Bows

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Bows are a unique way to hunt and defend yourself from the dangers out in the wild. Finding wood that is straight enough to make arrows might be difficult but the effort is worth it. Some of the best woods for making bows out of include Red Oak, Bamboo, Hickory, Osage, Ipe, Ash, Cedar and Black Walnut. Just be sure that the branch you use can bend a little bit. To string your bow you can use your shoelace and put grooves on each end of your bow.Then tie your shoelace to one end and make a loop on the other. After that, you can use your body weight to bend the bow just a little and connect the loop to the other end and release the pressure, so the cord tightens up. Collecting arrows is probably the hardest part of making a bow and arrow because each arrow requires a little bit of craftsmanship. You're going to need to find feathers for the fletchings of the arrow and arrowheads for the point so they are effective. If your arrow is strong enough just sharpen the wood itself or use smaller sharp rocks. To connect the feathers to the arrow use tree sap or small fine fibers. You should probably make about ten arrows so that you have backups in case you miss. But even before you go hunting you should warm up and do some practice shots.

 

i like the atlatl better personally

 

I prefer recurved/reflexed bows. Less stack allows me to shoot the long shaves I need (6'2" with long arms) but as they are compact they are better for brush and horseback. A note, if one uses 4 Fletcher's as opposed to the traditional 3, you don't have to worry about the cock feather when knocking. I prefer about 40# draw, as these are very fast bows.

 

I have a z7 myself but I do prefer the recurve for its fast shoot from the hip if needed. I prefer a #60+

 

I have seen posts on a couple other forums about making a traditional bow from pvc pipe with a "live" wood core. A select peice of wood is fitted into the pvc pipe, the pipe acts as backing. As I have no experience with bows or making one, was hoping you folks could givenme your opinion on the idea.
Prairie Dog

 

I have no intention of making a bow to hunt with. I have enough at home. As far as arrows go, I'd need carbon firbre or Aluminum for the compound bow but making arrow shafts for one of my recurve bows is not a problem.

 

I totally agree. Atlatl is just a brilliant hunting tool. Just have a few extra dart tips for the main spear and you are ready for some light weight boogie time. Plus they are allot easier to make and also fun to make.

 

Some of the best glues used to make bows in the old days are swim bladders from fish.

 

British longbows were among the best bows ever made!! I believe that they were made of Yew... The use of these bows were made famous by Edward Longshanks if i remember correctly. They gave him immense range when he was fighting William Wallace long ago. I could be wrong, my history is a bit rusty.

 

Bows are awesome love mine but can't reliably kill with it. I don't practice enough with it and I should. Anything and everything that you do with bows takes time and practice. I highly recommend you pick up this skill. It is fun and relaxing not to mention the pride you will feel when you have made your first fully functional bow and made a kill with it. That my friend is a good day.

 

Bow hunting can be easy if you practice

 

I like the recurve my self here me shoot in mine.

 

I've shot a number of them, both recurve and modern compound. However, they don't figure particularly importantly in our preparedness battery. I am interested in possibly acquiring a crossbow, but since our state is one of the few you can't legally hunt with one, and a suppressed firearm works as well, it has been further down the list of priorities. All that said, it doesn't hurt to have the equipment and skills to use said.

 

Wow, those are so cool. I want one.

 

Thanks it's a 40# made by toparchery 99$ shipped to the door.

 

Awesome tips on what types of wood to make a bow out of. I prefer to make my bow out of cedar, I've just always had an excess of cedar around where I live so I can experiment as much as I want without running out.