Author Topic: Mojave arrows  (Read 5275 times)

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Brokestick

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Mojave arrows
« on: October 07, 2007, 08:02:10 pm »
Hello, Ive been away from the message boards for quite a while now.  It's been really busy since I left Alaska, and I haven't had much time at all to devote to bows.  I'm curious as to what type of arrow wood I might be able to locate in the area I'm living now.  I'm in the high Mojave desert, about 40 miles NE of Barstow, Fort Irwin, if your familiar with it.  I haven't come across anything remotely straight, and I was wondering what the natives would have used, and how to find it.  Any help would be greatly appreciated, and I'll try not to be a stranger anymore.

Offline mullet

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Re: Mojave arrows
« Reply #1 on: October 07, 2007, 09:00:55 pm »
  I drove through Barstow in 1978.From what I saw,I think the native's threw rocks or lived somewhere else. ;)
Lakeland, Florida
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Offline wolfsire

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Re: Mojave arrows
« Reply #2 on: October 07, 2007, 09:01:55 pm »
This is not a joke, and probably not what you are looking for, but I live in Las Vegas and yesterday I was scavaging a vacant lot that had dried tree trimmings looking for suitable pieces for crossbow bolts and arrows.  Found a fair amount for the bolds, as they need not be long.  I also found a dowel and a very young, but now dead, appricot tree that I think will make an arrow.  One of these days Im planning on looking in some of the washes and at the lake.
Steve in LV, NV

Offline Justin Snyder

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Re: Mojave arrows
« Reply #3 on: October 07, 2007, 09:30:38 pm »
If you look along any of the rivers or streams, even the dry ones,  you can probably find salt cedar .  Most of us in the southwest call it tamarix or tamarack.  Two year old or older shoots are what you are looking for.  Justin
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Brokestick

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Re: Mojave arrows
« Reply #4 on: October 07, 2007, 10:05:26 pm »
That's a surprise.  I hadn't thought the salt cedar was strong enough to do anything with.  This stuff grows all over the place up here.  There's also a sort of tree here with green bark and little or no leaves (seems to be two varieties) which I think is in the mesquite family.  It seems to have straight shoots occasionally, and I'm thinking of trying that out.  Thankfor all the quick replies.

Offline M-P

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Re: Mojave arrows
« Reply #5 on: October 08, 2007, 04:16:15 am »
Hi,  Threes with green bark and no leaves,  sounds like palo verde.  They are member of the legume family and somewhat related to mesquite.  The wood is brittle and not used for much that I know of.  Ron
ps.  palo verde is spanish for "green stick".
"A man should make his own arrows."   Omaha proverb   

"There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."    Will Rogers