In these days of limited hunting seasons and restricted bag limits, it is impracticable for an archer to acquire profi ciency in the use of the bow in the actual hunt. A shot gun pat tern allows for a reasonable margin of error when pointing at game; so that we habitually lay the gun away at the end of the hunting season and may not shoot it again until another season rolls around. Even so, we account for a reasonable and satis factory share of the game which we flush. The archer is in an entirely different category he has no margin of error when he hunts with the bow. The arrow must fly true to the mark, and there is no short cut to accuracy. Practice is essential, and the number of hits recorded in the hunting field is directly proportional to the hours of practice on the field course and the target range. The maxim, “It is the man behind the bow who scores the hits,” is one that every archer should remember. Too many novices attempt to buy accuracy by the purchase of high priced equipment. There is also the prevailing but er roneous impression among beginners that a heavy hunting bow 45 to 60 pounds drawing weight, or more will make up for lack of marksmanship. It is unfortunate that some of us, in fact, too many of us have to learn the hard way strained muscles and sore fingers are the inevitable result of attempting to learn to shoot with a heavy bow.

If during the past hunting season you got within bow range of a nice buck, and then were unable to score a hit, it is time to sit down and take stock of the situation. It does not matter what series of circumstances lead to that miss. One thing should be evident. An archer has to be a marksman, if he is to measure his success in the hunting field by the kill. Enough records have been compiled to warrant the assertion that the average distance at which deer are shot with the bow is slightly under thirty yards. It is not too difficult to attain accuracy at short distances, and this should be the aim of the bowman. Archery Equipment - Read More.

Tournaments are conducted under rules and regulations promulgated by the National Archery Association and the National Field Archery Association. The various state organizations generally adopt the rules of the national organ izations for the sake of uniformity. The state organizations are a very important part of archery in the United States. They handle the administrative work necessary to promote and co ordinate the activities of the clubs within a single state. In many cases they sponsor state-wide competition. Through their state organizations, the archers have a voice in advocating leg islation or regulations which will benefit archery.

The fact that there are two national parent bodies should not lead the beginner to conclude that there is a fixed line of demarcation between target and field archers. To the contrary, field archers, who use the high anchor and the so-called in stinctive method of shooting, are quite capable of shooting a double American Round on the target line, and turning in a card of 600 or better. The Pennsylvania State Archery Associa tion, Incorporated, sponsors both a state-wide Target and a Field Championship tournament annually. Individual archers participate in both events and are among the top competitors in both shoots.

In order to provide competition at all stages from beginner to expert, archers are classified according to the degree of abil ity which they have attained. As their scores improve they are reclassified accordingly. It is one of the functions of a good state organization to administer the details of the classification system. To do the job in an efficient manner the state body is dependent upon the secretaries of the local clubs to make a return of the scores shot by the club members in tournament competition. An archer is automatically placed in a higher classi fication on the basis of improvement in his or her score. If, however, an archer is no longer able to shoot a score within his or her classification, it is the general policy of the state organizations, upon written request of the archer, to lower the classification of the archer so that competition with those of comparable skill is again possible. Archery Equipment - Read More.

The archer has a choice of methods of aiming, or sighting. They may be loosely classified into three groups: direct, indirect or point of aim, and the hunting aim.

The direct, or bow sight method of aiming has in recent years become increasingly popular on the target range and has gradually supplanted the indirect, or point of aim method of aiming.

The hunting aim, generally employed in combination with the high anchor, is favored by field shooters. This method of aiming, erroneously referred to as the instinctive method, is comparable with the wing shot’s method of pointing a shot gun when gunning for grouse or other fast flying birds. Neither shooter depends on mechanical sights of any kind. Both keep their eyes fixed on the target, fit the weapon, be it a bow or a shot gun, to the position indicated by this line of vision, and discharge the weapon. Just as a good grouse shot cannot write out a step by step diagram on how to hit a grouse, neither is there a short course of instruction which will enable the archer to master the hunting aim. The grouse hunter acquires pro ficiency only through constant and repeated efforts to kill grouse. Note: The expert still misses lots of them. The archer will acquire the ability to judge unknown distances and to de liver an arrow to the mark only through continued practice. Once an archer has acquired this ability, he can draw and re lease an arrow quicker than by any other method. This is a distinct advantage when game is flushed from hiding by the hunter.

Using the high anchor, the hand is raised along the side of the face, and the head is tilted a bit to the right, to bring the right eye directly over the arrow. The arrow shaft is then lined up with the target. The top of the bow is also canted slightly to the right. Keep both eyes open and focused on the center of the target while shooting. As you draw, indirect vision will permit keeping the arrow in proper alignment. A subse quent chapter will deal fully with this method. Archery Equipment - Read More.

A basic rule which the beginner should keep before him at all times, is that archery is not a test of strength, but a game of skill, and to enjoy snooting a bow, skill must be acquired. As with any other sport, good form is gained through practicing the correct procedure at all times. Scores will not improve just by shooting. Technique is most important, and it is gained through observing the performance of skilled archers on the shooting line, seeking personal advice and instruction from them on correct shooting form, which archers are glad to give, studying closely such printed instructions as you are able to obtain, and deliberate and persistent attempts to put this information into practice.

It is unfortunate that there are only a few qualified instruc tors in our schools and Scout troops. Equipment is frequently available and enthusiasm is always evident. However, interest in the sport lags when skill is not acquired just by shooting. Archery is not a spectator sport. The satisfaction comes from the skill each individual develops in hitting the target.

