FOREST AND STREAM 
191 
before the target, but some time it may be very 
convenient to be ambidextrous. 
EDWARD B. WESTON. 
TESTED ARROWS. 
In the days of long ago our ancestors might 
have been able to take any old hand-made arrow 
and hit the mark at which they shot. They must 
have had an abnormal sense long since lost to 
mankind, which enabled them to forecast the 
individual eccentricities of each one of those 
crude shafts with which they were wont to bring 
down game or enemies at distances beyond the 
range of our modern target shooting. But now- 
days, with fairly accurate arrows, machine 
turned and nicely balanced, it can’t be done. 
Confidence in his arrows is one of the chief 
assets of a skilled marksman. A rifleman would 
not keep a weapon that would not shoot regu¬ 
larly into a reasonably small target, when 
properly aimed. It would otherwise be dis¬ 
carded as worthless. If this system were ap¬ 
plied to defective arrows, as they come to us 
from the maker or dealer, we should have to 
reject about two out of three. 
When first made, it is possible that they are 
nearly alike in weight and point of balance; but 
careless handling in storage and transportation, 
together with the use of wood that is not suffi¬ 
ciently seasoned, leave them in Such bad condi¬ 
tion that an archer is very lucky if he can select 
eight arrows good enough for tournament use 
from an order of two dozen. 
Many times I have heard archers say that, 
whatever the defects of their arrows might be, 
they would fly straighter than the archer could 
shoot them. In most cases I consider this to be 
very doubtful. It might be that an unknown 
defect in an arrow might offset an error in the 
shooter, and produce a good shot; but there are 
just as many chances that the opposite occur¬ 
rence would result in a greater degree of in¬ 
accuracy. At the very best, the archer would 
be working under a very serious handicap if he 
knew the individual tendencies of each shaft and 
made due allowance for them. 
It is a marvel to the writer that the archery 
supply manufacturers are able to produce ar¬ 
rows as good as they do, at the comparatively 
small price they receive. 
There ought to be some extra grades of ar¬ 
rows made, that are specially built, inspected 
and tested. Most arrows could be improved both 
in the feathering and the fitting of the piles. 
The test could be made by a competent archer 
or by a machine similar to the old time cross¬ 
bow. Some modification of this weapon could 
doubtless be made, which would give practically 
similar aim and loose at each shot. The makers 
could then guarantee any number of arrows 
which were sold in a set, from six up, to group 
on an average in a given sized circle at a certain 
range; the smaller the circle, the higher the 
price. 
It would not only be cheaper in the end for 
the archer who is striving for accuracy; but it 
would encourage the manufacturer to put out 
a better grade of goods and give him proper re¬ 
turn for the extra time spent in improving them. 
If any firm could guarantee a full dozen ar¬ 
rows to group within the red at 60 yards, those 
arrows ought to be worth more than twice the 
price now obtained for un-tested goods. 
NIK. 
Killed his deer with 
LEFEVER 
20-Gauge Shot Gun 
While hunting Pheasants 
near Hansrote, W. Va. 
Mr. W. M. Kefauver 
killed a deer with his 
LEFEVER 20-Gauge 
Loaded with No. 5 Shot 
“The deer was running toward me at an angle,” 
he writes, “and at the first shot I broke its shoulder, 
knocking it down. With the second shot, killed 
it dead with a charge back of the head at a distance 
of about 25 yards. 
“Also killed two turkeys and I was absolutely 
astounded at the remarkable shooting strength 
of your 20-gauge gun.” 
Our Taper System of Boring Gives Great 
Pattern and Penetration Power 
WRITE FOR CATALOG TODAY! 
LEFEVER ARMS GO. 
200 Maltbie Street SYRACUSE, N.Y. 
