Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: bubbles on March 23, 2013, 06:10:20 pm
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Hi there, just wondering if any Canadians on here have a line on a good source of rawhide, real sinew and wild turkey feathers? I haven't been at this long enough to harvest my own materials.
There are plenty of websites in the states that have all this stuff but I'm worried about my orders being seized at the border because they're animal products.
Thanks.
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Turkey feathers might be a little tough to find but canada geese are every where,maybe ask a hunter.you could probably get some sinew from a butcher around deer season.having never use rawhide ,I'm not certain but I hear guys using big dog treats from a pet store. I guess you could find turkey feather at a fly tieing supplier
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Turkey feathers are hard to get. I got hold of a few farms and they could not care less. They do not want to be bothered with our kind.. >:( The flight feathers go into trash no doubt.
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Where ya at ,Bubbles? Go to parks where the geese hang out and get the feathers when they molt. Find a fresh roadkill to get some rawhide, and sinew. ;) .Talk to a local farmer that has the animals with the bits you require. Lots of the small time guys still butcher their own. (Goat is better than cow for hide) Talk to hunters you know, most never use the hide ,antlers ,sinew, feathers.............
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Turkey feathers are hard to get. I got hold of a few farms and they could not care less. They do not want to be bothered with our kind.. >:( The flight feathers go into trash no doubt.
Go through the trash:D
Just joking, try a trade. Or just go find a craft store.
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Lol....well I know where the wild geese hang-out. When do them rascals shed..? Probably soon I reckon suumer is coming. :laugh: must have answered my own question..... ??? ??? ??? ::) ??? ::) ???
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Lol....well I know where the wild geese hang-out. When do them rascals shed..? Probably soon I reckon suumer is coming. :laugh: must have answered my own question..... ??? ??? ??? ::) ??? ::) ???
I am guessing after mating season, most birds shed then. some birds shed gradually. some all at once.
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Problem is I don't know any hunters....or farmers, but I'll investigate further. Anybody know any butcher shops that butcher deer that I could talk to? I'm located in the GTA.
Good call on the Canada goose feathers, I'll keep an eye out for those. But those wild turkey feathers look so damn cool.
Driving through upstate NY I saw dozens of roadkilled deer on the side of the I-90. Tempting though it may be... I don't know what canadian customs would say if I rolled up with a dozen fresh deer hides and a pile of sinew. Haha.
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Talk to Eric, He has some.
or buy some on the internet.
I am trading for some. That is an issue I did not realize, Customs might...
make sure the person/company knows they need to label them well.
Well, maybe... Find a source in Canada. Try craft stores- I buy turkey feathers there. Sometimes, the larger ones will have the natural, others dyed to imatate eagle, some just plain white. you do need to oil them, cause the oils are washed out in the bleaching process. they are slightly less durable, but turkey feathers are turkey feathers.
-Squirrel
For wood- lumberyards and-or hardware/craft stores. Dowels are not exactly primitive, but beats Carbon Fiber.
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I've done lots of very successful trades here for wild turkey feathers. Tandy has rawhide. Make your own sinew.
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There's a guy on manitoulin island in M'Chigeeng First Nation (West Bay), goes by the name of Dominic cant remember his last name, but he sells rawhide at very good prices. I live in North Western Ontario near the Manitoba border, and every summer I take the three hour detour from my regular trip down that way just to buy his leather and hides. Very good quality at prices that will make you think he's suicidal as he practically gives it away. >:D But seriously, he's a good guy. Just call the people at Lillian's Craft Store (507) 377-4987 and they should give you his number, really nice people there.
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What are you coming down here for ,Ojibwatbowyer?
Bubbles- There are a few of us in London ,if you ever make it over this way. Look us up.My brother In-law used to live in T.O. He was into drumming and I know he got some goat rawhide to fix some of his drums at one of the specialty stores over there. I'll ask him next weekend where it was.
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Lots of wild Turkeys in Southern Ontario, you just need to find out who hunts them and ask for the feathers.
There's a hunting show that is produced in Southern Ontario called Canada In The Rough, I think they are in Peterborough. I was wondering what they did with all the feathers from the Turkeys they shot, this was 2 or 3 years ago, so I e-mailed them. They said they would be happy to give them to me but I would have to drive there to pick them up, I was not interested enough to do that.
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What are you coming down here for ,Ojibwatbowyer?
