The Use of the Bow.
To Bend and String the Bow properly, the following directions will be serviceable, and the young archer should pay particular attention to them, since a neglect of these cautions will often lead to a fracture of the bow by bending it the wrong way:
Take the bow by the handle, in the right hand.
Place the bottom end upon the ground, resting against the hollow of the inside of the right foot, keeping the flat side of the bow (called the back) towards your person; the left foot should be advanced a little, and the right placed so that the bow cannot slip sideways.
Place the heel of the left hand upon the upper limb of the bow, below the eye of the string. Now, while the fingers and thumb of the left hand slide this eye towards the notch in the horn, and the heel pushes the limb away from the body, the right hand pulls the handle towards the person, and thus resists the action of the left, by which the bow is bent, and at the same time the string is slipped into the "nock," as the notch is termed.
Take care to keep the three outer fingers free from the string, for if the bow should slip from the hand, and the string catch them, they will be severely pinched. If shooting in frosty weather, warm the bow before a fire, or by friction with a woolen cloth. If the bow has been lying by for a long time, it should be well rubbed with boiled linseed oil before using.
To Unstring the Bow, hold it as in stringing; then press down the upper limb exactly as before, and as if you wished to place the eye of the string in a higher notch; this will loosen the string and liberate the eye, when it must be lifted out of the nock by the forefinger, and suffered to slip down the limb.
Before Using the Bow, hold it in a perpendicular direction, with the string towards you, and see if the line of the string cuts the middle of the bow; if not, shift the eye and noose of the string to either side, so as to make the two lines coincide. This precaution prevents a very common cause of defective shooting, which is the result of an uneven string throwing the arrow on one side.
After Using It, unstring it; and if a large party is shooting, after every end it should be liberated from its state of tension; but in this respect there is a great difference in different bows, some good ones soon getting cast from their true shape, and others, though inferior bows, bearing any ordinary amount of tension without damage.
The General Management of the Bow should be on the principle that damp injures it, and that any loose floating ends interfere with its shooting.
It should, therefore, be kept well varnished, and in a water-proof case, and it should be carefully dried after shooting in damp weather. If there are any ends hanging from the string cut them off pretty close, and see that the whipping in the middle of the string is close and well-fitting. The case should be hung up against a dry internal wall, not too near fire.
In Selecting the Bow, be careful that it is not too strong for your power, and that you can draw the arrow to its head without any trembling of the hand. If this cannot be done after a little practice, the bow should be changed for a weaker one, for no arrow will go true if it is discharged by a trembling hand.
In Selecting Arrows, be careful that they are not too long. For a bow of 5 feet 10 inches, the arrows should be about 2 feet 4 inches in length. For a lady's bow of 4 feet 10 inches, the arrow should measure about 2 feet.
In Shooting, keep the longer limb of the bow upwards, as the bow is liable to be broken if used the other way, and the wrapping of the string does not coincide with the upper part of the handle. Bows may be broken either from the above circumstance, or by overdrawing them, or by snapping the string without an arrow in it, or by the string breaking; and if a bow stands all these trials, it is to be prized as a sound and good bit of stuff.
After an arrow has been shot into the target or the ground, be particularly careful to withdraw it, by laying hold close to its head, and by twisting it round as it is withdrawn in the direction of its axis. Without this precaution it may be easily bent or broken.
In Shooting at the Target, the first thing to be done is to Nock the Arrow—that is, to place it properly on the string. In order to effect this, take the bow in the left hand, with the string towards you, the upper limb being towards the right. Hold it horizontally while you take the arrow by the middle, pass it on the under side of the string and the upper side of the bow, till the head reaches two or three inches past the left hand; hold it there with the forefinger or thumb while you remove the right hand down to the nock. Turn the arrow till the cock-feather comes uppermost; then pass it down the bow, and fix it on the nocking point of the string. In doing this, all contact with the feathers should be avoided, unless they are rubbed out of place, when they may be smoothed down by passing them through the hand from the point towards the nock.
The Attitude for shooting should be graceful as well as serviceable. The body should be at right angles with the target; but the face must be turned over the left shoulder, so as to be opposed to it. The feet are to be flat on the ground, with the heels a little apart, the left foot turned towards the mark; the head and chest inclined a little forward, so as to present a full bust, but not bent at all below the waist.
In Drawing the Bow, proceed as follows:
1st Method.—Take hold of the bow with the left hand, having the elbow straight; then, having placed the arrow as directed in the last paragraph, and having the finger-stalls or shooting-glove on, put a finger on each side of the arrow on the string and the thumb on the opposite side, so as to steady it; then raise all at the full length of the arm till the right hand reaches nearly to the level of the shoulder, and the left is opposite the target, when, by drawing the one to the ear, and the other towards the target, the arrow is brought to a direct line with the bull's-eye, and at that moment it is released.
2nd Method.—Draw the arrow as before, but pause when the arrow is fully extended to the head, and take aim. This, however, requires a very strong arm, and also a strong bow, or there will be a quivering of the muscles, which is communicated to the arrow; beside the danger of breaking the bow. The loosing must be quick, and the string must leave the fingers smartly and steadily, the bow hand at that moment being held as firm as a vise, upon which the goodness of the flight mainly depends.
The Following Directions should be attended to strictly, if good shooting is to be attained:—
1.—Fix the attention steadily upon the object, and disregard all external objects, which are liable otherwise to distract the eye at the moment of shooting.
2.—In drawing the bow, in order to secure the arrow in its place, turn the bow a little obliquely, so that the handle and your knuckles will together form a groove for the arrow to run in. When it falls off, it is from the string being held too far up by the fingers, which causes it to twist in the drawing, and the arrow is thereby thrown off from resting against the bow. The proper length is midway between the ends and the first joint of the fingers. Three fingers may be used, but the arrow should be between the first and second.
3.—In taking aim, two points must be attended to, viz: the lateral direction and the distance, because there is no bow which will drive an arrow many yards perfectly point-blank, and, consequently, a slight elevation must in all cases be made, and for long distances, with weak bows, a very considerable one. It requires great experience to manage the elevation properly, and much must depend upon the exact strength of the bow, and the distance of the shot. With regard to the lateral direction, it is materially affected by the wind, and this must always be allowed for if there is any stirring; and if it is in the line of the targets, one end will require much less elevation than the other.
4.—Fix the eyes on the mark, and not on the arrow. Avoid all such expedients as putting a mark on the glove to aim by. Do not look from the mark to the arrow and back again. The proper plan is to keep both eyes open, and look steadily at the mark, while with the hands the bow is raised or lowered in accordance with what the mind thinks is the proper direction.
5.—If an arrow falls off the string, and the archer can reach it with his bow, it is not shot: but if he cannot, it must be counted as such.