April 19, 1913 
FOREST AND STREAM 
503 
Forest and Stream is the official organ of the National Archery Association, 
The Method of George Phillips Bryant 
I NTERESTING and instructive letters on 
methods of shooting in archery were read 
at the recent annual banquet of the Chicago 
Archery Club. For the benefit of the cause of 
archery, it was decided to publish these letters 
in full. 
Our present champion, Geo. Phillips Bryant, 
answered a series of fourteen questions, prefac¬ 
ing his replies as follows: 
“These answers tell what I do and not neces¬ 
sarily what I would recommend. Though Ford’s 
book is my Bible on archery, I have always be¬ 
lieved that the individual should accommodate 
Ford's methods to his particular requirements 
and physical powers. 
“For the short ranges, the style used by Mrs. 
Howell and so ably set forth by Prof. Rendtorff 
in his recent articles, cannot be beaten, and if 
a man has great power, he may well try it at 
the longer ranges. 
“I have never quite settled in my mind the 
value or wisdom of the particular modifications 
that I personally show in my shooting.’’ 
And further in a later letter Mr. Bryant ex¬ 
plains as follows: 
“I believe every man has to go through a 
certain amount of personal experimentation be¬ 
fore he can settle on that method best suited to 
his peculiarities, and feeling that I am still in 
the experimental stage, I hesitate to set forth 
any particular style or method as desirable, es¬ 
pecially as it might be considered a challenge to 
discussion, which I would regret.” 
The questions and answers follow: 
Question i. “What weight bow do you use 
at 100, 80, 60, so and 40 yards? What weight 
arrows at those distances, and are you particular 
that all of a set of six arrows weigh the same?” 
Answer. “I have used bows varying from 
48 to 56 pounds at all ranges, but now use about 
48 at the American round ranges and about 52 
at the 80 and 100. 
“I abandoned anything less than 5 shilling 
arrows two years ago. Mr. Rendtorff has stated 
every argument better than I can. If I were 
only going to shoot up to 80 yards, I would use 
a light bow about six feet two inches long and 
a 6 shilling arrow. I have never had a set of 
arrows weighing alike, but test them for flight 
by actual shooting.” 
Question 2. “How high do you string your 
bow; that is, the distance between the string and 
the belly of the handle?” 
“Is your nocking point tight or loose on 
the arrow?” 
Answer. “Six and three-quarter inches. 
Nocking point just a fit, but not tight. How¬ 
ever, I am rather careless about the fine points 
at times.” 
Question 3. “You seem to take a prelimi¬ 
nary aim with bow half drawn and a final aim 
with bow fully drawn. Have you a point of aim 
at each of these draws, and where is it?” 
Answer. “One point only. For some years 
I held my arm out straight and drew as Rich¬ 
ardson does, but went back this last spring to 
my old style as less exhausting and awkward. I 
draw as I raise and attempt to approximate the 
point of aim as I draw so that at full draw 
I shall have just come on point of aim, then 
steady on it and release. This is what I try to 
do, but no doubt make many false moves.” 
Question 4. “ How do you loose? Do you 
throw your fingers off the string with a slight 
backward movement, or do you hold your fingers 
bent and tense and with the least possible move¬ 
ment allow the string to roll off the fingers, which 
latter have a tendency on account of their tense¬ 
ness to fly back into the bent position like a 
spring upon release of the string?” 
Answer. “I used to open my fingers and 
pull back so that it had appearance of an ex¬ 
plosion. Then tried Fisher’s release, then took 
lessons from Thompson and Taylor, but have 
never got a release to suit yet. I try to get a 
somewhat more mechanical and less delicate re¬ 
lease than they get. Your last alternative with 
the addition of the fact that my hand and arm 
come back about half an inch in the act of loos¬ 
ing, so that the string does not go forward till 
entirely free, covers it as well as I can.” 
Question 5. “I notice when fully drawn the 
top of your thumb is placed just back and below 
your right ear, or is it in front of your ear? 
Do you depend upon your thumb, thus placed, 
as a stop or anchor to hold your bow fully 
drawn, while you perfect your aim, or is it 
simply to steady your right hand and determine 
the length of your draw, the muscles of your 
arm and back, holding the strain of the bow? 
“Does the end of your thumb act as a pivot 
in releasing the string?” 
Answer. “My thumb comes on the point 
of my jaw bone and is a personal peculiarity 
only. I draw much too far back by all the rules 
of archery, and can do so only because of facial 
conformation. I never intentionally let any 
pressure come on the thumb, but use it merely 
as a guide. The pictures show a pressure due 
to holding for the photographer. The result of 
pressure is to make the thumb act as a pivot, 
throw the hand out of line and ruin the shot.” 
Question 6. “Does your forefinger touch 
your chin, neck or face when bow fully drawn, 
and which and where?” 
Answer. “It probably touches under my 
chin, though I am entirely unconscious of it. 
I believe if one is going to shoot only 80 yards 
and under, that it is of great advantage to draw 
to the corner of the mouth as Mrs. Howell and 
Mrs. Phillips did.” 
Question 7. “I believe you use a glove 
finger tips. How do you make your tips? Do 
you use quills, are you careful not to allow a 
crease in your tips? Of what kind of leather? 
Do you prefer the ‘feel of the string’?” 
Answer. “I face the finger ends with cor¬ 
dovan or horse-butt, sewing them on at the base 
and part way up the sides, but leaving them free 
on the ends. I am not satisfied with them. I 
use thin tips so as to feel the string. There 
are times when I do not prefer ‘the feel of 
the string,’ but grin and bear it.” 
Question 8. “Please say where you place 
the string on your fingers.” 
Answer. “My fingers show heavy callouses 
beginning about one-quarter of an inch from the 
joint and almost square across.” 
Question 9. “Do you hold your bow ex¬ 
actly upright; that is, vertical, and do you look 
to the right or left of your string as you aim 
along the arrow? Are both eyes open, or do 
you close your left eye?'’ 
Answer. “Very slightly slanted to the right 
and look by the left of the string. Both eyes 
open.” 
Question 10. “How do you hold the bow 
with your bow hand, wrist perfectly straight, or 
slightly bent toward you to avoid striking the 
arm guard ?” 
Answer. ‘'Wrist straight. Do not bend it 
in or out and can shoot bare arm without strik¬ 
ing except on recoil I get the vibration.” 
Question ii. “As you draw with your string 
hand, do you push forward with your bow hand, 
or is all the drawing done with your string 
hand ?” 
Answer. “I have my arm (left) practically 
straight before drawing, and as I raise my bow 
I draw with the right arm and back, so that as 
my left arm comes up, it remains straight, but 
not rigid. I do not grasp the bow tight until 
up and on the point of aim, and that allows it 
to settle in my hand so that it pulls true.” 
Question 12. “When you have perfected 
your aim, is your bow arm extended to its utter¬ 
most, hand, wrist and arm held rigid, elbow 
locked open, or do you find it necessary to avoid 
rigidity in order that the recoil may follow the 
direction the arrow is aimed ?” 
Answer. “It is extended, but not to its 
uttermost, and the elbow is not locked, nor is 
it bent. I have a feeling of full extension with¬ 
out that of stretching. It must be very firm but 
not rigid. I developed a flineb last spring, when 
I was shooting with the outstretched arm, that 
nearly drove me out of archery. I do not feel 
capable of advising,-as my own control of my 
left arm is so poor.” 
Question 13. “Do you draw until the front 
of the pile just touches the back of the bow or 
