im new to archery And have always been fascinated with it And was thinkin on makin a self bow And wondering if Amy of you have
sounds like a great project. Let us know of your progress. Crossbow here, but not one I’ve made myself.
Yeah I think ill be grabbin a kit in a week to see how to start then ill try startin from scratch with just a log or something. Lol crossbows are awesome tho. Homemade or not.
Not since I was in Scouts years ago. I was pretty good then, I still have my bow, just a 35 pound fiberglass recurve. Never made one, though. The rest of my gear is lost or trashed. I don’t get it out but once a year or so these days and fire a few off. I’ve been wanting to get back into it when time and money permit. A local archery club has some high dues, but it looks worth it.
I own two self-bows, one left handed and one right handed. They were homemade by a friend. I have a regulary diminishing supply of arrows made from dowels fitted with synthetic fletching and regular old field tips. I also have a pretty cool 3D target of a deer for shooting at. This past July 4 we had a ball shooting at it with two other families. I don’t really consider myself an expert or anything, but my friend who made these bows made fun, servicable bows from basically two eight foot long sections of very tight grained red oak 1x4s from Home Depot. The strings he specially looped, braided, and waxed. They are better than video games!
I have not made a long bowl, But I own A couple re curve and compounds.I did have a long bow but it was old and broke. I didn’t think it was safe to repair so it went to the bin. 3D targets are awesome I hope to get a VELOCIRAPTOR http://www.rinehart3-d.com/
I have been seriously debating getting back into it. Target shooting at first but eventually doing bow hunting. I always preferred the long bow over a recurve. At 6’5" and with long arms the long bow draw just always felt better to me. Ken
@basement_shaman lmao I want to get that raptor too, that thing is awesome! Thx for the picture of that. Lol
No, but I have one of these growing in my garden :
A taxus baccata (yew); which are used to make medevil long bows. Here or somewhere near 500+ years ago was the site of a monastery, hence the tree.
Thats a must have in my yard when my wife And I move lol. I want a yew tree, those are awesome looking as well as (from what ive read And heard) a really good wood to make bows with. @Xander ive never thought of attending an archery class, ive heard of now making classes where they teach you to make a homemade takedown recurve And you get to take home the one you make, however its around $850 for thd class… Lol out of my range. What do they do at the archery club? is it mostly target shooting or have you looked into it? @devilock76 you should get back into lol. Ive never even been hunting (dad passed from a hunting incident, so ive really never liked guns or just stayed away from the real ones really) however I plan on making a bow or a few of them And then getting me a deer And cutting the mess out of it due to me not knowing how to skin one lol. ill post pics of my progress to show you guys 
if I get good at bein a Bowyer ill make a snuffhouse bow with a snuff compartment or tapbox on there somewhere And mail it to everyone that wants one. One log can make a ton of bows from what i’ve read. @zimobog I might try your suggestion with the red oak since its right up the road from me, home depot that is.
@stimpakk here is the club’s website http://www.nc100archers.com/ I haven’t looked in awhile, but they have classes, league contests, 3D shoots etc. Tell me what you think.
Used to hunt long ago, never developed a taste for gun hunting. But I do know how to field dress, butcher, and skin a deer. Ken
All my arrows have suction cups at the end. :))
Prior to my move to Europe, I enjoyed archery. I started with a compound bow, but I found the mechanical aspect in some way or another distracting. So, I got myself a good staff of ash wood and a little bit of purple heart to lay into the handle and made my own. I had alot of fun with that little bow, probably no more than 20 lb draw. One day I strapped it to the fork on my motorcycle to do some gopher hunting, and a rock ended up breaking the limb.
I need to make more atlatl arrows and do some target practice!
Omg basement_shaman I forgot about atlatls!! thats a must buy for me. Make one after. I wont be able to make the bow im plannim to make till another couple Weeks. I have to purchase a good amount of tools I dont already have…