Throwing Arrows

[Elbmek]

Re: Throwing Arrows

playing cards make the best flights

[Danny]

Re: Throwing Arrows

SWISS, DUTCH, YORKSHIRE? --- I always knew them as FRENCH arrows

[Elbmek]

Re: Throwing Arrows

I do not recall them having any name at all, just arrows. I do recall the vast distances we could achieve with a boot lace, knotted at one end, looped around the arrow under the flight and launched with great height for approx 100 yards flight distance. The lace auto released as it achieved full impetus.

[ASlinger]

Re: Throwing Arrows

I was born in 1952 inBrixham and raised in Torquay. Torquay was a fairly sleepy but fairly well todo family holiday resort and catered for the more affluent of society at thattime. This was abundantly obvious by the number of grandiose second homes thatfestooned the area. It was adored by Agatha Christie who was also born thereand was the setting for many of her novels. It could have been the richestholiday resort in the world, but for the council of the day that duly put paidto that!
Now it’s a dump!
Torquay was surrounded on three sides by small, medium and large farms and anyonethat knows anything about farms knows that, where there are farms; there arehordes of pests and vermin. Rationing on meat items may have ended in 1954 “Ibelieve” but the scarcity of this commodity all over the country made the priceprohibitive.
Right into the sixties a good Sunday joint was a massive treat to the workingclasses. The farmer was on a hiding to nothing if the pests were allowed freerein. There was some foxhunting but the whole escapade was usually a bit of afarce as Reynard was a bit too smart for most packs. Nowadays this ratherbarbaric pastime has had to be curtailed after the consolidated efforts of theso called “do-gooders”? Undoubtedly, sensible shoes brigade ladies?
Shotgun cartridges were surprisingly abundant for the old Twelve-bore but theircost and the expense of losing valuable farming time, made hunting difficult.That’s where I and my friends saw an opportunity and grabbed it with bothhands; I dare say we were pioneering entrepreneurs and I am quite confidentthat other shrewd and youthful kahunas offered the same services and expertisein their area.
Practicing with the Devon bung arrow was always a great way of spending aholiday during the late 50s and early 60s. The distance and velocity that weeffortlessly obtained with old whispering death was quite startling.
The name Bung Arrow is a colloquialism for what was/is termed for a throwingarrow in our part of the world. In other parts of the country these bodkins wasknown under a variety of differing labels, the Yorkshire, Danish, Viking,Dutch, Welsh, Gypsy, Poachers arrow to name but a few. They were all verysimilar in construction “I believe” and were Shyed in an identical manner(three methods of loosing) if done correctly. Parenthetically the policeman mentioned later had an absolutely graphicname for them; he called them “Fizzing death”! This is exactly what theywere/are!
My pals and I lived adjacent to a graveyard, where there grew cane bamboo. Wealways had the “Just William” bulging front pocket in our trousers crammed tobreaking point with the omnipresent, pen-knife, string, *nails, matches, and*soldering wire. In the back pocket we carried (if the large and usual hole inthe rear of the strides permitted) together with the few much needed playingcards, sand-paper* and a broken hacksaw blade*!
* purloined from dads tool-box.
We had or made agreements with the farmers to use these arrows on their landand arranged a tariff depending if the farm was arable or livestock. Theyscratched our back and we definitely scratched theirs.
The tariff as I recall it was as follows
1d A rat or woodpigeon* (A copper)
2d Rabbit* Hare* and squirrel (grey not red) (tuppence)
3d A Weasel, feral mink and sadly otter (thruppence)
6d Marten & Fox.(sixpence, tanner)
1s A badger (a shilling, A bob)
We also took blackbird,lark & rook, (all very tasty) roosting if possible but could be taken onthe wing. Game was also taken. Gamebirds in season such as Quail, partridge, pheasant and woodcock were alsoforaged for. Once again, after the farmer had taken his pick they went straightto the butchers. Both the butcher and farmer had the room to hang the birds forthe required time, especially pheasants (usually just over a week, dependant ontemperatures) until they were high.
All meat should be left to hang, not like today butchered, gutted, wrapped andpacked into a freezer all in one day. No taste whatsoever.
As I said” my palsand I lived adjacent to a graveyard, where we cut the cane. Stem lengthsdiffered depending on which prey or on what farm we were stalking, ranging fromc.10” (inches) to about 22”. We cut through a knuckle as low as was required(circumference wise) using the hacksaw blade this ensured the cane did notsplinter. Then measuring by eye, we cut the stem length at the knuckle justabove the length required with the hacksaw blade. Cane appears to re-shoot nearto where it is cut, if cleanly severed. The top thinner end of the cane wasquarter split with the pen-knife, a folded card was inserted and the cane waswhipped above and below the flight with picked cord. (Whipping also appears tobe a lost art today). The remaining knuckles are sanded almost down to the levelof the cane, but not entirely level, as the knuckles are weak points.
We then cut a shallow V notch in the stem just below the lowest whipping,sharpened a point and hardened it in a fire tamping it all the time in yourhand. If we were after badger we inserted a nail and whipped it into position,for these were tough little so and so’s. They were also not so little withmassive claws. A length of cord was cut to stretch the length of the arrow and twoor three hand breadths. The cord was looped over the arrow at the notch,beneath the arrow and back up and over the cord where tension was applied. Wenever knotted the cord at the end, some did, but we never did.. All of thisknowledge including the way they were thrown was inbred in us it was secondnature. This attribute was never discussed or even thought about. Neverthelesswe all appeared to know how to make and throw them. Very weird!
These throwing arrows have been around for an immense amount of time. Some“experts” believe about 30,000 years; I regard this as a very conservativeappraisal. I do not think that it took our ancestors over 400,000 years to getfrom the prototype to this; it’s first descendent. However all this pales intoinsignificance. For I believe that its original predecessor is at least 500,000years old at least, but more than likely bordering on a million years old.
The bung arrow and all of its derivatives thrown by the use of a flexible cord(sinew) were developed earlier or at the same time as the throwing board(rigid) delivery system such as the Woomera. Different cultures developedeither or both of the systems.

