A few sections from William Hamilton’s “My Sixty Years on the Plains”. There are many fights involving archery in the book, but this is a bit past the musket age, so I’m limiting my quotations to Hamilton’s interesting comments regarding archery. Read it for yourself if you want:

https://archive.org/stream/mysixtyyearsonp00hamigoog/mysixtyyearsonp00hamigoog_djvu.txt

Wet buckskin proof against arrows:

All stock was watered and put back in corral, and we all ate breakfast. As these Indians used poisoned arrows the trappers prepared what they called their “coat of mail.” All the men had heavy blacktail deer skins, which they wore over their shirts or coats, tied or buttoned up to the chin and reaching down to the thighs. Just prior to an engagement these were all soaked in water and wrung out. It is impossible for any arrow, whether iron or flint-pointed, to penetrate buckskin so prepared. I have heard many people express doubts as to this, and I have always advised them to wet a piece of buckskin and try to penetrate it with a needle.

Bows on horseback useless against men attacking from the right:

That night they asked why the Indians had not used the bows and arrows which they carried in their hands. We answered that the Indians had their minds set on getting to the timber, and they did not know the quality of the men who were after them. We rode passing them on their right, because they could not use their bows and arrows on that side without turning around.

They did not know which side we would come up on, for we did not fire a shot until within ten feet, then passing in single file we delivered shots as we passed. They had no time to turn, as we passed like a whirlwind. When the last man passed the Indians were most of them dead.

Had we passed them on the left side some of us might have been hurt, though that is very doubtful, as men and horses alike were quick and active. And another thing, the closer you are to an Indian the less danger there is of getting hurt. You confuse him and he does not seem able to collect his thoughts.

One arrow is sufficient to kill a buffalos if well-placed. I have seen this confirmed several times by other writers:

All the meat required lay in an area of three quarters of a mile. I had brought down four and received great praise from the Indians. I could have done much better, but, boy-like, I wanted to see the Indians shoot their arrows, which many of them used. One arrow was sufficient to bring the buffalo to its knees. They shot behind the shoulder, sending the arrow deep enough to strike the lungs. One shot there is enough for any animal in the United States.

An arrow lacks enough force to do a serious wound because the archer is scared:

I dashed after a tall Indian, who had his arrow strung, passing him at a run. We both fired at the same time, his arrow lodging in the fleshy part of my horse’s shoulder, which would have ruined him if the arrow had had force behind it, but the Indian was scared… Williams assisted me in cutting the arrow- point out of my horse’s shoulder, and he soon recovered, which highly pleased me.

A riding and shooting contest between Hamilton’s trappers and Shoshone. Comments on the trapper’s practice at archer at the end:

The whites and Indians held shooting contests on horseback, and the former showed their superiority. Three posts were set in the ground, about twenty-five yards apart. They stood six feet out of the ground and were ten inches in diameter. The top of the post was squared for a distance of about twelve inches. The arms to be used were Golfs six-shooters. Horses were to be put at full speed, passing the posts not closer than ten feet, and the contestant was to fire two shots at each post.

Some of our party put two bullets in each post and all at least one. I tried it twice, and was somewhat surprised to find that the best I could do was to place one bullet in each post. The Indians had several pistols equal to ours, but only three of them hit each post, putting one shot in each. Many Indians hit but one post out of six shots.

With rifles the whites defeated the Indians still worse, shooting at all distances from twenty to three hundred yards. In those days the best rifles used were the Hawkins, and they carried three hundred and fifty yards. Wagers were always made, and the Indians always insisted that the whites should take first
shot. Nine times out of ten the whites won, and then the Indians as an excuse would claim that “their medicine was not strong that day.”

In riding bucking horses the whites also came out ahead, and it is well known to-day that the Indians never did equal them in this accomplishment.

I have already mentioned that two of our men were expert with bows and arrows. Russell was one, and Bowers, whom we called “Silver Tip,” the other. They could hold their own against any of the Indians. In fact, we were all constantly practicing with them. Today I can shoot an arrow-point through an inch and a half plank.

Poisoned arrows. Hamilton lost a horse to a poisoned arrow:

Many arrows were pointed with flint, which they poisoned by dip- ping the point in liver which had previously been poisoned with rattlesnake venom. I have heard that they extracted a poison from roots, but this I very much doubt.