Has anyone hunted with short native american style bow?

[PeteC]

I personally don't use bows that short,but,my son in law used a bow season before last he built.A 48'' osage,about 50# @ 25".He killed a buck and a hog with it. God Bless

[JackCrafty]

I have converted to shooting only short draw bows (under 24" draw) and I am pretty good out to about 15-20 yards.  But longer range accuracy is very difficult for me with my short bows.

I've hunted a few times with them but never anything larger than jack rabbits.  For deer or larger I would probably make a new bow that pulled at least 60#...and would make sure my arrowheads are as sharp as possible.  Obsidian would be my first choice.

[wodpow]

I bought the floor tillered 48" paddle bow from rudder bow and tillered it to 55# @24" and extend my thumb to touch the corner of my mouth at full draw . I never bow hunted from a stand and the 67 "Osage was like hitting every thing the little paddle bow was not finished but I put some wax on it and hit the damp deer stand it would of killed easy if a deer would of made its way to me .When I was ready to come down from my stand I shot three arrows that would of fit into a snuff can at 9 yards. I would doe hunt with it but for thick chest bucks I don't know if it would take out both lungs of a big buck.

[KenH]

Wodpow - that bow, at those ranges, with good shot placement might give you a pass through both lungs, doe or buck!

[1/2primitive]

Most of my bows are, according to most people, very short. I haven't done a whole lot of successful hunting, but all of it has been with bows under 60", and most under 50". It's not so much the power that causes problems, but the accuracy. Short bows are far more dificult to handle and shoot consistantly. If an archer is capable of getting the arrow where he needs to, the arrow will do the job.

I would say that, with properly matched arrows, a bow pulling 40lb@20" should be enough to take a deer. However, the kill may not be humane if you decide to push the limits. I would not feel comfortable hunting big game with a bow of that size. I personally have hunted with a 43" bow pulling 50lb@24" and a 47" bow pulling 45lb@25" and they worked very well and I would not hesitate to throw an arrow at a deer with them.
In the near future, though, I want to go the opposite extreme and make a replica english warbow to hunt pigs with.

We need to remember that nearly all hunting by native americans was done with bows that were less than five feet long. They must function well enough to take game or they wouldn't have survived.
      Sean

[half eye]

Hey Dogwood,
       I have hunted with my Ottawa 48" and Chippewa 52" and most of these are between 45# and 50# and all of them draw at least 25". I shoot bare-bow and off my hand.
       I shoot in the NA style except that I have to use 3 fingers because of a crippled right (string) hand. I've killed more than a few deer with these bows (I will not shoot at more than 20 yards, and if for any reason the shot doesn't "feel" right I wont shoot either.)
       If you practice the NA style you will learn to use your left brain.....that is the bow will not be upright, you wont use any aiming guide (I cant even see my arrow or bow while drawing, such is the concentration on my "spot") All that ya see with this shooting method is the arrow fletch will appear on the spot then dissappear as it passes through) You will also notice that spine of the shaft has little to no effect on the flight path either.....
       They are good bows, they shoot accurately at reasonable hunting range.....just learn to take advantage of their attributes. As to draw weight 45# is plenty and most of my deer kills were through @ through....but really all the arrow has to do is penetrate both lungs and you have a quick and clean kill, likewise an arrow only has to penetrate 5-7 inches to sever the liver which will kill nearly as quickly.
       Can't speak for noone but me....I shoot them, I like them. By the way since Ishi was mentioned.....his favorite hunting bow weight was 45#. If you would like please call me at (231) 587-8542 and I will relay to you what I was taught by a couple of Ottawa Elders.
Rich

[billy]

I have a 56 inch osage self bow that pulls 40-lbs at 28 inches.  It even has a sinew string.  I have racked up a surprising number of kills with it (small game and one raccoon) despite the relatively few times I've used it.  I tell ya, I really like the lower weight bows.  They are easy to draw, and their effortless draw means you can focus on your target much better.  With practice you can be quite accurate with them. I am surprisingly accurate with mine.

But it isn't just for small game.  I used this same little 40-lb bow and tested the penetration of very small stone bird points on a dead deer and had no problems getting those points to the far side of the chest wall.  I wrote an article about the test and it was published in the June/July 2008 issue of Primitive Archer.  If you want to see what a low-poundage bow can do to a big game animal, order that back issue and read the article.  It'll make a believer out of you...it certainly did me. 

