I met Russ several times many years ago. I also saw him put on a demonstration of shooting with a thumb ring at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, MA in the 1960's. He was incredibly accurate.
I was a member of the Central Berkshire Bowmen [now defunct] out of Pittsfield, MA at that time, and I remember that he was the guy out of South County [Berkshire] who usually posted the top score in local tournaments.
At one point, he offered to make a bow for me, but at that time I was into Bear bows and turned him down. I often regret my decision. I have a copy of the same typescript that Tom mentions above. It is an interesting read.
He had a small collection of archery titles, and I remember that he told me that he had loaned out a copy of "Arab Archery" by Faris and Elmer to a fellow archer and that the borrower had never returned it.
His bows were very popular in Europe from what I understand.
I remember another of his inventions which was "Russ's Rump Seat" for hunting. It was a like a small hammock which could be secured around a tree limb for sitting on while hunting.
He also made minature furniture [all the drawers, for example, worked]. He could make most anything working with wood.
Actually, as Tom Phillips mentions, Elmer mentioned Willcox many times in his book "Target Archery". Photos are found on pps. 240, 241, and 272. On pp. 244, Elmer, referring to the duoflex bow, notes that "Russ has made bows for more than twenty years and this is his masterpiece: a credit to himself and all American bowyery." He noted that the duoflex is the invention and product of Russ Willcox.
He also stated that his own duoflex bow weighed 37 pounds, and he could hold on the gold or slightly below the gold at 100 yards. He states that "the limbs are curved somewhat like the diacritical mark [a "?" mark lying slightly backward] whence the name of duoflex". Elmer goes into an explanation of how a duoflex bow works on pp. 240, etc.
I heard the story that Dr. Elmer was on his way to an archery tournament in Deerfield, MA [could have been an Eastern Archery Tournament or an NAA tournament] and happened to encounter Russ Willcox shooting his bow somewhere around So. Egremont, MA. Russ lived in So. Egremont, and his family had owned the general store in town for a number of years.
He was impressed with Russ and his archery tackle and asked Russ if he wanted to go with him to Deerfield. Russ said "sure" -- grabbed a few things and off he went. Tom may have heard this story also.
Tox Collector
Topic: Russell Willcox Duoflex (Read 2331 times)
