Selfbow Etiquette

[Eric Krewson]

With the increased interest, more and more guys making or buying selfbows, and a lot more of them to be seen at every trad event, I feel it is time for a general lesson in "selfbow etiquette".

Guys who have never seen owned a selfbow are seldom up to speed on the proper way to conduct oneself when handed a selfbow to inspect.

Unlike glass lam bows selfbows are draw specific. If the bow was made for a guy with a 27" draw then that is as far as the bow can be drawn with out possibly causing damage to the limbs. Most selfbows are built with a little extra draw length allowance but not much.

For some macho reason almost all guys handed any strung bow will immediately yank it back to full draw.

My wife handed her petite little osage bow to a 6'2" young man for inspection who immediately pulled it back to about 29" before she could stop him. I had to make her a new bow.

The same thing happened to one of my friends on a fine elm bow he made for his 26" draw. A quick 29" draw by an interested observer collapsed the upper limb to an L shaped configuration.  

Proper etiquette for self bow inspection of one of my bows would be as follows;

State,"WOW, Mr Krewson, this has to be the best selfbow on the planet, possibly in the entire universe"!

Well........ you can leave out the first part.

Next as you are admiring the bow say, "I have a 28 (or whatever) draw length would it be OK if I drew your bow back"? The biggie here, ask permission and state your normal draw length. The owner will say yea or nay depending on the draw length the bow has been shot in at.

If your draw length is the same or less than the owner he might let you shoot the bow. This time ask what weight arrows he shoots. Ask to shoot his  arrows or shoot yours if if the weight and spine are similar. Don't shoot a 300gr soda straw arrow out of a bow that has been used to 550 grain arrows,it would be like dry firing the bow.

Just a little heads up on a topic that has been previously undiscussed.

You are correct. I never let anyone I do not know take my selfbow into their hands without asking them their draw length. If it is too long, I politely ask them not to draw the bow. Sometimes I have to explain this and then they say something likr " Wow, I did not know that".

Bisch

[FerretWYO]

My Dad made a beautiful osage self bow years ago and while retriving arrows one guy thought he would play with his bow. Draw length was an issue and the bow broke.

Good advice here.

[ron w]

Good idea to make folks aware, I just hope they read this and remember what they read!!!

[bowhuntingrn]

Etiquette of any kind seems to be dieing off. People just don't seem to think sometimes, thus my signigture on another website..."If common sense is so common, why don't more people have it?" The thought of touching anyone else's equipment, much less "trying it out" without permission would never cross my mind, guess some of us were just raised different...Just my $.02

[wtpops]

Ya im glad i learned this a few years ago. Every now and then at a shoot i will see some one with a nice self bow and comment on it and the owner will ask would you like to shoot it. I say right off the bat "i draw a little past 31" then i hear o maybe not then I just smile and say thank you for the offer.

So this might be a good post for guys who are a new owner of a self bow and dont know the ins and outs for owning one.

I is very nice to offer your self bow up to some one to experience it but ask there draw before you do.

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Excellent advice, Eric. I never draw anyone else's bow (selfbow, glass, or otherwise) without asking first. To me, It's just common courtesy.

[wingnut]

I have been known to unstring a selfbow before handing it to someone for inspection.  

Mike

[gregg dudley]

Good lesson, Eric!  I have been around archery for a long time and didn't realize this was as critical as you have described it.  

I don't think it is a macho thing that leads people to want to draw a bow as much as it is a curiosity and comparison thing.  A strung bow is made to be drawn and shot. It almost begs for it.  

But, like Jason, I never draw someone else's bow without asking their permission.

Thanks for the information.

[Javi]

Originally posted by Jason R. Wesbrock:
Excellent advice, Eric. I never draw anyone else's bow (selfbow, glass, or otherwise) without asking first. To me, It's just common courtesy.

ditto

[pappy]

Very well said Eric.Good advice.
   Pappy

[PEARL DRUMS]

The best test you can give a self bow if your interested is to pluck the string 2-3", if its tight and has good early tension you can bet it screams and shoots flat out fast. Full draw isnt needed to know that part of it.

I always tell the interested person to please not draw as Im handing it over. Or I first ask what they draw, add 1" to that number and decide if I will let them draw it or not.

[tradbower]

Great Advice!!!  This also applys to glass bows that are designed for a short draw.

[waknstak IL]

I don't think I've ever handed anyone a bow with the expectation that they aren't going to draw it. All my bows are laminated so I don't worry much. Most are friends who are compound guys and they draw it out of curiosity not because they think they are macho. I would never pick up someone's bow without permission, but if you say hey check out my bow I likely would carefully pull it back to feel the grip and the way the limbs work. I doubt most people are aware of the difference between a self bow and glass bows in this regard. Other than reading posts on this site and having an interest in building one in the near future I wouldn't have known. I think it's a good reminder to those who own them to take special care and realize not everyone is knowledgeable about them.

[falconview]

This is a "Golden rule"  don't do to others, etiquette, in an increasingly "whatever" society.  Treating each other, our labors or possessions with respect should be the norm but
is increasingly not, my wife is a second grade teacher and she sees an increasing number of children who have no
Concept of etiquette, and possibly neither do their parents
So thanks for this thread, we can all do better

[Kris]

Exactly!

Kris

[Mojostick]

Totally agree with the theme here, but there is one exception to harming a selfbow.

And I do understand that sinew backed Owls are NOT your typical selfbow.

I have several sinew backed Owl's by Ed Scott and Ed told me that with the sinew backing, anyone can shoot them, regardless of draw. He even writes the weight @28" and out to 32". He guarantee's his sinew backed bows for life and I believe he told me he's never had to replace one. This is sinew backed only.

That's why, at Comptons, anyone can test shoot Ed's sinew backed bows as much as they like.

Anyhow, if anyone has a sinew backed Owl, use whatever caution you'd like, but Ed made it pretty clear that no harm will come to the bow.

Again, I realize this is the rare exception and not the case with 99% of the bows out there. I just want people to feel free to shoot an Owl if they ever see Ed Scott at a show.

[Traxx]

OR....
Just say No.
A person,does have that right.LOL

The one I see a lot is when bows are for sale at a shoot, guys will try to man up and give them a super long draw like they are trying to prove how big they are.  I had a case where I yelled a serious warning at a fellow that grabbed my wife's custom short draw bow.  I watched him shoot earlier and he had a serious short draw flinch, but when drawing bows back he stood up straight and stretched them as far as he could. Him and his buddies almost went against my orders to put it back like I had no right to tell them what to do, when someone else told them they were out of line by handling bows on the private bow rack, they grudgingly put it back. If they would have jerked that bow back and damaged it, I would have broken the law. Anyone can pretend to be the big man when drawing back a light bow. One fellow let me shoot his bow, a Miller, but my draw was the same as his and I used his arrows, my arrows were actually shorter than his.

[Mudd]

I had a Joe Mattingly self bow named "The 2 Holer" that I made the mistake of handing to a gent to hold while I got some arrows out of my truck.

I turned around just in time to see him pull it back to the point one tip rolled over and split down into the top hole.

I never dreamed that someone would just yank a bow back.

My heart sank as I knew it was going to be impossible to replace.

Joe did survive his brain cancer long enough to redo the bow making it a one holer but much shorter.

I could've kicked myself for letting anyone touch a bow that was made specifically for me and my right handed draw.

It's never happened again, nor will it ever.

God bless,Mudd