Weekend at Bigfoot

[wcasey755]

I got the opportunity to head down to Oregon to Bigfoot Kirk himself. After doing to jaw jacking we got down to buisness on building my first bow. For the first bow I wanted to keep it simple and do a hill style one piece longbow. So we grabbed the ol Boot Hill express form and got to it! After looking at the stack I got from Kenny. Kirk found my draw was 31 inches of gorilla. He then explained power lams and tip wedges to me the best way possible while designing a stack and limb to optimize performance.

The glue up was a experience for me. I learned a lot about how slow I was haha. Luckily Kirk man was there to back me up when it started to tack up.

This is unfortunately the first picture I got with it all set up in the form

[wcasey755]

Now after the glue up, we took a quick break to get some tacos. Then pulled out the bow and kicked all the glue off. Which was a lot because of my first glue up woes. We then threw it in a vise and checked the profile. Straight and level as can be. On the money. I imagine that is a bowyers dream! I'm sure all the ASL pureist looking at the reflex in the bow are having a panic attack.....but if it reduces hand shock and improves speed...well call me the devil.

[wcasey755]

After getting the profile sanded out with Kirks insanely intimidating skin remover. We roughed out string nocks and threw it on the tiller tree. The bow is to be 68inches, and 45-50 pounds at 31 inches of draw. With a little tillering to do. We were at 55 pounds at 31. MONEY.

[wcasey755]

With no time left in day one we decided to do the tip overlays and call it a day. This is where Kirks true craftsmenship began to shine. This tips were a thing of beauty. What a beautiful place to finish the day.

Such a incredible experience that I will be forever grateful for! Friday will be finishing up this beast then starting a Sasquatch takedown longbow!

[kennym]

That's an excellent start to building!  An experienced bowyer to help ya is a great assist!  Good job guys!

[Kirkll]

Well i got a couple picks of you laying up your first bow Wyatt... And added a bit more info on the tip overlays we roughed out.

Look forward to seeing you on Friday....    Kirk
 

[wcasey755]

Same to you Kirk! I'm chomping at the bit to see what we come up with! My birthday is today but I'm ready to skip it! Haha

[Roy from Pa]

Very nice.

[Buemaker]

Very good lucky man.

[Guss]

I wanna see the profile of this one when it’s finished..!!

[garyschuler]

Please post some finished pics, you are in good hands at Kirk’s, one of the dedicated masters who pushes the envelope and can squeak the most out of a design. Way more patience than me. !!!

[wcasey755]

We picked up today after laying up a take down hybrid Sasquatch. Kirk showed me the ropes with the spinal sander with shaping the grip. Then fine tuned the grip with a perfect locater. This is another point in which the craftsmen in Kirk really shined. You know your in good hands when the bowey closes his eyes and just FEELS. It showed in the grip. This locator grip is money. Sorry I didn't get any pictures of that. Then we checked the tiller, a bit off but nothing we couldn't handle!

[wcasey755]

The first shots. Holy smokes. This design with the power lams and tip wedges. Along with the limb design of the Boot Hill express. It was HOT, hot enough that I need to get in on a chronograph when I come back! BUT with that speed, it was quiet as a whisper even with a old dusty string with no silencers.

[Kirkll]

Here is the video and a few pics Wyatt.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/NhTrZeEd82bKuPs87

Good having to over…. Btw… that deer pepperoni was EXCELLENT!!!

KIRK

[wcasey755]

I also STRONGLY suggest anyone considering ordering your own custom hill style bow. Get yourself a Boot Hill Express from Kirk. Go look at his post and check the video of me shooting. Listen to how quiet it is, BUT watch my bow arm. This design Kirk has is something special. Hill style bows are known for having hand shock. Not the Boot Hill. Just watch and become a believer! Anyway, that's my plug for Kirk. Back to the build.

[wcasey755]

Finally we got to finish sanding. This Bocote was beautiful! I chose to have the grains on the profile. It looks like a work of art! Big thank you to Kenny for the gorgeous Bocote and the fantastic maple lams.I got to take her home for some finishing touches. Stay tuned to see how it shakes out!

[wcasey755]

Here is the video and a few pics Wyatt.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/NhTrZeEd82bKuPs87

Good having to over…. Btw… that deer pepperoni was EXCELLENT!!!

KIRK

Glad to hear! More coming your way next time!