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Rebirth of Archery
- Thread starter shotgunner11
- Start date
My shootynge woodes, especially for ploughman who will hopefully enjoy the traditional archery soon enough:
left to right:
Kitty, ash selfbow, victorian tiler, #55/30"
Exotic wood, IPE bilaminated with hornbeam backing, victorian tiler, #40/28" (my preference for target shooting and it's fast)
Snowwhite, elm with hickory backing, full medieval tiler, for reenactor mock battles, #30/30"
Hun by L. Kassai, likely action wood in leather wrapping, horsebow, #42/30"
Well I know that I don't need all the bows but I just keep them as I buy the new ones.
Sorry for the image quality. Would anyone post an image of his bow, too?
left to right:
Kitty, ash selfbow, victorian tiler, #55/30"
Exotic wood, IPE bilaminated with hornbeam backing, victorian tiler, #40/28" (my preference for target shooting and it's fast)
Snowwhite, elm with hickory backing, full medieval tiler, for reenactor mock battles, #30/30"
Hun by L. Kassai, likely action wood in leather wrapping, horsebow, #42/30"
Well I know that I don't need all the bows but I just keep them as I buy the new ones.
Sorry for the image quality. Would anyone post an image of his bow, too?
I have had a lot of satisfaction in making and shooting my own bows and arrows. My equipment looks fairly rough compared to many of the photos of stuff I've seen on the internet... and I don't get the great distances from my arrows that some folks claim that they get from theirs....but my bows and arrows have been more than adequate to supply meat for me on several occasions.
I can certainly recommend trying to make your own. There is plenty of good information around that describes what to do. While a lot of the discussion centres around bows, I reckon that arrows are probably more important.
All sorts of materials can be used for bows and arrows... there is no one correct way of making these things.
The bow in picture below was hacked from a branch with a hatchet. The arrow is a shoot I gathered when out walking in the bush. The bowstring is made from three lengths of polyester butcher's twine. The most sophisticated part of the whole set-up is the arrow head which was made from a bit of saw blade and some steel tubing... but a simpler head would still have done the job.
I am in a bit of a rush now, but I will be happy to post more information later.
The animal in the photo is an Australian Brushtailed Opossum.
Best wishes... Coote.
I can certainly recommend trying to make your own. There is plenty of good information around that describes what to do. While a lot of the discussion centres around bows, I reckon that arrows are probably more important.
All sorts of materials can be used for bows and arrows... there is no one correct way of making these things.
The bow in picture below was hacked from a branch with a hatchet. The arrow is a shoot I gathered when out walking in the bush. The bowstring is made from three lengths of polyester butcher's twine. The most sophisticated part of the whole set-up is the arrow head which was made from a bit of saw blade and some steel tubing... but a simpler head would still have done the job.
I am in a bit of a rush now, but I will be happy to post more information later.
The animal in the photo is an Australian Brushtailed Opossum.
Best wishes... Coote.
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alberich said:
I wass seing it as opposite . That they peg holding the string dropped away .
Maybe one day I,ll try and make one .
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Nice shot Coote . How far away were you ?
Kevin the grey said:
That was the late medieval way, but they used a rotating piece which held the string and was blocked by the trigger lever in the locked position.
coote said:
You have been aiming for the throat, or rather behind the front paw? Was it a clean kill?
The possum was sitting on the ridge of a rather steep roof. When I hit it the possum flipped backwards out of sight. I had to climb a tree at the side of the roof to look for the possum and was relieved to find that it was dead. It didn't take me long to put down my bow and climb on to the roof... so the possum died fairly quickly. I could only see it's head and shoulder over the edge of the roof when I shot.
Not all hunting kills are that quick, even with a rifle.
I haven't done a lot of bow hunting... if I am serious about getting meat and if I can get away with carrying a firearm I will hunt with a firearm. But besides the possum I have shot two rabbits, a pig and two goats with a bow. I consider the rabbits to be the greatest achievement because of their small size. The pig expired quite quickly, but the goats needed to be trailed a bit.... however I found them and carried them home to the freezer.
Not all hunting kills are that quick, even with a rifle.
I haven't done a lot of bow hunting... if I am serious about getting meat and if I can get away with carrying a firearm I will hunt with a firearm. But besides the possum I have shot two rabbits, a pig and two goats with a bow. I consider the rabbits to be the greatest achievement because of their small size. The pig expired quite quickly, but the goats needed to be trailed a bit.... however I found them and carried them home to the freezer.
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Not all hunting kills are that quick, even with a rifle.
