Native Amreican bow designs, how do they shoot?

[bradsmith2010]

I think if you hunted and shot one say consistetly for a year,, that bow only,, some of its secrets would reveal themselves,, I agree, there was a reason the design was used frequently,, I have not made or shot that design, but that is on my list to learn about,, I am guessing that in the heavier weights,, it had fine cast,, and as mentioned less prone to break,,??? maybe a bit more stable for a shorter bow as far as accuracy,, I am guessing,,    some of the modern design bow use deflex to their advantage,,

[BowEd]

Traxx....Well that's wonderful Traxx I congradulate & commend your own history to archery life.Hunting involves a lot more then just the speed on a bow,but I don't mind having it there when I need it and I should stop right here,but some people like improving their tools.Some don't.It's their choice.Quietness is a big part of my success hunting with self bows also,and have had the same scenario of a miss turning into a hit later.Been eating deer mostly for meat all of my life.
They nick named me little Daniel Boone when I was a kid.I started shooting a bow in general in 2009.With a crash course it seems since then.My hunting history has been all my life yet from a kid.Mostly and extensively raising and training coon hounds.Making record book achievements there nationally.The physical effort of deer hunting is a fraction compared to hunting hounds.Still I have managed to kill over a dozen deer or so with self bows around here.Along with countless small game.
You sound like some guys I've hunted my hounds against that would claim they shot 300 coon to their dog during hunting season.I draw out with them at a sanctioned UKC hunt and after 1/2 hour of a 2 hour hunt they withdraw being so far behind in treeing coon and points.My hounds treed far more then 300 but they did'nt get them all shot to them.Sometimes the killing numbers don't tell the story in the ability of a hound just like the killing numbers with archery don't tell the story about a bow.Everybody has their own achievement markers they shoot for.Some get off the bus sooner then others.
I believe the natives definition of efficiency was being the provider and protector people could depend on and that involved a good bow I'm sure.I also believe stealth and concealment played a big part in their success and that is a bigger part of hunting then the bow.

 

[bradsmith2010]

I play african drums with some guys from Guinea,,,,they have been playing the same type drum for 1000's of years,,,there are subtle differences in the sound of the drums,,,, and the best drummer always gets the best drum,, even if its yours,,  I wonder if some of the same mind set existed with the Native
Archers,, if there was a stand out bow,, I wonder if the best Archer was intitled to that bow,, and was it easy for then to adjust to any draw length,,? or draw weight,,
   

[Badger]

   I think those native American bows performed surprisingly well. Bows drawing only 23" with no set can get up to about 150 fps with a good release even 140 wouldn't be bad and plenty enough for taking game. The short bows with short draws I have seen did very well as long as they didn't take set.

[bradsmith2010]

Badger, I guess you were taking a nap,,, I was hoping you would chime in,,,

[Badger]

 Brad, lately I have been taking more naps that building bows!

[Traxx]

something to be said about taking naps

[Selfbowman]

Guys this is all about preference . I don't want bash any Bow or its maker.
Clean arrow flits gives you both accuracy and cast. Pat I am at a shoot with
Gilbert. He is sporting a very nice bow you made. Indian style. He is pulling
It 26" my draw length. I don't think he minds if I shoot it. Would you. I would like to see how she shoots. Arvin

[bradsmith2010]

  Badger.,,well Naps are good for recharging , ,, thanks for your input,, your depth of knowledge is always appreciated,,
Time for my nap,,

[Traxx]

Cmon Guys....
Dont let the other silly stuff detract from the intent of this thread.

I remember,when this site first started and almost every bow posted was an old Native style design.

[bradsmith2010]

Traxx,, I got distracted, I been out shooting my Native Style bow,, 

[paulsemp]

I guess I'll sound stupid and ask what are you guys going back and forth about? I just read through the whole thing and it seems everyone agrees that native style bows perform quite well.....

[bradsmith2010]

your right Paul,, I think some of us just got bored,,( and missed their nap)
I am gonna do some chrono test tomorrow and will post,, I have a nice 48 inch sinew bow tillerd out to 20  inches,, gonna test it at 20,, and then tiller it out to 23 and see what she will do,,,

[Traxx]

you know Brad....
I have actually sat in actual ancient hunting blinds in a few locations and i can tell you,they would not have worked well,with a static full draw style.it would have blown the hunters cover and resulted in no shot opportunity.If a person puts themselves,in the positions and circumstances that the ancient hunters used,things start to become more apparent about their methods and justifications of such..

[Stick Bender]

Brad This is a native bow squiggly sapling /sinew bow I'm hopping to get to brace next week end so far 7 1/2 reflex looking for 48 lb @29  hopping to pull your numbers or better with a heaver 11gpp arrow this one is center shot also I think a lot of these type native bows where built for reliability in the past but if the design is pushed applying the knowledge we have now ,they are very capable of great performance , the Ishi design like yours has always fascinated me I would like to try one at some point