Short bow

[clintw864]

A little background: 75 years old retired, bow hunting 50 years, recurve, compound, back to recurve, became interested in selfbow last December, have made a few with satisfactory results. Still climb trees and hunt from tree stand but there are times and places where I hunt from tent blind, bow length limits! Need help on design for short bow. 48 inch n-n. My normal draw is 26 but I can shoot well at a shorter draw. I'm thinking 40lb @ 22 inch draw. Wood - osage, hickory, american elm? I have a nice piece of elm with some reflex. I think 1 5/8 wide, bend through handle. Skill level not up to recurve. Help on limb design? Thanks much. This message board has helped me a lot already.         

[Pat B]

Clint, Welcome to PA. I'm glad to hear you are still hunting at 75. Makes me optimistic. I'm 57now.  I just built a 48"t/t osage bendy handle bow that pulls 54#@24". I pulled it to 26" on the tiller tree to be sure it would hold up and it did. This bow is about 1" wide its whole length with a rounded belly and I was very pleasantly surprised how well it shoots a 500gr arrow. I did kick the last inch of each limb tip up and rawhide backed it for safety sake because the rings are so thin that I violated some on the back. This would be a perfect bow for a ground blind. See my "Lil Bow" thread a page or 2 back.   Pat

[snedeker]

Good to see you here,  If you sinewed the back, any of the wood types would get you your full 26" at a 48" length.  I did a hickory vertical grain board last year that was 48" nock to nock, sinewed, 55# at 27 inch.  1 3/16" wide bend through the handle, tapering 10" from ends to 1/2"  Pat B has a shorter Osage a page or two down on here.  Check it out.

Darn it Pat, you're fast on the draw.

Dave

[DCM]

I think 54" for a stiff handle would be plenty, 50#+ easily doable.  Wide inner limbs w/ bending mostly on the inner half.  Good fat ringed osage.  50" for a bendy handle.  Lower limb can be (some, myself included would argue should be) 2" shorter, giving similar clearance of a shorter overall bow lenght.  Anything shorter for a shorter draw.  Lenght about 2 times draw lenght plus whatever you allow for a stiff handle area.  I personally have a hard time if I can't get to anchor unless shots are inside of 10 yards and in particular from tree stands.

[clintw864]

Thanks for the input.  I'm starting on it. I'll let you know how it goes. I really appreciate everyones help.  Clint

[Pappy]

Can't wait to see the progress.
   Pappy

[DBernier]

Clint, wish you would take photos of the progress on the short bow. I have some tight ring Osage, and I may do one up for my tent ground blind. 

Dick