Author Topic: shortest practical osage bow?  (Read 7785 times)

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Offline sleek

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shortest practical osage bow?
« on: November 27, 2014, 12:41:55 am »
Im undecided here. I have two billets. One is awesome,  hole in the lim and naturally perfectly recurved tip. Its 32.5" long and 1 3/8 wide out the fade. I already made it into a limb blank.

The other is what I cant decide on. Its 42" long and  1 3/4 in the center, slight reflex at one end.

Do I splice them together and make a sweet bow, try a take down ( I have never ), or make a plains short bow of one and wait for a billet to show up for the other short billet?

Whats the shortest hunting application bendy handle yall ever seen of osage, and what draw length/weight?
Tread softly and carry a bent stick.

Dont seek your happiness through the approval of others

Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: shortest practical osage bow?
« Reply #1 on: November 27, 2014, 01:37:53 am »
Double your draw length.  As for max draw weight, how wide do you wanna make it?  No reason you cannot get a 100 lb draw bendy for a 26 inch draw that is 52" ntn. Might be 2 inches wide in the handle though!!!
Guns have triggers. Bicycles have wheels. Trees and bows have wooden limbs.

Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: shortest practical osage bow?
« Reply #2 on: November 27, 2014, 01:38:42 am »
But that is presupposing no recurving tips, backing, belly lams of sheep horn, etc.  Just a piece of clean osage stave.
Guns have triggers. Bicycles have wheels. Trees and bows have wooden limbs.

Offline sleek

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Re: shortest practical osage bow?
« Reply #3 on: November 27, 2014, 02:06:21 am »
Yeah... im not seeing a 21" draw length being used by anyone.  Guess I will either do a splice or a take down. I have in the past spliced in antler as recurves... I might do that again.
Tread softly and carry a bent stick.

Dont seek your happiness through the approval of others

mikekeswick

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Re: shortest practical osage bow?
« Reply #4 on: November 27, 2014, 02:43:11 am »
Remember that bow you asked who had made. Bodkin Berts with the spliced in purpleheart 'levers'. That's what i'd be doing with the 42 incher. I only draw 26 so it would be fine for drawlength. I would also reflex the outers and mildly recurved the very ends.

Offline redhawk55

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Re: shortest practical osage bow?
« Reply #5 on: November 27, 2014, 04:13:56 am »
My shortest osage(44") draws 45lbs at 23", it shoots a 180grs. arrow 220f/s. Don't know if this would fit for hunting?
Michael
..........the way of underdoing.............

Offline bowster

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Re: shortest practical osage bow?
« Reply #6 on: November 27, 2014, 04:59:32 am »
My shortest Osage bow measures 45,7", has a stiff handle and pulls 60# at 27" with a weight of 318g.

Offline PatM

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Re: shortest practical osage bow?
« Reply #7 on: November 27, 2014, 08:13:57 am »
Didn't we just talk about splicing in extensions?

Offline burchett.donald

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Re: shortest practical osage bow?
« Reply #8 on: November 27, 2014, 08:44:32 am »
  Jeesh! Bowster, you ain't scared to bend one are ya? :o ;)
                                                                                             Don
Genesis 27:3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;

Offline bowster

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Re: shortest practical osage bow?
« Reply #9 on: November 27, 2014, 08:52:51 am »
Oh, I am, but osage can be a wonderful wood.

Offline Knoll

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Re: shortest practical osage bow?
« Reply #10 on: November 27, 2014, 10:43:26 am »
Bowster .... that sure is purty!
... alone in distant woods or fields, in unpretending sproutlands or pastures tracked by rabbits, even in a bleak and, to most, cheerless day .... .  I suppose that this value, in my case, is equivalent to what others get by churchgoing & prayer.  Hank Thoreau, 1857

Offline Comancheria

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Re: shortest practical osage bow?
« Reply #11 on: November 27, 2014, 11:08:02 am »
I realize you can go much shorter with a self design in Osage than with the white woods--but at what degree of shortness would you have to back it?  I look at Bowyer's bending of that bow and think it MUST be backed.

Russ
When sinew-backed Live Oak flatbows with Agave-fiber strings shooting arrows made from river cane are outlawed, only outlaws will have sinew-backed Live Oak flatbows with Agave-fiber strings shooting arrows made from river cane!

Offline bowster

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Re: shortest practical osage bow?
« Reply #12 on: November 27, 2014, 11:54:01 am »
even in osage the quality in the wood shows big differences, and I´m also not that sure, that this bow would hold for a some thousand shots, it was more a kind of game, what is possible with this remaining piece of a stave, I steambent it in a deflex/reflex form, like a horseman bow, and when shooting I normally pull just a 26" like on the photo, but I´ve also tested it for 27".
« Last Edit: November 27, 2014, 01:44:40 pm by bowster »

Offline huisme

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Re: shortest practical osage bow?
« Reply #13 on: November 27, 2014, 12:38:01 pm »
My recent r/d shorty is 46"ntn and pulls to 25 without a problem, though 26 stresses it out. If you assume osage is better wood that shouldn't be a problem  >:D
50#@26"
Black locust. Black locust everywhere.
Mollegabets all day long.
Might as well make them short, save some wood to keep warm.

Offline bradsmith2010

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Re: shortest practical osage bow?
« Reply #14 on: November 27, 2014, 01:16:32 pm »
I have shot and made some bows that had a 20 inch draw,, it is a specialty item for sure, but a close range huntable..and will get nice cast if holding some reflex,,,so if you have never tried one,, I would recommend it for sure,,