the chest, turn the head fully facing the mark, look at it
squarely, and draw your bow across the body, extending the left arm as
you draw the right hand toward the chin.

Draw the arrow steadily, in the exact plane of your mark, so that when
the full draw is obtained and the arrowhead touches the left hand, the
right forefinger touches a spot on the jaw perpendicularly below the
right eye and the right elbow is in a continuous line with the arrow.
This point on the jaw below the eye is fixed and never varies; no
matter how close or how far the shot, the butt of the arrow is always
drawn to the jaw, not to the eye, nor to the ear. Thus the eye glances
along the entire length of the shaft and keeps it in perfect line. The
bow hand may be lowered or raised to obtain the proper elevation and
length of flight. The left arm is held rigidly but not absolutely
extended and locked at the elbow. A slight degree of flexion here makes
for a good clearance of the string and adds resiliency to the shot.

The arrow is released by drawing the right hand further backward at the
same time the fingers slip off the string. This must be done so firmly,
yet deftly, that no loss of power results, and the releasing hand does
not draw the arrow out of line. Two great faults occur at this point:
one is to permit the arrow to creep forward just before the release,
and the other is to draw the hand away from the face in the act of
releasing. Keep your fingers flexed and your hand by your jaw. All the
fingers of the right hand must bear their proper share of work. The
great tendency is to permit the forefinger to shirk and to put too much
work on the ring finger.

If the arrow has a tendency to fall away from the bow, tip the upper
limb ten degrees to the right and pull more on the right forefinger,
also start the draw with the fingers more acutely flexed, so that as
the arrow is pinched between the first and second fingers and as they
tend to straighten out under the pressure of the string, the arrow is
pressed against the bow, not away from it.

In grasping the bow with the left hand, it should rest comfortably in
the palm and loosely at the beginning of the draw. The knuckle at the
base of the thumb should be opposite the center of the bow, the hand
set straight on the wrist. As you draw, be sure that the arrow comes up
in a straight line with your mark, otherwise the bow will be twisted in
the grasp and deflect the shot. Then fully drawn, set the grasp of the
left hand without disturbing the position of the bow, make the left arm
as rigid as an oak limb; fix the muscles of the chest; make yourself
inflexible from head to toe. Keep your right elbow up and rivet your
gaze upon your mark; release in a direct line backward. Everything must
be under the greatest tension, any weakening spoils your flight.

The method of aiming in game shooting consists in fixing binocular
vision on the object to be hit, drawing the nock of the arrow beneath
the right eye and observing that the head of the arrow is in a direct
line with the mark by the indirect vision of the right eye. Both eyes
are open, both see the mark, but only the right observes the arrowhead,
the left ignores it. Your vision must be so concentrated upon one point
that all else fades from view. Just two things exist--your mark and
your arrowhead.

At a range of sixty or eighty yards, the head of the arrow seems to
touch the mark while aiming. This is called point blank range. At
shorter lengths the archer must estimate the distance below the mark on
which his arrow seems to rest in order to rise in a parabolic curve and
strike the spot. At greater ranges he must estimate a distance above
the mark on which he holds his arrow in order to drop it on the object
of his shot.

If his shaft flies to the left, it is because he has not drawn the nock
beneath his right eye, or he has thrown his head out of line, or the
string has hit his shirt sleeve or something has deflected the arrow.

If it falls to the right, it is because he has made a forward, creeping
release, or weakened in his bow arm, or in drawing to the center of the
jaw instead of the angle beneath the eye.

If the arrow rattles on the bow as it is released, or slaps it hard in
passing, it is because it is not drawn up in true line, or because it
fits too tightly on the string, or because the release is creeping and
weak. Always draw fully up to the barb.

If his arrows drop low and all else is right, it is because he has not
kept his tension, or has lowered his bow arm.

After the arrow is released, the archer should hold his posture a
second, bow arm rigidly extended, drawing hand to his jaw, right elbow
horizontal. This insures that he maintains the proper position during
the shot. There should be no jerking, swinging, or casting motions; all
must be done evenly and deliberately.

The shaft should fly from the bowstring like a bird, without quaver or
flutter. All depends upon a sharp resilient release.

Having observed all the prerequisites of good shooting, nothing so
insures a keen, true arrow flight as an effort of supreme tension
during the release. The chest is held rigid in a position of moderate
inspiration, the back muscles are set and every tendon is drawn into
elastic strain; in fact, to be successful, the whole act should be
characterized by the utmost vigor.

To get the best instructions for shooting the bow, one should read Sir
Roger Ascham in _Toxophilus_, and Horace Ford on _Archery._

Game shooting differs from target shooting in that with the latter a
point of aim is used, and the archer fixes his eyes upon this point
which is perpendicular above or below the bull's-eye. The arrowhead is
held on the point of aim, and when loosed, flies not along the line of
vision, but describes a curve upward, descends and strikes not the
point of aim, but the bull's-eye.

