Native Amreican bow designs, how do they shoot?

[BowEd]

Traxx....No not really.Just trying to explain to those who like to push the envelope and improve on things is all.It's all good.
Soooooo exactly how many deer self bow kills have you had to say such a statement?I can kill a deer with a broom handle bow of 35#'s if that's all I want.

[bradsmith2010]

 

[BowEd]

You got it Brad.You might have to make an extra batch!!!
I'm really rather busy here making a string on a new bow to shoot it in then through the CHRONOGRAPH so don't eat too much popcorn.OK?

[Traxx]

Well Beadman....

I cant say exactly,but will say this,the first 10 or so deer i killed,were with a self bow,that was made by my grandfather,long before i was born.this was back in the early 70's.more small game than deer.I can also tell you,that this bow wouldnt have won any flight shoots or impressed anyone,with its chrono readings either.What was impressive about it was that it was very forgiving of slight shooter errors or deviations in form and it was so quiet,that it often gave a shooter a second shot,when the first arrow went astray.I actually had deer,look at where the arrow hit and stand to give me a second shot,because they didnt hear where it came from and their attention was focused where it hit. Sometimes,its not speed that kills,but quiet.
I know this is going to be hard for some to believe,but there are a few of us around,who have been doing this whole"Primitive Archery" thing,long before the Internet or Magazines or certain books were written.When i was a kid,other kids called me Ishi boy,because i was a luddite of sorts,concerning archery tackle.I remember when i first saw an add for a New Magazine Coming out soon,that was called Primitive Archer and i thought.Well ill be,there are other people still doing this stuff too.

[half eye]

Traxx, I'm with you on this one sir. Most all my hunting bows are between 48 and 52-54 incher's. I still can shoot my 50# bows but have killed deer with a couple that were 48" and about 40# that were gifted to me....even posted pics.    There is a lot of white-guy misconceptions around and they are freely passed about....I'm gonna keep shooting my crumby little native styled bows and eatin my venison. oh ya, almost forgot about my short, stubby little arrows....gonna bring them along too.
rich

[bradsmith2010]

just as I suspected, they do shoot really well,,

[Traxx]

So....Having said That and since the title of this thread was asking,"Native Amreican bow designs, how do they shoot? "I answered it by insinuating that they shoot fine for the purpose they were intended for and still work well for those same purposes.They fed and protected their families well when they had no popcorn to eat,while twisting up a string to shoot through a Chronograph.

[bradsmith2010]

well I do think the chronograph has validated how effecient some of the designs are,,and  how well they shoot for me, makes a comparison available for those that are interested,,, hunting and shooting is what I like,,
I like being able to test my bows,, I dont really have a place to shoot for distance most the time,,
but I have fun shooting, and just shooting them as well,, I am still learning,, I hope to test one on an elk this year,, I drew a tag,, for first of sept,,

I started making Cherokee inspired bows maybe 20 years ago, and I make a better shooting bow now than then,, because of all the info available,,,they are my favorite, thats why I started this thread,, the more I learn,, the more I appreciate the bows and the culture they came from,,

[Stick Bender]

I think Chrono numbers are great ,I'm learning bow making threw corespondents with other bowyers or reading or the threads here so it shows me how efficiently I'm making bows the first time I re tillered a bow 4 lbs lighter & picked up 5 fps I was sold on the Chrono the first time I made a bow over 170 fps I was amazed it realy takes a lot of guess work out of it for me but that's just me I see others opinions on just making the bow & enjoying it ,I don't see any argument ether , the OP brought up the Chrono numbers , I would rather see broke in Chrono numbers rather then this bow has great cast or it's snappy or a subjective coment like that !

[Traxx]

Thats Fantastic Stick Bender......
I commend you .Great to see you are having fun with your archery.To be honest,My initial reply was more tongue in cheek and just to rattle some chains,as i know there are some who take this to extremes of almost Biblical proportions.

I do wonder at times though,if the early Native peoples definition of "Efficient",may have differed from our modern version.I often wonder if there was more practicality involved with their version of Efficiency.

[Stick Bender]

I'm sure they did maybe distance I don't know ,but I suspect your right these same conversations have been going on for thousands of years just with different knowledge & tools  but they had a certain advantage of father to son teaching and so forth  we get to blog and share ideas & we don't have to rely on it to survive like they did 

[willie]

I often wonder if there was more practicality involved with their version of Efficiency.

Practicality with how they shoot or just in general for other reasons?

[Traxx]

Actually Willie....
I was thinking of bow design.

[Traxx]

Lets take for example....
The double curve bow.By all modern standards,its considered a poor shooter and inefficient.Yet.....This was the predominate style of bow from the southwest,straight through the country,up into Canada.There are surviving examples of bows from this region,that are designed to be faster,so we know the knowledge existed,but they are the exception.  Considering,they relied upon these weapons for survival...Why was this the case?
Was it ease of construction,or maybe more forgiving or maybe even less prone to breaking or failure?There must be a reason,that they traded arrow speed for other aspects in the style they preferred.

[willie]

Why was this the case?....There must be a reason

LOL.. I thought you might have had some educated guesses in store for us.

Traxx, these are some of the same qualities I think about sometimes.