Juniper/sinew kid's bow

[WhistlingBadger]

Got this thing all sanded. The Badgerling found me a garter snake a couple days ago, which donated its skin to cover half the back. Need to find him a buddy for the other half. Here it is just laid on to see how it will look. Really nice pattern on this one!

 

[jaylach]

Sigh, I almost feel sorry for the poor snake I don't know why but it reminded me of when I used to do a little archery fishing. Refraction of the sun hitting the water means that the fish is never actually where it appears.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Sigh, I almost feel sorry for the poor snake I don't know why but it reminded me of when I used to do a little archery fishing. Refraction of the sun hitting the water means that the fish is never actually where it appears.

Yeah, I kind of felt sorry for the snake, too. But they won't stay on the bow when they're still alive, so it had to be done.

I love bow fishing! I have a fiberglass-backed bow I use for that. The moisture would be too hard on my primitive bows. I've whacked some mighty nice carp over the past few years.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I'm still waiting for another garter snake (actually just the skin of one) to finish this bow and gift it to my little buddy. In the meantime, I made some arrows out of phragmite reeds from down at the creek, fletched with some flicker wing feathers we found, tipped with bamboo skewers, and held together with bison sinew. I would never use these arrows for serious hunting--a heavy bow would explode them. But they're strong enough for a 10# bow, and they weigh next to nothing so they should fly well.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I finally finished this bow! The bamboo skewers are complete failures as arrow tips; they came apart on the first shot into the target. I'll have to go pop off a few .22 rounds tomorrow and use the shells to make blunt arrowheads. But wow, does this thing zip out those cane arrows! No problem at all penetrating a target butt at 10 yards, and I suspect it will shoot fine out to 20 or so. I think my little buddy is going to be very, very happy with this.

Have I mentioned that juniper is really, really beautiful wood? This is after I oiled it with two coats of lard/beeswax/pine resin varnish. Hopefully that will preserve the purple color, which tends to turn to a rich brown over time.

Elk antler arrow rests. I put rests on both sides so it can be shot right or left handed.

Leather handle wrap

Elk antler tip overlays. I put overlays on all my bows, mostly for looks. But on this bow it's functionally important: Juniper is so soft that the string would wear into the wood over time. I think I'll use bison hoof on my next one, as the black would look really nice against the red-ivory wood.

This was my first time backing a bow with snake skin. I learned a lot, and I'm fairly pleased with how it turned out.

I don't usually name my bows until after they've made a kill, but the name of this one seemed obvious so I went with it. 10# @ 18".

 

[davros]

Mahogany dries out and becomes brittle IIRC

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Well, I finally got paid for all my work on this bow, but not with money. That smile. That's his dad helping him get the hang of it.

 

[jaylach]

LOL! Loved his first shot... almost got himself!

Just curious. What is the highest weight bow that you have made?

 

[WhistlingBadger]

LOL! Loved his first shot... almost got himself!

Just curious. What is the highest weight bow that you have made?

I think the heaviest one I've made is my current hunting bow, which pulls 57 pounds at 27 inches.

 

[jaylach]

Ya know... it has been many, many, MANY years since I've done any archery but always liked.

Years ago I almost considered a compound but decided against. Sure they can go up to 100 pound pull but it seems like cheating. May sound a bit weird but I feel like, if you can't pull the poundage, get a lighter bow. I just think that being able to pull the weight and maintain a relaxed posture and composure for a while to center on the target is a big part of archery. Compounds take this aspect out of the equation.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Ya know... it has been many, many, MANY years since I've done any archery but always liked.

Years ago I almost considered a compound but decided against. Sure they can go up to 100 pound pull but it seems like cheating. May sound a bit weird but I feel like, if you can't pull the poundage, get a lighter bow. I just think that being able to pull the weight and maintain a relaxed posture and composure for a while to center on the target is a big part of archery. Compounds take this aspect out of the equation.

Yeah, I've never had any interest in compounds. I don't really have anything against other people shooting them. To me, the whole fun of archery is that it's low-tech and traditional. Why mess with a design that fed our ancestors for thousands of years?