Quanah Parker with bow and arrow, osage bow pic added

[Allyn T]

I would make a short bow if I could do it without sinew and still have a full length draw. That's the one reason I'm afraid to try one. That short bow your talking about though he made without sinew and it held a great unbraced side profile. I think shorter bows are less cumbersome which I would prefer for hunting anyway.

How short are you talkin? Definitely doable with good wood and design. Just won’t look like a narrow Stereotypical native bow.

I'm talking like 56-60 inches I feel like that's pretty short for a 29" draw.

Brad Im sure I would like it lol it's just a lot of work all around

[RyanY]

Allyn, that’s definitely doable. 58” ntn would be my minimum for a bend through the handle bow unless I went for a tiller shape with stiffer outer limbs with wide inner limbs. 56” could be achieved with mild reflex in the outer limbs to prevent stacking.

[bradsmith2010]

thanks Ryan, we got to get Allyn a good hunting  bow he is happy with,, 

[bownarra]

It looks like a childs bow to me. Unless it was ipe or similar it wouldn't have much weight to it either. I doubt those arrows he is holding could be fully drawn on that bow.
Really it is a waste of time speculating about these sorts of things. There could be all sorts of stuff a viewer of the photo would never even consider. Just take it as a very interesting peek into a time past but nothing more
Now to actually have a chance to talk to this fella...... that would be an eye opener

[sleek]

Brad, I really like your view point there. I'd like add to it but really cant, I think you said it all.

[Allyn T]

thanks Ryan, we got to get Allyn a good hunting  bow he is happy with,, 

Right now any bow I make I'm happy with lol.

Ryan between you and Brad I'm sure I'll be convinced to attempt one soon

[bradsmith2010]

 Marc was right,, this bow is 42 and seems much longer than bow in photo,,
but you can see  this might appear to be a childs bow, but it pulls 50#@20 inches, and yes sometimes arrows were longer than the intended draw of a bow,, I have seen that quite 0ften, I do that myself to get arrows to fly, thats a whole nother discussion for sure,,, most of my arrows are longer than I draw,,,even my 28 inch draw bows,, I shoot full length shafts,, the arrow in the photo here are 23 inch Sioux inspired,, when I first started making the shorter bows,, my best hunting friend commented it looked like a childs bow,, imagine the surprise on his face when he tried to draw, it,, 65#@25 inches,,
I was looking at some west coast arrows over 30 inces for some very short bows,,,they were reed, I am assuming the longer arrows were a better spine at the longer length,,

[AndrewS]

On tradarchersworld I found the following article on the subject (the last article on the page - please remove the brackets around the http:...):
(http:)//tradarchersworld.com/cart/merchandise.html

Personally, I also really like shooting short bows. And if they have very short draw lengths, then I just adjust my anchor point....

[bradsmith2010]

thank you I will check it out,,

[bjrogg]

I find short bows very handy. I only have about a 24” draw so they actually fit me pretty well. I’m always surprised how little wood belongs in a short bow. They don’t have the leverage so it takes less mass for the same draw weight as a longer bow.

I have a shorty I made. Static recurves to help with string angle and give some early string tension. I think it’s around 42”. Something like 45@24”. Physical weight is around 9.5 oz. it’s a pretty quick bow. I call it “No Kiddin” because it does look like a kids bow. I took it hunting a couple times this year but I didn’t get a shot. I don’t see any reason it shouldn’t be a deadly weapon though.

I also agree with the longer arrows. They are easier to tune and get great arrow flight.

I like all kinds of bows though. I do think a little longer stiff handle is a bit more durable. It has more mass to store energy and handle the stress. To long gets to much mass.

That’s one of the beautiful things about selfbows. You can build what you want and try it out. It’s all good

Bjrogg

[Pappy]

Nice discussion, I have several shot bows and love them as I do all my bows, you would never hear me talk down on them, of course I don't get into all the mass weight, shooting curves or stored energy stuff, to each their own,Bows either shoot to my liking or they don't,   simply said, they are harder for me to shoot well but have great admiration for those that can.  Love the pictures by the way Brad. 
 Pappy

[bradsmith2010]

thank you Pappy,, well said as always,,

[bjrogg]

Yup Pappy, that’s how I see it to. I really don’t do the whole mass and stored energy stuff either. I don’t think I even understood it till I made some short bows. Honestly still not sure I do.lol

I just know there’s a lot less wood on a 48”  bendy 50@24 than a 64” stiff handle 50@24. So I’m calling that less mass.

Bjrogg

I like them all and enjoy trying different designs.

[Allyn T]

I think it helps people grow to try different designs and different wood types

[bradsmith2010]

this is 54inch osage bow, rawhide back,, after a few warm up shots,
I was only shooting 8 yards,,but hoping to get a close shot at turkey out of blind with decoy,,
so thought I would see if this bow still shoots well,, yep,, If I can hold my nerves, the turkey will be in trouble,, I need the shorter bow to shoot out of blind so a longer bow is not an option,, hunting out of a blind is a good example of when a short bow really comes into its own,,in gonna call this eye of the turkey shot,,