I have been re-reading "Hunting with the bow and arrow" by Pope again for the 100th time and I just felt compelled to mention the following. Now, not everything regarding shooting the bow do I follow but the basis is good , solid basic form has stayed true from the time of Horace Ford, to Pope and Young thru Hill to Byron Ferguson.
On the topic of stance Pope states "Stand sidewise to your mark, with the feet eight or ten inches apart, at right angles to the line of shot. Straighten your body, stiffen the back, expand the chest, turn the head fully facing the mark, look at it squarely, and draw your bow across the body, extending the left arm as you draw the right hand toward the chin."
Then
"Draw the arrow steadily, in the exact plane of your mark, so that when the full draw is obtained and the arrow...the right forefinger touches a spot on the jaw perpendicularly below the right eye and the right elbow is in a continuous line with the arrow. This point on the jaw below the eye is fixed and never varies; no matter how close or how far the shot, the butt of the arrow is always drawn to the jaw, not to the eye, nor to the ear."
Regarding bow arm.
"The left arm is held rigidly but not absolutely extended and locked at the elbow""slight degree of flexion here makes for a good clearance of the string and adds resiliency to the shot."
Regarding release
"The arrow is released by drawing the right hand further backward at the same time the fingers slip off the string. Two great faults occur at this point: one is to permit the arrow to creep forward just before the release, and the other is to draw the hand away from the face in the act of releasing."
All the fingers of the right hand must bear their proper share of work. The great tendency is to permit the forefinger to shirk and to put too much work on the ring finger.
Concerning aiming while hunting
"The method of aiming in game shooting consists in fixing binocular vision on the object to be hit, drawing the nock of the arrow beneath the right eye and observing that the head of the arrow is in a direct line with the mark by the indirect vision of the right eye. "Your vision must be so conconcentrated upon one point that all else fades from view. Just two things exist—your mark and your arrowhead."
"At a range of sixty or eighty yards, the head of the arrow seems to touch the mark while aiming. This is called point blank range. At shorter lengths the archer must estimate the distance below the mark on which his arrow seems to rest in order to rise in a parabolic curve and strike the spot.
Concerning followthru
"After the arrow is released, the archer should hold his posture a second, bow arm rigidly extended, drawing hand to his jaw, right elbow horizontal. This insures that he maintains the proper position during the shot. "
"The shaft should fly from the bowstring like a bird, without quaver or flutter. All depends upon a sharp resilient release." "Having observed all the prerequisites of good shooting, nothing so insures a keen, true arrow flight as an effort of supreme tension during the release."
If you read shooting books, most repeat the same basic principles of good solid shooting form. There are variations, and style differences but most of the greats all had the basics down about the same. Just fascinating. I have read Horace Fords "theory and practice of archery" (best I can, that old English is rough on my brain) and its more of the same.
Topic: Good form stands the test of time. Lessons of the past! (Read 313 times)
