Found an old longbow

[bmfer]

Long story short, my girlfriend's family is selling their cabin hostage, so they were cleaning it out. They found an old longbow and I was wondering if somebody could help me find out what kind it is. It's made of an orange colored wood, I think osage. Black fiberglass on the back. Straight grip, and it has two layers of micarta or fiberglass in the riser. Built thick on the limbs, the tips appear to be reinforced with a very thin layer of something that looks to be in the riser. The back of the upper limb is punch stamped WSNL 66" 58 28". I found it odd that it was punch stamped into the fiberglass, but that's where it is. The rest appears to be glued on, then overwrapped down the grip with a tennis racket style grip tape that suggests its not all that old. There are marks on it, above the rest from shooting, and more on the limbs. My girlfriend says it was her grandfather's and then her father's so she's keeping it, but I'm a history buff, so if you ever heard about one of these, please let me know. I know you want pics! I'm doing this on my phone, so let me try. Thanks in advance!

[bmfer]

Ok, I may get this....
 http://m229.photobucket.com/albumview/albums/fullerclan40/767738077_photobucket_35932_.jpg.html?pbauth=1_uLEBonVPfaLdh1h3YMYz2eJPJQFiUemPnKQ4wexw%2FwqpsZcn3ZcxEPHmboGw1KXW8%2BJg4Si 66IppI6Cc5GvOZY1ozDV99JNBJQWYc4MoRjKrbcIArOQd2MbOPw%2B8%2F0GuMHtp30dJGtZ98PCnSIuaXqCfqFY3W4v2BfujGXvTHgI%3D

Ok maybe not....I guess you have to be smarter than the smart phone. Lol.  I'll have to get on the computer later.

Bret, the link works okay.

[bmfer]

Ok, have the computer now. Try it again....

 

 

 

[Fishnhunt]

wicked bow!

Its lemonwood

[bmfer]

DOH!! Forgot the important one...

 

[bmfer]

Lemonwood? What the heck is that?

[Fishnhunt]

Its a caribbean wood from the islands, prolly from cuba. A lot of those bows were made in the 50s.

I shot a similar bow all summer except mine was made by Indian and had no glass.  They're good shooters. They are still strait-killas today  

[Fishnhunt]

Here is a shot sequence from early this summer.  Me and a buddy saw some pigs about 300 yards away, identified their cardinal direction (they were moving along a treeline) and crossed over to them & got in good wind position.  I said lets just wait and see if the pigs continue walking to us.....instead of us going to them.  The bigger/wiser of the group stayed away from us, towards the center of the field. The youngins didnt know any better and they walked directly into us. Sometimes the best stalks are the ambushes  


 

 

 

[bmfer]

Huh, cool. It looks good enough to shoot, I may have to get a stri.g for it. Thank you for your help! Anybody ever hear of the manufacturer?

[bmfer]

So did you get the pig?

[Fishnhunt]

yes we got 2 of the small ones.
I had no idea why my friend was taking pics instead of drawing his bow but he managed to put the camera down pretty quick. The shoats got separated from the main herd and really didnt know what to do, froze, and that allowed time for him to shoot.
If you look under my left elbow in the final picture you will see a kinda white spot, that was another small piebald pig who got shot seconds after this pic.

[Fishnhunt]

I want to say the manufacturer is Outdoor Sports co aka WSNL

You shoud definitely give it a go.  Those lemonwood bows are incredibly fun to shoot. And accurate.

[bmfer]

Ok. I think I will. I appreciate your input, thanks again.

[Mudd]

Nice!!

Thank you for sharing.

God bless,Mudd

[Pat B]

I'd also say it was lemonwood(digame). Osage would be a lot darker by now.
  With these old bows you have to re-educate them to bend. Start out stringing it to a low brace height(2" to 3") and let it sit braced for an hour or so(called sweating). Then gradually begin to exercise it by pulling it a little at a time (a few inches) 20 or so pulls before moving on to a longer pull. After you have pulled it to about 10" of tip movement brace it to a regular brace height and sweat it again for an hour or so before beginning to increase the draw a little more and so on until you hit 28".
  Once you've done this it should be OK to shoot.

[JamesJamison]

Cool looking bow.