Hunting With Bow-and-Arrow

The first mechanical weapon made by man, the bow has been employed in wars of conquest throughout ancient history; and man's respect for this ancient weapon has carried down to the present day.

With the advent of black powder and arms suited to its use, the bow's popularity as a military and a hunting weapon began to wane. As the development of guns outran any further improvement in the bow, its use dwindled to next to nothing. During the settlement of America, even the bows of the Indians gave way to powder arms, when they were obtainable from the whites.

The situation held true during the decades when game was hunted pri­marily for food and, in fact, nearly to the present generation. Then a grad­ual shift in hunting objectives became necessary due to dwindling game supplies and a mushrooming population. Hunting purely for meat tapered off, and was replaced by the more romantic pastime of hunting for sport and trophies. With this gradual change came a spirited revival of the bow-and-arrow. The conception of hunting for sheer sport was more in keeping with the limitations of the bow than in the relatively more deadly modern rifle. It is on this basis that bowmen claim that their weapon is more "sport­ing" than others. It is not on the premise that an arrow will kill more hu­manely than a bullet—which it won't.

THE AMERICAN BOW

History has given us four main bow types. It took American ingenuity, imagination, and practicality to choose the best points of each of three and combine them into a new creation which has proven superior to any of its progenitors.

From the Turkish recurve bow, the American bow designers took a par­tial recurve, for sweetness in pull. From the Indian flat bow, the Americans derived the principle that the flatter the bow the less was the expansion-and-contraction of the wood. They modified this feature while imparting to the whole some of the virtue of the English long bow's length. The result is an overall superior weapon, broadly known as the American semi-long bow.

Many woods have been used for making bows in the past. Among the most popular have been lemonwood, yew, osage, and bamboo. Among the first attempts at lamination was the use of sinew and rawhide, either from wild or domestic animals, for bow backing.

These materials were considered good bow stock until approximately two decades ago. I have a bow of beau d'arc (osage) and backed with rawhide, which was made and given to me by a hunting partner in 1946. This weapon is still as good as the day it was made, and a fair bow even by today's standards.

The perfection of fiberglass marked another step forward in the making of better bows, and the best hunting bows today are of the wood-glass laminated type. Some archers claim that the very best bow obtainable cur­rently is a lamination of hard-rock maple, with fiberglass used both on the bow's back and belly. A modern 40-pound bow of glass-wood lamination has a better cast than a 50-pound wooden bow of two decades ago.

The perfection of such a weapon has been combined with mass produc­tion, which has largely eliminated the need for the archer to make his own bow. The average hunter is best off buying a quality bow, from a reputable maker. The real enthusiast can still begin with a stave and make his own, and a few custom makers supply special weapons at relatively high prices. Also, as with boats and gunstocks, semifinished bows complete with ac­cessory kit are available. All the buyer need do is finish and polish the bow.

BOW SIZE

The size of the hunting bow is important. Bow size is determined by arrow length, which in turn is determined by the bowman's reach. This, roughly, is the distance from his right eye, in shooting stance, to the knuckle of his left index finger minus 1½ inches.

The modern laminated hunting bow is characterized by flatness, length, and a partial recurve for extra power. All arch­ery photos courtesy of Bear Archery Co.

The old standard for a medium to large man was a 28-inch arrow in a 6-foot bow. The formula was that for each inch reduction necessary in arrow length, a 2-inch reduction should be made in the bow's length. This ratio is not adhered to in today's modern bows. Today, a 69-inch bow is considered a "long" bow. Averages run from 62 to 66 inches, with 66 inches the most popular. These bows are used with 27- to 29-inch arrows. Two advantages of the shorter bow are that it is faster in delivery and less cumbersome while hunting in foliage.

The pull, or weight, of hunting bows is determined by the strength and experience of the shooter and the hunting regulations of the various states.

Hunting bows run from around 40 pounds on up, with a 50-pound bow a good average. For larger species of game such as elk, this weight should be increased. Many modern hunting bows have contoured grips, sight windows, and arrow rests.

