How to fence

by Aaron A. Warford

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.