Best reactions to a selfbow as a gift?

[cool_98_555]

Wow....Pearl you had tears on a few of your bows?  When was that?  I'd like to hear the details on that story right there.  I get so caught up in the bow i'm currently working on if it is for me because I want to make it perfect for myself, but making it for somebody else is a completely different story!  I love giving a bow that took a lot of work to somebody who really, really appreciates it.  Made a bow for a guy a few years ago and recently found out he's still using it to this day....makes me smile.  I wouldn't want to give a bow to somebody who wouldn't appreciate it and put it in a corner all its life, but when it's for somebody who really appreciates it.....wow it is amazing...

[bjrogg]

I've had some nice reactions but the one I just finished was the best. This fella had a wood bow a few years back. He loved it but had to give it up. He was so excited he shoot a couple of my bows then I gave him his. It fit him perfectly and the bend looked so good on him. He wanted it naked with no finish of any kind. He wanted to airbrush it. Today he brought over. He airbrushed some really nice artwork on belly with stain. I'm going to seal it with tru oil then he's going to air brush some more and I'll seal it again. He is so happy to be shooting again and he's really personalizing it. It is gonna be sweet and I'm really getting excited to see what it will look like when it's finished.
Bjrogg

[Josh B]

A kiss full on the lips and a hug, the hug lingered uncomfortably as my wife was right there. I finally told him to get his hand off my rearend and i walked away with a purpose

ROFLMAO!!!  You ain't right Bub!  Josh

[mikekeswick]

A kiss full on the lips and a hug, the hug lingered uncomfortably as my wife was right there. I finally told him to get his hand off my rearend and i walked away with a purpose

Good one!

[bjrogg]

Guess they got more than tree huggers out there Bubby.lol sounds like he really liked his Bow and Bowyer to.
Bjrogg

[osage outlaw]

A kiss full on the lips and a hug, the hug lingered uncomfortably as my wife was right there. I finally told him to get his hand off my rearend and i walked away with a purpose

You California guys are a little different 

[BowEd]

A nice gracious thank you is good enough for me when I give someone a bow.The look on their faces examining every detail.Nicest when they tell me of game they are shooting with it.I'd say that's the best reaction I could get.A getting to know someone to shoot with too.
A related subject is that strangers have come on the yard hearing through the grapevine wanting to buy and wanting to get to know them better I tell them to pick a stave and we'll make one together.I don't hear from them then.
I actually got to know a game warden here meeting him at a cafe.We both went outside after eating and I had a bow on the truck seat I showed him.He stared at it for quite some time asking questions.He said he'd love to give it a go hunting with it but is just way too busy during hunting season to give it time.Maybe during the off season I'll see him.

[Aaron H]

A kiss full on the lips and a hug, the hug lingered uncomfortably as my wife was right there. I finally told him to get his hand off my rearend and i walked away with a purpose

Hahaha,  I can't stop laughing!

[JW_Halverson]

@JW. Great story and double whammy. I have loved to see the other guy's face.

I seem to recall giving one ginger ninja guy a bow over in Tennessee, when he shot it he proclaimed that it was the best he'd ever shot... Can't remember who it was for the life of me
Del

I remember that spotted clown.  He still has that bow and won't part with it!  Every time people ask him about bows, he pulls that one out and tries to tell them that it is made from a baked potato.  That pure white hazel wood coupled with the bark still on the outside makes it almost beg for some butter and sour cream!

[tattoo dave]

It's hard to beat the reaction of a kid that gets handed his or her first bow. I've handed out a lot of kid bows, and it's a better feeling than getting paid for a bow that's for sure. My best story was, a set of young brothers. They were 10 and 8. The youngest one was big into snakes. His bow of course had a snake skin backing. The oldest one was big into riding horse, so he got a mini horse bow, with a PA magazine that happen to have an article about horse bow archery all over the world. The looks on the faces was pure shock. The best part though, was when I told the oldest one, now he needs to convince his dad to take the training wheels of his bow and shoot like a man. It took about 2.5 seconds for him to relay that message to his dad, and his dad's reaction to that was almost as good as when I handed over the bows. The dad still shares that story every time I see him. His kid still gives him crap about training wheels on his bow.

Tattoo Dave

[JW_Halverson]

Seeing how I have been stiffed on three of the last four bows I have sold, yeah, tattoo dave, the smile on a kid is a whole heck of a kick to see. 

[Pappy]

I have given away many bows and had some very good reactions[no kiss on the lips mind you] but big smiles and man hugs but the best reaction I get is to see them a years or 2 down the road still shooting it. Some do and some don't, the ones that don't always make me sad.
 Pappy

[Eric Krewson]

On the other side I have had bad reactions as well.

On the request of of one of the top wheelie bow shooters in the country I made a bow and arrows for his 10 year old son for free. This was back in my early days when it took me weeks to make a bow.

I presented the bow to the youngster at a tournament, he seemed thrilled.

Two weeks later I went to another tournament and the youngster was proudly showing off his new, fully decked out wheel bow. The bow I made him was never seen or heard from again, I suspect it was consigned to the trash.

That was 20 years ago, I have never made another a bow for a youngster in a predominantly wheelie archer household. I have never sold a kids bow and always given them away for free, dozens of them. 

Come to think of it, I have never given a bow to an adult that shoots wheels since either.

[JoJoDapyro]

I made one for my Brother in law a few years ago for christmas. He cried. Made me feel good. He said it was the best gift that anyone had ever given him.

[Pat B]

Years ago I was at a local trad 3D shoot. While there I saw a gentleman with his young son of about 9 or 10 years old. The Dad had just bought the son a new glass bow but the boy was pouting and only wanted a real "Indian bow". I approached them to show them my osage bow and cane and sourwood arrows. To say the least, he was excited. I asked them to wait a minute while I went back to my truck. I came back with a little all sapwood osage flat bow I had made and handed it to him. I asked if that is what he was talking about and he said yes. Then I asked if he wanted it. His eyes got big and he looked at his Dad looking at his Dad for approval and Dad said he could have it. Then I asked him his name. Patrick he said. Then I asked his last name...Brennan he said. Well, I told him,  that is my name. We were all surprised and we have been friends ever since. Unfortunately Patrick'd Dad, Tom passed away a few years ago from a brain tumor. Many members here remember Tom and know Patrick.
  I saw Patrick last year at the Sheale Museum knapp-in in Gastonia, NC. I asked him about that bow and he went to his car and brought it out to show me...just as I remembered it.
 I've given away most of the bows I've built. I have sold a few but prefer to trade or give them away. Probably the best reaction I've ever gotten from giving away a bow is how it makes me feel.