Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Around the Campfire => Topic started by: jeffp51 on February 26, 2016, 01:18:59 am
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This primitive archery thing started for me about 2 years ago. My son started an archery merit badge and his scout master found a how to on an oak board mollgebet on youtube. I was helping them and I thought it would be cool to make a bow, since I shot when I was a kid. None of the boys finished their bows, but I have been hooked ever since. I have always liked woodworking, and creating things that are beautiful and functional. My day job (teaching) is almost entirely cerebral, so I like to come home and create with my hands something concrete. I am also a perfectionist and I keep thinking the next bow will be the one that is just right. creating matching arrows does the same thing--as does hitting a target with the hand made arrow and bow. I would rather miss with my own creation than hit with an expensive factory job.
What is your story?
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I started making bows 2 winters ago. I had been shooting FG bows and making my own arrows for about a year at that point. I had made some furniture and skate ramps and stuff, but as soon as I started on this path, it's been full on for me.
Looking back, I had been going through a tough time, grieving the loss of a loved one, and this hobby was exactly what I needed at the time. It continues to be my meditation, I'm sure many of us agree it's very therapeutic. I get inspired nearly everyday from guys here, I've met so many cool people.
I wonder how I got by before I was into this
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I can't believe how good your bows are and how prolific in such a short time. I really admire your stuff, Ryan. I also enjoy the time to think that scraping a limb or heat straightening a shaft can give me. there is something very zen about all of this.
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Robin Hood & Cowboys and Indians....visiting castles... history all by the time I was about 11 :)
The second part of the question is just silly ::).
Del
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It kind of started when my wife and I were out on the desert hunting for artifacts and I found my first point. I have been shooting a bow for 60 years most of which was with traditional equipment. Dad owned an archery shop back in the 60's and my brother and I worked in the shop so I grew up shooting a bow. So after that first point find I thought to myself, I can do that. I took up flintknapping about 5 years ago and have probably one of the best mentors around, Mike Cook, living just 50 miles away so after spending many lessons at Mike's, he taught me the basics of knapping. I got good enough to kill one deer with a stone point and a Steve Turray longbow. But that wasn't good enough so two years ago a group of us started to get together on thursday nights making self bows, arrow shafts and a few of us flintknap. I am on my 4th self bow with just one failure (so far) and that is the way I hunted last year. Self bow, self arrows fletched with wild turkey feathers and stone points.
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i was 7 or 8. had this friend named Johnny. we liked to go out to the field near his house. there was rabbits, squirrels and pheasants at the time.this was before the city in all its wisdom started cutting the grass. now its devoid of life. but there was a time.... anyhow, he had this fiberglass/plastic kids bow. pulled about 25 pounds. well we made some arrows from a couple old c.b. antennas that we found laying around. cut them, sharpened in a pencil sharpener, and we tried real hard but couldnt get anything. one day we spotted a turtle.yep arrow went in the shell. we were estatic untill his dad seen it. then it was back to the drawing board. he took our bow. lol well i read indians made bows from trees. there were lots of saplings around and Johnny and i tried. we broke a few, but in short order we made bows out of japanese honey suckle. did not know what it was at that time. just that it made a springy bow that lasted a few shots before it broke. lol my tillering had a long way to go. then one day we got a rabbit. it played dead when Johnny shot at it but i took a nother shot just in case. i thought he missed it. :) i didnt. :). it took off with that c.b. antenna sticking out of it like a rabbit with a c.b. antenna sticking out of it. we were about 10 at that time.we found it. sometime before i was 12 i got a lucky shot at a pheasant. got its wing as it took off. that was from a locust sapling bow. never heard i had to remove sapwood so i didnt. it lasted untill i joined the Marines. i dont know what ever happened to it after that. never realy thought about it until many years after i got out.after i did get out 1985, a couple years went by and i started doing a lot of reading on Native American culture which included bows { i had done a report in school on this subject when i was younger and it never quite left my mind}. thought back on them stick bows and thought hmmm. wonder if i could make a "real" bow. a yellow locust tree later and a 50 pound bend through the handle bow with sapwood in tact made from that tree and i was hooked! had a little help from a book wrote by Jim Hamm.got away from it for awhile. life sometimes does that. but im back. lol Tony
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So about 2 1/2 years ago my wife and I were on a day trip to a small town with a lot of neat little shops, naturally my wife wanted to go into ALL of them. One of those shops sold an assortment of local art, and there hanging on a wall were a few handmade arrows that peeked my interest (thinking back now, they were pretty poorly made, and not very primitive). Now I'm the kind of guy who really enjoys making things, and I thought to myself "Why would I pay someone to make something like this, when I could make it myself" (you can also interpret that as being a cheap ass). This is where my journey began
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I started at 6 or 7 with a longbow my dad had bought at a yard sale. I'd play Indian for hours everyday. Went to wheels as I got bigger but at 14 I could hit a chipmunk at 30 yards. So I switched to recurve at 15. At this time I was wanting independence so I got the bingham kit and made my own. Also made my own arrows from then till now. Doing that got me in the woods with a deeper sense of connection and I started wanting to be like the natives in the movies. My mom brought me home a flintknapping stater kit, same one by 3rivers(not really any good) and I loved it but by the time I was getting good I left for the army. While sitting in Afghanistan I walked into a bizarre and a guy had arrowheads all over his table! Dating from the first people that tried conquering afghans all the way patches from us. Seeing those re sparked my interest so I started knapping glass with a steel nail. When I got home I was 30 minutes from Curtis Smith and he gave me my first ever lesson on how to actually hit a stone right. Also gave me a 5 gallon bucket of georgetown flint. Seeing him make that andice point so skillfully got me hooked. I was dealing with issues from my time away too so it was like meditating when I knapped. It still helps me, feels like I have a better day when I get to make something from stone. Made my first selfbow with a lot of help from members here a few months ago and am ready to start number 2! Last couple weeks of last season I hunted primitive by my house. Obsidian points by me, arrows by me and finally a selfbow by me.
