Bone Arrows?

[bushman]

Has anyone tried to make arrows from bones? If you have what type of animal and what bones did you use? How did you join the bones together if they weren’t long enough to make an arrow? I have though of using the leg bones from cattle, moose and elk. First I need to get the bones before I can try it. I though of just cutting them into strips, rounding them down and to join two together to make a longer arrow just make a hole in the end of one and tapered the end of another one and stick them together and rap the joint with sinue. Anyone else of some different ideas? Thanks.
Bushman

[markinengland]

I don't think I have ever heard of any culture including the Inuit making bone arrows.

Mark

[Hillbilly]

Seems like a lot of work for no real advantage except that it would just be cool. Seems like bone would be pretty brittle.

[Marc St Louis]

Seems like bone would be pretty brittle.

And quite heavy

[Justin Snyder]

Points maybe, arrows no.....

[bushman]

Mark, I have seen a few pictures of arrows from the Inuit that where half bone and half wood. They used those type of arrow for shooting seals with a form of a harpoon tip on it.

Marc St Louis and Hillbilly, It would be heavy yes, but I was planning on using it for fishing, since the arrows they sell for shooting fish are sold fiberglass thought that would be heavy as well.

[Hillbilly]

We want to see pics when you're done.

[recurve shooter]

verry seriously doubt it would work. if you had solid bone 28 inches long, maby, but i dont see how you could get a solid joint in a piece of bone that small.

[Justin Snyder]

I haven't found much information yet. Reading on a couple of Quebec museum and university websites, there were some arrows made from bone lashed together. More often the arrows were made with drift wood shafts, and bone or ivory foreshafts. All of the arrows were very short because of the scarcity of material. Justin

[Dauntless]

A couple years back I saw a documentary on the polar Inuit (reaaaaaaaaally far up north) and there were some hunters using bone arrows on musk oxen.  It was a reenactment though... 

A heavy arrow would work best with a short, heavy draw.  A bit like a crossbow.

You could probably get nice long pieces from the metatarsal/metacarpal or the tibia on moose, elk or caribou.  A very straight section of antler could do the trick, it's bone too.

[1/2primitive]

To tell the truth, I really like to the sound of a bone/wood arrow. I would love to give it a go.

If you've got the bone, or can get it, I would say try it. The worst that could happen is that it doesn't work out the way you wanted it to.
It sounds like it would work well for fishing, providing that you can get it together.
      Sean