Those shorty sage bows

[Yellarwoodfellar]

Is a 57" ttt stiff handled bow doable with the 'sage or will it eventually fail? If tillered to ,say, 28 inches. thanks

[Pat B]

Under ideal circumstances with a perfect piece of osage and perfect tiller it's doable. Let the handle bend some and you'll have a better chance.

[Yellarwoodfellar]

Whelp, it's made with a stiffy already. It's taken about 1.5  of set but seems to shoot with authority. It a permanent set but imesiately after unstringing there is not much  Recovery maybe a quarter inch or so. Thanks

[PEARL DRUMS]

Myself? I stay away from survival and lean towards longevity. I've made them in all configurations and came to my own conclusion after several years and several hundred bows.

[sleek]

I love shorties.  I cant say muvh about their survival longevity,  as i have really just recently gotten into them, about 2 years back. In my opinion, 57 is long enough to go 28 with a stiff handle. Hkw much set you get depends very much on how much it weighs, assuming a perfect tiller. I have taken 54 to 28 at 45 and only had 1.5 set.

Its my understanding that set is the indicator of wood stress. So long as the set is evenly distributed across the entire bow, id say 1.5 is fine, and your bow should last. People get 1.5 set on full length bows often enough, so ya done good.

Can we see some pics?

[Jim Davis]

I follow Pearly's approach. I don't shoot from horseback so I don't need a short bow with it's greater tendency toward finger pinching.

All my stiff-handled bows for 28" draw are 66" ntn. Little or no string follow.

[Traxx]

PD and Jim Davis,make valid points,that are often overlooked and not discussed,when talking short natural material bows..Can it be done?...Absolutely,,but at what expense?....Short natural material bows,{Asiatic style bows not included}},are not indicative,,to long draws,with the expectancy of comfort or longevity,,of longer bows..If you alter your style to accommodate them,,then that is a different matter....

[sleek]

These bows are self bows, 50 imches long once strung, one draws 28, the other 26. Both are in the 45 pound range and close to a year old.  I sold one, and he hasnt let me know of any oroblems. I still have the 26 inch draw, and shot the crap out of it. Shot for hours yesterday with Jimmy, ( thanks for the invite bud ) and it shows no signs of fatigue.

I am a firm believer in the short bows potential.

[Traxx]

For the sake of conversation,could you define"Shot the crap out of"
Based on the experience and wisdom of those,long before us,and from my own,as well as the experience of others,the less strained design,especially concerning,,self bows,,will exhibit more longevity,,than those,of the more highly strained design,,,Materials, design, and workmanship and amount of use,,being equal,,of course..Nothing against making,using and enjoying the short bow,,but certain facts remain and until i see  evidence,,to the contrary,i will have to remain,of that opinion....

[sleek]

For the sake of conversation,could you define"Shot the crap out of"
Based on the experience and wisdom of those,long before us,and from my own,as well as the experience of others,the less strained design,especially concerning,,self bows,,will exhibit more longevity,,than those,of the more highly strained design,,,Materials, design, and workmanship and amount of use,,being equal,,of course..Nothing against making,using and enjoying the short bow,,but certain facts remain and until i see  evidence,,to the contrary,i will have to remain,of that opinion....

Traxx, thats about the most elequent manner in which i have been told to shove off, by any person. Ever. And thays sayin something because I get told that alot. I applaud you. 

The flaw in your logic is this. Just as i cant define what it means to shoot the crap out of something, you cant define me a specific numer of shots a bow should fire until its a proven design. I can only offer my experience in having actually made them, in the quantity of about 10, and say that through the evolution of my design, i am very connfident in saying that i have completely lost my train of thought.

Point is, with low set, the bow is under strained. Thats scientific evidence. Everything else is a qualifier, not a quantifier, and beyond that, its open to interpretation and specualition. I say it can be done and presented bows that have lasted being shot the crap out of. You present to me a countering opinion.

