Best bow design?

[Kegan]

Archery seems to be the most variable sport in the world- it works for everyone, in every circumstance, in some way or another (usually). Which got me to thinking the other day about the best overall bow design. From a theoretical standpoint, I thought long flatbows with heavy handles and narrow arrow passes would be best. I tried making some, but the results were no different from my long D bows. And Native American bows, bows that kept people alive by their effectiveness, are far from this design anyhow, being short D bows.

After working on a couple problems I was having with my form, I began to wonder. So long as the bow is quick and smooth (which could be anything from half a branch to an asiatic compostie), not too heavy in bow weight, and not uncomfortable to shoot (handshock, finger pinch, an unpleasent handle, etc.), wouldn't any bow work if your form is right (or at least consistent) and your arrows spined properly?

It doesn't seem like there's a cover-all bow design. I've heard that flatbows have a great number of advantages over D bows, but as of yet, I haven't seen the effects of them on my shooting- despite trying both.

What does everyone think?

[Badger]

Kegan, I kind of think if you execute a design properly there won't be much difference. The wood you are using and where you live also contribute to this. I don't think there is one best design. Steve

[Pat B]

A bow is inherently accurate. The nut behind the string and the arrow makes it otherwise. I believe that early man made the best bows for their situations, climate and available materials. We, on the other hand have enough info to make them all and as humans have to try to figure out which one is best. The best bow design is the one that you are the most comfortable with and can shoot the most accurately. For some that is a 78" "D" bow but for others its a highly stressed R/D bow and yet others prefer recurves. You will find as many choices as people using them.    Pat
 

[JackCrafty]

Good question Kegan.
For me, the heavier the bow (mass), the more uncomfortable it is.  If I could find a bow that weighed very little, had a smooth and powerful release, with no hand shock, and fired arrows with a whisper....that would be the perfect bow.  So far, a juniper D-bow is the closest thing to perfect.  I'm sure yew is much the same...although I haven't tried it (yet).

[Kegan]

For me, the heavier the bow (mass), the more uncomfortable it is. 

That's exactly what lead me to this question. Among fiberglass-recurve shooters and compounders, "the heavier the bow, the more accurate" seems to be accepted as the rule. And on paper it seems obvious, and it is true among many archers, but what of the rest? I've met and talked with dozens of folks who like really ight bows, and I personally haven't seens a difference in my shooting. Which lead me to believe that it's really more of an bow wieght question, which is usually the reason that I flinch or jerk the bow.

[Shooter_G22]

    my ideal bow that i would love to own would be:

  a short 52" to 56"  bow with wide limbs that tapered to a narrow  tip...
   with a very comfortable handle and as light as posible
  i would like about a 27" draw
 oh and i would love it to be about a 55# to 60# bow
that shoots fast and snappy...  i mean i want one that will luanch them supper fast
but quite..

i dont know if that style exist but that's what i would want to scout around with
i mean if i had to hike around a bow and do alot of scout / stalking i want something light short tactical but very comfortable in the hand and with a lot of punch...

but thats just me.....

maybe thats what i need to start working on huh??

[benjamin]

The perfect design is the one that does the job best. If you want your arrow to go900yds, go high weight asiatic composite. If you want to shoot an armor plated knight, yew long bows are the undisputed champions. If all you want is ease of construction, find a 9ft thin branch. String it to see what weight it is and shorten it till you get close to desired weight. at that length, tiller really doesn't matter since sooo much wood is doing so little work. For raw speed, short needle tip pyromid bows with a ton of reflex would probably win hands down. For me speed is important but I don't like the look of narrow tips. And I like hunting from blinds. Perfect for me is a short D bow (38''- 54'') with 1/2''-3/4'' wide but thin tips, reflexed to keep speed up, NO SINEW to prolong contruction time and no worrying about moister lowering weight or loosening the backing. Again, this is perfect for me and my hunting, draw length(18'' and 25'') and preferences. Someone else here might have a heartattack reading this because perfect for him is the total opposite and I'm an idiot. Long story short, perfect is the design that answers the needs of your environement and tastes. It's your bow. Make it what you want. I've made over 150 bows now; a good 70 or more before I'd ever heard about the TBB. I still haven't made the "perfect" one but I'm still trying. My design, my way. 

[Shooter_G22]

what is TBB??   what is it... what is it precious??? lol

 hmmm..  i must know what is this the TBB   about you talk..  hmmm...  lol..



what is a pyramid Bow???   i like speed, hard punch and tactical and light weight...  would that be a pyramid bow???

what does a pyramid bow look like??? 

[El Destructo]

what is TBB??   what is it... what is it precious??? lol

 hmmm..  i must know what is this the TBB   about you talk..  hmmm...  lol..



what is a pyramid Bow???   i like speed, hard punch and tactical and light weight...  would that be a pyramid bow???

what does a pyramid bow look like??? 

You are kidding........right??

