Take It When Ya Can Get It(osage)...even if it is 100+

[blackhawk]

I got a call from hunterbob(bob) tue afternoon asking for some help with some osage. The temperature rang 98 with a heat index of 104 from the humidity. The landowner cut this down sunday and they drug em out and scattered them all out in the yard. With it being down for a couple days in this weather and with it about to be turning into foot long firewood sections,we had no choice but to "take it when ya can get it" and salvage it for bows. We toiled and struggled getting this all out from the heat. We had to take turns splitting,and take many breaks. And to top it off all of it was the most stubborn osage I have ever splitted. It took us two afternoons to get it all out. At least the one easy thing was that they were already felled and spaced out all over the yard. It was like shopping for groceries and throwing in the cart only the best and tastiest stuff. And we didnt have to deal with being in a hedge thicket. I rough counted 55 bows worth altogether. ok heres some pics....viewer discretion is advised(there will be blood...lol) 









What a bunch of rookies..lol...look at the wedges...they all run in a different angle...this stuff wanted and liked to jump the grain all over the place trying to halve them


While I was taking my turn swinging I had a piece of a wedge break off and flew right at my leg,i had thought it just bounced off,but i looked down and it was stuck in me. It went all the way to my patella,and fortunetly there isnt much blood flow there as it didnt gush too much after i removed it. I was wearing safety glasses, THANK GOD,cus i could only imagine what wood have happened if that hit me in my eye. I hope some of you realize why you should wear safety glasses,and long pants...lol. but come on it was 104 out folks...lol. well what the crap....i tried sending the pic of the piece stuck in me and it wasnt going thru,so i retried,and no luck. then i shut the phone off and turned it back on and it had totally vanished,it deleted the photo somehow??? wierd....that sucks...it looked pretty cool and nasty.


here was the haul after day one




and this was after day two



and here it all is back at Bobs laying in three diff places in his yard sealing it up



whew!!! what a coupla days ....its never easy harvesting this stuff,but man does it feel good when your all done  

[coaster500]

That's a bunch of staves....  that could even keep you in bow wood for a while Hawkman

Looks like some very nice stuff!!

[H Rhodes]

What a haul!  sounds like a helluva day...  That ought to keep you in bow wood for at least a week.
 
p.s.  i owe you a thank you and you are welcome to give me an "i told you so".  i revisited that little osage bow that i did the build along with.  I wasn't liking the handshock in that bow and almost quit shooting it - and then i thinned the tips up like you suggested - it shoots like a dream and i expect to hunt with it this coming season.   I am hard headed, but am teachable.  Thanks for the tip.   sorry for rambling on in this thread....   How many bows do you think y'all will get out of all that? 

[osage outlaw]

Sweet haul.  That van has hauled a lot of osage.  55 bow staves that should last you   about a year if my calculations are correct     How are the growth rings?

[Will H]

Good haul man! 

[blackhawk]

thanks ya'll

howard ...your welcome  teachable is good,and one must keep an open eye no matter what his experience level is

clint the growth rings are nice selfbow rings in some,some are mediocre,and some are towards the thin side...so a mix,but we only took selfbow worthy ringed wood imho

[RidgeRunner]

Spray the bark side for bugs or it will be a buffet for the grubs.

David

[owlbait]

Thanks for the safety reminder Chris. I see you two flying through that pile of osage in record time. Looks of future great bow pics to come.

[hunterbob]

I am so sore from swinging that sledge hammer. But every time I walk into the bow room and see all the osage laying there I get a big smile on my face and don't feel so sore after all.
It was blistering hot out .But so well worth it.
Yea I thought I was going to have to take Chris to the ER to remove that wedge sliver.But he was not about to leave osage behind for no one or anything.LOL.
Even as hot as it was we made a good time of it.Or was loosing our minds . LOL.

[toomanyknots]

Every time I see pictures like this, my back just starts hurting, and get a "sympathy" headache. It is beautiful, and yet painful to behold, at the same time. 

[George Tsoukalas]

Nice haul but do take care of that knee. Jawge

[arklowrebel]

Great stuff.  Well done.  You can always say you put blood and sweat into your bows.  Hope there were no tears!

[JW_Halverson]

Nice haul, boys!  I am happy for you.  But mostly I am happy I didn't have to help.  *grin*

Good reminder to everyone that has splitting wedges....grind off the mushroomed end stuff or pick those bits out of your leg/arm/eye!

[okie64]

Nice haul there fellers. Good on yall to salvage some bow wood in that kinda weather. Ive been there and done that and only circumstances like you guys encountered would get me to do it again. Good job.