The theory and practice of archery

by Horace A. Ford; W. Butt

The backing of the target is made of thrashed or unthrashed straw (rye-straw is the best) firmly bound together whilst wet with strong tarred string, and in construction is somewhat similar to the make of beehive, only it is made flat. It is circular, and the front of this straw boss (as it is called), intended for the canvas facing, is worked up with a flat surface, so that the facing may lie upon it more evenly than it could upon the other side. The canvas facing must also be circular, and exactly four feet in diameter; of course the straw boss should also be as nearly as possible of the same size, but on no account less. The canvas facing is divided into a central circle of gold, surrounded by concentric rings of red, blue, black, and white, arranged in this order of colour from the centre outwards. The radius of the golden centre and the breadth of each of the surrounding rings should be the same, namely, one-fifth of four feet, i.e. four inches and four-fifths of an inch. Each hit in these colours is valued as follows: nine in the gold, seven in the red (formerly called scarlet), five in the blue (still occasionally known as inner white), three in the black, and one in the white. These figures, however, do not correctly represent the value of the rings according to their respective areas. The area of a circle is proportional to the square of its radius. Therefore the area of the circle containing the gold and red together is four times as large as the area of the gold circle alone; and it follows that if the gold circle be removed from this larger circle the remaining red ring will be three times the size of the gold circle. In the same manner, the circle containing the gold, red, and blue will in area be nine times as large as the gold circle alone; and if the combined gold and red circle be removed the remaining area of the blue ring will be five times as large as the gold. Again, the area of the circle containing the gold, red, blue, and black will be sixteen times larger than the gold; and if the gold, red, and blue be removed, an area seven times as large as the gold will be left for the black ring. Finally, the entire face of the target contains an area twenty-five times at large as the gold, and the white ring is nine times as large as the gold. Thus we get the target divided into twenty-five parts, of which one part is gold, three parts are red, five are blue, seven are black, and nine are white. But it does not correctly follow that, nine being taken to represent the value of a hit in the gold, and one as the value of a hit in the white (because the white ring is nine times larger than the gold circle), a hit in the red ring should count as seven, a hit in the blue as five, and a hit in the black as three. The proportion of the areas between the white and black rings is as nine to seven, giving the value of 1-2/7 for each hit in the black, or 1.28571 in decimals. Similarly, the proportion of area between the white and blue rings is as nine to five, giving the value of 1-4/5, or 1.8, as the value of each hit in the blue circle. The proportion of the area between the white and the red rings is as nine to three, giving the value of three for each hit in the red ring.

It may be taken that these values of 9, 7, 5, 3, 1, representing the hits in gold, red, blue, black, and white, are the best that can be adopted, and in their sum represent the twenty-five parts, the size of the gold, into which the target may be supposed to be divided.

There appears to be no exaggeration of the value of the gold as compared with the white, and the exaggerated value of the other colours very properly rewards superior skill, as shown by central hitting of the target.[1]

In the days when handicapping was done by taking off rings instead of percentages it might have been better to reduce the values of these reds, blues, and blacks when made by the more skilful.

The old exploded custom of adding hits to score was only a roundabout method of reducing the values of the hits from 9, 7, 5, 3, 1 to 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Targets are now all made of the same size, as already mentioned; but for many years after the revival of archery in 1781 four-feet targets were only used at the long distances of 120, 100, and 90 yards, whilst targets of three feet and two feet in diameter were used at the shorter distances and by ladies. In still older times our modern target-practice was represented by what was called the Paper Game, from paper being employed instead of the oil-painted canvas now in use.

It was an old fashion to score in money, thus: a gold was 2s. 6d., a scarlet 2s., an inner white 1s. 6d., a black 1s., and a white 6d.; and this is still the custom with the Woodmen of Arden, whose members still receive in cash at the end of a prize meeting the total value of their scores. The same custom also prevails at the Annual Scorton Arrow Meeting, except that each archer pays 6d. into the pool for every hit he makes in the white.

Formerly, unless an arrow was entirely in one colour, it was counted as a hit in the inferior of the two colours between which its position was divided; but now, except with the Woodmen of Arden, the contrary custom prevails, and the arrow will count as a hit in the superior colour, unless it be quite surrounded by the inferior colour. It is right that the archer should have the benefit of any doubt in this matter.

The purchasers of targets should ascertain that they have well-painted and well-seasoned facings. The American-cloth facings sometimes to be met with are most unsatisfactory, and occasionally there is too much of a sticky compound laid on the facings previous to the paint, which adheres to the arrow, and helps to denude the target of colour.

It is not generally acknowledged that the colours of the target at present in use are well adapted for most accurate shooting. They are too bright and glaring, confusing to the eye, and drawing the attention away from the centre, so that it is most difficult to avoid aiming at the target generally, rather than the gold. Now that the scoring is kept in figures, and no longer in colours, there would be no difficulty in substituting other colours that would assist to concentrate the aim, if only a general agreement about the nature of the change could be arrived at.