STL All Sports

The equipment of an archer plays a most important part in his success and enjoyment. In view of this importance a rather complete discussion will be given to the bow, arrow, target, and other essentials along with advice as to their proper care if durability and long life are to be obtained. Bows.---If modern bows are classified according to the material from which they are constructed, they would fall into two classes : wood and metal. Bows made from either wood or steel produce good results, although most archers at present are using wood.

The three outstanding woods from which bows are made are lemon-wood, osage orange, and yew.

Lemonwood is usually a little cheaper than the other woods and consists of finely grained, straight, tough fibers, which make a satisfactory bow for beginners and all class work. For all practical purposes, a bow constructed from this material is as good as from either one of the other woods.

The osage orange is also a tough, hard wood, and has been used considerably for hunting bows in recent years.

The yew wood, differs from the two other types of wood in that it is softer. This wood has been used for bows longer than any other wood, and the bows made from it are better known than those from any other material. The yew bows are more expensive, are undoubtedly superior to the other bows, and are used by the more experienced archers. Bows made from black walnut, hickory, ironwood, ash, and mulberry are not satisfactory as a rule in that they quickly lose their cast, and break easily when dry.

Steel bows have a few advantages over the wooden bows: they are guaranteed against breakage, they do not weaken during a long season of shooting, and are on the whole cheaper to own.

The archer should select a bow that is not too strong or weak for him, one that he can pull back and hold steady momentarily while getting his aim. Do not use a bow that you cannot pull back to the pile of the arrow and hold steady for a moment. The bow which the average man should use should have a pull of 35 or 40 pounds, for women 25 to 30 pounds, and for boys and girls, 5 to 8 pounds less respectively for each group.