A shooting glove is a necessary armor or defense for the hand, to preserve it from hurting or galling, so that a man may be able in his fingers to bear the sharpness of the string to the uttermost of his strength, for when a man shoot, the violence and might of his shot lay in the foremost finder, and the ring finger; for the middle finger (which is the longest) like a coward starts back and bear no weight of the string, in a manner at all; therefore, the two other fingers must have thicker leather, and that must have the thickest of all, whereon a man loose most, and for sure loosing, the foremost finger is most apt, because it hold best, and for that purpose, nature has yoked it with the thumb. Leather, if it be next to a mans skin will sweat, wax hard and chafe; therefore, scarlet for the softness, thickness and wholesomeness, is best to line the glove with all; but, if you find that it help not, but still the finger hurt, it is good then to take a Searecloth made of fine Virgin wax and Deere Suet, and putting it next your hand draw on your glove; if yet you feel your finger pinched, then forebear shooting, both because it is not possible for you to shoot well, as also, the continual hurting of your fingers by slow degrees, will make the time long ere you can be able to shoot again.

A new glove plucks many shots, because the string goes not freely off, & therefore the fingers of the glove must be cut short, and trimmed with some sweet ointment, that the string may glide smoothly away.

There be some, that with holding the nock of their shaft too hard, rub the skin off their fingers, which is an error, yet there is for it two remedies, one to have Goose quills spinetted and sewed against the nocking, between the lining of the glove and the leather, which both opens the fingers and helps the shot. The other, is to have a rowle of leather sewed between his fingers at the setting on of the finger-stals, which will so keep his fingers asunder, that by no means he shall hold the nock so hard, as before he did.

This shooting glove, should also have a purse on the back of the hand, where in the archer shall ever carry a fine linen cloth and wax, two necessary things, for any man that use shooting; some men use gloves or the like on the bow hand, for fear of chafing; because they hold so hard. But that error happen (for the most part) when a bow is not round, but a little square, therefore fine tempered wax shall do well in such a case, to lay where a man hold his bow; yet I do not condemn the wearing of a fine thin cut fingered glove on the bow hand. And thus much concerning the shooting glove; which albe, they are but trifles in a general opinion, yet to the young inexperienced scholar they are things of moment, and as well worthy his knowledge as those of greater value.