ARROWS

Broadhead arrows are the only type legally permitted in most states for hunting big game. Blunts and flu-flu arrows are used for game birds, ro­dents, and small game. Standard shafting for hunting arrows has long been Port Orford cedar, but aluminum is now rivaling wood for arrow shafting as it is less sensitive to humidity and temperature changes.

Good broadheads are of two types, two-bladed and three-bladed, and may be barbed or barbless. For game hunting, broadheads range from d inch to a full inch in width. For best penetration, the heads should have a length-width ratio of nearly three to one. Extra-large broadheads, having any flat surface exceeding ½ inch, are not ideal, since they have a tendency to wind plane. With either type, all cutting edges are honed or filed razor sharp, both for added penetration and the sure cutting of blood vessels.

The standard wooden shafting for hunting arrows used in bows of around 50-pound weight measures 11/32-inch diameter. The straightness, weight, spine (relative stiffness), fletching, and uniformity of shafts are all critical factors in accuracy. Any deviation will be greatly magnified in the way the arrow will perform after being released. The best archers weigh their hunt­ing arrows and check for uniformity on a spining scale before taking to the field, just as bench shooters meticulously weigh all bullets before loading. The fletching on arrows should be uniform and average about 3½ inches long.

BOWSTRINGS

The finest bowstrings today are made of Dacron-polyester fiber. The beginning archer can buy strings of suitable length readymade to fit his individual bow length and weight, for a dollar on up. String-making kits are available for those wishing to make their own.

Bows are, of course, left unstrung when not in use. The orthodox way to string a bow is to place the lower end inside the instep, grasp the grip and pull upward, all the while pushing the opposite end loop into the string groove with the thumb and forefinger, while pressing down with the palm. To unstring the bow, the opposite procedure is used, with the end loop being left around the bow end.

For an archer with weak muscles, an unorthodox way of stringing a bow of heavy weight is to step between bow and string with the right foot; place the lower end over the left arch; reach behind and grasp the upper end with the right hand; push with the right hand towards the left, and slip the loop over the end with left-hand fingers.

For hunting use, the distance between string and grip should be approx­imately "a fist-and-thumb," or 6½ inches. Low-strung or high-strung bows have no added advantage.

Some modern bows have "sighting" arrangements, meant to help aim the arrow. The best archers when hunting, however, shoot more by instinct and feel. That is, from practice they attain a mental image of distances, and the correct hold to drive the arrow to that point. For them, shooting an arrow is much like shooting a rock from a kid's old-fashioned "flipper" or slingshot. In fact, an early training and proficiency in hitting things with a flipper is a great help in archery.

ARM GUARDS AND GLOVES

Arm guards are of two types. One is the standard strip guard, reinforced with an internal steel stay running longitudinally and strapped around the forearm. A more recent type is a shaped and reinforced leather sleeve which opens under spring tension along an open side, then slips snugly into place around the forearm, covering most of it. Either type is suitable for hunting.

Protection for the fingers of the string hand takes the form of finger tabs, tips, and shooting gloves. All three are used and liked by hunters. Of the three, the leather fingertip is perhaps best.

The most necessary feature of both arm guards and tips is that they fit well and prevent discomfort or injury from the bowstring. Any minor slap­ping of the string is, like recoil in a rifle, conducive to flinching and the spoiling of a "sweet" release.

Leather fingertips protect archer's fingers from the bow string.

QUIVERS

Quivers are of various kinds. Some hang from the hunter's belt, others are worn, and a recent plastic holder attaches to the bow and holds several arrows, presumably for fast successive shots. The most used quiver is a leather pouch type, which is worn diagonally upon the hunter's back. Some of these have an integral small pocket for carrying a hone or small file and a knife.

Some early settlers and Indians used to make their own noncollapsible quivers by lacing wet rawhide, such as green moose skin, over a split log of suitable diameter. When the rawhide dried, the log, by being split, could be removed from the solid quiver, which was then hard as the hubs of hell. The fault of this quiver was that it allowed the arrows to rattle and was noisy.

