I don't post many bows on here but I'm happy enough with this one that I have to show it off. It is a Black Locust self bow with pheasant tail backing for decoration. It started life a bit longer, I aimed to make it into a recurve, but as I was bending the limbs they snapped. So I cut it shorter and figured I'm make a short bow. It is 42" ntn and draws 42# at 18" and took about 3/8" of set. The handle is about an inch wide going to 1.5" for the first half of the limbs that tapers to 3/8" at the nocks. It is only slightly bendy in the handle, looking back on it now I probably could have gotten more draw length if I had the handle bending more. It has a deer antler inlayed for the strike plate and a black thread wrap under it for a guide as to where to put your hand pressure when drawing the bow. I heat treated it twice while tillering which really helped my to drop the mass of the bow by the time I was done tillering. I think it weighed about 12 ounces before all the decorating. This little bow is a rocket launcher, it flings a 600 gr arrow faster than my 45 lbs glass recurve that is drawing 27" compared to this little guy drawing 18". To go with the bow I made a set of 6 hickory arrows and 6 bamboo arrows. All the arrows are 20" long so the bow won't be majorly overdrawn. The hickory arrows weigh in at about 580 gr and the bamboo weight about 380 gr. Those little hickory arrows are tough things, a friend and I wanted to test then so we shot one repeatedly into a steel gong from 5 yards and all that happened was the 38 special case head bent. And to hold it all I egg tanned a raccoon skin quiver that hooks onto your belt and holds the arrows sideways across your lower back. In one of the pictures you can see new drawing that in addition to the quiver gave the bow it's name, which goes perfectly with my handle on here, "Tabaah ma'ii". Which if my research is correct is navajo for raccoon. Which I think I will make my bow signature. Sorry but the full draw picture will have to wait till I can get someone to take it for me in the next couple of days.
