Sidearm bows ...

[gpw]

 A while back I saw a tiny bow in PA mag ... I think it was Japanese ...  Very short , about 20" as I can remember , and came with a belt quiver that held small arrows ...   Used for personal protection ...   I've made a number of very short bows  that shot weighted bamboo skewers at incredible speeds ...
  Anybody know about, or fool with tiny bows like this ...?

[Del the cat]

I don't think a bow that size would be practical 'for personal protection', fun to make and shoot though, difficult to get the draw length and poundage high enough to do damage whilst being operable.
A crossbow pistol would do the job, in medieval times they were assassins weapons and some were powered using a twisted skein of sinew (or hair) making them more powerful and smaller, rather than a bow.
Here's one I made earlier.


50 at about 8" bolt velocity 132fps. Walnut stock Aluminium allow prod. It's tricky to cock unless you have the knack and it still doesn't pack that much punch.
The 18" miniature I made a while back was very fiddly to shoot and didn't have much power. An 18" bow gives very little to grip and a horrible string angle to draw.
Del

[gpw]

 Del , we've chronographed skewer arrows at over 200fps...    wouldn't want to get hit by one ...     These small bows dry fire so fast , the light arrow  just "zips" ...
 A crossbow is a cool idea but won't fit up my sleeve... hahaha 

[Del the cat]

Del , we've chronographed skewer arrows at over 200fps...    wouldn't want to get hit by one ...     These small bows dry fire so fast , the light arrow  just "zips" ...
 A crossbow is a cool idea but won't fit up my sleeve... hahaha 

I'd like to see one being shot or at full draw, to see how it's done.
i have tiny bow pistol, made as the result of a bet, I shall have to chrono it. The bolt is so light you can shoot yourself in the belly as long as you have a thick shirt on, it leaves a little red mark.
I s'pose there are all sorts of issues about arrow diameter and head shape to get penetration out of a light fast arrow.
BTW That bowpistol sits nicely under a jacket, with the bow sort of tucked up under your armpit and the grip across your belly. No officer I don't have any weapons
Del

[gpw]

  Full draw on all my tiny bows isn't much ,only a few inches , usually less than the length of the skewers  (12"), but probably in proportion to what a bigger bow draws...   Haven't broken any ...yet ..   the thin limbs do seem to be very flexible ... Used Osage so far .. (scraps)
 The one I saw in PA mag.  was made of whale baleen ... guess that's sorta' like natural fiberglass huh I've never seen a whale up close ... Just none down here.. 

[gpw]

 Found it !!! Primitive Archer  Volume 2 , issue 3  (yeah I have all the old ones ... )  called a Rimankyu..  the one shown is only 14" long ...  the arrows are almost as long as the bow ...

[gpw]

 More info , and a good picture... http://anthromuseum.missouri.edu/grayson/japanarchery/1994-0652set.shtm

[KenH]

So that Japanese bow, strung, is only 22" long, TtT

Very pretty set. I suppose they could also be used for indoor target shooting during inclement weather; like giant darts.  Perfect for the modern basement range!!

[Dane]

The materials for this bow, if you wanted to replicate it, would be very difficult to find, and may land you in jail. It is really cool set, though.

I recall an episode of F Troop. Milton Byrle (spelling?) played a flim-flam medicine man, and had this tiny bow and a quiver of tiny arrows. He was trapped in a shed, and when they got him out, there was a dozen tiny arrows sticking out of the door near the door knob. He said he tried to shoot the lock out. It was stupid, but really funny.

[gpw]

 The perfect "office" bow ...     
 Yeah , don't want to harm a whale to make a tiny bow .... But , there's  gotta be something else that would make one ... if you look at the unbraced bow , it's pretty straight... Horn composite   Osage and sinew ??    Even our tiny 14" osage bows would pump a sharpened skewer well into a 2X4...

[KenH]

You could probably make it from a single strip of horn about 1/4" thin, except for the tightly curled over end.  Make a form out of a piece of 2x12, bake the horn strip for 10-15 minutes at 150F in your home oven (no muss, no fuss, and perfect temperature control),  bend the strip into the form, and clamp until it cools. 

[gpw]

 Ken , Thanks !!!  I think I can get a horn from the guy down the street that raises Mexican longhorns...   I've always wanted a set of those to mount on the front of my Pickup truck ...      I do have a nice set of Oryx horns that I've been saving to make a primitive takedown ... but that might turn out too heavy for this old guy... 

[Mechslasher]

i think there is a pic of one of these bows in one of the bowyers bibles.  it's also made of baleen.

[gpw]

  Guess we'll have to deal with the Japanese for baleen .... They don't seem to care about the whales, only Sushi...
 What's so "magic" about baleen ?? 

[mullet]

 Baleen is actually a fine hair.You used to be able to buy it legally from Native Alaskans.