Do bows have a soul

[yaderehey]

I don't believe bows have a soul.  But often times someone put a bit of theirs into the building of one.

[Shane Reed]

I think that some bows do. I hold on to my Fred Bear signed bows closely because of the mojo. I think that he is part of everything he touched. Had a new Bear "special"(red glass) TD that had a major temper with me last year. I couldn't shoot it, and missed 4 or 5 doe in one week on a hunting trip plus a buck spook when the limb hit the side of a stand while standing for a 10 yard shot. I got home from my hunting trip and immediately placed it up for trade. With the money I made back on that bow in traders; I was able to buy a 69 SK, knife and file set,a book that Fred signed with a stickbowman, and a signed Tigercat at excellent prices. I think that was Fred's way of making good on his lifetime warranty. ;o) It sure beat tossing that handle in my wood boiler; which is where it was headed after that trip.

[Sixby]

Bows do not in any way have a soul. They can have a blessing though. The bowyer can pray for them to be a blessing to the man that they are made for and to reflect that this blessing is from God and to his glory. I pray that over every bow I build as I build it.
I believe that bow probably never got your full attention until you decided to get rid of it. As fast as some folks go through bows I believe that this may happen a lot. The bow literally never gets the time from the owner to allow the shooter to fully appreciate and get aquainted with the bow.
I am glad you had second thoughts . Perhaps you should take that bow off the rack more often.

God bless, Steve

[oldbohntr]

No, they don't, but some bowyers do......

[Sam McMichael]

They may or may not have a soul. But mine certainly have no conscience. They shoot only where I point them. On the few times I have sold one off, It sure has come to haunt me, though.

[reddogge]

Egad, I hope not. Otherwise when I go to heaven I'll meet up with some of those dogs I used to own.

[kbetts]

Yup.  I have a particular longbow that when I carry it, animals sacrifice themselves.  On more than one occasion I have shot at an animal more than once and missed with one bow only to go back and get it the first time with my Kimsha.  Call it mojo, call it soul, all I know is it feels like an extension of "my" soul.

[Can Hahaka]

St. Thomas Aquinas, though not an Animist, believed as an Animist does, that all living things (including trees) have a soul. So, when the tree is harvested to make a bow, where does the soul of the tree go? Does it not stay with the wood? Where else could it possibly go to?

[wandering monk]

bows are a matrix wood, glue and sweat...I dont believe they have a soul...but the person that made it for sure does...

that work is a testament for that meeting of time where that bowyer did their best to put together a means to launch an arrow...

that in itself is a bit of magic for me...

[TonyW]

Not a soul in a bow, but Duke Ellington had soul, and in 1931 he wrote:

It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That String)

[TonyW]

Not a soul in a bow, but Duke Ellington had soul, and in 1931 he wrote:

It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That String)

[Shifting Shadow]

I don't know but some bows seem to bond with their owners.

[Shifting Shadow]

I don't know but some bows seem to bond with their owners.

[Flying Dutchman]

Yes!

[LongStick64]

Yes technically they don't have a soul but I do feel the bows we love the most are the bows that for some reason feel part of us an extension of us, and share our spirit for the hunt.

And for some reason we sometimes think we can find a better partner, when the best we have is right there in front of us.

[adkmountainken]

well bow made from wood were ALIVE and i believe any living thing has a soul.....

[Mike Theis]

All things are different forms of stored energy. This energy steps through different phases altered by the elements, the sun, and sometimes, man. Each bow follows a different path, so it's energy level, and properties are different. Shooting is about how we use this energy, how we interprete it, how we harness it, how we interact with it. When all that lines up with our own energy force, we have one sweet shooting bow. Sometimes we think the bow needs to conform to our energy pattern, when it's really the other way around. It's what you put into making the connection. The wood bow doesn't have a 'soul', but it's definitely talking to you.

** Note - The 'zen' version    :p  **

[Bowwild]

I love em but they are "just" worked up lumber, and petroleum products. I won't let any of my beloved bows become Golden Rams.

[halfseminole]

I think it's less about golden rams and more about being content with what you have, rather than tossing cash at the first thing to move.  Contentment is a thing unheard of in our society these days.  If feeling the bow has imprinted on me keeps me content, I don't see it as a bad thing.

[LongStick64]

Edward I think you nailed it for me. I've been guilty of chasing the rainbow and it's taking me time but I'm starting to acknowledge my foolishness. Maybe I needed my bow to lay it out for me.