In the previous chapter, the beginner was advised on suit able equipment which he should acquire to prevent undue strain and fatigue on the practice range. The next logical step is to assemble the equipment and prepare a practice range so that we can develop a correct shooting form. A bow used correctly is an accurate weapon and its effectiveness, like a rifle, is limited only by the skill of the individual shooter. Archery Equipment - Read More.

At one time or another most of us have had a bow. In the majority of cases we acquired it in one of two ways: either as a present from our parents or we made one the hard way out of any convenient branch of a tree and a piece of string. Equipped with a bow and arrows of a sort, we were on our way. How to shoot was strictly for us to find out. If, in stead of a bow, we had been presented with a .22 single shot rifle, you may be sure we were given instructions by our parent on the proper safety precautions that have to be taken in handling a gun. We would have been accompanied a field by one of our elders where we would have been permitted to shoot the weapon under the sharp eyes of our instructor.

Since the bow at short range is just as formidable a weapon as a gun, it is perhaps just as well that the ability to shoot a bow has to be acquired. In addition to every thing that is required of a rifleman, the archer must also build up the muscular force to propel the arrow.

Nevertheless, no one can say we did not make an effort to hit a mark with our bow. We tried every way we could imagine but the arrows never responded to our wishes, and like young sters the world over, we soon tired of our lack of success, laid the bow away and forgot it. Archery Equipment - Read More.

The bow was man’s chief weapon down through the ages until the invention of firearms. With the bow, man hunted for food and protected himself from his enemies. The great military nations of the past gained their ascendency through the ability of their archers. Over eight hundred years ago the Mongol horde was turned back into Asia by the long bow.

With the advent of firearms, the use of the bow in English warfare rapidly declined, although archery was enjoyed widely as a sport during the middle ages. The Scots today compete for a silver arrow dated 1603.

Primitive peoples of all countries except Australia have the bow and it was used as a military and a hunting weapon. The American Indian used the bow as his chief weapon, but con trary to popular belief, his skill was not as great as the writers of fiction would have us believe. Feats of which the legendary Robin Hood would have been proud are performed every day by the modern archer whose tackle and equipment has so improved in the last twenty years that records are no sooner established than they are broken. Modern archery tackle is far superior to that used by the Indians and contests between Indians and white men leave no doubt as to the superiority of the modern weapon. The Indian depended on his skill in stalk ing to secure game, and his kills were made at short distances. Indians of the western plains killed buffalo with the bow and arrow by riding their ponies alongside a fleeing buffalo and discharging their arrows at short range. Archery Equipment - Read More.

Whenever archers get together there are always those among them who would have us believe because our ancestors shot a bow five thousand or fifty thousand years ago that we moderns can shoot a bow instinctively and all that we have to do to hit a mark or bag our buck is to take a deep breath, look at the target, draw the arrow back to the ear, and let fly.

Well, if you buy that line, you will not be any better a marksman than your remote ancestors. Legends about Robin Hood’s merry men to the contrary, your ancestors were in ferior marksmen by modern standards. With primitive equip ment, they developed the art of stalking game to a high degree in order to close to point-blank-range to register a hit.

In the thousands of years since man first stood on his feet and walked, the period in which he has used missile weapons is of relatively short duration. No one can fix the exact “time” of man’s arrival on earth and even as late as the year 1860, the majority of scientists believed man’s existence covered a span of less than 6,000 years.

Since that date, evidence of man’s antiquity yielded through the discovery of ancient graves, fossilized remains found in geological formations laid down in the past, and excavations carried out in the exploration of caves in France and elsewhere in Western Europe, permitted archaeologists to establish that man was certainly in existence at the beginning of the Pleis tocene period. Unfortunately no sure means of estimating the duration of these periods in terms of years is as yet known to geologists. Estimates vary from two hundred and fifty thousand years to one million and five hundred thousand years as the length of the period. The most reliable evidence now at our disposal indicates that man made his first appearance in Europe late in this period between forty thousand and twenty-five thousand years ago and near the end of the Fourth Glacial Age. Archery Equipment - Read More.

The ever-increasing number of those who purchase archery equipment for the first time and the constantly recurring re quests for information on both shooting technique and equip ment have prompted the author to assemble this material in which is set forth in simple non-technical language the essen tials which will serve as a guide to the beginner in the pur chase of suitable equipment and will also provide instruction in shooting techniques and tips on hunting.

The ability to shoot well is acquired through strict self-discipline and compliance with approved shooting methods. The material in this book is intended to guide the beginner in acquiring good shooting form which will become a habit through repeated effort.

The immense progress in the development of the modern bow and the variety of materials used in its construction, its capabilities, the use for which it is intended, and wide varia tions in price make it necessary for the novice to use care in the selection of the initial equipment. Archery Equipment - Read More.

At one time or another most of us have had a bow. In the majority of cases we acquired it in one of two ways: either as a present from our parents or we made one the hard way out of any convenient branch of a tree and a piece of string. Equipped with a bow and arrows of a sort, we were on our way. How to shoot was strictly for us to find out. If, in stead of a bow, we had been presented with a .22 single shot rifle, you may be sure we were given instructions by our parent on the proper safety precautions that have to be taken in handling a gun. We would have been accompanied a field by one of our elders where we would have been permitted to shoot the weapon under the sharp eyes of our instructor.

Since the bow at short range is just as formidable a weapon as a gun, it is perhaps just as well that the ability to shoot a bow has to be acquired. In addition to every thing that is required of a rifleman, the archer must also build up the muscular force to propel the arrow.

Nevertheless, no one can say we did not make an effort to hit a mark with our bow. We tried every way we could imagine but the arrows never responded to our wishes, and like young sters the world over, we soon tired of our lack of success, laid the bow away and forgot it. Archery Equipment - Read More.

How did you get start with your interest in archery?