A band saw is a wonderful thing, but a big ol' hunk of hedge will dull a $20 blade pretty quick. I try and split them down near size first, and use a hatchet to clean up the stave. Then I use a drawknife on the sides so I know I'll have at least 1/2" of thickness along the length. I've seen many people at bowmaking festivals, taking a quarter split and ruining a blade in trying to reduce it on a bandsaw. In fact, a pie-shaped wedge will tip over easily and bend that sawbladem ruining it even before it gets a chance to become dull and/or lose its set.
I've made a few bows with nothing but a hatchet. I like a hatchet with a narrow blade and a single bevel, my favorite is a roofers hatchet with a 3' blade.
Using the hatchet, I've found it works well to chop little cuts along the side of the piece, then cut down to remove chips. When I don't do this, I often wind up pulling giant splinters off the wood as I try and reduce it. Anybody else got tips on using a hatchet to reduce wood to near dimensions?