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.
Elk antler arrow rests. I put them on both sides so it can be shot right or left handed.
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.
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 despite a few goofs, 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".