Below is a pic of my latest kill with that little bow, taken this past winter.  I aimed right for the shoulder of that squirrel and.....well....you can see where I hit him.  The stone point cut his right lung completely in half, and when he fell outta the tree and started struggling, it almost cut the lung into thirds.  The arrow is reed, foreshaft of dogwood, small stone point of Burlington chert.  All wrappings were sinew.
 

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[half eye]

dogwood,
      Will be posting a couple of bows here shortly 46" and 45" native bows that have draw weights of 46# and 44#......most all of mine will draw 26" and use hardwood arrows. So, I made up some 5/16" carrying stone heads. Shot them at a regular broadhead butt and here are the results. I was checking for penetration. The arrows were only 500+ grains and not my usual 700-750 grain stuff, so I figured these would not penetrate as well, but there is no doubt they would humanely kill deer, if not pass completely through.
      Oh ya, the range to target was 15 yards. Trajectory was flat out to 20 yards  (that's as far as I shot (didn't want to screw up any of the finely knapped points, made by Riley Concrete)
Rich

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[Traxx]

Actually,
Ishis preferred hunting weight was 40 lbs,at his 25" draw.His arrows were about 380 grns with a small "Bird" point on the deadly end,made of Glass,collected along the Lassen Trail.When Pope had Ishi Test the effectiveness of his setup,on a Recently killed Deer,they witnessed the same type results,that Billy found.

[wodpow]

the floor tillered hickory paddle bow I bought from rudder bow I finished pulls 55#@21" I backed it ,with young deer rawhide. I hunted with it from a stand then I bought a harness and lean out farther and can use the longer bow now but the little paddle bow will put a arrow just as deep into a 3D target as the longer bow as long as I shoot the same arrows. I cut a center shot rest and built up the handle area and put on some beaver ball that were like short haired that I got from 3 rivers for a bigger bow and kept them instead of sending them back looks kind of neat and shoots good was going to check the speed at the bow shop but they already look at me strange enough the way it is with my hand made self bows.The only reason I don't shoot it more is the shooting styles change over is a bite and the string will pinch your fingers really bad at 55#@21. 

[donnieonetrack]

Switching to 3 fingers under fixed all my finger pinch problems.

I did some stump shooting sunday and was hitting pine cones regularly at 30 - 40 yards with a 48" osage with 30" cane arrows, 22"draw.  Pretty much just like my longer draw bows. 

Just showing that a short bow can be very accurate with practice.  I don't feel hindered using short draw bows.

Don   

[Boofus]

I killed a doe with my 52" sinew-backed osage.  55lbs @ 26" resulted in a complete pass-thru even breaking a rib on the way in! I understand many want to degenerate the validity of short bows in hunting, always saying that they were made for killing a running buffalo from horseback only a few feet away and all... but many forget about the Elk, Big Horn Sheep, Moose, and Deer that were taken just as well with the same style bows. it's not just for the plains indians, the west coast also used very short bows for hunting. Plus if you shoot a bow a few hundred times it becomes pretty much an extention of your hand anyway.  just my $.02.

[Traxx]

I know this is an old thread,but i came back across it while surfin around.
Boofus,
Your post was worth more than.02.In fact it has a lot of truth and wisdom to it,based on experience,not speculation.Like you,i get a kick outa the statements of point blank range shooting on Buff.Anyone who makes these kind of statements,tells me,they havent had much experience with Buff.Dont let their size fool ya for one minute.They are quick and Catty and hot to fight.

[Kegan]

Hmmm...

I have a few left over splits that won't really make a good bow. However, shortened, bending the full legnth, and with a little sinew...

 

[profsaffel]

I plan to hunt this season (squirrels and smaller white-tail deer) with a short native american style bow. The bow pulls 50 # at 22".

Now, consider this though:

1. My MAX draw length is only really about 24". That means drawing all the way back to the corner of my mouth at an 'anchor' point. So, 22 or 23 inches is not really any different to how I shoot a 'normal' longbow.

2. I shoot 'floating anchor style' anyway. I've practiced instinctive shooting since day one, so again, this style bow is fine for how I shoot.

3. I'm going to spend the first few weeks of October shooting at squirrels. If I get decent at that, then I'll be convinced I can cleanly shoot a deer come late October, early November.

4. I will not shoot at anything passed about 15 yards.

I have to believe that if you follow a set of guidelines that you are comfortable with, you should feel confident in your hunts with a shorter bow.

-Prof