bow wood in montana

[blacktailchaser]

i was wondering how mark baker and walt get away with making bows when i cant really find any info on bow wood.LOL..i just read marks artical in pa and most of his bows are osage..SO,I wonder if he is going out of state..the reason i ask is that..i really want to move back to hamilton..but,the lack of bow wood is kind of scary...and there is no way i want to give up on this...i hope mark chimes in with some info..thanks for listining..john

[Pat B]

You will probably have juniper, choke cherry, service berry and possibly yew in Montana.

[Walt Francis]

John,
I got/get most of my Osage from Missouri.  My in-laws lived there and my father in-law always got permission from locals for me to harvest the Osage when we visited.  Since they died, I go to Mo-Jam every three or four years and trade for Osage and other bow wood.  Over the years, I managed to acquire a decent supply of bow wood, mostly Osage, but not good enough quality to sell.  If I need a good stave, I find somebody on here to trade or buy it.  Mark deals with lots of people and manages to maintain a good supply of bow wood on hand.  He did go with me the last time I went to Mo Jam and got some there.  

 If you have a source for yew in Oregon, stock up.  Not only is it good bow wood, it is great bartering material, you can usually trade a yew stave for two or three Osage staves.

[Walt Francis]

Pat, you are correct, we do have those woods, but the only one of those I use is yew.  For bows, I find the durability Osage and yew far superior to chokecherry or serviceberry.  Considering the amount of time it takes me to make a self bow, I use the most durable materials possible, which for me is Osage.  There are some pockets of yew in the Bitterroots outside of Hamilton, but most of it is on public land and we are not allowed to harvest it.

John, the biggest problem I have is keeping the moisture content high enough that the wood does not become brittle.