living with the wood bow

There has been a large revival of people building and hunting with wood bows in the last decade. By wood bow, I mean a bow made from a single piece of wood, often referred to as a “self bow.” I don’t know if this is due to a conscious movement by many to get more in touch with their hunting roots, a rebellion by some against the constant onslaught of modern technology, or the result of older, more experienced hunters attempting to augment their enjoyment of the hunt by increasing the challenge. Maybe it’s a combination of all three.

Surely a lot of the credit has to go to wood bow building icons who have been willing to pass their knowledge on through their writings, such as Dean Torges’s Hunting the Osage Bow, Paul Comstock’s The Bent Stick, and Jim Hamm’s et al The Bowyer’s Bible series. Some credit must go to the abundance of knowledge shared on the Internet through various traditional forums. Additionally, credit must be given to the numerous national publications dealing with the subject such as the one you’re reading now. Credit must also be shared by various hands-on events such as Mojam, Ojam, and other “Bow bees” that are held in many parts of the country where knowledgeable self bowyers share their hard earned experience with those eager to learn. It is obvious that the information on building wood bows being disseminated is being absorbed like a sponge soaking up water, and people all over the world are once again building, hunting, and enjoying the once all-but-forgotten simple wood bow.

Hunting and living with a wood bow is a bit different than living and hunting with its fiberglass backed cousins. Just like a glass-backed bow, a well-built wood bow will survive daily use for many seasons in the field. The very nature of the materials however, dictate that they be treated differently in order for the wood bow to fulfill that potential.

Let’s consider some of the frailties of the all wood bow and some solutions I have learned from making, hunting, and living with wood bows for many years. Assume we have built a bow from well-seasoned wood, honed it to the correct dimensions for its design, and that it has been well tillered with no stiff spots or hinges. Assume that its back is a single growth ring and that the bow has no obvious flaws such as cracks, frets, chrysals, or split knots, etc., then our number one concern has to be moisture control. When we speak of moisture control we are not just talking about hunting for a week in a pouring rain, although that would certainly be the ultimate test of moisture control. Moisture control is much more subtle than that. Wood is a hydroscopic material, which in laymen’s terms means it has pores and breathes. Any change in ambient temperature or humidity brings a corresponding change in moisture content in an unprotected piece of wood. Ideally we want the measurable moisture content in our wood to be around 9 or 10%, which would relate to a relative outside humidity of 50%. If the humidity outside is higher than that, our unprotected wood absorbs moisture, and if it is lower than that our wood tends to dry out.

With a moisture content that is too high, our bow becomes less resilient with a resultant loss in draw weight, performance, and cast. The opposite is just as bad. Too low of a moisture content can dry our bow out, making it brittle and prone to breaking. Of course we seal our bows to prevent this, but I have yet to find a sealer that keeps moisture in or out adequately for very long. I avoid hunting in the rain with my wood bows whenever possible, because not only do I dislike my equipment getting wet, I don’t care much for getting wet myself. Add the risk of a blood trail getting washed out and it is just too risky to take a chance on shooting an animal in the rain; however, sometimes hunting in the rain is unavoidable. Being in a stand when it starts drizzling is a lot different than waking up, seeing rain pouring down, and heading out in it anyway. The best policy to protect your bow’s moisture content is to take your bow down from its rack at least once a season and put another coat of your preferred finish on it. Then, if you know you are going to be hunting in the rain, put a good coat of automotive paste wax on it before allowing the bow to get wet. Don’t forget to wax down in the string grooves and, if you have a leather grip on your bow, either wrap some Saran wrap around it before going out or use a hairdryer to dry it once you get back in. Leather that is soaked through will remain wet for a long time. You don’t want the wood in your handle to be exposed to moisture that long. Be sure to towel off your bow as soon as possible after a wetting and put it in a warm dry place to thoroughly dry before stringing again. Depending on how much moisture the wood absorbed (which is dependant upon how good your finish was) and the relative humidity of the environment in which you are drying your bow, this could take from a day to a week or more.

