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Author Topic: Cold weather shooting with hickory longbow  (Read 4426 times)

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Offline 89JeepYJ

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Cold weather shooting with hickory longbow
« on: October 18, 2015, 11:25:42 am »
It's fall and it's about that time again in Ohio where the temperature starts to drop. I have two longbows, a modern laminated longbow and a hickory longbow that I bought at a renaissance festival about a month ago. I've only been practicing traditional archery for almost 6 months now.
Will there be any negative effects using the hickory longbow in cold weather? By cold, I mean around 40F to as low 10 or 20F. I enjoy doing outdoor activities in the cold weather (mostly running) as long as I'm dressed properly. Just curious if cold weather will drastically effect the performance of a wood bow, or even if it could harm the bow. I appreciate any advice/feedback in advance.
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Offline bowandarrow473

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Re: Cold weather shooting with hickory longbow
« Reply #1 on: October 18, 2015, 12:42:44 pm »
Never had a problem with cold bows, but humidity could be an issue with woods besides hickory, if i am correct then the RH is very low in ohio this time of year, and that could cause bow breakage with woods like osage and yew. But hickory would do just fine in low RH.
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Offline 89JeepYJ

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Re: Cold weather shooting with hickory longbow
« Reply #2 on: October 18, 2015, 12:53:32 pm »
Quote from: bowandarrow473 on October 18, 2015, 12:42:44 pm
Never had a problem with cold bows, but humidity could be an issue with woods besides hickory, if i am correct then the RH is very low in ohio this time of year, and that could cause bow breakage with woods like osage and yew. But hickory would do just fine in low RH.


That's good to know. And you are correct about the RH in Ohio. I live in south-central Ohio, the humidity isn't bad at all here around this time of year. Thanks for the info.
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Offline Pat B

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Re: Cold weather shooting with hickory longbow
« Reply #3 on: October 18, 2015, 02:34:16 pm »
The temps aren't a problem in most cases but like said above the R/H can be. Most bow woods like their M/C to be 9% to 11%. Hickory on the other hand preforms best at about 5% to 6%. At that R/H most other woods would blow apart when stressed.  You will find that the draw weight will increase as the R/H goes down on your hickory bow.  I have a sinew backed hickory bow that can be 45# during the moist summer but 65# during the drier winter. That is a big swing but it is the M/C of the wood that causes it.
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Offline bradsmith2010

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Re: Cold weather shooting with hickory longbow
« Reply #4 on: October 18, 2015, 08:43:57 pm »
osage does not break in low humidity,,  :)
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