Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: loefflerchuck on October 31, 2013, 01:52:19 am

Title: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: loefflerchuck on October 31, 2013, 01:52:19 am: I made this one for someone who wanted the bow in the Bodmer painting. The bow in the painting may have been elk or bighorn. This one is bighorn sheep horn with 6 layers of elk sinew. 34" tip to tip and has a draw of 58# @ 20". The sinew seasoned for 3.5 months before it was first bent. Then spent 1.5 months on a slow tiller and stabilization process before it was finished. The bow in the painting would have been adorned with porcupine quills on the mid limb wraps and maybe the tips too. Other than that it is pretty accurate. Wool trade cloth on the handle and mid limb wrapped with brain tanned deer hide. Painted with red ocher and charcoal. String is 3 ply deer backstrap sinew.
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: LEGIONNAIRE on October 31, 2013, 01:55:33 am: HA!! Lovely!
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: loefflerchuck on October 31, 2013, 01:58:36 am: The bow on the top of this bow in the picture is next to tiller. With 50% sinew the reflex grows quite a bit. the next picture is part of the bending process of this bow.
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: loefflerchuck on October 31, 2013, 02:01:29 am: Thanks Cesar
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: criveraville on October 31, 2013, 02:02:55 am: Very nice bow!!

Cipriano
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: J05H on October 31, 2013, 02:05:48 am: Absolutely love it!!!
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: Arrowind on October 31, 2013, 02:06:56 am: That is AWESOME!
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: JonW on October 31, 2013, 02:07:43 am: Chuck I wish we lived near each other. You are my bow making HERO. I really like your work. You would prolly have to run me off actually. :)
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: DuBois on October 31, 2013, 02:38:07 am: That's amazing Master Chuck :o
How do you have the patience to wait? Garth, I'm unworthy.
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: Jodocus on October 31, 2013, 03:11:55 am: :o Wow! Lovely!
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: seminolewind on October 31, 2013, 05:13:03 am: Sweet bow! It has a really cool look at fd! Really nice !
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: Badly Bent on October 31, 2013, 08:36:43 am: Your bows are something that I could only dream about making. Really fine work and an amazing bow, just flat out stunning Chuck! Keep 'em coming man.
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: johnfolchetti on October 31, 2013, 08:51:13 am: That is stunning. Masterful work.
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: BowEd on October 31, 2013, 08:56:48 am: Interesting loefflerchuck.Beautiful bow man.Straight forward process there.Do you mostly remove horn for tillering along with heat?I suppose a homemade primtive stringer can get em braced for ya.
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: Parnell on October 31, 2013, 09:01:08 am: I'm a big fan of this one. I started Dall horns a ways back and have got to pick them back up. I'm wrestling with straightening the horns. I admire these bows you make, they really are something to see. I was just looking at your site the other day and was checking this one out. Really great!
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: swamp monkey on October 31, 2013, 09:10:15 am: BEE - UTE -E - FULL !!
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: SLIMBOB on October 31, 2013, 10:09:31 am: Very cool stuff Sir! I'm a fan.
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: rps3 on October 31, 2013, 10:10:02 am: That is something for sure. Very cool.
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: Pat B on October 31, 2013, 10:21:53 am: Excellent little horn bow, Chuck. Very well done. 8)
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: Parnell on October 31, 2013, 10:39:32 am: Chuck, curious about the form. So, in the picture, you've got the bow sinewed and cured, then you slowly clamp the bow to that form before stringing to a brace for the first time? That's done just with pressure, no heat or anything? Do you put much reflex into the horns before sinewing?

I've watched the Sheepeater bow video and the guy puts in the "step" of each limb pre sinewing. Does the form accomplish this in a more efficient way, later?

These bows always make me have questions.
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: Accipiter on October 31, 2013, 01:21:21 pm: Wow, the amount of bend in that thing at full draw is wild! Really impressive bow you got there, your customer is lucky.
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: Peacebow_Coos on October 31, 2013, 04:03:55 pm: Quote from: Accipiter on October 31, 2013, 01:21:21 pm
Wow, the amount of bend in that thing at full draw is wild! Really impressive bow you got there, your customer is lucky.

+1 WOW
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: mullet on October 31, 2013, 04:18:53 pm: Quote from: Peacebow_Coos on October 31, 2013, 04:03:55 pm
Quote from: Accipiter on October 31, 2013, 01:21:21 pm
Wow, the amount of bend in that thing at full draw is wild! Really impressive bow you got there, your customer is lucky.

+1 WOW
++1WOW, another museum piece.
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: Bowman on October 31, 2013, 04:22:34 pm: Top of the line. Awesome bow. Very very cool. :-)
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: Markus on October 31, 2013, 05:36:39 pm: Oh yes :)
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: Joec123able on October 31, 2013, 05:55:25 pm: Wow that is incredible
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: KellyG on October 31, 2013, 10:38:15 pm: Those things are awesome.
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: lostarrow on October 31, 2013, 10:38:42 pm: You make the most interesting bows ! Great stuff. Thanks for sharing 8)
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: loefflerchuck on November 01, 2013, 01:53:09 am: Thank you everybody. Jon W, your welcome in my shop any time. Beadman, yes it is a combo of heat and removal of horn. There is no wood core i nthese bows so the horn is cut through to make as strait a piece to start with before steam shaping. Boiling horn for more than 10 min starts to degrade the horn and horn has a good memory and twist returns. So starting with a strait strip helps. Parnell, I use this form to slow bend it to work the limbs at first. I also steam a setback handle after the handle is spliced together before sinew. The reflex as well as the recurved tips(5 curve) is natural and is due to the horns memory. The sinew doubles this so you are left with a deep c when the bow is ready to bend.
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: bowsandroses on November 01, 2013, 02:33:39 am: Man that is sweet sir! I researched in to our local central Oregon Natives and that took me fairly far into the research of the Shoshoni nation eastern, western and sub tribes. To see this bow looking so historically accurate is just plain awesome
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: steve b. on November 01, 2013, 02:53:29 am: Wow. Cool bow. Alot of work and out of my league.
Title: Re: bighorn sheep Hidatsa style bow.
Post by: medicinewheel on November 01, 2013, 09:17:44 am: Mean little thingy...! >:D >:D >:D