The field archer should learn to estimate distances correctly by eye.
He should practice pacing measured lengths, so that he can tell how
many yards any object may be from him.

In hunting he should make a mental note of this before he shoots. In
fact we nearly always call the number of yards before we loose the
arrow.

Where a strong cross-wind exists, a certain amount of windage is
allowed. But up to sixty yards the lateral deflexion from wind is
negligible; past this it may amount to three or four feet.

In clout shooting and target practice, one must take wind into
consideration. In hunting we only consider it when approaching game, as
a carrier of scent, because our hunting ranges are well under a hundred
yards and our heavy hunting shafts tack into the wind with little
lateral drift.


[Illustration: AN ARCHER'S MEASURE, A FISTMELE]


[Illustration: THE ENGLISH METHOD OF DRAWING THE ARROW]


[Illustration: NOCKING THE SHAFT ON THE STRING]


[Illustration: THE LONG BOW FULL DRAWN]


No matter how much a man may shoot, he is forever struggling with his
technique. I remember getting a letter from an old archer who had shot
the bow for more than fifty years. He was past seventy and had to
resort to a thirty-five pound weapon. He complained that his release
was faulty, but he felt that with a little more practice he could
perfect his loose and make a perfect shot. Since writing he has entered
the Happy Hunting Grounds, still a trifle off in form.

Even a sylvan archer needs to practice form at the targets. He should
study the game from its scientific principles as formulated by Horace
Ford, the greatest target shot ever known.

The point-of-aim system and target practice improve one's hunting.
Hunting, on the other hand, spoils one's target work. The use of heavy
bows so accustoms the muscles to gross reactions that they fail to
adjust themselves to the finer requirements of light bows and to the
precise technique of the target range.

The field archer gets his practice by going out in the open and
shooting at marks of any sort, at all distances, from five to two
hundred yards. A bush, a stray piece of paper, a flower, a shadow on
the grass, all are objects for his shafts.

The open heath, shaded forest, hills and dales, all make good grounds.
As he comes over a knoll a bush on the farther side represents a deer,
he shoots instantly. He must learn to run, to stop short and shoot,
fresh or weary he must be able to draw his bow and discharge one arrow
after another. With the bow unstrung walking along the trail, often we
have stopped at the word of command, strung the bow, drawn an arrow
from the quiver, nocked it, and discharged it within the space of five
seconds. Deliberation, however, is much more desirable.

Let several archers go into the fields together and roam over the land,
aiming at various marks; it makes for robust and accurate game
shooting.

Shooting an exact line is much easier than getting the exact length.
For this reason it is easier to split the willow wand at sixty or
eighty yards than it seems.

Often we have tried this feat to amuse ourselves or our friends, and
seldom more than six arrows are needed to strike such a lath or stick
at this distance. Hitting objects tossed in the air is not so difficult
either. A small tin can or box thrown fifteen or twenty feet upward at
a distance of ten or fifteen yards can be hit nearly every time,
especially if the archer waits until it just reaches the apex of its
course and shoots when it is practically stationary.

Shooting at swinging objects helps to train one in leading running or
flying game.

Turtle shooting, that form in which the arrow is discharged directly
upward and is supposed to drop on the mark, is difficult and attended
with few hits, but it trains one in estimating wind drift.

An archer should also learn the elevation or trajectory at which his
arrows fly at various distances. Shooting in the woods over hanging
limbs may interfere with a good shot. In this case the archer can kneel
and thus lower his flight to avoid interception.

In kneeling it seems that the right knee should be on the ground, while
the left foot is forward. This is a natural pose to assume during
walking, and the left thigh should be held out of the way of the
bow-string. When not in use, but braced, the bow should be carried in
the left hand, the string upward, the tip pointing forward. It never
should be swung about like a club nor shouldered like a gun.

Shooting from horseback is not impossible, but it must be done off the
left side of the horse, and a certain amount of practice is necessary
for the horse as well as for the archer.

It is surprising how accurately one can shoot at night. Even the
dimmest outline will serve the bowman, and his shaft has an uncanny way
of finding the mark.

When it comes to missing the mark, that is the subject for a sad story.
It takes an inveterate optimist to stand the moral strain of persistent
missing. In fact, it is this that spoils the archery career of many a
tyro--he gives up in despair. It looks so easy, but really is so
difficult to hit the mark. But do not be cast down, keep eternally at
practice, and ultimately you will be rewarded. Nothing stands a man in
such good stead in this matter as to have started shooting in his
youth.

And do not imagine that we are infallible in our shooting. Some of the
most humiliating moments of our lives have come through poor shooting.
Just when we wanted to do our best, before an expectant gathering, we
have done our most stupid missing. But even this has its compensations
and inures us to defeat.

It is a striking fact that we shoot better when confronted by the game
itself. Under actual hunting conditions you will hit closer to your
point than on the target field.

