87" 100# Ache Ash bow

[ksnow]

That is a really cool bow.  I love seeing different styles of native bows from around the world.  Too bad you couldn't find a piece of ipe big enough.
I would really like to see that shot at full draw.

Kyle

[loefflerchuck]

Thanks everyone.

WillS- Thanks. I'll try that next time. I have no problem stringing bows with more than 12" of reflex, but this one...

Stalker- It was just over 1.5" wide at the handle and slightly wider than thick.

BobW and WillS- you guys must have some burley bow arms. I was able to draw 90# at one time. I'm about 75# now,        but would rather draw 45-55#

I'll try to get a photo of my attempted draw to show how huge this bow is. If you ran out of arrows you would have a burley spear/staff

[ty_in_ND]

That is indeed an awesome bow!  I would really like to see the arrow that you would use. 

[loefflerchuck]

Here is all I got for draw. About 27" 75#. Considering my bows are between 48 and 56" for my 26" draw. I am very awkward with this bow. Probably break stuff if I took it inside.

[loefflerchuck]

braced

[bubby]

Cool bow chuck, i like the grimace at draw

[Parnell]

The bow is great.  It's so interesting to see how a bow that size totally changes the perspective of you.  The short sheephorn bows present you in one way and you standing next to that gargantuan bow makes you look like Tom Thumb! 

Great bow great post.

[simson]

That bow is awesome. I can't remember to have ever seen a bow of this length. Your tiller looks great, also the finish. Also like the string and the nock wrap.
As said above, it looks unreal seeing you with that stick as we are used to your shorties.
Nice pics btw.

[bradsmith2010]

very nice,,, hope to hear some response from the guy when he shoots it a 30 plus,,

[Badger]

  You are getting outstanding performance on that bow. I am going to try and project what it would do at 32".

[WillS]

Ah man, if you can get it that far back you can get it all the way back 

Lean forward, arch your back and use your upper back muscles to get the bow back.  At the same time, push the bow itself forward smoothly but firmly.  If you can shoot 75lb without a solid heavy bow technique, you can definitely shoot 100lb with the right form. 

When I got my technique down I went from 70lb to 140lb in two years or so, but got up to 105lb on the same day I was taught how to do it.  Once it's right you'll find it comes back smoothly!

[Badger]

  I think that bow could shoot that same 690 grain arrow about 300 meters if drawn to 32" maybe a bit more. Do you know the mass weight of the bow by any chance?

[loefflerchuck]

Will S, I am doing as you describe to just get it that far.

Badger, That seems really far for a bow with with almost a inch if set.  Or is that fairly normal for 100#? The other 2 round bows I made like this in the past were ipe and ash. Of course the ash shot further than the heavy ipe. I can't remember the details of the last ash one. I think 78# @ 28" and 69" long. It shot a 80# spined spruce arrow over 210 yards. Can't remember the weight of the arrow. I did heat treat the belly on this bow after tillering. I would figure heat treating works best on a flat belly and with a round crown any performance increased would be from forced drying. My range was a flat span of ranchland with very little wind at 7500 feet above sea level. My shooting method was draw the arrow as far as I could and release at what I thought was 45 degrees. Given all that, if this still seems far for the bow then chances are I was able to draw it a little further on my shots than with a measuring string. I'm going to ask the new owner what he gets at 32".

[loon]

Awesome bow!

Ah man, if you can get it that far back you can get it all the way back 

Lean forward, arch your back and use your upper back muscles to get the bow back.  At the same time, push the bow itself forward smoothly but firmly.  If you can shoot 75lb without a solid heavy bow technique, you can definitely shoot 100lb with the right form. 

When I got my technique down I went from 70lb to 140lb in two years or so, but got up to 105lb on the same day I was taught how to do it.  Once it's right you'll find it comes back smoothly!

How do you arch the back??

[WillS]

You lean forward... then lean the top of your body back again.

This is Joe Gibbs - easily the worlds best heavy bow archer, capable of shooting over 200lb at the moment showing the perfect form for really heavy bows.  Once the back muscles have got used to the weight this exaggerated form can be reduced quite a lot, but if you're struggling to get fully inside a heavy bow, it's really the best way to do it.





You can see in loefflerchuck's photo of him drawing the bow that his body is very upright and the elbow is really high which means all the work is being done by that arm instead of the upper back.  Leaning into the bow isolates those upper back muscles, and they're massively stronger than the arms.