Sunday night my stepson Chad stopped by the house to show us a long bow one of his bullriding buddies had made him (much to his surprise). The bow, string, and arrows were made with only hand tools and in a basement I'd imagine, he doesn't have a shop of any kind so here are a few pics
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22514/everyday_pictures_160.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22514/everyday_pictures_161.jpg)
He wrote a note to Chad on the bow and numbered the bow 003, it's the third ones he's made that held up, and while it's probably not the professional work you see here often I was just as impressed with the heart that went into it as the work. He made the bow from hickory and bamboo, not sure about the arrows.
What a wonderful gift. That will be a treasured keepsake. :)
That would be a lot of work. Making one that stays straight in the limbs is quite a feat.
Do you think he will hunt with it? or do some target shooting with it?
What is the pull in lbs. ?
That's awesome :)
That looks great to me, thanks for showing it off. :)
Years ago, I came across a bow very similar to that one in form and such. It was missing the bow string. It had been given to my grandfather eons ago and made on the local reservation. My grandfather was a big fan of Gene Autry westerns. We have a couple old photos of his young days where he used to dress up like a cowboy in those westerns. His brother did the same. For a time, it was popular culture. ;)
I'd love to have one of those.........just saying, Sandhills. :)
Very nice and what a thoughtful person and friend. smiley_thumbsup
Another talented wood worker.
That is really cool!
Beenthere, he's already tried it out some, the guy that built it just does this for a hobby and was playing around with the angle of the fletching on the arrows, Chad said it was accurate and a few of the arrows really make a cool "zinging" sound in flight. I believe he wrote 55# at 25" draw on the bow but not sure of that, it really is a nice bow and he sanded the arrows down to a taper on the point end as perfect as I'd say you could doing it by hand.
Poston, I'd love one too ;), Chad said Tyler would make one for me but he won't sell them, it's just for fun smiley_thumbsup, maybe I can talk him into making 2.
That is a nice gift. Now I would think that would be like the bull whip my dad made me. Something admired and not mis- handled. It will stay in my gun cabinet and be handed down to some one who knew papa and that he plaited whips in his later years.
That's a fine looking bow. Hickory and bamboo should be real strong. English long bows were made of Yew as I remember , tho I'm not sure what woods in the US would have similar properties.
Hey Woodchuck, I got a bullwhip in Mexico when I was a kid, loved it and used it 'til I wore it out. I was going to get into plaiting , even got a book years ago, but then looked on Amazon where whips are pretty cheap.
So I got a 14 footer and I love that crack! The popper breaks the sound barrier! Good for trimming the maple tree when you practice. And the coyote back at the end of the field who got the neighborhood dogs all barking , jumped straight up at the first crack and bolted at high speed at the second. He thought I was shootin' at him! 8)
Osage orange was one of the native American's favorite bow woods, although osage orange had a limited natural range and did not significantly spread until it was planted for windbreaks and natural hedge fences. Not sure what they used in the Eastern US where there was not a natural supply of osage orange.
Elm is a good species for bow construction.
At the right place, like a show,that guy could make some money.