Camoing up an old bow. I think it turned out pretty nice. ;)

[tomsm44]

I decided to camo the limbs on this old Red Wing Hunter over the weekend.  As far as I can tell, it is from the mid '60s, and I kinda hated to do anything to it, because the original finish was in great shape.  But this was the first trad bow I hunted with, and I'm not planning to ever sell it so the collector value doesn't mean much to me.  

I'm not crazy about black glass because it seems to really stand out in the woods, plus it had a high gloss finish that can cause a lot of glare.  Here's the before pictures:

 

 

[tomsm44]

And here's the finished product:

   

   

   

I went with a "timber rattler" camo pattern.        After that, I refinished the whole bow with several coats of satin spray on poly.  

I also filled two holes on the other side of the riser.  You can't see it in the pictures, but I didn't have any way to match the wood, so I used two 1/8" brass pins and sanded them flat.  

There is a little discoloration around them from where a sight was installed for a long time before I got it.  That's really the only blemish on this thing.  I probably could have gotten the discoloration off, but I didn't want to sand all the way through the original finish.

The timber rattler I killed wasn't quite long enough, so I split it down the middle and used two pieces.  Where they met at the grip wasn't very noticeable, but it was visible.  Plus that is where it will receive the most contact and potentially wear or get pulled loose, so I decided to install a leather grip wrap to protect/hide the ends of the skin.

Overall, I'm happy with it.  A big thanks to the guys over on the bowyers bench for instructing me on how to get this done.  As always, this is a great group of guys.

[kevsuperg]

Nice,real nice. Always like snakeskins

[Pine]

Looks great .    

[Yewbender]

Nice camo pattern and i'll bet that bow is deadly    

[jamesh76]

nice

[tomsm44]

Thanks guys.

Yewbender,
I'm pretty sure it's never killed a deer.  The guy I got it from bought it 40+ years ago and hunted a few years, then put it up and never shot it again.  He gave it to me when he found out I was getting into trad and it looked almost brand new other than having a site screwed to the riser.  

I hunted with it my first two trad seasons but never killed anything with it.  Haven't used it the last couple years because I prefer a bow in the mid 40s draw weight range (this one is 53#).  I may have to start shooting it some now and build back up to a heavier draw.  

The snake came out of the little hardwood bottom I usually hunt in, so I guess in a way, it's killed it's fair share of small game where I hunt.  

[Birdbow]

Love it! Have a fondness for snakeskin backings and still have 2 (out of many) some of which I backed myself. You did a great job with it.

[Rough Run]

That is a great looking job!  And love the leather grip, too!

[4runr]

Great looking bow!! You did that very well.

[Possum Head]

Man that looks great!

[tomsm44]

Thanks again guys.  I'm really liking the satin finish, and the snake skin should be penominal as camouflage.  Plus it's just a cool looking bow, and I like the idea of carrying a 50+ year old bow hunting.  

I put a leather strike plate and a quick thrown together feather rest on this afternoon and got a few shots in with it.  Took a little bit to get the feel of it since I haven't been shooting this one, but my last group wasn't bad.  Not sure I like the feather rest, but I've seen other guys using them and they look cool, so I wanted to try one.  

Honestly, I'm overbowed with this one right now, at 11 pounds heavier than the one I've been shooting for the last month or so.  I've been thinking about delaying my season a few weeks due to hot weather and mosquitoes, and now that this is finished, I'm considering shooting it for the next couple weeks and see if I can build my strength up to this weight that quickly.

 

[Gdpolk]

That looks pretty fantastic.

Looks good!

Bisch

[wooddamon1]

Great job! I worked my way back to 55# from 40# within 3 weeks after surgery, just flinging a few at a time. You should be good to go very soon if ya keep after it. Good luck!

[Paul Cousineau]

I'd say it's an improvement. Nice work.

[vintage-bears]

Looks great

[NY Yankee]

Yes, really nice! That went from an OK plain Jane bow to something that looks like it just came from a custom bowyer.