home made bow

[heeze gutshot shortee]

Whomakestheir own traditional/long bows??? are they functionable, safe??

[dkbs]

Hello
I make my own bows. First I made a laminated take-down recurve, back in the 90's and about three years ago I made a lamintated longbow.
Yes, they are very shootable. The longbow is the sweetest shooting traditional bow I've shot.Its definitelyfar from the fastest shooting traditional bow I've ever shot. It lacks a bit in the preformance arena. Probably because I'm no expert bowyer, or even a craftsman thats a good woodworker. I'm just a longtime bowhunter who wanted to take the challenge in a different direction. And once you've taken a deer with a homemade bow its a new satisfying feeling. I still have to take a whitetail with the longbow, but the recurve has taken several. Hopefully this is the year for the longbow.
Its 65" long, centershot and tillered to be shot three fingers under. Its 53# at my 29" draw length. I'm toying with the idea of making another longbow this winter in the57-60# range.
Enclosed is a pix of me shooting the longbow.

Happy Hunting
Dan

[wyomingtrapper]

Like dkbs, I've made--and hunted with--a take down recurve with two sets of limbs and a reflex/deflex longbow. Both shoot very well. I used the Bingham kits and have to say that both bows shoot better than most custom bows I've had occasion to shoot. They draw smooth, do not stack, and are as accurate as you are willing to be. I supposethat many other bows may shoot a bit faster than mine, butif I were concerned about arrow speed, I'd go back to a compound. It is rewarding to shoot a bow you've made yourself. I make the arrows and string as well.

[Arthur P]

I made a reflex/deflex longbow a couple of years ago and it's a good'un. Lately I've been more into making selfbows from red oak boards. I''ve made a couple of good ones, a couple that turned out 'not as planned' and more than a couple that did well for a few weeks before breaking. The ones that broke were ones were not backed with something. I used hickory veneers, silk and linen backings on the bows that did not break.

[noob_archer]

"The ones that broke were ones were not backed with something."

One thing to consider is whether the bow is drying out. A board bow with an untreated surfacecould lose 2-3 percent of it's moisture within a few weeks. That's enough to break it in full draw. One thing that can be done is to apply1 to2 coatings of boiled linseedoil onto the surface of the bow. Once the oil dries, the moisture is effectively locked into the wood, and the board bow should be good for a while.

[Eagle111]

I am using a PSE Kudu and I'm here to tell you that it's one of the smoothest recurves I've ever had the pleasure to shoot. I started off many years ago with a longbow at summer camp when I wqs just a chap. I graduated to a compound about 35 years ago but just picked up the recurve 3 years ago and have never looked back. I just didn't know what I was missing.

[noob_archer]

The 2nd long bow that I've crafted.