selfbow speed

[Mark Baker]

At close range, the diff between a fast and slow selfbow, or any bow for that matter, is less than the reaction time (yours) to the result.  And the quiet nature of selfbows, can lessen the quarry's reaction time as well.   Lots can affect arrow speed.  If you like how it shoots, then use it.

[Walt Francis]

Never choreographed one of mine, but they seem to be fast enough to get the job done.

[ozy clint]

frank- that just a rough tillering string that is longer than needed so i tied a timber hitch. i've since made rawhide strings for it.

[LittleBen]

Clint, one of the biggest performance boosters for a selfbow is just a skinny FF string. Grab a couple FPS for doing almost nothing.

Your bow looks great, and the quiver? Awesome.

Anyway, I generally am looking for as close to 150FPS as I can get at 10gpp and my short <26" draw length. My experience is that my best selfbows shoot 10gpp at about the same speed my vintage glass recurve shoots 11gpp or so. Sinew backed recurves have matched the glass bow. Laminated wood bows have also come very very close.

I'm sure a high performance glass bow would blow them all away.

My first self bow was from the lilac bush, I was four, I killed a dove with it that was on the neighbors fence.  The next one was a lemon wood with recurve sort a tips, so slow that I didn't dare to shoot it into a strong breeze.  The next one, lightening hit the neighbors ash tree and stripped off a long chunk.  A farmer that made bows out of osage fence posts came and explained that lightening fried ash makes a good bow wood.  He made one for himself and for me a Hill style with a sinew backing, 38 pounds at 26".  The local bunnies should have declared that day a day of morning, it was deadly.   The fastest self wood bow that I ever shot was an old yew.  Almost a flat limb, with a sinew backing.  It had been in use since the 20s.  It was on its fourth generation.  They let me take a few shots with it.  Fast, silent, stable, accurate, the bow had it all.