wood pecker knots in hickory

[cdpbrewer]

Below are pics of a hickory stave with lots of wood pecker knots- some of which go through the roughed out limbs.  Will it make a bow? 

Thanks!

c.d.

[TRACY]

I would use it to cook brats as Pappy says. If the tree had woodpecker activity to begin with it was past it's point of being a candidate for bow wood.

Tracy

[Hrothgar]

If the tree had woodpecker holes it likely had insects and maybe was dead. Good firewood x 2.

[cdpbrewer]

The tree was alive when cut a month ago and there's evidence of no insect damage. 

c.d.

[JoJoDapyro]

I don't know why a wood pecker would just randomly peck holes in wood. They do it to get insects out of the wood.

[21st century archer]

The wood still seems ok. If I were you I would try and chase a deeper growth ring. If you were using a stiff handle and you don't have enough wood left after you chase a ring you could glue on a riser or make a bend in the handle bow.

[H Rhodes]

You could find a better piece of wood for sure, but hickory is tough stuff and you can damage the back of it more than any other wood and still have a bow.  I have taken pieces like that and laid the back straight on the belt sander and sanded it down smooth.  If it were mine, I wouldn't bother with trying to chase a ring with hickory.  If I were shooting for a medium weight bow of reasonable length, I would sand that back down flat and proceed.  This will probably start a hail storm of disagreement, but I have access to lots of hickory and have made several good bows from really second rate boards and staves.  It is very durable wood and will take a lot of ring violation on the back.  Just my two cents.

PS:   Oh, and here is me crawfishing - if it is bug damaged or fungus damaged from laying on the ground - it is doomed.   

[dwardo]

I cut a load of similar elm recently.
Those types of marks tend to come from wood-peckers "sap feeding" The peck down through the outer to cambium and drink the sap.
Dam their eyes!

If there is a boat load of them on the surface you can guarantee there will be a load a few more rings down. All of mine is sat in the corner of shame likely to become firewood.

[Buckeye Guy]

Send it to me
I will make a bow from it
then you can decide if it will work
But I am keeping the bow  LOL
Guy
If you don't break a few you won't learn much anyway