January 1943

Page 1

U c S'pluan MnI. 14

J|annan>, 1943

9

Testing Arrows for Accuracy By Donald Cole, Redfield, South Dakota One1 of the most astonishing facts in archery is the number of things that archers know which are not true. They continue however to labor mightily and with unabated zeal un­ der these handicaps and, I am glad to note, have a good time doing it. Now there is nothing wrong with a man enjoying a hobby even though his conception concerning it be filled with fallacies, and to use a slang expresion, cock eyed theories. I, my­ self, have been badly bloated with erroneous ideas but I am siphoning off the gas as rapidly as possible. My forte has been arrows, and if I had taken the time which I have squandered on arrow making and di­ rected it into almost any commercial channel there can be little doubt but that today I would be a rich man with polo ponies and a couple of yachts. One entire year was devoted to contacting archers from coast to coast and trading arrows with them. I have seen the handiwork of many, many arrow smiths, the excellent,, the mediocre, and the awful. In ac­ quiring this hayrack full of arrows I also acquired several thousand theories which came along with them, and from this pile, which was fully the size of a small hill, I laboriously selected the best. That task perform­ ed, I entered the second phase of my search for the formula which would result in a perfect flying shaft. It was more than interesting. It was a disease. The fever coursed through my veins like an evil virus and gave me no rest, but it was worth it. I emerged at last knowing so many things that the vast compass of my knowledge was a little frightening, even to me. Archers came for advice

and received it, and after sitting half the night left with the feeling that they had been showered with jewels of wisdom, and staggered home under their new burdens sing­ ing praises to my name. It was a ha^v period wherein I simply open­ ed the spigot and filled everybody’s pail and for those who had none I just tossed a few glittering nuggets into a sack so they could carry them home. What I did not know about arrows vou could write on a postage stamp. Weight, length, feather area, straight or spiral vanes, stresses and strains involving deep calculus and 1524 logarithms, cellular struc­ ture of various woods, etc, etc, all were an open book to me. I could present unanswerable questions in defense of my knowledge and when verbally wrestling with an opponent could flatten him so quickly with a flying mare that he never got his wind back to try for a second fall. I was so stuffed with rubbish at that time that I came close to busting. The thing that saved me no doubt was watching a former National Champion make a “tournament ar­ row.” This fellow was an uncanny shot and a man who believed that a kind and watchful providence would sustain him at all times. Therefore he never troubled to have a reserve either of this world’s goods or equip­ ment and would blandly enter a con­ test with a borrowed bow and just enough arrows to make up an end. At the time of which I speak mis­ fortune befell him. He broke an arrow, one of his set of six and the only set he had. The Champion how­ ever was undismayed. He went to the shon of a friend and sawed out


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