My mother gave me my first bow (and suction-cup arrows) when I was 4, but I quickly shot everyone in my family "accidentally" and lost the privilege for a few years.
I guess I was about 7 when I started building my own bows. There were a few books on American Indians in the school library and I tried to copy the pictures. Luckily, I lived near a forest and played there every day. My first bows were made from dead branches...pine mostly...with kite string for bowstrings. I guess it took a full summer to learn that hardwood shoots make the best bows. I don't remember what the wood was that I used but I never tillered the bows and always left the bark on. The heavy (thicker) end of the stick was at the bottom and I held the bow where it balanced on my finger. They were short, I used a pinch grip, and they had very short draws. My arrows were made from very thin shoots that were cut green, peeled with a kitchen knife, and fletched with paper. I made some arrowheads from slate (a combination of chipping and grinding) but I could never get them to stay on so my points were just sharpened wood. I think I put the heavy end of the shoot forward. I did all this instinctively.
I would make a new set every summer until I was about 13......when we moved away from the forest and into the city. I can remember my last set: cherry wood sapling bow, bark on, tillered slightly by reducing the "fat" end of the stick, a piece of a previous bow lashed to the center to prevent the middle from bending too much. The arrows were all dogwood, badly checked, sharpened at the skinny end, and fletched with paper from grocery bags. I used a pinch grip and instinctive shooting. I tried hunting but never killed anything....except maybe a frog or two.
Somewhere in that time frame I learned the "correct" way to shoot from an archery instructor at a Boy Scout camp. I learned the three finger grip and point-of-aim style target shooting. I learned that bows and arrows "needed" to be long and smooth. I learned that archery was something that has very strict "rules" that were developed by very smart guys who were great sportsman. I learned that the Indian stuff I was making was inferior. I didn't buy it.....but I felt the pressure.
When I started earning my own money I bought a compound bow and converted to the Church of Modern Archery. I was baptised in camo paint and supported missionary work in spreading the Gospels of Metal Alloys, Wood Laminates, Epoxy Glues, and Synthetic Fibers. I thought I was destined for archery heaven.
Well, fortunately, a group of strange people from an organisation called the Society for Creative Anachronism rescued me from the cult. I began making English style longbows and I once again regained my connection to green wood, real feathers, linen thread, natural pigments, hand tools, and so forth. I washed off the camo paint and put the wheelie in storage.
To make a long story longer, it wasn't until 2005 that I really started to build archery equipment seriously. There was an authentic bow and arrow set on ebay (Sioux, I think) that I lost to another bidder 15 seconds before the auction closed. That one event made me so furious that I've spent thousands of hours (and dollars) to ensure that I could make my own set. I'm almost there. This forum is one of many resources that has helped my in my quest.
Many thanks to all of you.
(PS Sorry for the religious references in my story...I'll delete that part if anyone is offended....it's meant to be humourous.
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