While we were unloading Alan's truck at his house after the Hickory shoot, Alan came out of his basement with a full bow sock.
We were supposed to be putting stuff in his basement!
Well, Alan handed me the loaded bow sock and said he wanted me to have this......
When I pulled this bow out my jaw dropped.
I've been drooling over this bow for years. I don't know where Alan got it but the claim is that it is a Jay Massey original. There is no writing on it. It is sinew backed osage with halibut skin backing. It has a sinew wrapping through the handle area and out past both fades and a leather handle wrap with folded under top and bottom and leather lacing.The strike plate is thin, burgundy leather. There is also sinew wrappings just below each nock. The bow is 58" t/t(56 1/2" n/n), 1 7/8" at the fades with a slightly curved taper to 1/2" tips. The belly is radiused with almost a ridge going down the center of each limb and there are severe drying checks down both limbs. I remember reading something Jay had written about the effects of sinew backing on very dry, well seasoned osage. As the sinew dries it almost curls the limb to the back, pulling the belly and causing these belly checks. Here are a few pics I took today........
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