Essentials of Archery

ARCHERY TACKLE
One who shoots the bow and arrow is called an Archer. His equipment or tackle consists of:

THE BOW. Nine-tenths of all moderately priced, good bows are made of Lemonwood. More expensive ones are made of Lemonwood Staves backed with hickory, rawhide, fibre, fibre glass and plastics. Self Osage Orange and Yew, Osage Orange and Yew backed with various substances, are also in the upper price range. Hickory and Ash are also used for beginners' and youngsters' bows. For the novice, a moderately priced lemonwood bow is recommended. Whether you choose a Flat Bow or a Long Bow is immaterial; both are good. Later you may want a, fine Osage bow or a backed or laminated lemonwood.

Men and grown boys take a 5'6" to 5'8" Flat Bow. (6'0" Long Bow). Your bow should not be too strong. You should be able to pull and loose it without too much effort. Thirty-five to forty-five pounds pulling weight is sufficient. Grown girls and women take a 5'6" Flat Bow. (5'6" Long Bow). Weights (pull in pounds) of twenty to thirty-five pounds are enough. juveniles take bows the same height as themselves and with pulls of fifteen to twenty-five pounds.

THE ARROW. Modestly priced arrows are recommended for beginners. Arrows are perishable, and while learning, it is best to use and abuse a low priced set. After you become more proficient, better, straighter arrows of Port Orford Cedar are necessary. Footed Tournament Arrows are for the more advanced target shot. The following scale gives the proper length of arrow for bows:


		Length	of Bow		Length of Arrow
		     4'0"		     21"
		     4'6"		     23"
		     5'0"		     24"
		     5'3"		     25"
		     5'6"		     26"
		     6'0"		 27" or 28"

The arrows of the Field Archer or Rover are usually fletched with long, low, triangular turkey wing feathers and the heads are heavy steel piles or rounded roving heads. The Hunter's arrows too, have long, low, rakish feathers and his shafts are headed with keen bladed hunting heads.

THE ARMGUARD. It is a heavy leather guard for the left wrist and covers the inside of the left arm from the hand almost to the elbow. Its use is to protect the left wrist and forearm from the bowstring's strike after the arrow is shot. A good Armguard is a very essential part of an archer's tackle.

FINGER GUARDS. They are also very necessary. They protect the first three fingers of the right hand-the shooting fingers. Constant friction with the bowstring causes soreness unless they are protected by a glove padded on the first three fingers, semi-gloves or "tabs".

THE QUIVER. A receptacle for conveniently carrying arrows. It is a long, narrow bag, in which arrows are placed. It has a belt for the waist, or a shoulder harness when worn on the back.

THE TARGET. Archery targets, with the standard target rings of gold, red, blue, black and white come in various sizes 24", 30", 36", and 48". The scoring, beginning with the gold or center counts 9, 7, 5, 3, and 1. The tournament size is 48". There are two kinds of targets - the regulation, hand-wound, rye straw targets, and those made of rye straw or other filler, covered with burlap.

THE TASSEL. It is a worsted or woolen tassel and is used to wipe arrows clean when soiled or muddied after a shot. It is hung at the belt.