The evolution and techniques of hunting with bow and arrow is a classic example of man’s self-reliance.

The first arrowheads unearthed in Africa dated from over 60,000 years ago. Evidence of archery ultimately spread to North America’s Arctic region via the Bering Land Bridge between 9,000 and 6,000 years ago. By about 2000 BC, taking game with bow and arrow was an established hunting method across much of the North American continent’s temperate zone.

Thirty subspecies of “whitetail” deer once populated North America. General estimates suggest a population range of between 24 and 33 million deer across about 80 percent of the country prior to European colonization in the early 1500s.

Arrowheads—The quintessential icon of ancient archery is the classic, knapp-edged arrowhead. Most “arrowheads” aren’t! It’s a generic term for many hand-worked materials that are the only remains of the main weapon/tool into which it was incorporated. A more accurate term is “projectile point.” Most “arrowheads” are actually spear points, small knife blades or related cutting/scrapping tools. Larger tips did not work well for arrows (balanced weight, aerodynamics of flight, etc.). In fact, many of the notably smaller “bird tip” arrowheads were actually used for hunting a variety of game, as they were able to penetrate the hide of smaller animals (rabbits, squirrels, etc., as well as deer) more easily that larger, thicker hunting tips.

The weight of the fashioned tip (ideally less than an ounce), an optimum width of only 1.5 to 1.75 inches, and only an inch or so in length, are generally classified as actual “arrowheads.” The diameter of the shaft used for hafting, or attaching the point to an arrow shaft, was also a defining factor. Besides stone, antlers and bone were used to fashion projectile points.

Subsequent to colonization by Europeans, Native American archers had access to scrap and sheet metal (barrel hoops, files, hack saws, cold chisels, broken machinery, brass kettles, etc.), bottle glass, and flint ballast stones from which arrow points could be made. In 1671, the Hudson Bay Company even produced factory-made arrowheads for America—no doubt in response to the booming deer hide trade with Europe that had developed.

Arrow shafts—Young saplings, generally 3/8- to 5/8-inch in diameter, were selected in late summer or winter from flexible, straight-grained sapwood. Shafts were either naturally round or made from split billets shaped with stone/bone/antler/metal shavers. Heat and moisture treatments were used to straighten the shafts. Arrows were also fine-tuned for balance, spine, and weight.

When hollow reeds were used as shafts, a wooden plug insert was added to help secure the projectile point. Typically, a slit was cut into the plug, and the base/tang of the arrowhead was inserted in the slit, and then secured with a tight sinew wrap and animal or plant glue. A string notch was cut into the plug at the other end of the arrow.

Fletching—Turkey, eagle and crow feathers were most commonly used for fletching an arrow. A portion of the spine of a split feather was exposed so that sinew could be used to attach the feather. Plant cord would also be wound at intervals along the entire length of the fletching to further secure the feather to the shaft.

Bows and strings—The three common styles of bow were: 1) Self Bow, single staved “long” bows made from a variety of woods and used primarily for hunting in the woodlands; 2) Sinew-reinforced “backed” bows; and 3) composite bows, shorter (used on horseback on the plains), utilizing a combination of horns, antlers and sinew for backing and other construction methods. Woods were selected for their amount of stretch with given tension, tensile breaking strength and the amount of shrinkage. Temperature tended to affect horn/antlers; moisture affected wood.

Strings were made from either plant fibers (nettles, milkweed, dogbane) or animal sinew from back legs, tendons, or rawhide. Plant fibers resisted moisture better than animal but were more labor intensive to produce.

Longer, war/hunting bows had draw weights of 50 to 70 pounds; shorter hunting bows had approximately 30- to 40-pound draw weights. These bows were just as accurate as a rifle at distances under 50 yards. Additionally, bows were quieter than firearms, and could be fired quicker and reloaded in succession faster than black powder guns, thus making them the preferred hunting weapon.

Hunting techniques—Early deer hunters used four basic styles of hunting: 1) stalking/stealth; 2) using a decoy or natural blind; 3) drives into restricting areas to be ambushed by awaiting hunters, or to swamp/water bodies where hunters waited in canoes; and 4) surrounding drives using a ring of fire, driving deer inward toward the center.

Stalking hunters utilized a variety of methods for approaching deer. Smoke from burning red oak, plants, mud, and animal urine were used to mask their scent. Applying mud and markings on their bodies also created visual camouflage. Other methods included calls, rattles and jacklights to attract deer.

Cured capes of actual deer hides were commonly used as an effective decoy for approaching deer. Jamestown (1607) colonist John Smith is credited with the following description of this technique used by the local Powhatan tribe:

“One savage hunting alone uses the skin of a deer slit on the one side, and also put on his arme [sic], through the neck, so that his hand comes to the head which is stuffed; and the hornes [sic], head, eyes, ears, and every part as artificially counterfeited as they can devise. Thus shrouding his body in the skin, by stalking he approaches the deer, creeping on the ground from tree to another…”, (as cited by Arber 1 910:70-71).

Most aspects of today’s whitetail deer bow hunting techniques are a refinement of tactics, materials and technologies that have been used since prehistoric times. Today’s archers are among those hunters who embody a legacy of hunting whose roots go back before written history.

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