could use some inspiration! selfbow success

[deadpool]

thanks to mudd i had the gift of shooting again! god bless him!

since then I have gotten the itch to go huntng again but this time with all primitive or self made equipment!

im leavin to california for several months unexpected, but i leave with goals in mind,
if you made it and hunted with it I would love it if you shared some pics and stories! god bless!
-christian   :D

[frank bullitt]

Christian, you made the first step, setting a goal! You Can Acheive it!

I've shot alot of animals with mine and others, selfbows. My first in 1991, a yearling doe with my first osage bow and footed arrows!

Check out the bowyers section, alot of great folks and info! They will help you on your Journey!

If you need some supplies, give out a shout.

Oh, don't forget to sharpen up on the small game, it will build confidence, and it's alot of fun, too!    

For pic inspiration, do a search on Flatsticks posts, he has some great pics of animals, and his equipment! Also Osagetree, has some great stories and posts, too.

[Stiks-n-Strings]

Mudd is a real genuine feller for sure.
 
 I don't have any self bow success other than I just finished up my first character bow and plan on taking some game this fall with her. Check the bow out in the bowyers bench "I think she's done. First character bow" is the thread.

 Stiks

[deadpool]

frank I know for sure 90% of my first game will be small game, I did check out the bowyers section thats probably why I got such a nasty primitive itch! lol and sticknstrings i saw that bow! it looks great!! looks like aaaalot of patience went into that bow good job!

[hickry]

This has been a fun ride for me.  I hunted with a wheelie bow from 2000-2006.  A guy gave me an osage stave back in 2004... and let me borrow a couple of books by Jay Massey.  WOW!!  Osage is hard to come by around here, so I started by using some local hickory.  Went through a half-dozen (at least) bows before making one that was really shootable for hunting. Also, finally made that osage bow that I'd started out to do.  Well, I shot a lot of arrows... but had a hard time getting good enough to feel like I ought to be hunting.  So I got a recurve (center-shot) and hunted with it in 2007.  We had an overload of deer that year... and was able to fill the freezer.  Next year, I was determined to hunt with home-made bow/arrows.  So I made another hickory bow... and arrows from some local switch cane fletched with wild turkey feathers that my brother shot the year before.  WHAT A BLAST.  I didn't get any deer the first year, but I did have two shots.  The first shot was at a doe at 6 yards.  I got so nervous that, somehow, the arrow came un-nocked from the string... and just fell from my little perch after the shot.  The second shot was at a doe at 12 yards.  The arrow felt good when I first shot... but I saw it take a nose-dive about half-way there.  I'm still not sure what happened, but I believe the arrow was nocked upside-down (the cane spined differently depending on which way it was turned).  Or maybe it was something else... I don't know.  BUT, it was still a great hunting season.  In practicing that summer, I did something stupid and put a big ding in the back of that bow... and it had also started developing some string follow.  Ended up shortening the bow some, heat treating it, and sinewing the damaged areas... and turning it into my best bow yet.  Last year, I was blessed with my first deer with home-made equipment.  It was quite a story in itself... and one that I've shared on here.  I don't know what to say other than it's been fun.  It's a different ball game to start working with all natural materials... and learning how all of that works... but it's been a blast for me.  I've still got a LONG WAY to go... but the journey's the best part for me...
 

[Mudd]

That's good worth while goal.

I can tell you from my own experience that if you succeed you'll never forget it.

Even if you never take a large game animal like a deer its a journey worth its weight in gold.

God bless,Mudd

[deadpool]

hickry great story! and great buck!! one day I wish to get as far as you have! you mind sharing the specs of your set up sir?

[hickry]

Thanks a bunch.  The bow is hickory, 64" after shortening, and has 4 sinew patches.  I backed it with a chickensnake after putting on the sinew patches.  It's about 1 7/8" wide through the mid limb... and then width tapers pretty evenly to the nocks.  Draw weight is around 50 pounds.
The arrows were just a local switch-cane with hickory inserts in the nock/point ends for strength.  Fletched with wild turkey feathers.  I've been using Snuffer broadheads... hoping to go to rock one of these days...
If you haven't done it, try to get a copy of Traditional Bowyer's Bible I.  If I had only one book to go off of, that would be it.  They did a revision to the Design/Performance section in the fourth version... but everything in the first version would give you a good foundation.
One thing I'll say about it... this stuff can be awfully addictive.  I agree with Mudd... the journey's a blast... with, or without, any meat to show for it!!

[deadpool]

its is truley addictive, i would have several selbows right now if my tools havent gotten stolen, I will deff check out the bowyers bible one, I want to learn to build a bamboo backed hickory longbow very much, then a modoc style bow soon after with snakeskin backing! =]