archery

H

Hoodoo

Joined
Aug 18, 1999
Messages
2,355
There was a nice article in the Backwoodsman awhile back about fiberglass bows. You know--the ones they used to sell everywhere. Now you never see them except at flea markets and garage sales. But actually they were not too shabby. I used to have one myself--a Ben Pearson if I remember right--and it would definitely loose an arrow.

Anyway, are there any other sources around for economical bows? Know any reasonably-priced makers out there?

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Hoodoo

I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
 
Plainsman could probably give you more clue but the ones that I remember from my childhood were basically finger-thick fiberglass rods equipped with a handle in the middle. They were considered superior over wooden longbows of the same price range available at that time.

HM
 
Hoyt is a good make from the USA

Otherwise the most economical bows around seem to be these training bows

try archery world in England to see what's around (sorry url eludes me)
 
Hoyt is good name in archery from America - for economy you could try a training bow
 
Hoodoo... Even simple bows are so hi-tech! If you really want to do it right, you have to go with either an atlatl http://www.sonic.net/~quine/atlatl.html or, if you have more access to rocks than shafts, a sling http://www.sonic.net/~quine/sling.html Both predate the bow by 10,000 years give or take a few
smile.gif

 
Hoodoo, I've got a hankering for a fiberglass bow myself, lately. About a year or so ago, I made a primitive bow from Juniper, just as a project. And it got me thinking about a green fiberglass bow I had as a kid. It was ambidexterous ( a biggie, if you're left handed, as I am), had a black plastic riser, and the limbs looked just like a bar of Irish Spring soap, with the green and white stripes. Had a really good time with that as a kid, and can't for the life of me remember what happened to it. Now, of course, you can't find them anywhere. It was about 35 lbs, and impervious to weather, and would make a great backwoods bow. Wish I could find one at a garage sale or something. Mainly, I wish I could go back and get ALL the goodies I threw away or lost as a kid. Man, I could get rich off of all those GI Joes, Red Ryder BB guns, and all those great comic books I used to get for $1.00 a milk carton at flea marts. Back when all that stuff was "junk" and your parents made you throw it away. That' the real reason somebody should invent a practical time machine. Forget the Grassy Knoll, I want my stuff back! :~}
 
Okayyy, where to start on this one. Guess the first thing would be to point you in the direction of the "Leather Wall" forum on:
www.stickbow.com

It is a similar forum to this but devoted to archery with traditional gear (fiber-glass bows both recurve and longbow, and all-wood bows), rather than knives. If you are really interested there is TONS of info on how to make your own hunting weight bow from readily available wood (2 hickory ax handles for instance).

There are also classified adds, links to bowyers and other archery sites. Don't know what you class as "reasonably priced" but that is the place to start looking.

Oh yeah, Hoyt is good but a little on the clinical side, they do a lot of high-tech target bows.

Chris
 
Hi Chris,
I have a pretty strong background in archery and have been loosing arrows regularly for 25 years (except for when I had a bone spur on my shoulder) so I'm pretty familiar with the high tech side and archery in general. What I'm interested in low tech stuff. Cheap stick bows under $100 say. I once had a Browning Wasp I only paid $40 for. A lot of your stick bows from custom makers are in the $400+ range which is ok but that's not what I was looking for in this post. Cheap, utilitarian. For instance, check this link out:

http://www.stormloader.com/plainsman/survivalbow.html

A bow made from two hickory axe handles would be interesting. Do you have a specific link for this?

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Hoodoo

I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
 
HooDoo, Here's a fun one for y'all:

I took a heavy wire coat hanger (bottom strand) and cut it out. Then I bent a nice V into the middle of it and wrapped the ends around the Y of a good heavy slingshot. Using a very light arrow shortened to about 26", it can be surprisingly accurate for taking small game and fish. I'm relatively sure that in a real pinch it could probably take a deer at 10 to 15 yards.

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It's not the pace of life that concerns me, It's the sudden stop at the end.
 
Sounds pretty interesting. I think I've actually seen slingshots that were designed to shoot an arrow but I can't remember where. Seems like a pretty good idea to me.

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Hoodoo

I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
 
Actually I just picked up the most recent issue of Primative Archer today and it has a small section on making a bow out of a flat board. They even include ideas to make it go up to 55 lbs or more.

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Mykl
Do or do not...there is no try.
 
I scanned that article at the newstand. Weren't they backing the bow with linen?

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Hoodoo

I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
 
Yep linen backed. I might have to give it a try here in the next week or two.


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Mykl
Do or do not...there is no try.
 
Let us know how it works out. It looked pretty interesting to me.

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Hoodoo

I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
 
Don't forget that bows have been made of steel in the past. This is a forum loaded with metalsmiths.
B.T.W. I opted for a used Martin Hatfield takedown bow ($100). 50# dw with three custom strings and 20 arrows. It helps to work in a gun/bow shop.

Cheers,

ts

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Guns are for show. Knifes are for Pros.
 
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