New bow day for me and it's a special one.
Last August at the Great Lakes Longbow Invitational, I left "Dusty" (my St. Joe River longbow) strung in the car for an extended period of time. The excessive heat compromised it, while I was running around for the event and it was a pretty devastating ordeal. I shot my first buck with that bow and I'd been shooting it exclusively for over two years. To make matters worse, Tracey's mother had picked out the piece of hickory that made the bow and she passed later that Fall. :(
I asked Tracey to build me another. I wanted it similar to Dusty with a little something extra. As luck would have it, Tracey took her sister back to that same place her mother found the original piece of tigered hickory and asked her to find something cool. She returned with another piece unaware it was the same type of wood Tracey's Mom had found years prior. How crazy is that?
We decided it only fitting to use that piece of wood in the build as a tribute and decided to call it "Phoenix", something good rising from the ashes of something bad. I asked Tracey to tattoo a Phoenix on the riser and it was her idea to add the blood wood accents. I went with a takedown while I was at it.
It turned out better than I could have possibly imagined and I know the process was therapeutic for both of us.
Specs: 62" classic hinge TD. Swager grip. 53# at 28". The woods are Tigered Hickory, Osage, and Bloodwood accents I believe.
I couldn't be happier.