Study every move for clean, accurate shooting, and analyze your
failures so that you can correct your faults. Extreme care and utmost
effort will be rewarded by greater accuracy.

Other things being equal, it is the man who shoots with his heart in
his bow that hits the mark.




IX


THE PRINCIPLES OP HUNTING


In the early dawn of life man took up weapons against the beasts about
him. With club, ax, spear, knife, and sling he protected himself or
sought his game. To strike at a distance, he devised the bow. With the
implements of the chase he has won his way in the world.

Today there is no need to battle with the beasts of prey and little
necessity to kill wild animals for food; but still the hunting instinct
persists. The love of the chase still thrills us and all the misty past
echoes with the hunter's call.

In the joy of hunting is intimately woven the love of the great
outdoors. The beauty of woods, valleys, mountains, and skies feeds the
soul of the sportsman where the quest of game only whets his appetite.

After all, it is not the killing that brings satisfaction, it is the
contest of skill and cunning. The true hunter counts his achievement in
proportion to the effort involved and the fairness of the sport.

With the rapid development of firearms, hunting tends to lose its
sporting quality. The killing of game is becoming too easy; there is
little triumph and less glory than in the days of yore. Game
preservation demands a limitation of armament. We should do well to
abandon the more powerful and accurate implements of destruction, and
revert to the bow.

Here we have a weapon of beauty and romance. He who shoots with a bow,
puts his life's energy into it. The force behind the flying shaft must
be placed there by the archer. At the moment of greatest strain he must
draw every sinew to the utmost; his hand must be steady; his nerves
under absolute control; his eye keen and clear. In the hunt he pits his
well-trained skill against the instinctive cunning of his quarry. By
the most adroit cleverness, he must approach within striking distance,
and when he speeds his low whispering shaft and strikes his game, he
has won by the strength of arm and nerve. It is a noble sport.

However, not all temperaments are suited to archery. There must be
something within the deeper memories of his inheritance to which the
bow appeals. A mere passing fancy will not suffice to make him an
archer. It is the unusual person who will overcome the early
difficulties and persevere with the bow through love of it.

The real archer when he goes afield enters a land of subtle delight.
The dew glistens on the leaves, the thrush sings in the bush, the soft
wind blows, and all nature welcomes him as she has the hunter since the
world began. With his bow in his hand, his arrows softly rustling in
the quiver, a horn at his back, and a hound at his heels, what more can
a man want in life?

In America our hearts have heard the low whistle of the flying arrow
and the sweet hum of the bowstring singing in the book, _The Witchery
of Archery_ by Maurice Thompson. To Will and Maurice Thompson we owe a
debt of gratitude hard to pay. The tale of their sylvan exploits in the
everglades of Florida has a charm that borders on the fay. We who shoot
the bow today are children of their fantasy, offspring of their magic.
As the parents of American archery, we offer them homage and honor.

Ernest Thompson Seton is another patron of archery to whom all who have
read _Two Little Savages_ must be eternally grateful. Not only has he
given us a reviving touch of the outdoors, but he puts the bow and
arrow in its true setting, a background of nature.

When Arthur Young, Will Compton, and I began hunting with the bow, we
wrote Will Thompson to join us. Because he is such a commanding figure
in the history of our craft, I think it proper to quote from one of his
letters:

"MY DEAR DR. POPE:

"The _Sunset Magazine_ containing your charming account of Ishi and
your hunting adventures, and the bunch of photographs of the transfixed
deer, quail, and rabbits came duly, and are mine, now, tomorrow, and
for life. You were very fortunate to have won your archery triumphs
where you could photograph them. I would give much indeed if I could
have photos of the scenes of my brother's and my successes in the
somber and game-thronged wilds of the gloomy Okefinokee Swamp. I think
I sent you long ago the two numbers of _Forest and Stream_ in which the
history of that most wonderful of all my outings appeared. If I did not
do so I will loan you the only copy I have. Let me know.

"I am glad, so glad, that you young athletic men are following the wild
trails armed with the most romantic weapon man ever fashioned, and I
would give almost any precious thing I hold to fare with you once to
the game land of your choice, and to watch and wait by a slender trail
while you and your young, strong comrades stole through the secret
haunts of the wild things, and to listen to the faint footfalls of the
coming deer, roused by your entrance into their secret lairs. To see
the soft and devious approach of the wary thing; to see the lifted
light head turned sharply back toward the evil that roused it from its
bed of ferns; to feel the strong bow tightening in my hand as the thin,
hard string comes back; to feel the leap of the loosened cord, the jar
of the bow, and see the long streak of the going shaft, and hear the
almost sickening 'chuck' of the stabbing arrow. No one can know how I
have loved the woods, the streams, the trails of the wild, the ways of
the things of slender limbs, of fine nose, of great eager ears, of mild
wary eyes, and of vague and half-revealed forms and colors. I have been
their friend and mortal enemy. I have so loved them that I longed to
kill them. But I gave them far more than a fair chance.

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