Beginner question...Native American Northeast/D bows...shooting characteristics.

[shackleton]

  Living in the northeast I have an interest in bows indegineuos to my area.As I'm attempting my 1st bow a few fit the bill as far as simplicity in design.So looking at a few bows namely Lenape,Algonkian among a few others in Native American Bows,Arrows and Quivers vol 1 by Allely and Hamm,I was wondering since these bows by the drawings seem to lack a handle would they be classified as D bows and how would the shooting characteristics be compared to a bow with more of a handle?
Thanks,
Scott

[JWMALONE]

I built one a month or so back. Hickory stave 65 inches, 1 1/4 wide with 3/4 tips. I love it. Not going to lie to ya after shooting big glass recurves  it was a learning experience. If you get it tillered properly there is virtually no hand shock. But its like holding a 1 by 2 in your hand, although you can build up a handle with cork or leather if you prefer. There are a couple books that deal with shooting these types of bows, me personally I hold my thumb straight up the belly of they bow, works great for me.
Try one you will love it. And as far as I know they are all d-bows. Be very careful not to let it bend to much in the handle, its a slight bend, you just kinda feel it flex at full draw. Anything more and it will kick like you're Grandpas shotgun.
Good luck and good hunting.

[shackleton]

I built one a month or so back. Hickory stave 65 inches, 1 1/4 wide with 3/4 tips. I love it. Not going to lie to ya after shooting big glass recurves  it was a learning experience. If you get it tillered properly there is virtually no hand shock. But its like holding a 1 by 2 in your hand, although you can build up a handle with cork or leather if you prefer. There are a couple books that deal with shooting these types of bows, me personally I hold my thumb straight up the belly of they bow, works great for me.
Try one you will love it. And as far as I know they are all d-bows. Be very careful not to let it bend to much in the handle, its a slight bend, you just kinda feel it flex at full draw. Anything more and it will kick like you're Grandpas shotgun.
Good luck and good hunting.

Thanks...luckily I haven't shot many bows and just back into it after about 15 years so when its built there probably will be little adjustment.I was going to use something on the "handle" as far as a grip.
Scott

[PEARL DRUMS]

I think the best advice would be to build a few rigid grips and a few bendy bows to decide what you think shoots better. Anything we tell you is just our own biased opinions.

[JWMALONE]

Well if you haven't shot many take Pearlys advice and try some of both. But I understand your desire to make something that was used by the native peoples in your area. No reason you cant cut your teeth on an eastern woodland style bow. I'm biased in favor of rigid handle bows, its what I learned to shoot with and I'm more accurate. On the other hand I had a friend years ago who could out shoot any one in the neighbor hood with a bendy.

[Parnell]

I shot an Eastern Woodland bow that had a rawhide string on it once.  Pretty dang authentic, but was sluggish with shock.  Still would kill a deer at close range, though.

I’ve made bend through the handle bows and really like them.  They shoot better, of course, with reduced mass toward the tips.  And as said before, with the handle just starting to break, tillered last.

I don’t find them uncomfortable in my hand at all but I soften the edges in the grip.  Also, I don’t hold the handle with a fist, it seems natural to me to just barely grip it between my thumb and middle finger, using my pointer as the arrow rest.  Can’t say I like leatherwork on “d bow” handles.  They are beautiful being utilitarian.  Plane Jane.

[Parnell]

Strung one I still often shoot.

[George Tsoukalas]

Made many a bend in the handle bow.
If you let it bend too much in the handle she will kick  ya pretty well.
So tiller the handle to not bend too much and you will be fine.
Jawge

[okie64]

When I build bendy handles I leave them a little thicker in the handle and then narrow it and round the edges at the end of tiller rather than scraping the belly of the handle. Side tillering in the handle I guess you would call it. It just makes for a more comfortable grip to me.

[Springbuck]

The thing about different bow styles, generally, is that if you pull off the tiller and design properly, they all shoot pretty darn well.  Some a little more this or a little less that, but good cast comes from DRY wood carefully tillered.    If these bows totally sucked, their makers would have eventually started doing something different.

I find this style relatively easy to tiller and make, but I'm one of the guys who can't stand the feel of the grip being wider than it is thick.  My work around is to bind on a bundle of twine strands with a twine wrapping, both front and back to fill out the grip.  I leave the ends cut short to fray into little tassels.  This doesn't stop it bending from in the handle area.

[JW_Halverson]

First off, if you have been shooting ANY kind of bow at all you will immediately pucker a bit when you feel the wood bending through your hand.  Depending on your experience level, that can be downright unnerving!  On this style bow any flaws in tillering will announce themselves in the feel in your hand on release.  There WILL be some feeling of energy transfer in your hand on even the most flawlessly tillered bow.  So long as you get decent cast and can hit what you are pointing at, you can always shoot until you get over it.

Just like we don't expect our wood bows to behave exactly like a compound, we should not expect a bendy handle to express it's nature like a stiff handled bow.

And Parnell, as always, makes a good point about your grip.  Just forget holding it like a suitcase handle and use that "high wrist" sort of grip where thumb and forefinger hold the bow into the web between.