hunting bow wood and design.

[Fox]

Ive been trying to make a bow I want to hunt with for a year or so... and I haven't made one I'm  particularly  comfortable with yet... I have got a 57" locust bendy handle that shoot pretty good its 45 @ 26" and has about an inch of set.. and I also have a 65" hickory recurve thats 50 @ 27 and has about 1 1/2" of set.... but neither of them quite call to me ya know? so I'm trying to make something I'm real excited to hunt with, and I'm not sure what design  to use.... I have one piece of osage thats been drying for 6 months or so... lots of hickory thats not quite dry, elm, walnut, and some ERC... what should I make? i have not really any preference just looking for some ideas.


-Fox

[artcher1]

For a hunting bow I'd want something that would deliver a heavy arrow with some authority. That's just my preference. I had to work within a certain criteria because of physical limitations so my approach to a hunting bow design was a little different that others. My draw weight was limited to around 45# @ 24". Arrow weight was between 550-700gr. Bow length run from 60-66".

So, I took the American longbow design and simply flipped it's tips. Simply design, parallel limbs one-third their length and side taper from there. Very minimal belly taper. Pretty much the only design I used the last few years of my bow-making. Very nice design even without flipped tips........Art

[bassman]

Lots of good bow wood, and a lot of options for design. Pyramid, Flat bow, Molly ,etc. You just have to keep making them until you hit on the one that is for you. Mostly all bow makers have a preference. After you build enough of them you will too.

[Allyn T]

I say you try all those woods and make a variety of bows. When I picture a hunting bow it used to be a recurve but since joining this forum and reading the tbb series I now think of the paul comstock bow style, parallel limbs 2/3 length then straight taper to shoulder nocks

[bownarra]

Make what you want.
At the end of the day virtually all designs will shoot very similar speeds once the design is executed well.

[silent sniper]

Fox,
My hunting bow of choice is something that is reliable, consistent, and easy to shoot. For me the American longbow/flatbow fits the bill perfectly. At some point I will give a short recurve a try, but the 66-67” long American longbow has not let me down, I love them 👍🏻
Cheers,
Taylor

[Dances with squirrels]

Osage. Dean Torges style. Make an osage selfbow following the basic outline of Dean's book Hunting the Osage Bow, add a couple inches in length, especially if you're relatively new to this, and you'll soon have a bow you won't want to go to the woods without. The osage bow I hunted with today is one I made along those lines in '04 and it hasn't taken any set since its first season... it's actually gained 3 lbs of draw weight since then.

I also have the osage selfbow 'The Streak' featured in Dean's book. Still looks beaut, stands straight, nary a mark on her. He made it '93. I might just hunt with her next week.