Feb. 15, 1913 
FOREST AND STREAM 
209 
Target Fronts 
By E. J. RENDTORFF 
I T is exasperating, to say the least, to have our 
arrows rebound or pass through the target 
and then count a center shot for five points. 
In this article I shall make no attempt to sug¬ 
gest an arbitrary value to these misfortunes of 
the archer, but shall confine my attention to the 
cause of these accidents and suggest a remedy. 
The bosses of our straw targets have many 
weak places where an arrow will pass through. 
This cannot well be avoided. The rebounds are 
generally made when the point of the arrow 
strikes the heavy binding twine through which 
it cannot penetrate. A front with the inner 
circle shot to a sieve produces more rebounds 
than a new one. Rebounds are also sometimes 
produced by a lack of contact between front 
and boss, but the recoil from the binding twine 
is the more common. 
In America we generally use a front of oil¬ 
cloth, probably for the reason that it is the pre¬ 
vailing custom. Oilcloth is not well adapted 
for this purpose, and offers the following ob¬ 
jections: 
First—It is difficult to paint on a smooth 
oilcloth, as the colors have a habit of running 
and separating, so that a sharply defined circle 
or a smooth area of uniform color is hard to 
obtain. This is because the cohesion of the 
paint is greater than the adhesion between the 
paint and the glossy material of the oilcloth. 
Second—Oilcloth is' weak and brittle and is 
easily tont when arrows penetrate or are with¬ 
drawn. It allows the straw boss to buckle, and 
gives it but little mechanical support. The life 
of an oilcloth front is thus very short. 
Third—Oilcloth offers but little resistance 
to the passage of the arrows, thus allowing 
them to pass through when a weak part of the 
boss is struck. 
Fourth—When the arrow strikes the bind¬ 
ing twine and rebounds, the oilcloth offers so 
little resistance to the recoil that the arrow 
leaves the target. 
Fifth—It has the nasty habit of allowing 
particles of the front face to adhere to the 
shaft of the arrows, so that they will shoot un¬ 
true unless carefully cleaned with monotonous 
frequency. 
Oilclotli fronts offer several other minor 
objections, but tbe five mentioned are sufficient¬ 
ly serious to consider tbe use of a substitute. 
Last fall I tried a light canvas that can be pur¬ 
chased for 14c. per yard. As the material was 
but twenty-six inches wide it was overlapped 
about one-half inch at the inner edge, and then 
sewed. This canvas was given two coats of 
boiled linseed oil before it was painted.. This 
was done to prevent the colors from running, 
but was afterward found to be a mistake. The 
capillary action of the material of the canvas 
and its absorptive power is so great that when 
paint is applied on the unoiled surface the color 
pigments will not run far, but the oil itself 
will. It is thus easy to paint a good front on 
this material. 
The canvas was turned over the edge of 
the boss before it was sewed on. This re¬ 
enforced the outer edge so that the danger of 
arrows passing through near the petticoat was 
thus minimized. The boss was greatly strength¬ 
ened by the canvas and showed but little 
tendency to buckle. This front was used for 
some six weeks before cold weather set in. 
During that time some 8,000 arrows hit the 
target. I know of none that passed through, 
and of but one rebound with a weak 35-pound 
bow shooting a light arrow. After all this use 
the front was in better condition than the aver¬ 
age oilcloth would be after 500 hits. 
It is interesting to note what happens when 
the arrow strikes the binding twine under the 
condition that would cause a rebound with the 
oilcloth front. With the canvas front the arrow 
does not penetrate the twine, but starts to re¬ 
bound. The canvas, however, offers a sufficient 
resistance to the recoil of the arrow, so that 
instead of rebounding entirely off the target it 
is held in place. The canvas front is in every 
sense of the word superior to the oilcloth, and 
its adoption should become universal. An 
archer who tries it will never again consider 
the use of oilcloth for taget fronts. 
Archery Notes. 
BY EDWARD B. WESTON. 
Early in January of this year I sent the 
following letter to thirty-five archers: 
My Archer Friend: 
For many years, both in the United States 
and in Great Britain, the point system of scor¬ 
ing has been used in deciding the individual 
archery championships. Of course, the object 
is to decide who is the best archer. Can this 
be done more accurately by using the point 
method than by taking the highest score, or by 
score and hits added? 
I shall be pleased to receive an answer from 
Four archers who shot in the first tournament of the National Archery Association, held in Chicago, in 1879. 
They also shot in the 1910 tournament, held in Chicago, at which time this photograph was made. Keading from 
left to right: Dr. E. B. Weston, Chicago; Tac. Hussey, Des Moines; Will H. Thompson, Seattle, Geo. F. Henry, 
Des Moines. Each of them is still alive and shooting. 