[battyrat]

Re: Throwing Arrows

We called them French arrows for some reason and cut straight wood for them down the stream close to our house.Got my much younger brother and his mate making them about 10 years back and we were joined by a much older mate of mine who still had at that time a superb throwing arm.Trouble is the countryside has opened up over the last 20 years and we found there was really nowhere we could go for a bit of fun without someone sticking their head out from somewhere.

[Jedi Knight]

Re: Throwing Arrows

I'm from Yorkshire and we always called them Bobby arraz for some reason.

[TrebanogBoy]

Re: Throwing Arrows

I'm from Yorkshire and we always called them Bobby arraz for some reason.

I am 57 and remember Dutch arrows well, used to live in Trebanog S Wales opposite a large mountain.
my friends and I used to cut thin branches off neighbours trees to make them.
Flights we'd make out of old cards or cereal boxes and climb up the mountain to throw them in competition against each other.
spent many a summer up there back in early 70s
best fun ever and I've recently taken my children back with a new arrow I've made for them to experience the fun we had as kids growing up in the best decades 60s & 70s

[marc]

Re: Throwing Arrows

I am 57 and remember Dutch arrows well, used to live in Trebanog S Wales opposite a large mountain.
my friends and I used to cut thin branches off neighbours trees to make them.
Flights we'd make out of old cards or cereal boxes and climb up the mountain to throw them in competition against each other.
spent many a summer up there back in early 70s
best fun ever and I've recently taken my children back with a new arrow I've made for them to experience the fun we had as kids growing up in the best decades 60s & 70s

I remember several boys using Dutch Arrows on the mountain opposite Trebanog, towards Ynyshir. This would have been in the very late 1970s. It seemed to have died out around then.

[fynger]

Re: Throwing Arrows

these were brilliant....launched with a piece if string with a knot in the end........went a long way when thrown

[Zincubus]

Re: Throwing Arrows

I am 57 and remember Dutch arrows well, used to live in Trebanog S Wales opposite a large mountain.
my friends and I used to cut thin branches off neighbours trees to make them.
Flights we'd make out of old cards or cereal boxes and climb up the mountain to throw them in competition against each other.
spent many a summer up there back in early 70s
best fun ever and I've recently taken my children back with a new arrow I've made for them to experience the fun we had as kids growing up in the best decades 60s & 70s

I'm 58 ... In the Manchester area the 'thing' was to find loads of those 5' tall weeds in the hedgerows ( they had a 12" long pink plume ) .
Then strip all the leaves off APART from the feathery plume and use them as SPEARS

I still do it if we're out with nephews ..