Well its shot in and ready for hunting season. Made this one lately and I guess you could call it a complex composite semi recurve. It's a hickory bow from a stave pulling 58#@28. It's 58 3/4 n.t.n. It shoots smooth,sweet, and hits where I'm looking. Took a bit longer than the usual self bow but shoots good and I'm enjoying it. It's 1 3/8 at the fades tapering to 1 3/16 then quickly to 3/4 then to 7/16 wide tips. Kind of an exotic thing. Hickory is from Iowa, snake is from Missouri the gemsbok horn from Africa, the black silk warp from Japan. Fun making these from mother natures warehouse of replenishable materials.
Hello all.I decided to make a bow with a high enough percentage of composite materials to give the bow more durability with a profile that would enhance performance.I've seen Asiatic bows be very reseilant after being strung for long periods of time.My percentages would be scaled down a bit compared to the Asiatic bows.Asiatic bows are generally made 33%,33%,33%.My thought for this bow was 20%,60%,20%.More time in construction but I was up for the challenge.
Wood of choice was hickory.I have a lot of it around me.A stave that I tillered a 25#@28" bow from.Composites of choice were gemsbok horn,deer leg sinew,and something a little different backstrap from a beef.After bending my recurves in and glueing my horn and sinew on I waited 2 months.The long string told me I had a 75# bow in my hands.Mass weight was 22.00 ounces with a reflex of 7and3/8".My mission was on track.After tillering it to 58#@28" mass weight was 18.75 ounces with a resting reflex of 4and1/2".After shooting a couple hundred arrows,it shot smooth,sweet,quiet,and hit where I was looking.I noticed after unbracing the arrow was getting 3and1/2" reflex to it.It shot a standard weight arrow with 4" fletching in the low to mid 170s with a standard weight string.Not excellent but good anyway.It really by rights probably should be drawn to 29".The composite materials are doing at least 70% of the tension and compression work.The overall stats are 58and3/4"ntn 1and3/8" wide at the fades tapering to 1and3/16" then quickly down to 3/4" then to 7/16" wide tips.I finished it with some light brown dye,bullet shaped horn overlays on the tips and belly of the handle,a water snake skin,black silk wraps,and a blackish leather wrap handle.I gave it a lacquer finish for a sealant.It probably could be made in a shorter amount of time,but I decided to error on the side of caution,and yes I would make another one.Time will tell if it shows to be more durable.Hunting season is right around the corner.Inspiration to do this came from the profile and process of the sinew backed birch bow Marc St.Louis showed in the Apr./May issue 2012 of the Primitive Archer.I gotta thank John Bybee[iowabo] for helping me post this bow since I'm not quite up to date with the technology of a digital phone camera.Hope you like it and thanks for looking.
