Hey guys. Ive been a compound bow hunter for several years now, but also enjoy shooting my recurve from time to time.

Ive been reading posts about the different wood that bows can be made out of such as hickory, red oak, ect. Does this mean that i can just go out and cut a nice branch of one of these trees and shave it down into a bow? Im not really concerned about how it would look so it wouldnt have to be too pretty. But i would like to take it out small game hunting and what not. Should i just use the same kind of wood i used to makethe bowto also make the arrows? Im worried about having a shaft break when im shooting if i use the wrong kind of wood.

Also, what kind of materials should i use for a string? Or would it just be better to buy a bow string?

you have a PM

Strings should be made of dacron unless they are made with special tip overlays.

give my buddy John at Old Master Crafters a call...

he's selling glued up bow blanks in a variety of woods... all you have to do is shape and finish... give that a shot..

if you like doing it, then you can build a hot box and get more involved

of cut a log and split it for staves... speaking of that, the Strunk Brothers at Mystic Stick sell roughed in selfbow staves... all you need to do is shape and finish them...