Bow woods in Oklahoma

[Kitsu]

My sister is having a baby, and since she is in OK, i might be heading down there for 4-5 days, (i don't really know when i will be leaving, but when i go, i plan on stocking up while i am down there)

I know there is hickory and pecan, as well as Osage, but, having not been there, i do not know what she has around her house, and since we are going down to see HER, i don't know how far i can travel while i am down there... so lets just cut this short and sweet...

besides Osage, and hickory, what common woods are down there that would be suitable for bows, ( i have never been there, so i am almost clueless)

I forgot which part of OK she is at, so be as broad as possible if you can... i hope that while i am down there i can make a haul of some Osage, or some other kind of wood i haven't been able to get my hands on...

[Cacatch]

I've never been to OK so I cannot say for sure, but I know that at least in Indiana generally speaking where you find Osage sooner or later you find Black Locust and vice versa. Also, there should be a couple or 3 types of Ash that might make a bow, as well as Mulberry and some oaks. But you shouldn't have to look very far to find some good hedge and if you do, that might just be all you need! Good luck to ya.

CP

[Kitsu]

I've never been to OK so I cannot say for sure, but I know that at least in Indiana generally speaking where you find Osage sooner or later you find Black Locust and vice versa. Also, there should be a couple or 3 types of Ash that might make a bow, as well as Mulberry and some oaks. But you shouldn't have to look very far to find some good hedge and if you do, that might just be all you need! Good luck to ya.

CP

heh, ash would be a no-no, NY is very picky about ash in particular, the ash-borer's already took out 90 percent of our ash trees, as it is, i am depressed from the fact my favorite ash here, a good size trunk, maybe the largest left, is dying this year,  good 38 inch diameter trunk, that seemed solid... until i leaned on it.... the whole inside is totaled... caved in and it was "hollow" the way up(rotten not really "hollow" but had tons of little "drill" holes in the heartwood)

some mulberry, osage, and some oaks would be pretty nice, maybe even one of the nicer hickory varieties they have back there, i was told they grow ALOT better in the south, compared to here, where they are still hella strong here, i have been told from numerous sources that they are better there.

mulberry and sage tend to not have many enemies, so they are preferred (since we are going to be going cross country almost, and the wood is going to have to be exposed to the elements for the trip, for the most part i mean, if i have to, ill bag it and duct tape it to keep moisture out, but i dont think that would work, do you?)

[woodstick]

i live in oklahoma on the texas border, just get osage as much as you can. we got plenty of hickory, black locust persimmion, oak, willow. go with osage.

[SA]

we have lots of good trees osage is just about everywhere (se ok especially)thats what i would be cuttin.  but  ive cut some elms(slippery,and winged),oaks like red,blackjack,post(ironoak) , black locust is pretty common , red and white mullberry , hackberry , hickorys. just toname a few

[Kitsu]

glad to have people on here that are just about everywhere, now, the easy part has been done... now i need to pray that the area my sister is as isnt as much of a "wasteland" as she says it is

[JonW]

I lived in Central OK all my life until recently. I say if it's straight cut it....unless it's Cottonwood. The post by sa covers most of the good stuff.

[SA]

wasteland" mmm sounds like western and nw ok, i have surveyed all over ok and scouted out trees (its a sickness ) but they have black locust all over , erc,elm and osage are planted around fence rows to block wind. would help to know where you were goin . good luck

[Kitsu]

wasteland" mmm sounds like western and nw ok, i have surveyed all over ok and scouted out trees (its a sickness ) but they have black locust all over , erc,elm and osage are planted around fence rows to block wind. would help to know where you were goin . good luck

still have no clue as to where, but the when has been settled, since my dad does snowplowing over the winter and my sister is going to have her baby either late november or early december, we have to wait until march, by that point, i will have a clear understanding as to what is down there by her area, what i do know is she lives near an army base, if that really helps (probably not),

[JonW]

FT. Sill is in Lawton. There will be all types of wood in that area if that's where your headed.

[Kitsu]

FT. Sill is in Lawton. There will be all types of wood in that area if that's where your headed.

you nailed it, i talked with her today and yeah, thats where she is at, since i don't have a chainsaw i better get a nice new bowsaw blade,  and a spare, i want to grab as much of the good stuff as i can while i am down, buuuut im getting ahead of myself, hehe, funny how i am leaving on the day of my own birthday more than likely, since that is when my fathers snow plow contracts end (3-16)

i know what i want for my birthday x3

[ShinneryOak]

Hawkeyes, It's been a while since I was in Lawton, But there should be quite a bit of hardwood. One thing you'll find all over Oklahoma is Eastern Red Cedar... It's become the kudzu of this state and a real plague on the land. Take as much as you want!! My handle, ShinneryOak, is a strange type of oak that grows in the Western half and is like acres of knee high brush for each "tree". It's useless for bows but one of the last great habitat holdouts for bobwhite quail. If you're after Osage, it's mostly along old fencerows, planted as windbreaks in the 1930s. This time of year should be easy to spot them with the big green horseapples on and under them.

[Kitsu]

Hawkeyes, It's been a while since I was in Lawton, But there should be quite a bit of hardwood. One thing you'll find all over Oklahoma is Eastern Red Cedar... It's become the kudzu of this state and a real plague on the land. Take as much as you want!! My handle, ShinneryOak, is a strange type of oak that grows in the Western half and is like acres of knee high brush for each "tree". It's useless for bows but one of the last great habitat holdouts for bobwhite quail. If you're after Osage, it's mostly along old fencerows, planted as windbreaks in the 1930s. This time of year should be easy to spot them with the big green horseapples on and under them.

i have done some experiments with ERC, it pretty fast and pretty flexible, never got long enough pieces of it to make a full sized bow but i made miniature 2' ones, 

one thing that bugs me, is its not like im going somewhre i have been before... i have never been there.... i miss my sister and im nervous about travelling again, last time my family did long distance travelling, one of us got nailed twice by a semi (my sister) i dont want to make this post personal but i think it would be alright for now,

she only saw me make my first bow, about 3 and a half years ago, this was before i had ANY knowledge about types of wood, and how to make them, it was a shortbow, white ash (i am going by what i remember about the grain and the feeling, ash has a unique feel to it, i loved it), i dont have much memory of it, but i think it was about 3.5-4' tall,  it pulled back at about 10 lbs, and before i found primitive archer, i was told that it was a pretty well made bow, however light it may have been.
about 8 months of staying in that house (with a woodlot full of cherries, maples,hornbeams, and ashes, could not find any oaks or hickories, or hhb) my family moved again, this time to a place with a much smaller woodlot, mostly oaks and hickories, with a few maples so i started with what i knew, maple, and got my longbow made, was pretty heavy for me at first but i worked up to it, could be pulled up to 36" if i wanted/was able to, otherwise it just stayed with 28-30,

i know i got sidetracked but i am nervous about going on the road again, i have a lot of time to prepare, but oh well... what i wanted to say, is that, since my sister hasnt seen anything i have made recently, i plan on making a bow, for her, and for him, even though i have no usable ones of my own, i would love to see the look on her face... and his. i gotta repay 4 missed birthdays somehow right?

for some reason, i feel sad after writing this, more than likely from the memories i have with her, and how much i have neglected her since we went our seperate ways. i have only talked with her a few times, and well... i need to do something, ineed to change...

[SA]

yes take the erc(all of it ) i tried to make a bow from it but all i did was sneez.

[Kitsu]

yes take the erc(all of it ) i tried to make a bow from it but all i did was sneez.

heh, ill keep that in mind if i cannot manage to find any of the better stuff