The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1936-08-07
ARCHERY

Recognizing the new interest In
archery, especially in Maryland and
the District of Columbia, your
columnist has brought to these lines
an expert archer, Mr.. Kenneth
Shockley, who is well known as
builder of archery equipment and as
a "bulls-eye' scorer. He is not
professional but rides the hobby for
pleasure. Listen, please, while he
tells you of this interesting sport
at is far cry, indeed, from the
wind-swept plains that were the
homes of the hordes of Genghis
Khan and from the greenwood for
ests of "merrie England" so dear to
the hearts of Robin Hood and his
men, but the fascination of archery
has existed Throughout the ages and
the sport is now on a rising wave of
popularity. There is something in
the twang of a well-drawn bow
string that sets the blood of real
sportsman a-tingle.
st is a common practice to build
the bow equal in length to the users
body tho this is by no means fast
rule. The majority of bows are eth
er five and half or six feet long,
and arrows should be made from the
particular bow. The length is gov
erned by the user, the arrow being
equal in length to the distance from
| the center of his outstretched left
fist to a point on the cheek directly
under the right eye. A five and
half foot bow will use twenty-six
inch arrows. This length should
not be exceeded unless for an oc-
casional blight shot when thirty or
thirty-two inch arrows are used. G
'The bow is identical to the auto
mobile spring in action, each sepa-
rate layer of the grain acting as the
individual leaves of the spring.
/
patience. Rounded birch bowels for.
arrows are easily obtainable at any
lumber yard, and very cheap, but the
| best arrows are made of Norwegian
pine or Port oxford cedar. Practice
points for the arrows may be made
from pieces of brass tubing slightly
| oh
and one inch long.
Gin the feathering, or fetching
lies the secret of good arrow making
and the process requires time and
patience. The feathers are best cut
from the two large outside feathers
of a turkey wing. The cresting is
the painted design on the feathered
end of the shaft to distinguish one
archers' arrows from anothers.'
ga good stance is necessary in
shooting, and just as the golfer uses
follow-tru' so must an archer keep
his position for fraction of second
after, the arrow has left the string.
Unlike rifle shooting in which the
marksman aims directly at the tar
get, the bowman aims below the
of the bow in which the lower end
must be made slightly stronger than
the upper to give the proper trajec-
tory to the fight of the arrow.
81 have shot fish in eight feet OF
water with so pound target bow
and have driven with steel broad
head arrows from an IS pound bow
through a corrugated steel oil drum.
Archery is sport in which few, If
any, physical handicaps are recog-
nized. A girl may become as dead
ly shot as man, either in the field
or at targets. 1t is only necessary
that she use lighter equipment
Archery is a great sport, one with a
romantic past and a strengthening
future, one that may be INDUCED in
or field with equal enjoyment.
Among those finding interest In
archery are Mr.. Herbert Harrison,
St. Michaels; Mrs. James Speer, Jr.,
Trappe; and the Archery Club of
Washington College, which numbers
about ten members, all girls. Mr..
w. L. Hull of Easton has made sew
eral fine bows.
OF course, gunpowder and lead arg
certain but they make lot of noise
Remember Braddock's defeat? And
how the silent arrows of the Indians
were driven thru the Red Coats be-
fore anyone knew the company was
being ambushed? And don't forget
William Tells apple. Archery is
Americas fastest growing sport and
outfits can be had at all prices,
ranging from $3.50 to 5000.
| Somatime during the summer Mr.