Trad archery in Canada

[mrbxzzz]

Hello fellow boywers,

Winter is in full swing up north and my smile from shooting my bows is fading with each day...

Aside from having cold hands ruining my shots, Are there any big issues with working a trad longbow in cold temperatures.

I get the water from snow would damage the wood, I'm wondering about simply the cold temperature and perhaps the dry air's effect on my longbows.

Any comments or advice are welcome

BRB

[George Tsoukalas]

I shoot self bows and have not had any problems in the cold.  I have heard of some people having problems with yew bows in cold temperatures.
Jawge

[sancoon]

I havn't had any problems with my long bows and I shoot all winter here in northern maine. I wear mittens with my string fingers cut off and that takes care of my cold hands

[Wolftrail]

Apparently Osage is King.  I can see some woods react differently in cold weather. Eastern Maple is exposed to the cold so I would say that its ok in a cooler climate. Most snow shoes are made from maple.
Not sure about Hickory. Oak and Ash seem to be cool temperate wood as well. Yew is mostly a semi arid wet wood in nature.

Some woods turn into soggy wet noodles in the heat and others turn brittle in the cold..
 

[fujimo]

i dunno- we have a lot of yew up here in the rain forests- but cant speak for it in cold. only ever used it up here on the coast.
but i have hunted with osage self bows, and hickory and ipe bows both in the heat of africa, and the -20 c and lower alberta winters!!
never had a problem with any of them

[mikkekeswick]

It depends on wood species and how strained the bow is. A 'normal' bow is likely to be fine.
As with any selfbow string it and let it sit a few minutes then do a dozen or so 'warm up' short draws and gradually ease it back to full draw.
Yew can blow in the cold.