Bowhunting and Archery - The History of the Bow

THE bow was man's chief weapon down through theestablished toward the end of the 18th Century by the
ages until the invention of firearms. With the bow, manformation in England of the Royal Toxophilite Society
hunted for food and protected himself from hisof London. The Grand National Meeting which
enemies. The great military nations of the past gaineddetermines the Championship of England was first held
their ascendency through the ability of their archers.in the year 1884.
Over eight hundred years ago the Mongol horde wasOrganized archery on the English pattern, which we
turned back into Asia by the long bow.With the adventcommonly call target archery, was introduced in the
of firearms, the use of the bow in English warfareUnited States in 1828 by the formation of the United
rapidly declined, although archery was enjoyed widelyBowmen of Philadelphia who shot regularly in that city
as a sport during the middle ages. The Scots todayfor thirty years prior to the Civil War and whose
compete for a silver arrow dated 1603.Primitivetrophies are on display with the Pennsylvania Historical
peoples of all countries except Australia have the bowSociety.
and it was used as a military and a hunting weapon.In 1878 the National Archery Association of the United
The American Indian used the bow as his chiefStates was formed. This is the ruling body for target
weapon, but contrary to popular belief, his skill was notarchers in the United States. A group of target archers
as great as the writers of fiction would have usconduct a tournament in a manner similar to that used
believe. Feats of which the legendary Robin Hoodon the rifle range. Shooting is under the control of a
would have been proud are performed every day byField Captain and the targets are set at predetermined
the modern archer whose tackle and equipment hasdistances from the shooting line.Field Archers constitute
so improved in the last twenty years that records arethe other large group of archers who are organized on
no sooner established than they are broken. Moderna national scale under the National Field Archery
archery tackle is far superior to that used by theAssociation. Field archery is intended to simulate
Indians and contests between Indians and white menconditions found in the hunting field and at the same
leave no doubt as to the superiority of the moderntime provide group competition in the sport of archery.
weapon. The Indian depended on his skill in stalking toA scheduled field shoot under conditions prescribed by
secure game, and his kills were made at shortthe national organization provides a variety of shots
distances. Indians of the western plains killed buffaloover hunting terrain at unknown distances.Affiliated
with the bow and arrow by riding their ponies alongsidewith the national organizations are the several state
a fleeing buffalo and discharging their arrows at shortarchery organizations whose purpose is to promote
range.Following World War I the late Saxton T. Popearchery in all its phases within the state boundary. A
demonstrated that a skilled hunter armed with astrong state organization is essential to coordinate the
medieval broad-headed arrow and a yew bow wastournament schedules of the various archery clubs,
able to kill practically every type of game animal insponsor state championship tournaments, and to serve
North America including the Kodiak and Grizzly bearsas spokesman on legislative matters that pertain to
and the elusive mountain sheep. The modern Dean ofarchery.The greatest factor in the resurgence of
bowhunters is Howard Hill, who not satisfied witharchery today is the growing use of the bow in the
matching his skill with the bow against the game of thehunting field. Local bow hunting clubs are appearing in
North American continent, has extended his conquestsever-increasing numbers. Together with the existing
of wild game to Africa where the mighty elephant hastarget clubs, they form an all important group who
fallen to his bow. His book, "Wild Adventure," publishedworking together have measureably increased the
by The Stackpole Company is a thrilling account of hissport during the last decade.The Author is Publisher of
adventures in hunting and photographing wilda website containing great information and e-books on
game.Modern archery as it is known today wasBowhunting and Archery.