looks like a longbow, shoots like a compound

[Englishbowman]

A few days ago I spend 30 minutes whittling away at a hazel stave I got from some woods near my house, the result was an ugly half-finished looking piece of wood. I forgot about it for a while, but today I decided to have a quick shoot with it. As soon as I drew it back I was amazed as the draw weight seemed to decrease as I drew it back further, it was like pulling a compound . After shooting with it for I while I soon discovered that it was quite accurate and so I left it as it was. I think it’s about 20lb at full draw that’s about 27'' for me but it passes through double that while drawing back.

Guess it shows that looks aren’t everything

[Badger]

   I can't understand how it could drop in weight as you draw it back, have you measured the weight at each 1 inch of draw, what you are saying is unheard of to my knowledge, there are some very extreme designs that have just a tad of let off but nothing like a compound. Has the bow taken any set?  Steve

[Englishbowman]

The bow itself has some large knots on it surface and after use it does seem to set and so i have to bend it back into shape. All i can say is that the string seems to slacken near full draw.

[adb]

Hi,
I think that the wood is so wet, it won't break. The moisture content would be very high in a newly cut stave.