Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Any hunters around here?

Originally posted by Trapps:

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Tom,

I haven't ventured into the Bow hunting world. Yet. Perhaps because my wife, who is right, thinks another gear intensive hobby is out of the question.

As for hunting, deer I assume, the key will be practice. Most of my buddies bow hunt (I'm a fanatical bird hunter). They are always, always nocking up in someones backyard. Military training will help here - think swift, silent deadly!

Good luck Fred Bear!

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lol, thanks!

You could make all your own gear, people have been doing it for 10,000 years you know. That is what I'm doing and it is way cheaper than buying all that compound bow stuff.

Also, the performance of a good longbow will take any game in north america. A good recurve can shoot seriously hard too!

Actually, I took up traditional bowmaking and now I want to bow hunt with it. It's not hard to make a functional bow but to get heavy hitting high power bows from natural materials is where it starts to get harder. Then add in making the bow good looking with some artistry and crafstmentship, and it becomes a bit harder. No biggie, I sold the contour so I needed a new hobby.

I've made several native american style longbows, one from native beechwood that pulled 53# at 28" but it had some flaws I didn't like and it is not the best wood anyway.

The last one I just completed is beautifull! It is 68" long made from Osage-Orange heartwood and pulls 72# at 28" draw.
It's got gorgeous brown-orange-yellow hues to the wood after it aged a little and I finished it in Tung oil so that the natural colors would stand out. I also wrapped the handle with brown leather with a red leather lace overwrap for contrast. Then I made the arrow shelf out of smooth black leather.

Here are two pictures:

another angle: