Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Shooting and Hunting => Topic started by: Blind Dog on October 26, 2016, 06:52:59 am
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I have seen of late several bows shorter than 60". Many as short as 36". All with draw lengths of 22" to 24". How do you shoot those shorties? I am 6'4" and am a founding member of the "Grass Stained Knuckle Society". I can stand with my feet slightly apart and flat palm an 8 foot ceiling.
I have been considering bows made of local Utah juniper backed with sinew but what style would accommodate my long draw of 30"?
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Um, learn to shoot a horn bow with thumb ring? My turkish bow is 48" and I draw it to 33".
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If you are referring to short drawing to match a short bow. Practice, practice, practice. You have to find consistency somewhere in your draw, anchor and release. Similar to a full draw with say your middle finger in the corner of your mouth and a locked elbow, as an example.
If you just short draw and fling arrows you will have days you cant miss and many more days you cant hit anything.
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My sacrilegious synthetic Korean bow's 50" and I draw to 31 or 32"... maybe one day I'll get the real horn and sinew thing. Those are rather fragile, though.. should make a very old style Korean war bow :p
Hard to make such a bow primitive without sinew backing, and anything but horn or bamboo for the belly, I think. Short static recurves.
I was thinking of making a 36" bamboo bow to draw 18" or maybe 20"... to shoot such bows, I think I'd actually use the string as a visual anchor to aim. There was an article on the front page about this. "Wicked Little Indian bows". Don't know where it went... Here!
https://www.primitivearcher.com/articles/wickedlittlebows.html
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(http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i411/rocketernally/20160313_122245-1_zpsmbzfpht1.jpg) (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/rocketernally/media/20160313_122245-1_zpsmbzfpht1.jpg.html)
I draw them like this...
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(http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i411/rocketernally/Screenshot_20160805-165544_zpsksklp6lr.png) (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/rocketernally/media/Screenshot_20160805-165544_zpsksklp6lr.png.html)
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Yeah, im showung off a bit, but point is, you can have a short self bow and a long draw length too. All these bows have very decent cast and I have made a few more.
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I love short bows with a long draw... stacky, but very fast
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Sleek, you got all the goody out of that bow for sure.
Dog, like Pearlie said it takes lots of practice. When I started shooting short bows(47" to 60") it took me almost a year before I felt confident with them. I only draw 26" but it was still a chore. Consistency is definitely the secret just like shooting instinctively. Maybe try not pulling the full 30" but find a method to get the bow to full draw but with a shorter draw...and practice, practice, practice.
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For me, Not very well. ;) ;D ;D ;D
Pappy
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Its been my experience,that to shoot a short native style bow,with a short draw,that if i try to shoot it in the style that most shoot these days,it results in uncomfortable,inconsistent shooting.to draw the bow in this style results in inconsistent anchor points and plucking.I rely more on finding an anchor point such as,thumb base in corner of mouth or web between thumb and pointer finger cupping my chin and then,extending my bow hand and arm out.More of a push style than a push/pull style.In several old videos of early native people shooting,i have witnessed this style,where more emphasis is on the push aspect than the draw .This is an easier method to use,with a floating anchor or one where the hand is not placed against the face in any way.
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For me, Not very well. ;) ;D ;D ;D
Pappy
*rimshot*
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put a piece of tape on the arrow the draw length you want,,
draw the bow back till you hit the tape,, let it go with a smooth release,,
doesnt matter how tall you are,, you can shoot a short draw just fine,, :)
with a pinch grip,, when the draw weight gets high it will shoot itself,,
its not that hard,, I think the short draw bows shine at close range,,'
takes very little movement to draw and shoot,, less chance of spooking the game,, and maybe is a bit faster getting the shot off,, giveing you an advantage that drawing to 30 inches does not have,,
time yourself on the short bow release,,and then the long draw release, that half second could put meat in the freezer,,
thats why those guys used them, there was a definite advantage in the right situation,,
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Brad when I tape off an arrow to shoot a bow in that doesn't fit me. I shoot all over hell. I cant take my eyes off the target, look at where the tape is in relation to the draw, and then look back at my target and let an accurate arrow go.
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Once you've shot a short bow enough you can feel when you hit full draw. I'm not conscious of my bow or arrow while drawing and shooting. I've shot enough to where my muscle memory takes over that part and my subconscious does the aiming and figures the distance.
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put a piece of tape on the arrow the draw length you want,,
draw the bow back till you hit the tape,, let it go with a smooth release,,
doesnt matter how tall you are,, you can shoot a short draw just fine,, :)
with a pinch grip,, when the draw weight gets high it will shoot itself,,
its not that hard,, I think the short draw bows shine at close range,,'
takes very little movement to draw and shoot,, less chance of spooking the game,, and maybe is a bit faster getting the shot off,, giveing you an advantage that drawing to 30 inches does not have,,
time yourself on the short bow release,,and then the long draw release, that half second could put meat in the freezer,,
thats why those guys used them, there was a definite advantage in the right situation,,
could also extend bow hand index finger and use it to feel the arrow head?
and flight bows are often short with shorter draws (26-27"?), no? I guess there may be an optimal length for flight bows..
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Pearl,, maybe if you wrap the tape a bit thicker,, you could just feel the tape,,and not have to look at it,,???
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Same idea as the "sangsa" in a Korean arrow...
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I would try something a little different here. If my draw were too long to shoot a bow, I would tie a loop on the string where the arrow goes, and use a release of some type, making the loop long enough so the bow is full draw when I am too.
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put a piece of tape on the arrow the draw length you want,,
draw the bow back till you hit the tape,, let it go with a smooth release,,
doesnt matter how tall you are,, you can shoot a short draw just fine,, :)
with a pinch grip,, when the draw weight gets high it will shoot itself,,
its not that hard,, I think the short draw bows shine at close range,,'
takes very little movement to draw and shoot,, less chance of spooking the game,, and maybe is a bit faster getting the shot off,, giveing you an advantage that drawing to 30 inches does not have,,
time yourself on the short bow release,,and then the long draw release, that half second could put meat in the freezer,,
thats why those guys used them, there was a definite advantage in the right situation,,
It sounds as if practice is the key. Or in my case, forgetting nearly 50 years of old habits and trying something new. I now live in western Colorado, my goal is to build a Ute style short bow of native juniper and take on local game of mule deer and elk. After you've seen 60 winters you need new challenges or you waste away...
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Nothing wrong with being wasted ;)
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I don't have a lot of experience with real short draws though most of you would say I already have a short draw with my normal anchor point. So far my short draws have been kids bows or my Marshall mini bows. The kids bows where about 19 to 20" draws for them I anchored with a spot on my wrist touching a spot on my chin. I could actually shoot these pretty good one was even a lefty. My mini's both had about 10" draw I mostly used the draw weight for release on these which was much harder for me to shoot and just 1/2" made a huge difference on draw weight on these.
Bjrogg
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once you get out to 24 inches or so,, the power stroke is pretty nice, and you can get a hard shooting bow at that draw,, ( for elk)
the shorter bows dont seem as effecient when you get down to say 20 inches,,
they will shoot hard enough,, but you might have to go up in weight at 20 inches to get the cast for elk,, the 24 inche draw bow,, will shoot close to a full draw bow,,
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Brad,
How short of a bow can I make and still have a 24" draw length. 48"? I'm thinking using Utah Juniper and sinew backing with a bend at the handle design.
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I would guess that'd be more than long enough..
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I have not used juniper,, but 48 should be fine with sinew and bend handle,,,,some others with Juniper experience might chime in,,