The next step........

[Lilhunter]

Dawn (my wife), made an unexpected trip today from the post office. She was toting a long white tube. Hmm, I knew what that was! A BBO bow by John Scrifes. What a beaut!!! I cant keep my hands off of her. Every time I pass my room I have to take a 10 or 15mn detour to shoot it. I gotta say if all selfbows shoot like this I am switching, heck I might just have to make a week or two trip to Indiana to learn . Next spring/fall I put her to use. For now its going into action chasing the local grouse population. Hopefully I can find some time next week to get out and harrass them a little more before the snow flies......never do manage to shoot many, go figure!

One quick question for you selfbow folks. Any recommendations on the do' s and donts of a all wood backed bow let me know. This my first REAL wood bow. I had one before that was dead upon arrival. He didnt believe I had a 29" draw and after one session that hickory selfbow was about doubled over at " idol" . How about using them in COOOOLD weather? This is my biggest concern as it doest get a weeeeeeeeee bit nippy here during huntin season [>:]. Issues with leaving it strung when not in use? gotta ask as I am a newbie to the wood scene......any tips/tricks/techniques, thanks a ton!!!

[Wahya]

Hey Dan. Not that I' m a selfbow guru, but here goes. It' s probably best to give her a few mini pulls to limber her up for the real deal. That was passed onto me by Don Brown when I bought one of his bows. I' d think that going from a warm environment (house) to COLD weather outside could have some bad effects. Maybe best to contact John and see what he thinks about that. Eventually, especially with your longish draw, the bow will start following the string and losing poundage. I shoot my Don Brown Bamboo and Osage longbow sparingly and even with my under 28" draw, it' s going to eventually start to follow the string. Unstring the bow when not in use. An all wood bow will take a set if left strung for extended periods of time.

[Arthur P]

Every time I string my selfbows I take several warmup pulls to get the bow ' limbered up' . 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 draw a couple times each before finally getting into a full pull. I really don' t know whether it helps or not, but I feel better for doing it.

I also unstring the bow several times a day during a hunt and let it rest; I never leave the bow strung overnight; I keep the wood sealed and dry (wax the snot out of it!); of course one NEVER stands a bow upright in a corner.

Someone like me that draws a selfbow some 31" will put some serious string follow in a bow that' s tillered for a 29" draw - if they don' t break it outright. Never let anyone draw your selfbow if their draw length is longer than yours. I don' t have that problem very often

[Lilhunter]

Arthur,

I learned that last one the hard way. I was finishing up a hickory backed cedar bow a buddy gave me (at the time one of the editors for primitive archer mag). I had that bow shooting good, the handle felt good, the riser looked good. Nothing fancy was done although I did cut a small sight window in it. (I guess this makes my 3rd wood bow, almost forgot this experience LOL). We' ll we worked at the wood working shop at a local middle school and used the small gym as a range (already set up for a local club as a indoor range for winters). Anyways, after shooting it a few times I came back in to find he arrived with the kids. I showed him the bow and he was like a kid in a china shop. The last thing I remember is seeing blood on his face appear rather rapidly. His draw length was just a tad 1/4-1/2" more then mine but he drew the bow like it was on its last breath gasping for more. At the time I drew much slower then he did and bow, she blew. Go figure LOL!

Thanks for the replys. I' ll let ya know how the bow shoots once I get up and running with it hopefully by the end of this weekend.