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I started shooting bows in the late 1970s or early 1980s. I'm sure I played with bows and arrows before then when I was a kid. My first was a Shakespeare recurve. From there I went to compounds with a $50 used Bear Blacktail Hunter I got at a flea market. I sold it for $50 after killing a few deer with it. My next was a PSE Nova. About this time I was thinking about building wood bows. I got rid of the compound and bought a takedown recurve made by Jeffries, a few years later a Mike Treadway long bow. I was building selfbows and a few hickory backed bows then, that was 1999. Since then I have made used mostly backed or selfbows to hunt and haven't looked back....but I have still not killed a deer with my own homemade gear. :(
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To answer that question. I'm frugal and now addicted.
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My first bow was a Red Bear, I believe it was fiberglass, It was an ambidextrous model with a shelf on both sides of the handle. Later in life I got a browning compound, followed by a few PSE's. Started MAy of 2014. Still getting there.
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I shot a solid glass recurve when i was a kid, in fact i still had it in my 40's till the wife sold it at a yard sale. Had a used browning compound with the lam wood riser and it delammed and i was to cheap to buy another one and got online and found that old poplar science how to build a long bow, been making them ever since
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a lot of things got me here, I'm a registers Choctaw "its in my blood", my gr gr gr grand parents(white side) settled on an active (at the time) Indian Camp, in the town i live grew up in and still live here, so always looking for artifacts. The only bow I had was a 20lbs fg as a kid, i killed a carp. I have rifle / BP hunted all my life and kinda wanted a change in my hunting, I have no want for a wheel bow. So I decided to make a bow of hunting weight, along with a string and arrows, they need stone points.
What made it so I can get into this, is it can be done for FREE, I would not be jumping into a sport like this, at this time in my life just because of bills and life expenses.
Now I stay because its fun, relaxing, and the people are into it, like the people on this site are awesome, and I really want to kill my animals with my own home made equipment. No kills in the last 3 yrs with my bow, 2 elk misses and about 5-6 shots at deer with one hit high and far back. :( Ed
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I grew up shooting compound bows. Sometime around 2009 I got the itch to try shooting a longbow just for fun. I looked into buying one but couldn't afford it. I did some more research and discovered you could make a longbow out of osage trees and I just happened to live in the middle of an osage forest. Before then those trees were only good for firewood and tree stands. I started reading everything I could find on bow making. As soon as I shot the first arrow out of a yellow turd of a first bow I was hooked. Bow making started a desire to create things that I needed instead of buying them. Why do I stay? Because it makes me happy. If I'm not with my family or at work I'm doing something bow related. Sometimes I even manage to do bow work at work ;)
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My story is very similar to Osage outlaw except I don't live in an Osage forest. I grew up shooting compounds and in 2004 my brother in law let me borrow a long bow. I loved shooting it and wanted my own. I couldn't afford to pay the prices he paid for a custom built longbow so I figured if someone else can make one, then I could too. I started researching how to do this and discovered self bows, bought TBB 1 and cut a white ash tree down. My first bow was a white ash with a 60 pound draw and a bunch of string follow but it still shot pretty well (still does). I was hooked and bought every book I could find regarding self bows and arrows. I can no longer just walk in the woods. I am always looking for bow wood and arrow wood. I keep at it because every piece of wood is different and that excites me. It is also great medicine.
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I bought a compound back in the early 80's and bow hunted for a few years until I became obsessed with Musky fishing. And IMO there is no better time to be on the water than in fall and I've enjoyed every minute of it. About five years ago I got the itch to shoot a bow again and was pleasantly surprised to see the resurgence of trad archery. So I bought a Samick Sage. Then I found a build along for a pyramid bow from a board and overcame the severe doubts that I could actually make my own bow. It held together, bad tiller and all, mainly because it was hickory. The plan was just to make that one bow and quit. Who needs more than one bow, anyway? I just finished my 30th last weekend. ;)
I agree that chasing a ring or rasping the belly wood can put me in a zen like state. Until I come to a knot. :o Wooden bows are just inherently beautiful and the satisfaction you get from making one that turned out as nice as you had envisioned it is pretty special. What keeps me going is that I've found that there is always something new to learn.
