Self Bow...How long should it last?

[TheWildCat]

   I am still lookin to build that one Self Bow that I always want to shoot...Built several, but not the one...Anyways I was wonderin just how long a Self Bow should last. I shoot a couple days a week generally and shoot a lot of arrows each session. I have had a few bows that start out shootin great, but didn't hold up to the rigors of my shootin. A couple failed out right, one jus gave up. I kow a bow generally gives up a little until it is shot in, but is it realistic to expect it to remain constant fer several years after the enitial break in? Shold I always have a future bow in the works?

[Del the cat]

I think it's catch 22, if you want good fast performance you will sacrifice some longevity and vice versa.
Some designs are doubtless less stressed than others and some woods are better suited to some designs than others.
I think Yew ELBs are often overdesigned in terms of length and should last a long time if they are 72" long and only drawing 28"-30"
I can't speak for the merits of Osage and the American longbow styles.
For logevity I'd also go for a tiller style where the entire limb is working, it may not be the most efficient, but it shares out the stress.
Personally I enjoy making 'em so I'd go for good performance rather than gross overbuilding.
Del

[Ryano]

There are way to many variables to even speculate. However a well tillered moderately over built osage long bow out of clean wood with good thick growth rings should out last you.

[Buckeye Guy]

Some day I will learn to post pics on this site,
 when I do One of the first will be of a hickory bow
That has out lasted a few generations of kids!!
 It is now at about 2.5" of set ,
I don't know how much it had at first because its older than I am !
As near as I can piece together it was built in the 1940's
Still going to train up at least one more generation ,but who knows after that!!
Hope you do well on yours !!

[NTProf]

I think most of us have a hard time answering this question because we keep building new bows. I seldom shoot a bow for more than two or three years because I keep making them.

[JW_Halverson]

My shooter, I am embarrassed to say, was made by someone else.  It's a 52" osage, sinew backed with lightly turned tips.  I've been shooting it for 7 years and it seems to be a bit faster today then it was at first.  For the style of bow, that ain't nothing.

Mind you, the prairie rattler skins are pretty ratty and beat up, hehehe. 

[JW_Halverson]

...and then there's the marks on the limb where I slammed it in the pickup door.  On, and the time I forgot to close the tailgait of the pickup and the washboards on the gravel road made it slide out the bed of the pickup at about 50 mph.  Fortunately a friend was following....thankfully not too closely. 

Yup, never know how long they will last if ya just take care of 'em.

[RyanY]

I can't say I've shot any of my bows enough to see how well they perform over a long time but I don't think its fair to say a bow will not last as long if it is built for speed. Designs that are built for speed can be made just as durable as any other design. For absolute top notch performance, like for flight shooting, a fresh bow is necessary as the wood hasn't broken in as much yet but a bow with superior and lasting speed can be made. I believe as long as the bow is designed well for what you want it to do and is taken care of, humidity especially, it will last for a very long time.

[bucksbuoy]

It depends on the type of wood mostly and also the design of the bow. Hard woods like hickory, osage, and yew can last for decades but are some what on the slow side to begin with. Faster woods like elm and maple only last a couple years at best before the get mushy and sluggish. Personally, my 32 inch draw turns self bows to fire wood regardless of wood type or design. I am gonna try a hickory bow, 72+ inches long, Otzi's bow type design, and see if that will last a year or two