With a backing, Red oak can probably handle more run offs than you might think if tillered well. In 2.5 months you might have had a couple bows by now! I say, on the next trip, pick the absolute BEST board from the pile that day, throw a backing on it and let the chips fly. I can usually find a couple on every trip that will make a decent bow with a backing. If you really want to go without a backing, you need to be much more wary of grain selection. But I'm still a newbie at this. Here's one I made with the most grain run-off - 68"ntn, 1.5" wide, 50#@26" bendy handle, unbacked 1.5" of just unbraced set. Now, most of the run-off is near the tips, where it is doing the least bending, but there is still a fair amount of run-off. It's not tillered perfectly and it's over-built, but it's got 1000's of arrows through it and it's decently fast, and I learned a lot from making it. You might be waiting a while for a flawless board, when you could be learning a lot from no-so-perfect wood. I say get to it!
