And I diverge .............

Talk with other Shiloh Sharps shooters.

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mdeland
Posts: 11708
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 1:47 pm

Re: And I diverge .............

Post by mdeland »

I can still manage a 50 lbs draw with efficiency and without shaking but much more than that and my shoulder starts complaining. I sure enjoy shooting the Bear Montana Long bow I bought myself for Christmas last year. It's easy to shoot and within a couple of feet per second as fast as the Wing Hunter I have. That surprised me because I was told re-curve bows are supposed to be much faster than flat bows. In my hands at least the flat bows are much easier to be accurate with for some reason.
I gave the Pyramid bow to my son for his birthday although I have yet to fire harden and final tiller it. The Bodark bow will be my second daughters bow made from wood harvested either on or near their farm in Kansas.
I made them to use and shoot but so far the ones I gave to my grand kids just get shown and looked at by others. What good is a pretty bow if it isn't shot and used me thinks ? :lol:
Glen Ring
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Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2019 3:45 pm

Re: And I diverge .............

Post by Glen Ring »

I had to drop pull weight also. My custom Howard Hill longbow and custom recurve pull 60 lbs, but they are in storage for my Grand Son. My two bows now are 43 lbs and made in the 60's. A bear grizzly and a Wing Hunter...both 58 inches long.

Bow making , flint knapping...it's all good to know.
There are those that talk, and those that act. Make a choice.
mdeland
Posts: 11708
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 1:47 pm

Re: And I diverge .............

Post by mdeland »

I used to have a Bear Grizzly as well and I really liked it but I left it at the farm when I came North to Alaska in 71 and it disappeared.
I sure would like to compare it to the Wing Hunter. I do remember the limbs were not as wide as is the Wings.
How do you rate them against each other Glen ?
Glen Ring
Posts: 904
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2019 3:45 pm

Re: And I diverge .............

Post by Glen Ring »

I think the wing has a little more snap...although they are VERY close in design and speed.
There are those that talk, and those that act. Make a choice.
Cromartie
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2018 3:03 pm

Re: And I diverge .............

Post by Cromartie »

I still have my two red wolf recurves that were made probably 25 years ago. One is 61# @ 28" and the other 72# @ 28". I haven't shot an arrow with either one in years now. Not sure if I could even draw them back to anchor point. They were made by a guy that lived near Houston that reportedly killed himself but I'm not sure one way or the other. I do know that they're both hard and fast shooting bows.
Glen Ring
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Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2019 3:45 pm

Re: And I diverge .............

Post by Glen Ring »

I have a 58 inch Fox archery "breed" that pulls 62 Pounds at my draw length. I killed a nice buck antelope with it around wright city Wyoming a few years ago.

I have a Custom Howard Hill Longbow that pulls 55 pounds at 28 inches. I have killed wild hogs, snakes , rabbits, squirrels and love the bow....both are take downs with sleeved handles but my draw weight has went down.

The Wing Hunter and Bear grizzly are 60's bows, pull 43 pounds and I bought them both at garage sales for 5 bucks each. They are my favorite right now.

I guess we either roll with ageing or stay home.
There are those that talk, and those that act. Make a choice.
mdeland
Posts: 11708
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 1:47 pm

Re: And I diverge .............

Post by mdeland »

Wow and antelope with a bow , You da man Glen! I have a friend that has killed several sheep and goats with a compound which is pretty sensational but nothing like with a real bow. Like this one old Boyer I watched on video saying ,"compounds aren't bows they're hand held machines". He had no use for them at all! :lol:
Glen Ring
Posts: 904
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2019 3:45 pm

Re: And I diverge .............

Post by Glen Ring »

I hunted in a ground blind near a water hole. I killed him on my very first few hours of hunting and then hunted jackrabbits with a bow for a few days.

You live in a place that bow hunters dream about.
There are those that talk, and those that act. Make a choice.
mdeland
Posts: 11708
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 1:47 pm

Re: And I diverge .............

Post by mdeland »

I finally got around to trying the heat treating (fire hardening) of two of my hickory bows today and all seemed to go as per instruction from the video I purchased. This is supposed to greatly enhance the strength of white wood bow in belly compression to keep them from taking a set. We shall see.
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mdeland
Posts: 11708
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 1:47 pm

Re: And I diverge .............

Post by mdeland »

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mdeland
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Re: And I diverge .............

Post by mdeland »

A 20 lb bag of charcoal bricketts and then a freshening charge for the third hour at each end completed the three hour cycle on these two bows. Now I have to re-tiller and seal them up with finish.
The three guys that produced the video are experienced bowyers and stated that it makes hickory and a few other white woods the equal of yew or Bodark with the added benefit of making them almost impervious to moisture gain, causing increased stability and speed.
Apparently the Eastern Indians all knew of this technology but it has been lost until recently re-discovered. Heat bending is frequently used in modern self bow making using hot air guns and electric heat strips but fire hardening is a whole different animal according to these guys. It will be interesting to see if their hype proves to be true.
Glen Ring
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Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2019 3:45 pm

Re: And I diverge .............

Post by Glen Ring »

Very Interesting!

I have made a lot of bows and have used heat to bend a few. Hickory likes to hold on to moisture so this may help with that.

Report when you get them on the final tiller and your thoughts on their speed.

Howard Hill heat tempered his bamboo when he made long bows.

Interesting.
There are those that talk, and those that act. Make a choice.
mdeland
Posts: 11708
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 1:47 pm

Re: And I diverge .............

Post by mdeland »

If you are interested in this Glen I would recommend getting the video that gives the instruction on how to do this without ruining your bows. They have the details worked out and it's probably the best $ 29.95 I've ever spent to learn a method that may prove invaluable to a white wood, beginner bowyer.
Another aspect of fire hardening that they claimed is an increase of 5-10 lbs of draw weight along with the accompanying speed.
mdeland
Posts: 11708
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 1:47 pm

Re: And I diverge .............

Post by mdeland »

The main character in the production of this video that actually was the person to re- discover this lost technique said he now prefers Hickory for bow wood as it is so much easier to work with not having many knots to deal with, usually straight grained and not having to chase growth rings.
I can't think of any wood that surpassed Hickory in tension strength and if the fire hardening stops the water absorption and reinforces the belly wood from cell compression, it should become one of the best bow woods available.
He does some chronograph comparisons in the video and the fire hardened Hickory takes a back seat to none even glass backed production bows. He was getting in the mid 170's fps with 500 grain arrows, beating many recurve's with and American flat bow design. I am very impressed and anxious to see if I can duplicate his findings. I'll let you know how it works out for me.
I'm also in the middle of the Bodark bow for my second daughter so staying pretty busy lately.
I've got the annual caribou float hunt coming up around the 20th so it will be well into the fall before I can get much more done in the bow department.
Glen Ring
Posts: 904
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2019 3:45 pm

Re: And I diverge .............

Post by Glen Ring »

Thank you for posting and I'll be watching for your results. Be careful on that caribou hunt.
There are those that talk, and those that act. Make a choice.
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