THE HORSE BOW AND THE MONGOLIAN THUMB RELEASE

The XL Scythian horsebow from Merlin Archery

This fine morning I made my first serious attempt at learning the authentic method of using a horse bow: using the Eastern, or Mongolian, thumb release. 

I know that there are many fans of the horse bow who are eager to learn this style of shooting, but who are perplexed by it. I am therefore eager to share my experience of experimenting with this technique and what I have learned so far.

Equipment and distances

First of all, a few details about the equipment I was using. My bow was a Scythian horse bow which pulls 30 - 35 ibs at 28 inches, and with a maximum draw of 32 inches. I used two different sets of arrows, which worked equally well: my Gold Tip Traditional carbon arrows (500 spine, 31 inch length, 100 gram tips and 4 inch feathers), and my XX75 Platinum Plus aluminium arrows (19/16, 29.5 inch length, 3 inch feathers).

Archer's thumb ring

I am still waiting to receive a thumb ring, so I practiced the technique without it, drawing with my thumb around the string and locked into place with my forefinger and middle finger, and releasing by opening my hand and moving the elbow outwards (from what I have observed this is the traditional method of release for horse bows). Fortunately, my Scythian bow is quite easy for me to pull without a thumb ring, though it did become a little strenuous after much repetition.

I practiced the thumb technique from 15 yards and 20 yards, and, to my surprise, the results were very much the same from both distances.

Right or Left Side?

Due to Lars Andersen's viral video on archery, some may be of the opinion that the rapid fire of the horse archers of yore was down to placing the arrow on the right side of the bow (for left-handed archers, it would be the left side). Lars Andersen's video demonstrates that it is possible to shoot this way, but when I tried it (both with the bow canted and with the bow upright) the arrow, rather than flex around the bow, flew off to the right and completely missed the target. It seems to me that the arrow needs to be on the left side since it first flexes to the right. It is possible that the choice of wing feather (left or right wing) may have some role to play here, and that not all arrows behave the same way. 

My own meagre experience aside, I have noticed that the most notable horse bow archer, Lajos Kassai, as well as some Eastern archers, do indeed place their arrow on the left, just as Western archers do.

Aiming

The first thing which struck me about using the thumb technique is how far to the left my arrows would fly in comparison to where I was standing and aiming. I had already noticed this pattern with my horse bow when using the Mediterranean release (I assumed it was just down to having the wrong arrows, different to the ones I was now using), but it was more acute when using the thumb release. I continued to adjust my position and aim accordingly, until eventually my arrows would land where I wanted. 

This was most frustrating, and I racked my brains for an answer to this problem, suspecting there was something wrong with my technique, with my bow or with my arrows. I was certain my arrows were not the problem, for they were penetrating the target straight and not at an angle, so I believe they were matched to the bow. On previous occasions when I used the same horse bow with wood arrows not quite suited to my bow and employed the Western method of shooting, the arrows would penetrate from all angles, but mostly with the nocks to the left, suggesting that they were too weak for the power of my bow. 

Example of an Eastern thumb technique

I later ceased trying to imitate the release as demonstrated in the above link, and instead simply opened my thumb and fingers while drawing my hand back a little to avoid inadvertently torquing the string, and the arrows began flying far straighter. Clearly my attempt at the "open arm" release, which I had seen, was torquing the string considerably, making my arrows fly to the left. By simply opening my thumb and forefingers, I was getting a much cleaner release.

Speed and penetration

The second thing I noticed was a marked difference in the speed and penetration of my arrows. I expected the thumb technique to give me a cleaner release, but I was truly surprised by the increased velocity of the arrows. As yet I have no idea why the thumb technique has this effect.

Anchor point and consistency

I then turned my attention to the problem of anchor points. I had observed previously that notable horseback archers, such as the remarkable Lajos Kassai, would shoot from the breast, with no clear anchor point I could detect. I found it very difficult indeed to acquire any consistency with this method. It is a method which makes sense for an archer mounted on a charging horse. For mobility would surely make a normal anchor point very difficult to maintain. 

The thumb release on horseback (Lajos Kassai)

If I had any consistency it was only vertically, with arrows forming a line across the target, but no real grouping. I then decided to make my anchor point (as seemed fitting for the bow and method I was using) the side of my jaw/front of my ear. Once I began using this as my anchor point, some consistency began to form. 

Towards the end of my two-hour session of practice, I was taken aback by the degree of accuracy and consistency in some of my rounds, with three or four arrows very closely grouped together on some occasions. 

This proved to me that however different this weapon and method of shooting to other bows and styles - traditional and modern - it is indeed possible to master consistency and accuracy as well as speed with this remarkable weapon and Eastern style of archery.

A different kind of archery

I realised that I had the horse bow all wrong, and I came to appreciate the Eastern method of archery like never before. I will never shoot a horse bow with Western eyes again. 

Now I can truly enjoy two different styles of archery: the Western style and the Eastern style. Twice the know-how: double the fun!