Fig. 38.—RIGHT POSITION.
It will be observed in the three figures giving the correct and wrong positions of the hand on the bow-handle, that the upper part of the bow hand, including the whole of the thumb and first finger, is above the upper line of the wrist (line AB), whilst the fulcrum, or working centre of the bow, is also above that line, or even in such bows as have their centres in the middle of the handle but little below that line. It is pretty clear that if the hand had been originally constructed solely with a view to its application to the bow, or even as a weapon in the noble art of self-defence, it might have been constructed so as to be a more evenly-balanced hammer at the end of its handle, the arm, than it is at present. Possibly its narrow escape from being another foot has interfered with its proper development from an archer's point of view. However this may be, it would be better, as a mechanical contrivance, for drawing a bow, if the strain applied by the loosing hand could pass directly along the line through the centre of the arm, with centre or fulcrum of the bow in the same line—i.e. in line a b (fig. 38).
The nearest approach to this condition of a perfect archer's hand was possessed by Mr. G. Edwards, the first archer to displace Mr. H. A. Ford from the position of Champion, in 1860, who, though he may never have made the extraordinary scores credited to Mr. Ford, was an excellent shot, and, when at his best, had the steadiest bow-arm and the firmest grip ever seen on a bow. Through a gun accident, he lost entirely his left thumb, and held his bow with his four fingers, pressing it against a leather pad inserted between the bow and his wrist, much in the position the thumb would occupy if it could be placed downwards across the palm of the hand. This altered formation shifted the position of his arm so that the line through the fulcrum of the bow was well below the upper line of his wrist.
Some archers acquire the habit of extending the thumb upwards along the belly of the bow. This method of grasping the bow tends to weaken and unsteady the drawing power, but as a point of drill for the acquisition of such a grasp of the bow with the fingers, before the thumb is placed in position to assist, as will enable the archer to clear his armguard, its trial is strongly recommended. A steadier hold of the bow is in the end obtained by keeping the upper part of the thumb off the bow, so that the hold is between the root of the thumb and the fingers. As the first finger is often used to assist in adjusting the position of the arrow on the bow, care must be taken to replace it at the commencement of the draw. Unless the bow be held firmly between the four fingers and the thumb and heel of the hand, at the loose and recoil an unpleasant jar will be felt, with the further ill-consequence of blisters, &c. The position of the bow should be straight across the palm of the hand, so that the fingers when closed in position to hold it lie as nearly as possible at right angles to the axis of the bow.
A lateral projection on the left side of the handle of the bow is sometimes added, if the archer's hand be hollow, and this contrivance assists the bowstring to avoid the armguard.
Before the consideration of the final position of the bow at the loose, as to whether it should be vertical or oblique, a glance must be taken at the horizontal position which should be adopted by all those who disbelieve in the possibility of aiming with bow and arrow whilst the arrow is discharged from the side of the bow, because in that position the arrow cannot be thrown to the left of the mark aimed at. This position is so cramped and awkward as to be practically useless for shooting at a horizontal aim, when a full-length arrow cannot be drawn up, as the string comes too soon in contact with the left side. Yet archers have been known to make successful scores in this style, using weak bows and light arrows.
The vertical position of the bow (but not as sometimes adopted, when the bow is thus set up at the end of a horizontal arm to be hauled at until the beginner's arrow is discharged) is an assistance in clearing the bowstring from the chest when a full-length arrow is fully drawn; and a tendency towards this position at the instant of loose will correct the curious habit many archers acquire of throwing the upper limb of the bow down and the lower limb up after the loose, as if part of the loosing or drawing action had been a mutually antagonistic screw between the holding and loosing hands.
The chief advantage of the oblique position is that the arrow is not so likely to be blown away from its contact with the bow by a high wind from the bow side.