Hunting    quiver    filled    with broadhead arrows.

That, briefly, is the basic archery equipment necessary to hunting. All items can be as elaborate or expensive as one wishes, but the beginning archer can start with a fair functional outfit which currently may be pur­chased retail for under $75.

As with handgun shooting, success with the bow-and-arrow entails both extensive and continuous practice. The same outfit, with the substitution of target blunts for broadheads, can be used by the archer to obtain this necessary practice.

HUNTING RANGE

The entire technique of bow hunting revolves around the singular fact that archery hunting is a short-range proposition and, in the majority of successful instances, will be terminated with a shot at standing game.

In rifle hunting, ranges at game, depending upon the skill and equipment of the hunter, will reach an outside maximum of approximately 400 yards. The outside reasonable range at game for the average bow hunter seldom greatly exceeds 50 yards, if a high standard of sporting ethics is maintained.

It is true that :n target archery, targets are set up within many shooting courses at 80 yards and even further. Many an experienced archer hits those targets with regularity. Again, a few exceptionally skillful archers, who have spent most of an active life shooting arrows, can make spectacular hits at extreme ranges and can shoot an arrow as far as game can sensibly be hit with a rifle. This does not make the bow-and-arrow certain or ethical for use on game at any such ranges, nor should any hunter attempt it.

Setting the outside reasonable range for game hunting with the bow at around 50 yards gives the archer a ratio of approximately one in fifty chances at bagging game, as compared to that of the rifle hunter. In other words, under average hunting conditions, fifty times as much game might be located beyond 50 yards, in standing position and offering a shooting op­portunity, as will be found similarly at ranges under 50 yards. This is especially true in the more open game country of the West. All this boils down to the fact that the archer must get close to his game, undetected.

Getting close to game, without being seen, smelled, or heard is ac­complished generally by one of two techniques. Either the hunter stalks his quarry to a close range without alerting it, or he waits until game comes close to him.

STALKING

Stalking game with the bow-and-arrow involves a knowledge of game habits, an ability to detect winds and faint breezes in relation to a pattern, and an ability to interpret the sounds, contours, and objects of the forest.
But more, the stalker must possess two fundamental qualities to a degree seldom needed by the rifle hunter—an infinite patience, and an ability to move slowly.

A neighbor, who is a fine hunter and keen bow enthusiast, in telling of his recent elk hunt in the West, said, "I heard this big bull bugling and mak­ing a fuss in some chaparral and alders maybe 400 yards up the sidehill. He wasn't spooked, and didn't know I was anywhere around. In a couple of hours I was up to the brush where he was polishing his antlers, and in range. . ."

In such a situation with a rifle, the same hunter, within fifteen to thirty minutes, would have had the beast's heels in the air.

Because the special senses of most game are superior to those of man, the hunter must utilize the concealment of foliage and terrain. The biggest blessing to the bow hunter is foliage. By staying behind trees and brush, and going slowly and quietly, the archer often can approach his quarry closely enough to release, an arrow. But—and it's a big one—the blessing of thick foliage immediately becomes a curse, for it offers no opening through which a broadhead will fly. Unlike a heavy bullet, a broadhead can­not penetrate, or even touch, limbs and twigs and stay on course. The instant a broadhead touches such foliage, it flies off at an acutely oblique angle.

The standard excuse and lament of game archers is, "I hit a damn limb!" Years ago, while taking photographs with an exceptional archer hunting in a game concentration, I saw him miss four separate mule-deer bucks for the same reason. All were at 40 to 50 yards, and standing. All his arrows were deflected off course.

