PRIMITIVE ARCHERY
By: Howdy Davis
We’ll begin this session with the rules,
terminology, and bow and arrow set-up. I’m passing on to you the rules
for primitive shooting as I found them by attending rendezvous and local
shoots. They are simple, but they do vary. The problem we’re faced with
is that you’re never sure what the rules are until you are at the shoot
where more often that not you won’t find out until the day the shoot
begins. The rules may have been posted or, if you’re lucky, you might
get a list when you register. What I can tell you is to be prepared and
take enough equipment with you in case you have to switch. If you don’t
have the proper equipment, ask if it’s alright for you to shoot with
what you have and not have your score count. I’m sure that most will
oblige you.
Primitive archery is a fairly new event at many rendezvous. In the east
when we were shooting in the early 80s I was doing seminars and
demonstrations the rules varied from shoot to shoot even then. These are
some of the rules encountered over the past five years:
Wooden stick bows, no shelves, no
laminations, no backings. Totally primitive bows with the exception that
you were allowed to have a Dacron string which was permitted for safety
reasons. I did find at some shoots bows that were allowed with backings
such as linen, snake skin, fish skin, and sinew. Bamboo backing or any
other type of lamination was out of the question. It appears that all this
is based on what the local perception of what the Indians used and not
what was imported, especially in the west. The east, I believe, in general
has rules that a bit more liberal.
Arrows are usually required to be made from natural shoots, not dowels or
store bought, and they must be self nocked. A majority of the time I found
that we were allowed to use doweled shafts with plastic nocks, allowed for
safety reasons. It’s easy to cut self nocks in wood shafts, or of wood
inserts for cane (which Bill Cunningham will address in future articles).
Keep in mind that if you do use plastic nocks you should stay away from
bright colors. If you have to, color them with a marker. Cedar arrows in
some cases had to be from natural shoots. Doweled shafts and plastic nocks
are not the usual rule so go prepared.
No shelf or arrow rest is pretty much the imposed rule at many events.
There is often a requirement against a
nocking point on the string. However, I shoot so much I can always find
the spot on the string where I nock my arrow each time I place my arrow on
the string. (A word to the wise: always have at least two extra, shot in,
strings in your archery pouch). Bill Cunningham sometimes works a short
piece of contrasting color string into his bow strings where his nocking
point is, and sometimes he just marks the spot with a magic marker.
I have yet to find any restrictions on the length of the bow or its draw
weight. My experience is that the bow weights used are from forty pounds
on down. Most all dacron strings were flemish type so you should learn to
do this. If you don’t want to, you can find flemish string makers in
Primitive Archery magazine, on the buckskin wall on-line or just check out
Three Rivers archery supply.
In primitive shooting you lean forward, bending slightly at the waist and
rest the arrow on your index finger, draw, and release. When I attend a
shoot where a lot of arrows will be shot I wear a leather glove on my bow
hand. It has a reinforced index finger in order to keep the feather vane
from slicing my finger.
Choosing a primitive bow or making one, is a serious undertaking. A stave
of wood such as osage orange, ironwood, ash, elm, or oak are all fine
woods for bow making and should be sought in six foot lengths unless you
are really good at splicing. These woods must be air dried for a few years
before they are ready to be carved into a bow. Later on I’ll cover what
goes into the making of a bow—in the meantime you might want to obtain
Glenn St. Charles’s video and book, From Billets to Bow, available from
his son, Joe’s archery shop which you’ll have to look up yourself.
Cost of a ready made primitive bow can be expensive. Check the bowyers
selling them on eBay for ideas or read through the ads in Primitive Archer
or on-line at the Leather Wall or TradGang. My friend Bill Cunningham
deals with them all and he is surrounded with bows of all types, probably
enough to open his own archery shop. Every time we shoot together it seems
that he carries a different bow from the last time. Maybe you can shout
him up and see what he’s got available. I guarantee the bow will be shot
in and proven.
One thing to keep in mind is that the longer a bow is the easier it is to
pull and the more accurate it is. Just to give you an idea of the
different bow ranges, my favorite bow is a 68 inch at a weight of 38
pounds at a 28 inch draw length. I get more distance out of this bow
because if I’m shooting a field course where the yardages are from ten
to eighty yards the bow is perfect for reaching the long targets. My
hunting bows are 56 inches in length and 50 to 55 pounds at 28 inches for
deer. The bow I use for elk and bear is 62 inches and 65 pounds at 28
inches.
A quick measurement to determine your
arrow draw length is to place your fist against a wall. Stand in your
shooting position and measure from the wall to your anchor point on your
face. That should usually be the corner of your mouth. Add an extra inch
or two for good measure. If need be you can always shorten the arrow. Bear
in mind that any amount of arrow hanging over the back of the bow is dead
weight and will cause you to lose distance . The back of the bow is that
part farthest away from you. You can also put a nock on a raw shaft,
string it and draw to your nocking point and hold while a friend pinches
or marks the arrow right at the back of the bow. Let up slowly and then
measure from the bottom of the nock to the mark or his fingers. That is
your draw length. Add an inch or two for the point and that is your arrow
length.
Going back to the strings, select the right length string by measuring the
length of your bow by following the contour and then subtract three
inches. When you place the string onto the bow and you need more brace
height you can take the string off and give it several twists (too much
twisting is not good—it will affect your arrow flight and will shorten
the life of the string). All bows have a brace height and once determined
it should always remain the same. Brace height is the distance from inside
your handle (front of the bow) to the string. You should check
periodically that it is the same height you set it at. I made a twelve
inch ruler that I carry in my pouch. My primitive bow brace height is six
inches. I twist the string up or down until I reach that measurement.
Remember, check this often. Primitive bows typically brace lower than
traditional bows. I know several people who use a brace height of four to
4 and a half inches. If you have a bow with excessive hand shock a higher
brace height will usually reduce it considerably.
Next time will be all about arrows, including an arrow chart for wood
arrows. Until then remember, wax, wax, wax. Shoot, shoot, shoot.