Self bows

[BigBucksnTrucks]

Hello Bowyers, I've been told you guys would be able to answer some questions I have regarding self bows.
 
     I've never shot a self bow, but found a couple one that would be great for my kids. I'm a traditional recurve shooter myself however, I've never shot a self bow so don't know much about them. Are they any more difficult than shooting a bow with a shelf? Would I need to buy the kids a special glove for their bow hand where the arrow rests on their hand? Any thing else I should know about self bows? I'm looking at a 25#, 60" self bow for my kids. Would it be alright for them to use my old 400 gr carbons with that bow? I'd refletch them with feathers, they have vanes from my compound on them now. I've been told shooting heavy arrows won't hurt the bow, just too light will hurt it. Thanks!

[BigBucksnTrucks]

I just had a though...could a rest but put on a self bow?  One of those cheap simple duraflip rests?

[shawnee]

It's not that hard to add a rest that would look right on a selfbow.  Either a small wooden or antler one shaped and glued on the side of the handle, or a floppy rest, which is just a smaller piece of soft leather that rests on top of the hand.  You should be able to do a search for "floppy rest" or "ferrets floppy rest" and get lots of pics and how to make them.  Used to be a "how to" in that section also.

[BigBucksnTrucks]

Good idea, thanks Shawnee!

[John Scifres]

There are as many styles of selfbows as any other bow.  Some can be nearly center shot with a modern locator style handle.  So the answer is "it depends".  

A selfbow is simply a bow with the same working material from back to belly.  No restrictions to handle style or design are present in the definition.

If the handles are not cut to center at all, the difficulty isn't so much in shooting as it is in matching arrows.  Release is more critical and in my experience they require more practice but they are not inherently more difficult to shoot.

Shooting off the knuckle really has an effect if there is not a consistent hand placement.  All of my selfbows have some form of locator on them.  Many have shelves either cut in or glued on.

[JLyle]

Selfbows are mmm...different to shoot. Same number of hours in practice, I think a beginner recurve shooter is gonna improve the most, particularly with an elevated rest. I've pulled quills out of the back of my bowhand. Virtually every selfbow shooter has at some point.There was always a reason Robin wore a bracer. Arrow rests are made like a shelf, building up with layers of superglue- saturated leather pieces, and shaping by Dremel. Your arrows will not fly well from these bows, at all. Arrow spine,(stiffness) is a huge factor.

[JLyle]

Arrow rests can be a flap of leather, or a bit of wood/antler, as stated. I've one that I shoot regular with a goatskin grip, wrapped with latigo into a shelf on the top.
 I prefer the built-up one, while I'm dispensing my $.02
 Biggest factor of all...any bow is better than no bow.
 It's the flight of the arrow that hooks us, anyway.
 Good luck

[northland archer]

I have found shooting a selfbow to be much like any other bow, you have to find your rythem and go.  I do agree, finding the correct arrow is a must and take some practice.  If i may throw my pennies in the mix, i prefer shooting floppy rest, just my experience.
The best advise i can give is just shoot one, stick with it and you will fall in love with the way they shoot and feel.  Enjoy.

As JLyle put it "any bow is better than no bow"

[BigBucksnTrucks]

Thanks guys, this bow is for my kids and I'm sure they'll love it, I think I'll try the floppy rest for now and see how they do.  Now if only the guy would ship the darn thing already. It's been a week since I paid for it.

[Pat B]

This might help...
 

 Mickey sent this to me a while back and later gave me permission to post it.

[BigBucksnTrucks]

Thanks Pat, That's exactly what I'll be doing!

[Southlake Primitive]

Two cents from a non-expert, but a great lover of "off the knuckle" shooting:

If the bow doesn't have some kind of rest on it (again, just my friendly opinion), I wouldn't put one on (though a little chunk of leather DOES work nice), and just have them enjoy the simple beauty of it all. Especially since this is for kids.  What a great, straightforward and basic way to start with archery!

For sure, a modern shelf bow might have a faster learning curve, so that might be a consideration in this case... But the stuff about arrow selection being more important with non-shelf bows; while that's completely true, I don't think it's so critical for kids.

And I'd highly recomend binding (whipping) the leading edge of the fletching - just the transition of shaft to quill.  Some super glue and thread is all it takes.

My 6 year old and a neighbor kid (who's a bit older and shoots with us) are both going off the knuckle now.  I know he'll progress through other bows over time, but it's nice to see them experiencing that link through time/ cultures while they're still young.

But either way, your kids are lucky you are looking at wood bows for them!  That's the way to go!