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Especially when arrows often kill through blood loss and not hydro shock . Are you lucky enough to have feral goats where you live ? I try to have curried goat a couple of times a year . I usually have to go to a restaurant though .
[/QUOTE]
Especially when arrows often kill through blood loss and not hydro shock . Are you lucky enough to have feral goats where you live ? I try to have curried goat a couple of times a year . I usually have to go to a restaurant though .
Alberich,
Thanks for the picture of your bows. Very nice. It's interesting how much shorter the horse bow is. Grand bows you have there.
Coote,
not a bad job on a bow "hacked from a branch with a hatchet." In fact, it's pretty darn good. Looks like you can shoot it too.
I've been rebuilding my shoulders and I'm going to have a stick bow back in my hands one of these days.
Thanks for the picture of your bows. Very nice. It's interesting how much shorter the horse bow is. Grand bows you have there.
Coote,
not a bad job on a bow "hacked from a branch with a hatchet." In fact, it's pretty darn good. Looks like you can shoot it too.
I've been rebuilding my shoulders and I'm going to have a stick bow back in my hands one of these days.
Yep... we have feral goats here. I believe that in some places they may have been released a long time ago as a food source for marooned sailors, but I think most of them would be escapees from farms over the decades.
They are quite a good quarry for a beginner bowhunter as they seem to be easier to stalk than a deer or a pig... and in places the population can be quite high. Mind you, it is still easy to stuff up your stalk and they are as easy to miss as any other animal. I quite like eating goats myself..... a fat young one being probably the most desirable, and a stinking old billy would be at the bottom of the list.
Most of my bows nowadays would have been hacked out with a hatchet for at least part of the process. I have made bows - nocks and all - just using a hatchet. However I have discovered that my four-inch disk grinder can be fitted with very course emery disks... and dang do they move wood in a hurry. But I prefer to use just a hatchet and maybe a scraper and sandpaper. The pace of life is much nicer that way... and a whole lot quieter. My bows are fairly rough. If you look around on places like "Paleoplanet" you might see some beautiful bows and arrows that have been lovingly crafted with hand tools. I approach the subject with a more practical viewpoint... why spend more time on something than you need to? (chances are the durned thing will snap after a few shots anyway !!). But there is something satisfying about making or handling a bow that has been nicely finished. Maybe one day as I get better at bowmaking I will take the time to make something more beautiful.
Here's a picture of some wild goats I stumbled across in broad daylight when I was hiking within maybe four miles of my home:
They are quite a good quarry for a beginner bowhunter as they seem to be easier to stalk than a deer or a pig... and in places the population can be quite high. Mind you, it is still easy to stuff up your stalk and they are as easy to miss as any other animal. I quite like eating goats myself..... a fat young one being probably the most desirable, and a stinking old billy would be at the bottom of the list.
Most of my bows nowadays would have been hacked out with a hatchet for at least part of the process. I have made bows - nocks and all - just using a hatchet. However I have discovered that my four-inch disk grinder can be fitted with very course emery disks... and dang do they move wood in a hurry. But I prefer to use just a hatchet and maybe a scraper and sandpaper. The pace of life is much nicer that way... and a whole lot quieter. My bows are fairly rough. If you look around on places like "Paleoplanet" you might see some beautiful bows and arrows that have been lovingly crafted with hand tools. I approach the subject with a more practical viewpoint... why spend more time on something than you need to? (chances are the durned thing will snap after a few shots anyway !!). But there is something satisfying about making or handling a bow that has been nicely finished. Maybe one day as I get better at bowmaking I will take the time to make something more beautiful.
Here's a picture of some wild goats I stumbled across in broad daylight when I was hiking within maybe four miles of my home:
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Man A couple of them look close to ninety pounds . Nice coats too . I think they make great tabs . I betcha could do something with those horns and hooves . Maybe horm nocks or thumb rings . I am not getting legal on you , believe me . I just want to know . Is there a bag limit/season on them ? Man a nice young goat , a B:B:Q: and a couple of buds . I,ll supply the budweiser . All the bud you want .
We have seasons and bag limits for fish and game birds. And you have to buy a licence to catch trout and salmon, or shoot game birds. But that is about as far as the restrictions go (although center-fire rifles are the only type of weapon you are generally allowed to use in some areas).
The only native mammals we have in New Zealand, as far as I know, are bats and marine mammals. Everything else has been introduced and, believe it or not, the powers that be here regard all introduced animals as pests. So for deer, pigs, chamois, thar, goats, hares, rabbits, possums there are no closed seasons and no bag limits. And it gets worse... the people in charge have been allowing the "carpet bombing" of some of our wilderness areas with 1080 poisoned baits. These baits are mainly intended for possums, but other animal life is affected as well :grumpy: .
So no..... there aren't any limits or seasons regarding the shooting of goats. At times, in some places, dozens of goats have been shot and left to rot on the hillsides.
A couple of years back some goats ventured on to the border of my neighbor's farm. Over a period of a few months or so I got 15 of them... 14 with a silenced .22 and one with my home-made bow and arrows.
Just yesterday I was talking to a buddy who owns some hillside land near me. He grows pine trees and has started to raise some cattle on the block. He told me he recently saw about 40 goats walking up the boundary of his property.
The only native mammals we have in New Zealand, as far as I know, are bats and marine mammals. Everything else has been introduced and, believe it or not, the powers that be here regard all introduced animals as pests. So for deer, pigs, chamois, thar, goats, hares, rabbits, possums there are no closed seasons and no bag limits. And it gets worse... the people in charge have been allowing the "carpet bombing" of some of our wilderness areas with 1080 poisoned baits. These baits are mainly intended for possums, but other animal life is affected as well :grumpy: .
So no..... there aren't any limits or seasons regarding the shooting of goats. At times, in some places, dozens of goats have been shot and left to rot on the hillsides.
A couple of years back some goats ventured on to the border of my neighbor's farm. Over a period of a few months or so I got 15 of them... 14 with a silenced .22 and one with my home-made bow and arrows.
Just yesterday I was talking to a buddy who owns some hillside land near me. He grows pine trees and has started to raise some cattle on the block. He told me he recently saw about 40 goats walking up the boundary of his property.
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You know whenever People see pests I see opportunity . Of course that is easy to say . Free leather , goat skin makes excellent leather . Great meat , fun hunting .
It would be great if you could take economic advantage of an abundance . I would sure like a couple of goat rawhides . I have a wild boar raw hide that I use to make various items . If I make it down your way (Not likely) maybe we could hunt a couple of goats together . I respect your idea to not work too hard on a bow that may break . Do you consider working on one bow after another to adjust your design or is it your approach to just make what you need ? I am still at the hacking out method at this time . I have told my bowyer friends that if I can make one good bow and have the knowledge to duplicate it I would be satisfied . They would like me to be more proficient .
New Zealand always seemed like a great place . Lamb is my favourite dish .
Is it so common there that you get tired of it ? Have you ever heard of Brown River Beer ?
It would be great if you could take economic advantage of an abundance . I would sure like a couple of goat rawhides . I have a wild boar raw hide that I use to make various items . If I make it down your way (Not likely) maybe we could hunt a couple of goats together . I respect your idea to not work too hard on a bow that may break . Do you consider working on one bow after another to adjust your design or is it your approach to just make what you need ? I am still at the hacking out method at this time . I have told my bowyer friends that if I can make one good bow and have the knowledge to duplicate it I would be satisfied . They would like me to be more proficient .
New Zealand always seemed like a great place . Lamb is my favourite dish .
Is it so common there that you get tired of it ? Have you ever heard of Brown River Beer ?
Kevin the grey said:
While I admire people who can make an useable bow just with and axe and/or knife, a well made bow of a good wood and long enough will "seldom or never break" (end of a quote)
However thruth is that it's not very easy to navigate with a longbow through bushes... if bowhunting was not illegal here I'd probably hunt with the horsebow. Many clean kills to you, gents.I am with you on the pest philosophy Kevin. I regard our introduced animals as gifts rather than a nuisance (with the exception of rodents and the polecat family). I would be very sad to game animals exterminated.
Currently I am doing a bit of possum trapping. There used to be quite a market for the skins (furs).... but nowadays most trappers probably just pluck the fur from the freshly-killed animal. We get $70 per kilogram for it. Some guys who know what to look for do skin some of the possums if they seem to be wearing a top grade fur...evidently you can still sell them. A lot of possum hunters would harvest the animals using a gun and spotlight at night, or they might use cyanide baits or leg traps. I am currently working with home-made braided nylon snares. I pluck and sell the fur, and I also keep some of the meat of the more tender-looking possums - and it is quite good eating too.
Lamb used to figure on our menu more than it does nowadays. It seems to be in big demand as an export product now and this seems to have forced the price of it up at home. But no, I am not sick of it. I butchered one of my brother's sheep for him a while back and claimed quite a bit of it for myself. It was very nice indeed. I enjoy a bit of fatty meat compared to the relatively lean game animals that I generally have in the freezer.