Bubbles- There are a few of us in London ,if you ever make it over this way. Look us up.My brother In-law used to live in T.O. He was into drumming and I know he got some goat rawhide to fix some of his drums at one of the specialty stores over there. I'll ask him next weekend where it was.
I go down to visit my family on Manitoulin Island, Sudbury and Ottawa, at times I'll drive out to T.O. to see my uncle. I cant stand the humidity there though its like I'm always sweating. I also try to collect and bring back as much Ironwood as I can, about 30 staves in the past two years.
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Canadians molt at the first of JUNE. I have some ponds,lakes I pick up. I also have 2 parks I pick up. I go to deer processers and you can get all the sinew and hides to make your own raw hide you want. I also use to have a butcher that save me cow back sinew.
I use my own gobbler primays and a couple friends save me wings. I use to have 2 turkey farms (hyperts) Would let me cut primarys off for quarter a bird. Some of those hyperts are SWEETTTT.
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Thanks for the replies guys. Lots of good info on where I can get materials on here. This is my first posting on this site, so thanks for making a newbie feel welcome.
For my current arrows I'm using Canadian tire 5/16" dowel with fletchings i bought from 3 rivers (full length black and white feathers - i get 2 fletchings per feather). I've also got feathers from Archer's Nook in London,ON.
I'm now making my own shoot shafts from various woods, and am looking for a source wild turkey feathers to fletch them and real sinew instead of artificial to tie on those fletchings. Just so they look a bit more "authentic", but I guess Canada good feathers would be just as good.
The rawhide I wanted to use to make bowstrings. I think goat rawhide would be good for bowstrings as it's a bit thinner than deer rawhide and cow rawhide? There is a butcher near my house that has whole goats skin still on hanging in the window sometimes - I should talk to them.
I threw in some pics of what I'm using right now. The bow is the first one I made - after about 5 "peak and tweak" sessions. It's elm, 62" ntn, 45#@27. Linen string (pyrosupplies) with artificial sinew serving and a little dogbane "wind indicator". I backed it with cotton canvas that I painted black that an artist friend of mine gave me. In retrospect, I don't think it needed the backing, elm is tough stuff, and I love it, but I wanted to be safe as I went through a couple ash and hophornbeam staves before this guy. This was the first live tree I cut down and seasoned indoors. The other stave (which all broke) were found cut down already or I seasoned them outside.
This guy started out 68" ntn with giant nocks and horrible tiller. It kicked like a horse, was 30# @27 and had 3" of string follow. After I made a few more bows from the rest of that elm tree and read all of the other TBB's. I revisited it and turned it into what is now my favorite bow. All thanks to Marc St. Louis for his article on Heat treating, it saved my bow!
The arrows on the right are just canadian tire dowels. The left are my newest batch of chokecherry shoot shafts. Gonna fletch those up right after this.
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Nothing wrong with that! I hear that Squirrel hide make a good bow string. Might want to check into that. I thought you wanted the rawhide for bow backs. You'd really have to stretch those little buggers to cover a limb , I would think. ;) Definitely check into to butcher with the goat hides.
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I agree on the squirrel hide, just haven't gotten any of 'em yet. Had one hopping down my fence this morning, although my neighbors in Toronto might have a problem we my popping my backyard squirrels. :)
Haven't had the urge to back a bow with rawhide yet, but once I find a good source I'd consider it. I've just never worked with the stuff before. Think it would make a good primitive string serving? Linen string with rawhide serving?
Also - has anybody used rawhide as backing with the hair left on before? Could you make a bow with a furry back?
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i live in the niagara region. piles of turkey--and hunters. i used to hunt em but lately too busy with the kids.
lots of guys at the range go turkey hunting with shotguns, so i just told them, bring me some wings, i buy the beer.
just remember to keep the left wing feathers separate from the right.
beer makes the world go round.
good luck.
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Hi Bubs I too was just looking for a Canadian source. I like 3-rivers but customs and shipping cost kills ya .
Try this site "Get'er done archery" in AB.. crg
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Thanks HighEagle. I actually ended up getting 2 free goat hides from my local butcher, just had to put up with a lot of weird looks and questions. I guess that's par for the course in traditional archery. Still looking for sinew, but talked to the owner of the local sports shop and I am working on a line on some turkey feathers.
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Hi Bubs I too was just looking for a Canadian source. I like 3-rivers but customs and shipping cost kills ya .
Try this site "Get'er done archery" in AB.. crg
Twice I have attempted to get info from 'Get'er done', once to buy a bow, another for broadheads, feathers, and strings. No replies. Maybe out of business?