Using a bow in the wild.

[mewolf1]

A narrow handle helps to mve the arrow closer to center shot, and narrow limb tips "speed up" stick bows.

For anyone riding the fence on this topic just remember, it's just a stick. Try not to get to hung up on the finished product.
If it breaks study on it, try to figure out why, then start on another.:thumbup: An old bow limb makes a wicked Atlatl.

 

[mewolf1]

Nice pic Mewolf1 . I can never remember the name. I think its advantage is in the wide long limbs. It places less stress at any given point. If you make a slight error while building it the bow will still work for a long time. It will eventually still break at that point. It gives you enough time to see the problem and figure out how to avoid it in the future. This is all theory on my part.

Your right again, and I have seen some guys sinew back a "hinge" and rescue the bow.

 

[DOC-CANADA]

i am an avid traditional/primitive archer and hunter.. i make all of my own tackle, with the exception of my bows... i've tried it and have never been able to produce anything noteworthy...i actually have a few staves curing as we speak... one walnut and one juniper.... mike

Hey Mike,

Perhaps the problem is the wood you're using? Up here, at least, they wouldn't be first choices for beginning bow makers. Hickory and Hop Hornbeam would (or is that wood ?) I strongly recommend you check out the archery forum at: http://b16.ezboard.com/bpaleoplanet69529
It will blow you away. People like Jim Hamm, and Tim Baker, (may he get better soon) can be found there, not to mention a ton of other archery craftsmen. They have whole threads that are stickies of tutorials on different aspects of bowmaking.

Doc

 

[mtnfolk mike]

Hey Mike,

Perhaps the problem is the wood you're using? Up here, at least, they wouldn't be first choices for beginning bow makers. Hickory and Hop Hornbeam would (or is that wood ?) I strongly recommend you check out the archery forum at: http://b16.ezboard.com/bpaleoplanet69529
It will blow you away. People like Jim Hamm, and Tim Baker, (may he get better soon) can be found there, not to mention a ton of other archery craftsmen. They have whole threads that are stickies of tutorials on different aspects of bowmaking.

Doc

it is madness out in the shopping world today.... the misses and i just got back from a long day of spending our hard earned $$$... it was sad.. i was thinking of all the cool knives, bows, and gear i could have bought with all of that $$$....

doc--- i do check out paleoplanet sometimes when i have a question about flintknapping... there is a wealth of great information on that site....

in reagards to my choice in bow woods.. it wasn't the wood or the bow design that caused my problem's... just a fw minor errors..i did try making a hickory bow and towards the end of the process, i made small, yet fatal mistake, resulting in waaaaayyy too much wood being shaved off of the belly of the lower limb...:grumpy: my friend max is going to help me out with my next bow.... he makes some amazing selfbows.... he actually refuses to pay for most of his archery goods.... the vast majority of it is made by hand....

juniper and walnut, were both very popular bowmaking woods amongst the native peoples of california.... i'm hoping to make something similar to a california indian bow... fairly simple pyramid style bows, that were usually a little on the shorter side....

mike

 

[Kevin the grey]

Thats good advice on the bowyer's knot . It is important that the free end be caught between the string and bow. It acts to bind the knot/hitch closed.

Its usually not an issue. With some string materials and a slack string in storage on the bow the knot can loosen a little.

I usually employ a string keeper which keeps the string tight when the bow isn't strung. ALWAYS! CHECK THAT YOUR KNOT IS TIGHT AND YOUR LOOP IS IN THE GROOVE OF THE BOW NOCKS. This is essential. This can cause injury or bow failure.

Another is to keep your strung bow out of the sun. It will cook the wood in that position. Try not to keep your bow strung when not in use. If you are chowing down lunch unstring your bow. If it is a situation where you might see game then keep it strung but no longer than necessary. Your bow is very basic and will deteriorate under tension. It can be brought back a very little bit by a gentle warming over the fire and gently applying a bit of force against the set. I do not advise this unless it is an emergency. A weak bow is better than a broken bow.

Keep your string dry. This is especially true if it is of natural cordage. Some cords become weaker when wet. Irish linen is actually supposed to get stronger. Hurray for the Irish!

A wet string will also weigh more. You are saying "how wet can it get?" how can a little water affect it? Not only will it make your bow slower ergo weaker it will affect point of impact slightly in other ways. You are already going to shoot like your old aunt Minny. A half inch difference on a target bullseye is no biggy. It may be the difference between a clean kill and a ten hour tracking job. It may be the difference between eating and not.

Another I am adding is your bow in cold weather. It can be prone to breakage when drawn. I do not know about one piece wooden bows and cold weather. We will have to wait for other archers with more experience to advise us.

 

[mewolf1]

Finally got myself a camera.This is some crooked bow wood that'll work just fine. Second pic is only half a bow that I'm working on; it'll be a take down.

 

[mtnfolk mike]

mewolf-- that is going to be cool looking bow...:thumbup: . i can't wait to see the final product....

are you going to back it with anything....

mike

 

[mewolf1]

Yea, I prefer sinew backed bows for the insurance, but have never covered the sinew with anything like snake skin or rawhide. Thinking about Carp skins.
The limb with the hole in ithas had sinew twice, but the stiffnes in that area has pushed it off both times. It pulled 52# backed and 35 without.
Like Kevin has said in other posts, there isn't much reasonto pull much over 50# unless you're hunting Bison or Elk, so the takedown will be tillered to the 50#draw weight or so.