Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: pierce_schmeichel on August 01, 2024, 03:40:13 am
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Hey guys! Just finished up this new bow. It's a 40.5" ntn sinew backed juniper bow I backed with a bull snake skin.
I haven't made a juniper bow in a little while but I have got to say, it is such a nice bow wood!! Super lightweight, easy to carve, smells wonderful, takes very little set, and makes a super snappy bow when backed.
Anyway, this bow ended up tilering out to 45# @20" of draw and flings a 460 grain arrow 135fps!!
It ended up taking about an inch of set....but that's probably mostly because I got a little impatient in the drying process and started tilering it early haha. I couldn't wait any longer!! So, I expect to see a little more gains as time goes by, but regardless, I am very pleased with the results I have gotten so far.
I plan on taking it out hunting this season......but then again I plan that with pretty much every bow I make and always fall in love with the next bow haha.
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Beautiful!
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Great lookin little stick! Those skins are beautiful.
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Very cool little bow. 8) :OK
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Yes very cool little bow! Love those skins.
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Thanks guys!!
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Nice little stick. Full draw looks nice
Bjrogg
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very nice bow! love it
what's the string made of? is that gut?
also what kind of arrowhead is that?
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very nice bow! love it
what's the string made of? is that gut?
also what kind of arrowhead is that?
It's a raw hide sting! I live raw hide strings. They are super durable and very easy to make. You just spiral cut a bunch of raw hide stripes and twist them together. But I took that raw hide string off and am now using a yucca string that I made. I am using that Raw hide string on a different bow.
Yucca works supper good for a string too! It's strong and shoots very quickly. It does take a while to make though
And the reason I am okay with taking a little longer is so I can save my raw hide. I also have an abundant access to yucca.
As for the arrowhead, I don't have one on there right now. What you're probably seeing is a piece of electrical tape that I put on there as a marker so know how far to pull back another one of my bows! But I do plan on putting some nice knife river flint arrowheads on my arrows this hunting season!
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Cool little bow!
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Well done!
Cheers Uwe (SH)
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Wow, that's actually kinda cute!!!
Lemme know when you wanna go get that burr oak stave in the Hills!
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Thanks John! Haha it is cute. But that juniper makes a snappy little bow. It's like yew except it doesn't have the tension strong sapwood. Cool stuff
Anyway, I am coming down on the 9th of this August! So we could go check it out then!
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Thanks John! Haha it is cute. But that juniper makes a snappy little bow. It's like yew except it doesn't have the tension strong sapwood. Cool stuff
Anyway, I am coming down on the 9th of this August! So we could go check it out then!
Sounds good. Keep in touch.
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I love natural strings
In my book they are definitely a bonus on a self bow!
must find myself some yucca
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Ah, now that is one on my must-do list. I want mine longer, around 50-60", so I can get it to full 27" draw, and I have a couple of bull snake skins that will each be big enough to cover an entire bow. But of course, finding a straight piece of juniper that long is pretty difficult. The hunt continues!
Really nice work on this! I've always wondered: How difficult is it to shoot accurately with such a short bow? Seems like finding a consistent anchor would be impossible, and getting a smooth release would be tough. What's your experience?
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I've noticed the aiming to be pretty intuitive. There are a few ways you can shorten your overall draw length. The first way is by drawing facing more towards your target. Then the next way, if you have a bow that isn't too heavy of a draw weight, you can bend your elbow in and get a normal anchor point or you can anchor with your wrist. There is this belief that shorter bows aren't accurate out at distances or that they are harder to shoot and I find that to not really be the case. I can shoot my short bows well out to 60 yards. They are very accurate as long as you have arrows that flight straight out of them.
Also yes make one!! 55" is about the perfect length for a juniper bow!! 100% go for it. And hey using juniper branches also tends to work very well. Usually the top side of the branch has few knots and you can just turn it straight into the back of a bow. The tops of the branches also usually curve upward and it gives a great opportunity to use that as natural reflex! Also if you can't find anything that is knot free that is totally okay! I've noticed that as long as they aren't huge knots they don't really matter all that much. And also you really don't have to worry about violating growth rings at all because it's getting sinew backed. You just carve it out to your desired shape and sinew back it!
Boy does juniper make a great bow! I have one right now that is 33# of drawweight at 24" and shoots a 400 grain arrow 150 fps!! Juniper is really an amazing and underrated bow wood......not gonna lie I like it more than osage. Juniper is lightweight (which is a huge advantage for speed), smells good, carves like a dream, has almost no stacking, draws & shoots super smooth, and I would argue can make a better bow than osage. Osage is so heavy and takes more time for the limbs to move which actually significantly slows down an arrow.
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I love natural strings
In my book they are definitely a bonus on a self bow!
must find myself some yucca
Agreed..my bows aren't finished untill I have a natural string on them
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I've noticed the aiming to be pretty intuitive. There are a few ways you can shorten your overall draw length. The first way is by drawing facing more towards your target. Then the next way, if you have a bow that isn't too heavy of a draw weight, you can bend your elbow in and get a normal anchor point or you can anchor with your wrist. There is this belief that shorter bows aren't accurate out at distances or that they are harder to shoot and I find that to not really be the case. I can shoot my short bows well out to 60 yards. They are very accurate as long as you have arrows that flight straight out of them.
Also yes make one!! 55" is about the perfect length for a juniper bow!! 100% go for it. And hey using juniper branches also tends to work very well. Usually the top side of the branch has few knots and you can just turn it straight into the back of a bow. The tops of the branches also usually curve upward and it gives a great opportunity to use that as natural reflex! Also if you can't find anything that is knot free that is totally okay! I've noticed that as long as they aren't huge knots they don't really matter all that much. And also you really don't have to worry about violating growth rings at all because it's getting sinew backed. You just carve it out to your desired shape and sinew back it!
Boy does juniper make a great bow! I have one right now that is 33# of drawweight at 24" and shoots a 400 grain arrow 150 fps!! Juniper is really an amazing and underrated bow wood......not gonna lie I like it more than osage. Juniper is lightweight (which is a huge advantage for speed), smells good, carves like a dream, has almost no stacking, draws & shoots super smooth, and I would argue can make a better bow than osage. Osage is so heavy and takes more time for the limbs to move which actually significantly slows down an arrow.
Well, you've got me excited to try again.