[Traxx]

You,misinterpret me...It was an actual legitimate question,to qualify any further debate and not to tell you to shove off..I meant no disrespect and cant think of any reason,why i would present that attitude toward you,,so no applause necessary 

I would venture to say,that my criteria of longevity,stems from a bow,my grandfather gave to me when i was about 10.It was a long bow,of about 68",if memory serves me well.He made this bow,before my mother was born.How much he shot it,i couldnt tell you for sure,but based on the wear marks from use and the string follow,,it exhibited,i would safely assume it was substantial..I "Shot the crap out of" that bow,from that time,up until i was in high school..That was 6 or 7 years,with a bow,that was probably made in the 40's and shot quite a bit,before i handled it in the 70's..I cant say for sure how many arrows i put through that bow,,but would venture to guess in the higher end hundreds..I later gave it to my brother,who shot it periodically,until a nephew severely abused and broke it...{ i still havent let him live that one down}..I can assure you,that i have made several shorter,more highly stressed bows and none of them,have survived the length of time,and abuse,that i inflicted on that long bow..Was that bow,the pinnacle of efficiency and performance?...No,,not even close,but it did the job,on numerous occasions,dependably...,and since
Longevity and user friendly was the topic,thus far,, i stand by my opinion regarding the subject..BUT,,,,,If you can prove this,to the contrary,i eagerly await those results,and will applaud you,should you be successful.....

[PatM]

I like to split the difference. I make and shoot both.  I'm almost certain that the bow type sleek likes doesn't last very long as traxx suspects but in our typical shooting scenarios it doesn't matter too much.   The damage gets spread around and we're aleays looking to make new bows.

  eta:  this is a reference not made about Osage but short bows in general.  When the Osage guys have been honest about its  limitations  I'm inclined to believe them.

[sleek]

You,misinterpret me...It was an actual legitimate question,to qualify any further debate and not to tell you to shove off..I meant no disrespect and cant think of any reason,why i would present that attitude toward you,,so no applause necessary 

I would venture to say,that my criteria of longevity,stems from a bow,my grandfather gave to me when i was about 10.It was a long bow,of about 68",if memory serves me well.He made this bow,before my mother was born.How much he shot it,i couldnt tell you for sure,but based on the wear marks from use and the string follow,,it exhibited,i would safely assume it was substantial..I "Shot the crap out of" that bow,from that time,up until i was in high school..That was 6 or 7 years,with a bow,that was probably made in the 40's and shot quite a bit,before i handled it in the 70's..I cant say for sure how many arrows i put through that bow,,but would venture to guess in the higher end hundreds..I later gave it to my brother,who shot it periodically,until a nephew severely abused and broke it...{ i still havent let him live that one down}..I can assure you,that i have made several shorter,more highly stressed bows and none of them,have survived the length of time,and abuse,that i inflicted on that long bow..Was that bow,the pinnacle of efficiency and performance?...No,,not even close,but it did the job,on numerous occasions,dependably...,and since
Longevity and user friendly was the topic,thus far,, i stand by my opinion regarding the subject..BUT,,,,,If you can prove this,to the contrary,i eagerly await those results,and will applaud you,should you be successful.....

Traxx, my apologies for taking you wrong. Really. Now back to the debate.

I have shot my 26 invh draw maybe a thousand times. Its still a young bow. I dont forsee it ever breaking no matter how many times I shoot it. Lol, if your qualification for longevity is that i take it to my grave, the next questuon will ne, but how many times did he shoot it? If being shot a certain number will satisfy you, that may be able to be arranged.

[sleek]

I wanna know who here has had a short bow break due to just being worn out and not damage or poor tiller/care.

[Traxx]

PatM,,,
You bring about a point,that we must also consider..Define "Very Long".....
Some may think a year,is a long time,to shoot a bow.Some are constantly making bows and trying to push the limits of said bows..Others just get bored with a certain bow and are lookin for that Greener grass bow,across the fence..Im of the camp,,that has forsaken the fast cars and fast women,that likes a bit more comfortable dependability..I prefer, a safer simpler design bow,that i can shoot for a longer while,before i have to build a replacement..I guess you could say,,im one of those 1 bow type a guys..