[Shooter_G22]

no serously i dont know what that is??? 

i'm new to all the technical terms..   i mean i'm really learning alot but im new to building bows and making arrows...   i have always owned a bow since i was about 6,7,or 8 yrs old but i mean i used to make them when i was a kid after seeing cowboy and indian shows... on tv.. i'm 35 going on 36 yrs old... sooo when i was 6 yrs old there was some real old school cowboy and indian show on tv...lol...   but my first bow i made out of a wooden coat hanger and a rubber band and i shoot the cardboard bottom of a wire coat hanger as my arrow at my brother and he would shoot me with a plastic suction cup wester dart gun...lol... and that how i got started in archery...lol.. it was later when i figured out how to cut down branches and for bows and use kit dowels for arrows with dart tips and those fluffy feathers that goes with art crafts my older sister allways had pink and purple fluffy feathers in her room and i'd go in ther and steal em for my arrows..lol..   

but then when i was older i got a hold of a fiberglass long bow type and some cheap youth arrows with plasic vienes and shoot that and then when i was a teen our local bowling aally hang out had archery that you could rent recurves there and soo every now and then i shot there but when i got out of highschool went straight into the marine corps where i got screened for snipper for my shooting ablilities and turned that down cuase i had intel under contract soo i stayed with my original contract and then served my eight and then didnt hunt for a long time after that didnt even own a rifle but my hand missed the rife, soo i shoot regurlarly and a several yrs back my hands missed the bow soo i bought a small 48" bear recurve 55# @ 28... and thats what i hunt with and shoot now...  as for the bow and bow types i know there is long bow recurve and compound..  with as of today i have never Shot a Compound bow...  oh and of coarse the simple stick bows that i used to make as a kid...
but now i have learned about a bush bow...  a board bow, a self bow, a backed self bow, a laminate bow, a reflex bow and a short bow with is a shorter version of a long bow...

but i dont know what a pyramid bow is
i dont know what a D bow is (except for that big crossed eyed black guy that came out on that movie friday) lmao...
and i dont know what TBB is...

but im trying to learn...

i would feel stupid but i dont...   cause even if i dont know what all theses technical terms are im still going to build bows cuase i enjoy it and even though i have attemted to build about 4-5 bows soo far and all have snapped in two... except for the one i just finished and even that one cracked twice in two differant places and i had two inprovise and tweek and cheat and do everything i can to make sure i got one done...

im still going to continue blind and ignorant of terms and styles...  but im going to try and learn...
and im not going to feel dumb becuase i'm new and everybody starts somewhere...

hey i might not know what tbb is or a pyramid bow but i bet some people on this board dont know what a 6.5 grendal is either... or a 6.5-284 or even a chandler rifle...

but that is what i do know and good at... soo everybody has there speacalties and im not here to talk anout long range precesion shooting im here to learn about bow makin and here to have a good time and mybe a little since of humor along the way?

im just tickled to death to be able to convers with such great bow makers...   and hopefully i wont step on toes by asking silly questions... or trying to imitaite smeagle and yoda...lol...

just haveing a good time... and trying to learn as much as possible...

[El Destructo]

Well then you need to PM Calendergirl or Sara....and get your copies of "The Bowyer's Bibles" from the Magazine....and then do a Search for Pyramid Bows and D Bows....there are so many good Posts here on Both....please utilize the information that is available here...it's free....and Most People on here will bend over backwards to give you the help you need

Michael  " El Destructo " Roberts

[George Tsoukalas]

To add to what Badger said, Keegan, I think design is specific to not only the type of wood but also to the wood you have on your bow bench. Another factor is the bow's intended use. For example, a long English longbow design to be used from a ground blind may not be the best design for hickory. Jawge

[shamus]

Shooter, If you don't know, The Search Function will help you out a lot.    We've all started off as newbies at one point. 

Right design for the wood. That's key.  That said; is there a universally good bow design? Maybe. Tin Baker likes D bows. A bow that bends through the handle is easy to make, adaptable to a lot of woods, and has more pluses than minuses. D bows can be flat or rounded in the belly, btw.

But I still prefer flatbows over D bows.

The disadvantage of the D bow is that it can only be 1.5" wide at the most, and on weaker woods you have to compensate for that narrowness by making the bow overly long. Once again, pluses and minuses.

I'm thinking maybe the flatbow might be a universally better design. Width and length can be adjusted per wood species...better so than a D bow. But a flatbow is more complex bow to make. Once again, pluses and minuses.

So, we are back again to matching the right design to the wood. Sometimes it's a flatbow, sometimes a D bow. 

[Bowbound]

The one that brings home the meat or wins the war or hits the bullseye.

Thats about it.

[Shooter_G22]

limey jaosh,  i have to agree with you...   i dont know much about bows...  but it just makes sense...  and i know alot about shooting and little about hunting.... and the one thing i stand by is what ever works... and that to me means  what ever works for you is the best for you...  that might not be the best for someone else... 
i  truelly believe that what ever bow you got in your hand if you like and you like it more than any other than your gonna shoot it bettter than any other... and that is going to be the bow that is best for you....

how ever there are other factors to consider...  for instance if your most favorat bow on your rack is a 78" war bow and your most acurate with that at the range,  that might not be the bow you take out to the hunt... it might be, but it might not be, i mean you might have to sacfrafice accuracy for for comfort and tact...  not to say you cant hunt with a 78" bow, just saying you might not choose to, for what ever reason... 
so like many have said here.. i would have to agree that "The Best Bow" design revolves around situation and circumstance...

very contraversal subject i must say, but then again maybe thats why there are so many bow designs if ther was an ultimate bow design and out performed every other design in every aspect then i think most people would use it and archery would be boring...lol..
but that is not the case... and thank god for that i think archery is great and challanging. i think it is a direct path to your inner warroir and inner hunter...  and it brings the very best out in most people...  i know i can tell the class of gentleman here on this board... and have to say that it is a great class of poeple...