I agree that having the knowledge and technique to repeatedly make a good bow is a good thing. Unfortunately we don't have a history of native archery in this country. As far as I know the Maori people did not develop the bow for hunting so we don't have proven knowledge about our native timbers (but the Maori made some great spears, and their cordage and stone tools are at genius level). So I have had to try and figure things out for myself - with a lot of good ideas coming from experienced folks through the internet. My current "wisdom" dictates that I should make a bow as long and as wide as practical. I have also elected to use a shorter draw length to allow me to use shorter (more available) arrow shoots and to help ensure that I don't overload a shorter bow. But I can still have a nervous twitch when I am bringing one of my bows to full draw. I have broken dozens of them. Oh yes, and I currently favour bend-through-the-handle bows.... that way there is more wood sharing the bending load.
I haven't made a bow for a while now. I guess I see primitive trapping as a much more reliable way of obtaining meat. But a bow does have its uses and I wouldn't like to be without one and a good set of arrows.
Brown River Beer.... hmmm.... never heard of it. Mind you I don't drink so I am definitely not an expert..... although with a lot of very amusing beer ads currently showing on our TV I am getting more familiar with some brands. When I was young there seemed to be just a few brands, nowadays the list seems endless.
I've used goat rawhide to make a few things for myself... but dang it can stink like a billygoat for a long time.
Currently I am doing a bit of possum trapping. There used to be quite a market for the skins (furs).... but nowadays most trappers probably just pluck the fur from the freshly-killed animal. We get $70 per kilogram for it. Some guys who know what to look for do skin some of the possums if they seem to be wearing a top grade fur...evidently you can still sell them. A lot of possum hunters would harvest the animals using a gun and spotlight at night, or they might use cyanide baits or leg traps. I am currently working with home-made braided nylon snares. I pluck and sell the fur, and I also keep some of the meat of the more tender-looking possums - and it is quite good eating too.
Lamb used to figure on our menu more than it does nowadays. It seems to be in big demand as an export product now and this seems to have forced the price of it up at home. But no, I am not sick of it. I butchered one of my brother's sheep for him a while back and claimed quite a bit of it for myself. It was very nice indeed. I enjoy a bit of fatty meat compared to the relatively lean game animals that I generally have in the freezer.
I agree that having the knowledge and technique to repeatedly make a good bow is a good thing. Unfortunately we don't have a history of native archery in this country. As far as I know the Maori people did not develop the bow for hunting so we don't have proven knowledge about our native timbers (but the Maori made some great spears, and their cordage and stone tools are at genius level). So I have had to try and figure things out for myself - with a lot of good ideas coming from experienced folks through the internet. My current "wisdom" dictates that I should make a bow as long and as wide as practical. I have also elected to use a shorter draw length to allow me to use shorter (more available) arrow shoots and to help ensure that I don't overload a shorter bow. But I can still have a nervous twitch when I am bringing one of my bows to full draw. I have broken dozens of them. Oh yes, and I currently favour bend-through-the-handle bows.... that way there is more wood sharing the bending load.
I haven't made a bow for a while now. I guess I see primitive trapping as a much more reliable way of obtaining meat. But a bow does have its uses and I wouldn't like to be without one and a good set of arrows.
Brown River Beer.... hmmm.... never heard of it. Mind you I don't drink so I am definitely not an expert..... although with a lot of very amusing beer ads currently showing on our TV I am getting more familiar with some brands. When I was young there seemed to be just a few brands, nowadays the list seems endless.
I've used goat rawhide to make a few things for myself... but dang it can stink like a billygoat for a long time.
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Isn,t that funny ? You guys have the best sheep in the world . It should cost a bit . I would think it should be somewhat affordable seing as its homegrown .
You seem like a resourceful person . Its great that you have good skills and like to learn even more . Do you back your bows ? That is supposed to take a lot of strain off the wood . Snaring is a skill I would like to have . The rules and regulations are pretty strict here . Possum stew is supposed to be pretty good . It is a southern animal here so I don,t get to see them . Yours looks a little different . A little tougher . The Maori are famous for their skill and toughness . I have seen a couple of their war dances which can make you back up even on television . Their tatoos are really something . Are you anywhere near where they filmed Lord of the Rings ? I heard they used a lot of Maoris in that .
You seem like a resourceful person . Its great that you have good skills and like to learn even more . Do you back your bows ? That is supposed to take a lot of strain off the wood . Snaring is a skill I would like to have . The rules and regulations are pretty strict here . Possum stew is supposed to be pretty good . It is a southern animal here so I don,t get to see them . Yours looks a little different . A little tougher . The Maori are famous for their skill and toughness . I have seen a couple of their war dances which can make you back up even on television . Their tatoos are really something . Are you anywhere near where they filmed Lord of the Rings ? I heard they used a lot of Maoris in that .
