What are your views on Fiberglass bows?

[Ifrit617]

Wrong. That's what I'm saying. Depending on who you go through or even make your own, each custom fiberglass bow will be different from the one sitting next to it even if they are the same base model. Custom fibelglass bows are made one by one, just like wooden bows. Granted some models may be made on the same form, but you probably have one main caul where you heat treat your wood bows on. I know I do. But its your opinion so to each his own. 

Jon

[twisted hickory]

For what it's worth if you don't enjoy taking game and target shooting with a bow you made out of tree off of your property or just found in the woods were you hunt have fun. I have a glass bow and actually got it out to shoot it and can't hit a dang thing with it....I have had compounds, glass, and just lately self bows... The reason I started poking around on sites like this is I wanted to buy myself a present for getting through Nursing School but I cannot justify paying money for a bow that only shoots a little faster than my self bows....Plus it is rewarding to shoot a bow you made yourself.
If a simple piece of hickory fed and defended Indians for generations then why would it not be adequate for me? I find the older I get the more I appreciate simple things that come from my hands.
I will be SO happy if I shoot a little Jake this spring with a bow and arrows that I made from materials that are the same as the native Americans. Every part of that turkey will be used to feed, and make more bows and arrows for myself and others I know.
For me it doesn't get better than the attached pict. The tips are a little heavy and it has some jump in the hand but it hits where I point out to 45 yards if I do my job.

Greg

[mullet]

 







Anybody that has a Glass bow, preferbrally Bear Kodiaks, and feels like they won't be admitted into the "Happy Hunting Grounds", get in touch with me.

I love huntng with my wood bows but also like my old, glass bows, too, along with the fine, glass bows James Parker makes.

[mwosborn]

I love my fg bows!  They are smooth and quiet and fast.  I love to shoot them.  That being said, I love the self bows I have made myself.  There is a great deal of satisfaction shooting/hunting with a self bow you make with wood from your hunting grounds.  I have made a couple that are smooth - most are quiet - but none are as fast as fg.  I will continue to shoot/hunt with both.

[Gordon]

I own a couple of nice fg bows that I use as backup when I am hunting.

[Pappy]

I have 8 or 10 glass recurves,3 widows and 2 BigHorns and at least 3 glass long bow,rarely shoot any of them but sure don't have a problem with anyone that does.
   Pappy

[smoke]

I shot and hunted with FG bows for 30 years and really liked them.  I still have one that I shoot on a regular basis and have a nice bond with that bow.   In my view they are more durable than wood bows and a bit easier to master.  That said, I've been seduced by primitive bows and that is where I will stay . . . just something special about a bow you make yourself bridging the distance of time with other bowyers . . .

[Buckeye Guy]

I have bought 2 bows for myself in my life time !
One glass recurve and one compound .
I am a hands on ,do it myself person so don't buy much from others !
Any bow you put the time into building for yourself brings a lot of joy and greater heightened  sense of oneness !
If you put the time into designing and building your own fiberglass or your own compound and not just copy what has been done before you will have a totally different view of your bow ! And a whole lot of time spent !
 Believe Me  I have been there done that and don't want the Tshirt !
When we speak of building selfbows we are not really building the bow we are just finding it in the piece of wood ! We remove the rest of the wood to get to it ! More of a treasure hunt than a build !
I am a simple person that likes simple things and when I look around me and see all the bows the good Lord has already grown for us to enjoy ,I see no need to go any farther ,so just enjoy the treasure hunt !
Have fun !!
Guy

 

[johnston]

I never intended to build bows when I started on this site but just to learn about
things primitive. Now I have built 24 living bows and have two nearing completion.
Also have 7 built by other PA folks and each of my self/backed bows are special to
me and I can shoot away an afternoon with any of them.

But....as persnickety as most folks are about what constitutes a "primitive" bow their
building process usually includes electricity. Bandsaws, heat guns, table saws etc. For
that matter the internet, shipped staves, store bought string material and so on. The
point is, while I don't think glass bows belong here I feel personally that a bunch of
other stuff that is common and readily accepted here is a long way from primitive in
it's own right.

Check your PM's.

[agd68]

Hello Christian Soldier. I dont mind talking about fg bows at all, this is the everything else area after all. I started out on fg bows and still shoot a Bear Montana longbow during the hunting season. I know my primitive gear is definitly up to the job but with fg I dont have to worry about humidity, cold etc. Also if buy some stroke of bad luck something happened to it ie falling out of the stand and hitting rocks and it gets damaged it's no big deal. They work just fine and are tough.
As far as not being primitive, consider this, At no time in our histroy has mankind been primitive. We have always strived to use the highest technology of our time.

[Ifrit617]

But....as persnickety as most folks are about what constitutes a "primitive" bow their
building process usually includes electricity. Bandsaws, heat guns, table saws etc. For
that matter the internet, shipped staves, store bought string material and so on. The
point is, while I don't think glass bows belong here I feel personally that a bunch of
other stuff that is common and readily accepted here is a long way from primitive in
it's own right.

Check your PM's.

I agree with you completely on that Lane. I personally think that we are making our primitive bows with to much of a modern aspect. Some of the works of art on this forum are no longer primitive, but are a modern bow design built from natural materials. Are they works of art? Yes. Are they primitive? No.

Jon

[PEARL DRUMS]

Thank God for the internet so we can seperate primitive from modern.....whew....

[osage outlaw]

Thank God for the internet so we can seperate primitive from modern.....whew....

    


I have only had one FG bow in my life.  I got it in the bow swap on TG.  I can tell there was a lot of work and craftsmanship that went into making it.  I don't shoot it very often but I don't shoot any of my bows very often 

I say shoot what you want and who cares what other people think.  My selfbow hunting skills are lacking so I have ended up using a compound every season to put meat in my freezer.  I sold it this winter and bought a modern crossbow to hunt with.  I'm still going to hunt with my selfbows, but if I don't kill anything during the first few weeks of the season, its crossbow time.  If anyone wants to look down at me (no short joke intended), go ahead.  I'll be in the corner eating a plate of deer roast.

[n2huntn]

I like glass, and wood , and horn, etc. Here is the profile I'm building with glass bows. Smooth, fast, and quiet. Thinking of trying all organic material in the form.
Jeff

[JW_Halverson]

. . . just something special about a bow you make yourself bridging the distance of time with other bowyers . . .

Seventeen words in one post to say what I have been trying to communicate in every post I have made since I signed on here.  Thanks, Smoke.

Now I have built 24 living bows and have two nearing completion.

That's another excellent quote, it brings up another way of how I demark the difference between primitive archery and other forms.  To my mind, these bows are more like a living thing in my hand than they are a tool. I do not want to push MY definitions off on others, because I am just happy fg bow shooters are shooting. For that matter, despite how I rail on training wheelie bows, it's still much fairer chase than multi-thousand dollar optics and high powered mechanisms throwing a projectile 500+ meters at an animal that hasn't been hunted, merely shot. 

I'd revel in a yearling whitetail doe shot with a bow made by myself or one of many friends in here over a new world record bull elk tapped out with a .50 cal Barrett at 1200 meters. 

And Gun Doc, before you start feeling like I rained on your parade, I really really think it would be fun to play with a Barrett!  Just don't be surprised when it is gathering dust while I'm blowing stalks with a stickbow.