How many of you would like to do this
01-14-2004, 03:04 PM
#23
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 9,175
RE: How many of you would like to do this
Don't let these yayhoos blow smoke up your pants leg. Every dang one of 'em would LIKE to do exactly what you're talking about. Problem is they know they're not GOOD enough hunters to do it. [>:]
Check this site. www.primitivearcher.com
Even got a discussion forum over there with a lot of knowledgeable selfbowyers and flintknappers who actually do successfully hunt with their Stone Age weapons.
Check this site. www.primitivearcher.com
Even got a discussion forum over there with a lot of knowledgeable selfbowyers and flintknappers who actually do successfully hunt with their Stone Age weapons.
01-14-2004, 05:46 PM
#24
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Land of Oz
Posts: 9,626
RE: How many of you would like to do this
I don' t think there is anything wrong with the idea at all.
Stealthycat has written many posts about using more primitive gear and I find the idea very interesting.
I would want to be able to build my bow to generate the appropriate energy and all that good stuff, but I don't think it would be as hard as you might think...if you get CLOSE for the kill.
It would be a rewarding venture.
Just might get into that recurve stuff myself one day...then who knows, maybe I'll be the next Ishi!
Stealthycat has written many posts about using more primitive gear and I find the idea very interesting.
I would want to be able to build my bow to generate the appropriate energy and all that good stuff, but I don't think it would be as hard as you might think...if you get CLOSE for the kill.
It would be a rewarding venture.
Just might get into that recurve stuff myself one day...then who knows, maybe I'll be the next Ishi!
01-14-2004, 07:58 PM
#25
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Georgia
Posts: 263
RE: How many of you would like to do this
I agree with Arthur P. If you want to take the time and effort to create your own bow and arrows and go completely primative it's cool. I think it will take you to a much more enlightened level of hunting awarness. Make sure that before you shoot at any game you test your bow and arrows first. A decent test would be to shoot at a new stiff hay bail. If your arrow makes a clean pass through then it should be good enough to kill without hitting bone. If it doesn't pass throught then you need to streighthen your bow. Also, you may want to put a piece of plywood behind it to make sure it can pierce a solid substance (ie. bone). Try this more than once at different distances. Also, take your bow to the pro-shop when you get it done and have them record the arrow speed to see if it is fast enough to make a kill. Those would be the bare minimum of things I would do before attempting to hunt with self made bow and arrow. However, I think it would definantly be worth the time and effort to do. 
01-14-2004, 08:56 PM
#26
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 9,175
RE: How many of you would like to do this
You don't have to go through all that testing and stuff. There are 50,000 years of hunting - and military - success behind selfbows, opposed to only 35 years with compounds. Selfbows have the track record, don'tcha think?
Make the bow at least 50 pounds. Arrows at least 10-12 grains per pound of draw weight. Broadheads not much more than 1" across. Confine your hunting shots to 25 yards or less. Put the arrow where it's supposed to be and draw your flint knife to commence field dressing.
The only people that don't trust traditional or primitive equipment to get the job done are the people that have never used such equipment.
Make the bow at least 50 pounds. Arrows at least 10-12 grains per pound of draw weight. Broadheads not much more than 1" across. Confine your hunting shots to 25 yards or less. Put the arrow where it's supposed to be and draw your flint knife to commence field dressing.
The only people that don't trust traditional or primitive equipment to get the job done are the people that have never used such equipment.
01-14-2004, 10:06 PM
#27
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Palmyra PA USA
Posts: 292
RE: How many of you would like to do this
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...
(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...
01-15-2004, 03:17 PM
#29
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location:
Posts: 398
RE: How many of you would like to do this
Zak,
Your dream is a great one, and i think it is reality based! I would go with the recurve kit though. If this is your dream theres no reason it couldnt happen, dont let anyone get you down saying its out of proportion becuase its not.
i would find it rewarding just to hunt a season like that!
Good Luck!
Your dream is a great one, and i think it is reality based! I would go with the recurve kit though. If this is your dream theres no reason it couldnt happen, dont let anyone get you down saying its out of proportion becuase its not.
i would find it rewarding just to hunt a season like that!
Good Luck!
01-15-2004, 08:31 PM
#30
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Land of Oz
Posts: 9,626
RE: How many of you would like to do this
A decent test would be to shoot at a new stiff hay bail. If your arrow makes a clean pass through then it should be good enough to kill without hitting bone. If it doesn't pass throught then you need to streighthen your bow.
