Selfbow Etiquette

[Bob B.]

This is a great thread.  I think many people just do not know better.  It is up to the bow owner to instruct the inspector( my opinion) how to handle it.  Also I do have an Owl bow, they are pretty bullet proof, but I am still careful about just handing it over.  Lastly, people like to pic at the snake skins... not sure why they do that?  

Mudd, what a shame what happened to your bow.  A bow like that would be impossible to replace.


Bob.

[JEJ]

Eric, I hope you are OK with this. It is self bow related.

Hey Mudd, I have an osage stave with some black marks on it that mean a lot to me. One day before Joe got sick I took that stave and met him in the parking lot at DFW airport where he worked as an engineer. Joe took a marker and laid out handle, fades, tips, etc. on the stave and told me "go for it"! I have thought over the years if I ever got good enough at making bows I might make a bow out of that stave. But then those marks would be gone. Here in north TX there are lots of bodark trees that will make lots of staves. But none of them will have Joe's marks on them. I think I'm OK with keeping that stave just the way it is. I miss Joe.

After reading this thread, I got motivated to go out and shoot my pig-nut. I must be a really good self bow maker, I need  to remind myself every so often how good that bow shoots. And no, you can't shoot it.

[McDave]

As most people to whom you hand a bow will not have read these posts, and it seems to be a natural tendency to want to draw a bow, it would probably be a good idea, as wingnut suggested, to unstring the bow before handing it to someone.

Or if you're in the process of shooting it when someone wants to look at it, I don't see anything disrespectful in asking them not to draw it, just like you would explain to a kid about not dry-firing it.

Of course, it would be better if everyone understood these things, but since they don't, preservation of your bow would seem to indicate the wisdom of saying something yourself.

[DVSHUNTER]

I also hand them off unstrung. I still have people pull on the string. Id hate to have a bow damaged by someones ignorance so i wont give them the chance to damage it. They can draw it back after ive got the details clear.

Good post. May help spread the word.

[sweeney3]

Be careful of handing someone an unstrung selfbow as well, as they are likely to try to string it BACKWARDS and break it.  Don't ask.

[monterey]

We have probably reached the choir pretty well with this thread.

Even with my glass backed bows I'm careful of who I allow to hold it.  Some people think it's normal to draw it all the way back and dry fire it.  

I saw a guy hand his super short Kodiak Magnum to a guy at the range.  The guy was about 6'-6" with arms like a gorilla.  the bow made crackling noises when he suddenly pulled it back to full draw.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

i agree and would like to add that  a guy/gal should seek permission to draw anyone's bow regardless of the type of bow it is. I mean my bows are very special to me and I dont want some yahoo screwing it up

[rraming]

Good info - I've never drawn a guys bow or shot it without asking first. I know it's the first thing guys do as a compound shooter drew my recurve back when he asked to see it, I turned around and closed my eye's waiting for the dry fire sound, thank heavens he didn't.

[30coupe]

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.

x2 Jason.

My hickory bow is tillered to my 27" draw. It's 48# at that draw, but it goes up to 53# at 28". I checked it just to be on the safe side. If it's stacking that much, that's too much stress! I'm guessing 29" would be disastrous.      

Thanks for bringing this up Eric. I just hope the non-self bow shooters read this too. They are the ones who really need to.

[Jake Diebolt]

I had NO IDEA that this was an issue with self bows.

That being said, I've never been comfortable drawing or shooting other people's bows, even when offered. It just feels weird to me. If I was planning to buy it, maybe, but my curiousity is always tempered with trepidation - what if I break the thing? How bad would I feel?

[broketooth]

as a new  as i am at building selfbows, i havecome to trust more experienced builders/shooters than myself. several bowyers , batman, mr pat, stiks -n-strings, james parker, and mike treadway have all examined my work some with more intuitive pointers and some with approval or both. all in the interest in making a better bow.i trust these people with their expertise and opinions. i also usually ask if someone has had experience with selfbows. if not, i try to give a tutorial. oh, i almost forgot, i shot the first selfbow i ever made with bernie dunn.  nobody can pass up the chance to shoot with bernie, even with a new bow

[Shifting Shadow]

Like Traxx, I will just say no. Even with glass bows, too. I had one guy pull my glass bow back and dry fire it. And that was after I had warned him not to do it.

[maineac]

Once again learned something new here.  Thanks!

[limbshaker]

I couldn't imagine seeing a selfbow that I put days of work into being ruined in one draw    :(    . I'm glad this was brought up. I had a giant friend of mine draw my 52" antique Kodiak Mag to at least 36" (way behind his ear and he is HUGE) My butt puckered up when i saw the limbs almost uncurl    :eek:    . To my relief and amazement, it didnt explode.

[ChristopherO]

The comment about Ed Scott and his Owl Bows not having a set draw length is exactly opposite than what Ed told me a few years back at Cloverdale.  He asked thatI not draw a particular bow, with sinew on the back, to my full draw lenght while testing it.  Wood bellies are wood bellies and they can take only so much compression before the fibers crush.  I obliged him.  He was just too much of a gentleman to ignore.

[wollelybugger]

When asked to see one of my self bows I alway reply, "Please don't draw it back because it might break" Than I explain that it is used to being pulled 26 inches and any further it could break.

[Mark Baker]

What Christopher said!  Sinew backed bows...any wood bow is prone to excessive damage by overdrawing them.   Sinew is magic only in specific ways, but it will not protect the belly of a bow, and may even exacurbate (did I spell that right?) the problem, so be careful.

[Traxx]

Ill third,what ChristopherO,and Mark Baker stated.I couldnt hardly believe,that those statements were credited to Ed,but,i wasnt there,so i couldnt say for shure.It does contradict,what i know and what i know of Ed though.I wonder,if there wasnt a missunderstanding,on the topic.

[Plumber]

thanks I had no Ideal there was that much  involved.ED