Our second area of concern in a wood bow comes from the wood being stressed. Stress comes from four main areas: stringing the bow, where you have the brace height set, how long the bow is left strung, and unstringing the bow. Using a bow stringer with leather cups is the absolute safest way to string or unstring a wood bow. Many of us use the push-pull method of stringing. This is done by placing one limb tip against the instep of our foot while simultaneously holding the handle with one hand while pushing on the upper limb and sliding the string up with the other hand until it is in the string grooves. There is very little chance of damage to the bow stringing it like this, and it is a very convenient and quick method; however, this can be a dangerous method for the person doing the stringing should the bow slip. If this is the method you use, always turn your face away from the bow when stringing or unstringing. A few still use the step through method of stringing; this is perhaps the most damaging way of stringing or unstringing a bow. More bows are damaged in the stringing/unstringing process than by any other way.

As far as brace height goes, the higher the brace, the more stressful being strung for long periods of time is on the wood. I set the brace height at about 5 3/4" on my wood bows, which is just high enough to prevent the string from slapping my wrist when shooting and to keep the feathers of the arrow off the arrow rest when braced. This is easily adjusted by twisting or un-twisting the string.

A well made wood bow can endure being strung for a full day of hunting with marginal loss in performance and cast. However there is no need to keep a wood bow strung any longer than is really necessary, and using the push-pull method of stringing one can go from an unstrung bow to a strung bow and vice versa in mere seconds. I’ll often walk to my hunting spot with my bow unstrung and once near the spot I’ll string it up and commence hunting. If I come in for breakfast or lunch, I’ll unstring the bow when I am within sight of camp and then string it again once I resume my evening hunt. When it gets dark I unstring it again before walking out. Doing this allows the wood fibers periods of time without being stressed and will make your wood bow live longer. Another benefit to this is there is less to snag while walking with an unstrung bow.

Our next area of concern is physical damage. Damage can come naturally from a knot splitting or a splinter lifting. It can also come if your bow is dropped accidentally from a tree stand or if you were to trip and fall while walking hitting the bow on something sharp or solid like a rock. It can happen if your bow limb is shut in a truck door, tailgate, or trunk lid. Additionally, damage can occur in a dry fire from a broken arrow nock or broken string. It’s a good idea to regularly inspect your wood bow for damage, particularly if it has taken a hard knock. Look it over carefully, examine the flat surfaces and the edges of the limbs, both belly and back, in good natural light; also look at the limb tips and the string grooves. I like to take a soft cotton cloth like a baby diaper and lightly wipe my bow all over. If there are any splinters lifting, they will snag on the soft cotton making them easy to find. This inspection will give you a chance to make a repair before it becomes disastrous. You’ll be surprised how easily a minute splinter can be overlooked in an examination only to be discovered during the diaper wipe. While you’re at it, check the string, and if it is frayed anywhere make up a new one.

Wood bows are pretty durable, but at the same time they will not tolerate being ignored or treated like the typical string-it-and-forget-it glass bow. There are very few wood bow catastrophic failures because the bow generally gives you an indication that something is amiss in time to repair it. A physical examination and diaper wipe will generally catch most problems and give you plenty of warning if something needs attention.

Many problems can be avoided by watching the amount of moisture your bow is subjected to, by not overstressing the wood, and by taking precautions against damaging the wood. Still if some of these maladies do befall your wooden bow, it is important to remember that a wood bow can be dried out, narrowed, thinned, shortened, glued, and sinew-wrapped. You can even cut new nocks, if necessary, to put the bow back into service again. To quote my younger brother when referring to one particular eastern red cedar bow he had first made over a decade ago which kept having all sorts of issues, “It ain’t broke, till I say it’s broke.” By the way, that bow is still in one piece and shooting today.

Living with a wood bow can be a little more challenging than living with a glass backed bow. It demands your attention, your care, and your involvement. Can you live with that?