Primitive Archer

Detail photos

Last photo is of the dogleg unbraced

I made a Deer Drag-a-Matic 3K# to replace my old 2K# model that had developed worn gears.

The new one has bigger gears, hopefully it will stand up better over the long run.

These run off a cordless drill and will pull a deer up a cliff, I get about 50 yards of pulling out a 2ah battery, I can't pull a deer two feet by myself. I put 100ft of 1500# mule tape on the spool.

My first version was a 600# boat winch with a cable, the cable would bird nest and the gear ratio was such that it would overheat my drill motor. The 2k version with mule tape worked just fine until the gears got worn on one side.

I simplified the tree attachment as well and did away with the metal bracket in favor of a couple of hooks on a tiedown that I put through some holes I drilled in the back end of the winch frame.

The last picture is of the old and new version.

I think it looks great WB.

How long has the sinew been drying? Maybe it will gain a little yet?

Is it to late to recurve the tips a little?

Bjrogg

At 60" I don't think you can shorten it at least not much. Maybe you can take an inch off of each tip then narrow the tips to reduce tip weight. With 4 layers of sinew any more would be counter productive but it the sinew hasn't been on for long maybe it will pick up a little weight as it dries more., that is if you used hide glue for the sinew. With it at 45# now you might just make a 50# bow, or close if all the above mentioned changes are successful.

Thanks, Pat.  I think I'll just leave it be.  I'm hoping the juniper-sinew combo will shoot hard enough to hunt with even though it's a little light.  If not, it was a good learning experience.

Is that one of those new trans or somethink bows ie  Identifies as straight but is really crooked?

I think it's a bonsai tree that identifies as a bow.      

I made a Yew stick bow that looks very much like that for one of my field archer chums. He enjoys the quizzical looks and comments he gets from fellow archers.
Del

Yeah, I'm looking forward to that at the next shoot.  I'll try to post a back picture tonight.  The only places the string aligns with the limbs are at tips and the handle.  It'll be interesting to see how it shoots.

Last night I wrapped the biggest knot with sinew and hide glue, since that's the most likely place for it to come apart.  I plan to put a few arrows through it tonight if the weather is decent.  Stay tuned...