any backed bow is a backed bow. a selfbow is a bow all by itself-no backings, laminations, or whatever. a stick and string. the thing with definitions is that they get sticky quickly. what defines primitive is something that has caused problems on this site before, but really it shouldnt be a big deal. the only reason to have these agreed upon definitions is so that we can communicate about the material more effectively, not so that my bow can be any better than yours becuase it is a seflbow, not a selfbow, more/less primitive, etc. this shouldnt get ugly and there shouldnt be the urge to sit back and watch sparks fly-it always confuses me why these things are such hot button issues.
i dont think that the hick/hick combo is good for flight shooters just because of the low humidity, although that probably does have a lot to do with it. for flight shooters they want as much efficiency for as little mass as possible in the extremes that most bowyers do not try to push material. when you start to think in terms of maximum efficiency you think of belly materials that resist bending extremely well, and so store lots of energy-like horn or bone-and this should be matched with an elastic enough backing to actually allow energy transfer-something like sinew-and this generally leads one to rediscover the asiatic composites. they are massive though-both sinew and horn are more dense than wood. so for mass alone you want real light woods. these tend to not be as strong as you would want. i think a good compromise is in the hickory area as it is not really heavy but it is not much weaker than the hardest woods either. the backing, as mentioned before, can also add a little efficiency to the bow along the glue line.
SOM
