Authur nailed it. Wooden bows have been been used to feed and fight for the last 50,000+ years (as evidenced by radio carbon dating bow fragments recovered in European bogs.) Fiberglass laminated longbows and recurves have only been around for the last 50-60 yrs, and compounds only for the last 30. Bows as most of us know them have only been in existance for but the blink of an eye in the history of man. Wooden bows unquestionably hold the longest track record of securing game.

(True, post-Columbian natives were overrun by our settlers and armies toting firearms...though I suspect the results would have been similar even if they had compounds.) Either way, native Americans and countless cultures from around the world flourished on their own with wooden bows for millenia. Have no fears of the lethality of wooden bows and arrows. I can attest to the fact than an arrow moving at 150 fps is MORE than adequate to bring a whitetail down.

Like you, I longed for a greater challenge and more personal connection in my archery endeavors than what modern technology could offer. I turned from compounds to laminated longbows, and then quickly to wooden selfbows. I take great satisfaction in manufacturing my own equipment, and find hunting with them to be liberating. There's a sense of "rightness" and continuity in finding and cutting bow wood, curing it, carefully crafting the equipment, diligently practicing with it, and then with full confindence and conviction, hunting and killing game on your terms and on their playing field.

It always makes me smile to hear guys yearning to draw a bow under full muscle power. By all means, pursue your dream! Rest assured, you're not the only hunter who feels that drive. Here's some links that may be of interest and prove helpful on your quest.

Here's a great general traditional archery forum:

http://www.tradgang.com

Another forum dedicated to the manufacture of wooden bows:

http://www.primitivearcher.com (Click on Bowyer forum and First time forums)

Here are 24 pages of all-wood bows made by average Joe's:

http://groups.msn.com/ferretsarchery...oodenbows.msnw

An article I wrote 2 or 3 years ago which provides an overview of selfbows and their construction:

http://www.ubofpa.org/selfbow.htm

Some pictures of my own hunts:

http://community.webshots.com/album/62480817RzOwnm

There are several excellent books available that describe making selfbows from tree to stitched leather grip:

The Traditional Bowyer's Bible, Vol. 1 (Vol's. 2 & 3 also available) - Bois d'arc Press

Hunting the Osage Bow - Dean Torges

There are others as well, but these are the best two IMO.

By the way, stringing up a green branch certainly creates a formidable weapon. However, there are more refined methods to produce a harder hitting, more reliable self wood bow. It's been said that, "Just because it's primitive, doesn't mean it has to be crude." Feel free to email me if I can be of any guidance. [email protected]

Photo showing the progression of log split (stave) to finished selfbow, including basic tools used during each stage of manufacture...