Vine maple vs osage

[Tajue17]

I need some opinions on vine maple,, i found a bow forsale from a very reputable bowyer its a vine maple character bow.   I only have osage and i made a couple but the reason is in my experience osage is bomb proof!   Vine maple may be also but tell me about it,,  does it last, does it develop a little or lot of string follow if made correctly, i never shot one so any info is helpful.

[Pat B]

Apples and oranges!   
 I've never made a bow from vine maple but I've seen some fantastic VM bows and some with incredible character. It is a wood that I would like to try sometimes and it is a true maple. Also, VM has to be chosen carefully when harvesting it. There can be lots of reaction wood in it.
  If I knew the bowyer I'd feel better about making a comment about the durability of a bow made by him. If you feel uncomfortable posting his name here would PM me with it and, if I know him or of him I'll be better prepared to give you an answer.
 Do you have a pic of the bow?

[Tajue17]

I guess it does matter in this case, its a john strunk bow.

[Roughcountry]

John Strunk is as good as they get. He has helped more people make self bows than any person I know over  the years.

[Kirkll]

Apples and oranges is right… vine maple is very soft by comparison, but can make a decent bow. But I don’t think the longevity will be there on the maple. I’ve done several kids bows with it over the years, but not a serious hunting bow…

[Mad Max]

At the Classic a few years back this guy was making a bow from Vine Maple and it cracked on one limb, he said lets see how much it takes to break it, he pulled it on the tiller tree 5/6 times and then pulled it past 28" on the last time and BOOM.
It seemed like a tuff wood and would make a very good bow.
Maybe there are different kinds of VM or where it grows makes it different

[Kirkll]

It grows wild on the oregon coast all over the place. I'm quite certain thats Where John Strunk got all of his.  Its best to let it dry out completely with the bark still on it in my experience. I let a 3" round set about a year and air dry.

But..... after all that wait time, just to shape and carve out a self bow, only to see them fail time and time again eventually..... is just a waste of time to me.... You guys can have your self bows.

If i was in a pinch and needed to build something for survival, that would be a different story.

[Pat B]

If John Strunk built the bow I'd say it was as good as any, maybe better since that is probably one of the woods he is very familiar with. I don't think you could go wrong. If it is in good shape now and you treat it with respect it could last you for many years. 

[Mad Max]

It grows wild on the oregon coast all over the place. I'm quite certain thats Where John Strunk got all of his.  Its best to let it dry out completely with the bark still on it in my experience. I let a 3" round set about a year and air dry.

Just saying---This one had to come off a bigggg vine because it had a low crown.

[Tajue17]

Thanks for the posts everyone im going to think on it a bit,, theres a reason i only have osage selfbows i took a limb tip to the eye before after the top limb snapped at full draw

[Kirkll]

It grows wild on the oregon coast all over the place. I'm quite certain thats Where John Strunk got all of his.  Its best to let it dry out completely with the bark still on it in my experience. I let a 3" round set about a year and air dry.

Just saying---This one had to come off a bigggg vine because it had a low crown.

They call it vine maple because of the way it grows. You may have a stump base 4' around with a dozen shoots coming out of the base. Its more of a giant bush than a tree, but some of them will get 30-35' in height..... The kids love climbing on them when camping on the coast. They crawl up until they bend over with their weight and the branches or vines are really springy. They have a ball bouncing on those vine maple branches on a hill side. The stuff rarely breaks when its green.... Of course when it's dry it becomes more brittle, but its pretty strong wood.  The really good bow staves come from hill side bunches where they curl up at the base giving you a reflex.