The Lord of the Rings films were shot on several locations. I think if I climb a hill near my house I can see Mount Owen which is allegedly one of the locations they used. Open tussock country with some decent beds of limestone. Never been up there myself, but I have seen similar country.
Yep... I have backed bows - two of them I think. I still have one of them and I gave the other away. I used one, made from introduced Elm, to shoot a goat. I used goat rawhide for backing, and I glued it down with home-made goatskin glue. I agree that backing adds some reliability and peace of mind... but I'd rather master the art of a simple bow carved from a sapling. Like you mentioned earlier... learn how to make a reliable bow so that you can have a formula to fall back on.
I have a very clever buddy who makes bows. Currently he seems to think that backing bows is the best way to go too.
One bow method I would like to try next is to get two strong saplings, each about a foot longer than one limb of a bow. I would then either overlap the thick ends and bind them together, or maybe make a long scarf joint and bind them together. I would then tiller the limbs... but theoretically if I had fairly identical saplings alot of the tiller would already exist because of the natural taper of the saplings. It wouldn't necessarily be a pretty bow, but as long as it delivered an arrow out to about 25 metres with a decent "smack" then really that is all that matters (provided that it doesn't break of course). This isn't an original idea... I think Tim Baker may have mentioned it somewhere... and I think I've seen pictures of bamboo bows made with a bound overlapped portion in the middle. The simplicity of the idea appeals to me... plus it is often easier to find two short straight saplings than it is to find one decent long one.
I don't pretend to know Canada's trapping laws, but I have an idea that the only thing you might be allowed to snare is a rabbit... and even then the wire size is specified (maybe this rule applies to only one region). Marc St Louis, a Canadian I believe, has posted a bit about this on the Paleoplanet forum. Snares are the way to go if you want some meat. Fortunately I don't think we have too many restrictive laws on the subject here....nevertheless I operate quietly without letting too many people know what I am up to. I have snared dozens of possums, a few rabbits, two wild cats and three pigs. I regret not taking it up seriously earlier in life when I had easy access to places where there was a fair bit of game around. Still.... I have many years left to play around.
Our possums were introduced from Australia... probably they are quite a bit different to yours. They are marsupials .... thus they carry their young in a pouch like a kangaroo.
Here are some pictures of animals I've snared. I'd like to stress at this point I am not a bloodthirsty "sportsman"... I just find it wonderfully satisfying to harvest my own meat using nature's tools.
Yep... I have backed bows - two of them I think. I still have one of them and I gave the other away. I used one, made from introduced Elm, to shoot a goat. I used goat rawhide for backing, and I glued it down with home-made goatskin glue. I agree that backing adds some reliability and peace of mind... but I'd rather master the art of a simple bow carved from a sapling. Like you mentioned earlier... learn how to make a reliable bow so that you can have a formula to fall back on.
I have a very clever buddy who makes bows. Currently he seems to think that backing bows is the best way to go too.
One bow method I would like to try next is to get two strong saplings, each about a foot longer than one limb of a bow. I would then either overlap the thick ends and bind them together, or maybe make a long scarf joint and bind them together. I would then tiller the limbs... but theoretically if I had fairly identical saplings alot of the tiller would already exist because of the natural taper of the saplings. It wouldn't necessarily be a pretty bow, but as long as it delivered an arrow out to about 25 metres with a decent "smack" then really that is all that matters (provided that it doesn't break of course). This isn't an original idea... I think Tim Baker may have mentioned it somewhere... and I think I've seen pictures of bamboo bows made with a bound overlapped portion in the middle. The simplicity of the idea appeals to me... plus it is often easier to find two short straight saplings than it is to find one decent long one.
I don't pretend to know Canada's trapping laws, but I have an idea that the only thing you might be allowed to snare is a rabbit... and even then the wire size is specified (maybe this rule applies to only one region). Marc St Louis, a Canadian I believe, has posted a bit about this on the Paleoplanet forum. Snares are the way to go if you want some meat. Fortunately I don't think we have too many restrictive laws on the subject here....nevertheless I operate quietly without letting too many people know what I am up to. I have snared dozens of possums, a few rabbits, two wild cats and three pigs. I regret not taking it up seriously earlier in life when I had easy access to places where there was a fair bit of game around. Still.... I have many years left to play around.
Our possums were introduced from Australia... probably they are quite a bit different to yours. They are marsupials .... thus they carry their young in a pouch like a kangaroo.
Here are some pictures of animals I've snared. I'd like to stress at this point I am not a bloodthirsty "sportsman"... I just find it wonderfully satisfying to harvest my own meat using nature's tools.