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How did I get in - my dad when I was a kid. Why do I stay - I like making bows
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My first bow was an all fiberglass bear given to me by my parents when I was very small. I got hooked on this stuff during the same time that you could hear newly released songs from the Beatles on your a.m. radio! I stay with it because it never gets boring to me - I learn something new all the time.
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i started bowhunting with a wheelie at 17 yrs old. but started to interested in traditional archery not long after. i traded my whole compound set up for a Black Bear #45 from a buddy of mine who found it in an old barn. i was hooked. at that time i would see Norm Blaker on Michigan out of doors shootin aspirin out of the air with a bow "he made himself". i had to meet this guy and learn. Norm taught me to make arrows , flintknapping and my first osage bow.that was almost 20 yrs ago. i started only makin 1 bow a year, one that i could hunt with and shoot at the sunday 3d courses.sence than i"ve taken deer , rabbits , squirrels , pheasants with homemade equipment. than found PA and still learnin. I stay because i love all of it. and want to learn all i can, and still learnin.
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This is my story: 2 years ago ( when I was 11) (Now I'm 13) I wanted to make a bow and arrow. I took a branch, cut the nocks and stringed it up. I also made my arrows out of shoots and fletched them with duct tape. It came less than 15 pounds. Then I started to get a lot of info and made my first successful bow from a hazel sapling about 35 pounds. Then I gave a break and got a lot of more information. I started to make a yew self bow that was going VERY good and during the final tiller, it broke:( Now I'm working on a black locust all sapwood bow. Does any body seem to notice how stiff it is? I also have some plum drying. Can't wait. Now I'm addicted and ALWAYS looking for new bow wood. The only problem is that time is short
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Time is short? :o LOL.... I'm 64, I reckon I got maybe another 20 odd years of bowmakin'
Del
(I know what you mean really :))
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I have been wood working for a good part of my life and one day about 4 years ago I decided to look into what I could make that was inexpensive to build, did not need a huge shop full of power tools. I stumbled upon this site and the rest is history. Besides making wood working (bowyering) a hobby, archery is the icing on the cake so to speak. :)
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LOL Derek. Well time is short cuz were preparing for our exam to get in to high school and I'm pretty motivated. First time in my life where I have realized that time was so important.
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Ive always been obsessed with survival. I couldnt watch or read enough. Of corse i was more i terested in the more romantic side of it all:gettin the food. Equally id always been fascinated with robinhood, and lord of the rings and the like when i was younger. Therefor archery began. Attempting to make bows came some time after that with the help of a few guys from the archery club who happen to be knappers and bowiers. Of about ninety traditional archers theres only four knappers and five bowiers, but we have a good ol time at our "caveman only" bonfire at the club campouts XD
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I grew up shooing a couple of cheapo fiberglass kid's bows. My arrows were crap, but I managed to shoot snakes and what not. When I got older I aquired a bear kodiak from an abandoned mobile home on the property next to my folks. I shot it a little, then put it away untill I was 27 or so. I started shooting it again, and then graduated to a few different fiberglass recurves and long bow. I killed my first deer with one, then killed a few more later. I saw a guy at a gun show selling osage bows. I asked him all the stupid questions that people always ask about that type of archery. He was very patient and asked what kind of bow I was using. I said I was using a fiberglass long bow. He replied "you'll be shooting a wood bow within a year or two". I thought he was being pretty sure of himself, but he was right. I went to the library, checked out Reginald Laubin's book on American Indian Archery and was addicted. The seed was already there, but this made it grow. Now it is overgrown and out of control. But hey, it could be worse. This is no mere "hobby", it is a craft and a way of life. I wouldn't use any other archery tackle but my own bows and arrows.
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When I was a kid my dad was in the National Guard, he spent a lot of time at Camp Grayling. He came home from one of those trips with a shiny new Black Bear recurve. I was hooked, so for my birthday I got a Darton Ranger similar to his Bear. I was king of the woodlot, it made for some of the best memories of my life.
Fast forward 20 years I'd been through a few compounds and eventually given up. But I had a young son and I kept thinking about those days with my dad. So I went rooting through my parents closets and found those old recurves. The feeling was back for me and my boy had that same look I suspect I had back when.
Since then we've shot a lot of traditional archery and the desire to create our own gear just grew along with it. I've built a couple of dozen bows now and have no intention of stopping! I don't feel my bows are anywhere near the quality I see here every day so I don't post them I just go home and quietly make shavings and build bonds with my children. Pretty cool hobby if you ask me!
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These are great stories. keep them coming. I think that even though everyone here comes from a different background, some things we seem to have in common: A love of nature and natural things, making beautiful things with our hands, great mentors in the past that encouraged us. . . it is nice to find commonalities with people that are also different from me.
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Just liked the concept of going down to the creek and getting wood to make a bow to shoot and hunt with about 7 years ago.Always been a do it yourselfer.This site and the TBB series keeps the flame burning too.