Many years ago I let a guy cut some osage logs off my property in exchange for making me a bow. That is what got me interested in selfbows and started me down this path. The bow that I received from that guy wasn't much. I think he was just starting out. The bow was supposed to be 50 lbs but was more like 35 lbs. The bow had a lot of issues. I only shot it one time and threw it in the corner of the garage.
This weekend I was tearing out an old goat pasture fence and found that bow wedged in a gate keeping it closed. I don't even remember putting it there. It had to be at least 7 or 8 years ago, maybe more. It was grey and weather checked. The upper limb tip was shoved in the ground. Of course my first thought was "I wonder if it will still shoot".
The leather shelf is dead center of the handle. You have to hold the bottom fade to shoot it.
The brace is about how I remember it
I put on some safety glasses and pulled it back. There was a lot of crackling noises from it the first few times I pulled it back. After that it quieted down.
And yes, it will still fling an arrow, just not very fast. Pretty impressive for a piece of wood that has been exposed to the sun, rain, and ice for almost a decade.
