long-armed guy wants shorter bow

[snedeker]

I made a 69" ash selfbow for a fellow a couple years ago, 31" draw, and he says its hard to maneuver hunting around here in central PA.  Gets suprisingly jungle-like around here.   I'm thinking about how to get him a shorter bow to still draw 31" (he is 6'7").   Sinewed osage?  Hickory backed osage r/d?  How short do you think I could go?

Dave

[radius]

maybe he's just whinging?  After all, getting through dense bush must be hard for a guy that size, no matter what he's carrying!

why not make him a holmegaard?  shorter bow with a longbow's easy draw, lots of punch.  If you go wide with a tension-strong wood (pick one), you can pull a 60# bow out of a stave 64" long, say, and that will be about mid-torso on him or so.

maybe he'd be better off hunting with a crossbow or a rifle?

[Pat B]

Dave, a sinew backed osage will allow you a longer draw for a short bow. You should be able to go 60" to 62" with a sinew backed osage.

[El Destructo]

                                                          And a Bendy Handle........

[Justin Snyder]

I would think an 64" osage could do it anyway. If you sinew back it, it would go way beyond 31". You could also do a deflex recurve selfbow with a short non bending handle and get under 60" in length.

[radius]

i wanna try that!

[George Tsoukalas]

I would not make anything in selfbow much shorter than that for a 31 in draw. I made a 72 in bow for a 33 in draw friend.P used osage. Sinew in a rainy, humid environment like FL may not be a good idea. Rawhide might get you a few inches shorter. Jawge

[snedeker]

I failed to add a point of information that he is tasked with supplying me with some osage.  He is a field man in our archaeological outfit and we have a project going in a farm area with osage in lots of the hedge rows.  Delaware.   Based on our stipulations we can cut anything for "surveying" purposes 4" in diam.    One option may be a shorter d-style r/d out of it, or I might try hick on some osage lumber I have.      His bows are all free - its nice to be appreciated by the staff

Dave

[Ryano]

A short D/R bow with a reverse handle and fliped up tips with take pretty long draws since your not bending the limbs nearly as far as a straight limbed bow. Just the reverse handle with give a couple extra inches of draw length to play around with.

[Mar]

Cut his arms shorter?

Sorry just being silly. maybe one of these designs would do the trick.






That's all for now.

[Keenan]

 Dave, I would take a serious look at the little r/d bows that Mark builds. He's definitely the man with knowledge for the short bow with a for longer draw lengths. Something like this.
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,16031.msg220664.html#msg220664

[shikari]

Horn bow and you could easily be around 50"ntn.

[snedeker]

Thanks for the tips.  Those are great pics Mar also.

I think it may well be a shortish r/d of hickory backed osage.

I am thinking of doing a horn bow soon, but I don't think I'll give away my first one.  This is a freebee deal.

Dave

[Kegan]

I have a 65" sinew backed white oak bow I've been pulling to 30" at nearly 90#- stiff handle. With Osage and a bending handle, you'd probably be able to go so short he'd have string pinch problems

[Sitting Coyote]

Why not have him reduce his draw length, go for something drawn to the shoulder rather than cheek, or to the upper part of the bicep.  Seems like that's the easiest way to reduce bow length.  A well-made 55 inch bow can be drawn to 24 inches without being backed.