It is difficult to reduce to words the minute details that make up a fine stalking skill. A few basic do's and don'ts will help: Hunt into the wind. Wind direction can be tested with a wet finger, or dry dust allowed to trickle down from the fingers. Don't cross openings in trees or foliage—rather, stay inside timber fringes and shadows. Move slower than you think neces­sary, and far slower than the quarry habitually moves. Stay low to the earth if game is suspected to be nearby. Freeze into immobility at the first sight of game, regardless of distance, and move only after ascertaining that it hasn't seen you. In instances where game detects the hunter, he should never make quick, excited motions which indicate to the game an intention to pursue. Rather, the best procedure is to give no indication that game has

Noted archer Fred Bear pulls a hunting bow with a built-in quiver to full draw.

been seen, and slowly angle away, unobtrusively, as though not giving a care.

Most game will detect movement far quicker than contour; and based somewhat on this fact, the modern camouflage clothing available today has proved to be one of the archer's most invaluable assets. The rubberized camouflage garments are fine as outer clothing during wind, rain, or stormy weather. In balmy weather, camouflage clothing had best be of porous cotton so that it "breathes."

Many hunting bows are drab-colored. The glare from light-colored luminous bows will carry great distances and scare game. Bow socks are now available in camouflage cloth which simulates the coloration of autumn foliage, and similar ones can be made of white cloth for hunting in snow. Both effectively eliminate bow glare.

While stalking in woods, arrows are often left in their quivers. Whenever game is suspected to be close by, broadheads are best nocked and carried at ready.

SHOOTING FROM BLINDS

The second successful method of bow hunting is to wait in some form of blind for game to pass. Natural spots for blinds are at canyon apexes, narrows in drainages, and adjacent to game trails and areas which the spoor indicates the game to be using. "Blinds" here do not necessarily mean elaborate structures but any places of concealment the hunter can hide. The very best are often log jams, down timber, clumps of brush, and similar natural-appearing foliage or obstructions.

One of the best aids to this form of hunting is camouflage cloth, sold especially for hunters. It can be purchased in strips about a yard wide by 10 yards long. The strip is simply wound around suitable brush, or woven into tree clumps. If placed in a seemingly haphazard fashion, it looks, at a very few yards, to be part of the natural landscape.

ACCURACY

How accurate is the bow-and-arrow as a hunting weapon? In a broad way, the average accuracy is comparable to the average accuracy possible with a suitable handgun. That is to say, the hunting ranges for game are comparable, and the aggregate scores of a reasonable number of fair pistol shots would be comparable to the aggregate scores of the same number of similarly skilled archers, at the same reasonable ranges.
To settle such a controversial question, a pistol club in a neighboring state challenged an archery club to a shoot-off. The results, based on con­siderable shooting, were slightly in favor of the handgun enthusiasts.
To reduce this to sensible actuality, neither group should shoot at deer-

Camouflage clothing is basic equipment for the bow hunter, who must conceal himself yet remain within range of his quarry.

sized game beyond ranges at which they can keep all broadheads or bullets within an 8- to 12-inch circle.

Many states now set aside special archery hunts, for many species of game. This has come about because of increasing interest and enthusiasm on the part of bowmen, better equipment, the proportionately smaller number of game animals taken as compared to rifle hunting, and the exceptional safety record established. These special archery hunts are generally set up in advance of rifle hunts in the same area, for obvious reasons; and to give bowmen a reasonable chance, the hunts are usually authorized in the areas of considerable game concentration.

As one example of the trend, one western state had its first legal archery season in 1946. In 1961 there were at least eleven special archery hunts in the same state.

Archers are an enthusiastic group, and firmly sold on their weapon for hunting purposes. Realizing the basic shortcomings of the bow for game

When still-hunting  deer with bow-and-arrow, the archer can  use two forked sticks to hold his bow at ready position.

Record Stone ram shot by Fred Bear is testimony to the archery skill and stalking ability of an expert bow hunter.

hunting, as against the potential of the modern rifle, most archers hold to a code of high personal ethics in the matters of getting close to an animal be­fore loosing an arrow, and refusing chancy shots which may only result in wounding it.

Many an enthusiastic bowman will hunt several successive seasons for a species before bagging his trophy, or in some cases, even releasing an arrow. "But," as one grinning archer told me recently, "when you do get him, it's all worth it!"

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