Hunting Equipment | Hunting Supplies

Bow and arrow questions?

I am trying to make a homemade bow and arrow. I have looked at some websites, like wikihow and others and this is what Ive done. I got a branch, it was pine,( i am trying to get another kind of branch) i removed the bark, drilled holes at the ends, put elastic waste band trough the ends, and tied it. The branch was about 3-4 feet, very slightly curved and long dead. so my questions are:
1 is this somewhat a good setup?
2 should i use a different type of bowstring, if so what would be a good cheep substitute?
3 should the bowstring be very tight, somewhat tight, taut, loose,etc (Ive tried many of these and tight seems to be the best)
4 should i use different wood
5 how far can i expect the arrows to go, currently i can achieve only about 40 feet

Elastic, as has been said, is not bowstring material. Drilling holes in the ends of a stick and attaching a string through those holes is an easy way to make a bow (sort of), but not a good way. Pine can be used to make a bow, but it does not make a good bow that will last. It is my opinion that with your current set-up (pine stick "bow" and elastic "string" threaded through holes drilled in the ends of the stick), you are very lucky to be getting even 40 feet out of an arrow.

A better wood to use is oak or ash, or even elm. For the string, you could use a braided nylon string, but linen twine (or any such strong, non-stretching twine/string) is much better (cotton twine/string is not strong enough, so don't even think about it). The bowstring needs to be more than "taut", it needs to be tight enough to bend the limbs of the bow a little -- while the bow is "at rest". The string should be attached to the tips of the bow limbs by way of a loop in a groove (one loop at each end of the string, one set of grooves in each limb tip), but the string can be tied directly to the limb tip if necessary; drilling holes in the bow serves only to weaken the bow.

If you want serious, informative, detailed and above all, honest instructions on making bows, bowstrings and arrows, pay a visit to these websites:

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/

http://leatherwall.bowsite.com/TF/lw/THREADSx2.CFM

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php

http://tradgang.com/

http://primitiveways.com/

http://wwmag.net/

Please, stay away from the "wiki" websites as much as possible; the common thing with all "wiki" websites is that the "wiki articles" can be edited by anyone who happens to be a registered member of the site -- whether they know anything about the subject or not ("wiki" sites are ok for researching possible sources, but that's about it). The folks on the above listed forums/websites have been making bows and arrows for a long time, and many of those folks make their living from making bows and arrows.

homemade bows and arrows

Bows and Arrows, Homemade - Paul Carpenter $8.21

The Practical Guide to Man-Powered Weapons and Ammunition: Experiments with Catapults, Musketballs, Stonebows, Blowpipes, Big Airguns, and Bulletbows $9.43 David slew Goliath with his slingshot: for millennia that was the norm, as men used a variety of non-explosive weapons to fire small stones and carefully rounded bullets of clay, glass, and even steel and lead. This unusual study explores in practical detail the many ways, old and new, in which man shot projectiles without recourse to gunpowder. They include the bow and arrow, a favorite for the l...

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Cherokee Bows and Arrows: How to Make and Shoot Primitive Bows and Arrows $15.95 Voted one of the best books on making bows and arrows by a true Cherokee artisan, Al Herrin. Easy to understand....lots of pictures to help show how it is done....

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The Bohning Co Ltd Premium Feather Fletching Tape $13.98 720" per roll will fletch over 3-1/2 dozen arrows. Perfect for field repair....

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