We spend countless hours making these bows we consider works of art, its our passion right, we put our heart into it. The finish work can take as long as making the bow, going from coarse grit paper to fine, then wool, then burnishing, then multiple coats of laquer with sanding in between, and then finally the grip. Whew, just thinking about it makes one perspire. So am i the only one that gets hesitant when i hand someone my bow to admire? Because without failure, 9 out of 10 people will "clank" the limb against the closest object(chair, table, etc) within a few seconds of looking at it. The first time a limb hits a hard corner of an object like wood or metal it leaves a ding(i pray its on the belly). You cant even imagine me at public ranges, im like an over protective mother with my bow lol. The fact is that an all wood bow is a bit of a liability in my mind. Ill admit that sometimes i feel that im being too picky with an item that is meant to be used. Furthermore, these consistent situations have led me to start spending a lot less time on my finish work that is gonna inevitably be messed up by someone else (or perhaps even me on a careless day). Am i the only one like this?
Ill parlay this into my next question...
Would you recommend a Yew bow for hunting due to the soft nature of the wood. It seems to get "dinged up" just looking at it. Recall my second Yew bow that yall helped me tiller. It does have a rawhide backing at least. My buddy wants a bow to hunt elk with so i let him shoot that bow. It went 165 fps at 28" with a 500gr arrow. I told him i thought that was sufficient for elk but my that my hesitation is that Yew is a soft wood. We considered waiting until i made a suitable Osage bow at his draw length. I know they used Yew wood for war bows, and i have a hard time imagining they coddled it everywhere they went, but who knows maybe they did. Do yall think normal wear and tear from stalking through the mountains and woods will make Yew a poor candidate for a hunting bow?
