Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Horn Bows => Topic started by: wizardgoat on January 01, 2017, 01:24:47 pm
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Here is my second sheep horn bow, and my 50th bow overall. I got this set from my local classifieds, they were flawless and unpinned, and I was able to
get some nice slats from them. They are joined with a 2.5" lap splice, and two 3.5" risers on the back and belly.
Just sinew scrap glue, no rivets. I wrapped the handle with sinew, so I could do some pre tillering and not worry so much
about my handle. I got the horn core to a nice looking braced profile, then laid down 4 courses of sinew over a couple weeks.
I believe it was close to 3 oz. Its amazing how much reflex these bows take, after a month or so it looked like a seasoning Turkish bow.
I let the bow season nearly 8 months before I began to tiller it out. I used mostly heat, with a little bit of horn removal.
I had some twist to deal with, this bow saw many many heat gun sessions.
I wanted this bow to be a bit thicker than my first hornbow, not for draw weight, but for stability.
Its close to 1/2' thick just outside of the handle, and about 60/40 horn to sinew ratio.
37.5" ntn, and draws to 24". When I first finished the bow it was pulling about 42-44#, but I checked it the other day and its now pulling 46-47#
Perhaps its the cold weather. I left the bow strung over night, just to check stability. It took some string follow, but after 20 minutes it was
back to where it should be, at nearly 5" of reflex.
Its backed with a WDB rattlesnake skin, finished with shellac, 2 ply sinew string, and has a deer hide handle wrap.
Photos taken near Parksville on Vancouver island.
Cheers guys, thanks for looking.
(https://s28.postimg.org/f8r2rrvkd/IMG_1818.jpg) (https://postimage.org) (https://postimage.org/)
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Very impressive work! The amount of bend you get out of those short horn bows is incredible. The rattlesnake skin looks great on it. Well done.
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Stunner!! That full draw is saaaaaweeeeeet! I dig everything about it Ryan, and like Clint said, the skins look great on it. Very impressive indeed
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Wow! Everything about that bow is perfect! Awesome job!
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Awesome!
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Very awesome little bow. These bows always amaze me. Cheers- Brendan
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Congratulations on a working piece of art with a sweet bend!!A sinew string to boot too.An inspiration to many a bow maker.That's a lot of sinew prepping too!!!Nice tribute to such a beautiful animal.
I think the next sinewed bow I make with more than 1 ounce of sinew I will construct and tiller it at least 5#'s under my preferred poundage to have what I want a year later to avoid retillering poundage off it.....lol.Although that is the nature of the beast.
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Another amazing horn bow from congratulations
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Killer bow Ryan. I forget about the horn bow thread on this site, gotta come over here and check out these amazing bows more often now.
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You nailed it, Ryan, as usual.
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Yes indeed, very nice
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Yeah! That bow is just too cool! I really like the final shape and good on you for making a proper string :)
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Superb :)
Del
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Absolutely amazing! Great job. This just inspired me to continue work on my first attempt at a horn bow.
Eric
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Impressive! Wizard goat you make these horn bows look good! Keep up the good work and waiting on the next one to look at.
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WOWZA! Ryan that is a spectacular piece of work dude.
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Now you're just showing off Goat ;D ;D ;D
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Very nice. Great job on that horn bow.
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Image links are dead. Would love to see for voting...
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Never seen a bow made out of horns before; that is really cool. Lot of time and labor, but it sure paid off. Beautiful bow!!
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masterpiece Ryan!
That thing is special, oh I like the 90° string angle. This is a spot on in every aspects.
All my respect brother!
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Wow Ryan thats is some impressive work, fd is outstanding!!
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Oh my Ryan, Thats amazing!! Great job!
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Very cool bow!
Looks like a mini missile launcher!
Kevin
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so cool and tiny. is it harder to make than a sinew backed wood bow? I heard it can be hard to tame the twisting in the core-less horn bows. And 8 months... Would you mind sharing performance stats? I am definitely glad that bows can take that much bend, else I'd be stuck with either long bows or short draws..
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Thanks everyone for the kind words.
Loon, yes bighorn bows are harder to make than sinew backed wood bows. Because of twist issues, horn curl memory, and
also because it does not react the same way as wood during tillering. You must also rely on heat and a very accurate
thickness taper. This bow shoots very well, but is pretty low weight for what it is, I haven't chronied it yet, but I don't expect to be blown away.
Maybe one day after many hornbows I'll care about performance, for now I'm just happy to get them shooting :)