NC Piedmont: Commonly available self bow woods?

[ballen28115]

Maybe I should have stayed in Kansas where I had access to all the osage a guy could ever ask for.  But I live just north of Charlotte NC now and the bowyer bug has bitten me.  Can anyone point me in the direction of some good commonly available selfbow woods I could find around here?

[mwmwmb]

i would think that many of the oaks and Hickories would work. dont know what your particular area is like though.

[michaelschwister]

Osage can be found in the NC/SC area, but it is rare. The best easy to find wood is Pignut (Smoothbark) Hickory. Problem with it is getting it down under 5% moisture, which is essential to getting the most out of its potential. Find someone on this site and hook up on a day trip for osage cutting. You can find a bunch in the northern shenandoah valley near Winchester, and the Tennesse/Kentucky area.