I would like more of our members to contribute to the site so have desided to introduce a new section where you can share your hobbies and interests with the rest of your fellow members .
Our first contributor is JOHN LARGE who kindly sent the artical below to me . If you would like to share your interests send them via e-mail to lancashirereunited@fsmail.net .
Building and shooting Native American Bows and Arrows.
By John Large
When I was a kid I always wanted to have a real bow and arrow.I used to build
small bows and they were very ineffective to say the least.I used to hunt quite
a bit in the UK and in 1974 I emigrated to Canada. I started to shoot Recurved
bows in 3D archery tournaments and had some success. After viewing some home
made bows I decided to give bow building a try . I never looked back and have
now built nearly 150 bows.
I became president of the Traditional Archers of Nova Scotia and with the
help of some good people put Nova Scotia on the map in Trad Archery. We
introduced Primitive Archery to the Canadian 3D National Championships and set
the standards for future events.
Primitive Archery is simple it’s the shooting of an all wooden bow or one
that is made of laminations from natural materials. Only wooden arrows may be
used and no man made materials can be used. That year I was asked to shoot out
the first arrow with a bow I had built myself. This was quite a honour for me
and I shot that bow and finished 2nd in Canada. My Friend John Mc
Carthy was 1st also from Nova Scotia.
The bow I used that day was a Penobscot bow that I had built from Hop
Hornbeam wood. I have become fascinated with Native American bows and arrows and
accessories.
This is the bow That took 2nd place in the Canadian
Championships.(left)
The bows were designed by the Penobscot Indians of Coastal Maine in the USA.
The tribe are closely related to the Mik Maq who reside here in Nova Scotia.I
also have built Mik Maq War bows with various local woods.This is a White Ash
Mik Maq Warbow
All of my bows have been given away or donated to clubs and associations to
raffle off. I have never bothered to sell them . The reason being that I do not
know how the person would treat the bow and therefore I could never guarantee
it. Improper storage , stringing and dry firing can all ruin a perfectly built
bow. I also never have a deadline to meet which is always nice. Building bows is
a hobby and I would hate to turn it into a job. I also build arrows and use
various types of wood ,Alumium and carbon to do this. I make all my own quivers
with leather and Furs that I pick up at car boot and yard sales.
Here is a picture of two Red Oak Cherokee flat bows. I also built the quivers
and the arrows. Most of my arrows are made from Port Orford Cedar from the
Pacific coast of Oregon. USA. The majority of bows I have built have been
Cherokee flat bows and North American style flat bows. My favourite wood is Hop
Hornbeam which is a very dense local wood. I also use White Ash, Red Oak, White
Oak. Hickory, Apple, Maple, Yew,and Yellow Birch to name a few. I have built one
English Longbow from Purple heart with a Hickory backing and its one of my
favourite bows.
Here are some of the quivers and arrows I have made with leather and fur I
have picked up for just pennies. I really enjoy building bows and arrows and
above all I love shooting them in the woods. I still shoot in the 3D tournaments
and have done well over the years. I hunt deer with my bows and while its nice
to bag an animal, its not important to me. I judge my hunts by what I see and
not what I bag. I doubt very much if I will shoot another deer but if the
situation arises where it will help conservation then I would probably take the
appropriate animal.
After 20 years of shooting Traditional Bows and arrows I finally shot what is
known as a Robin Hood and that means I have spilt an arrow perfectly its hard to
do with wooden arrows but with hollow aluminium and carbon arrows it can be
done. I shot an arrow to the spot on my target and using the orange nock on the
arrow as a point to aim at I hit it dead on and put the next arrow inside the
first one It was at 25 yards and I am chuffed to bits.
Here is a pic of myself with a couple of nice hits on a 3D goat.
Traditional Archery is a wonderful pastime and I will participate for as long
as I can. I have held bowbuilding classes and in may 2008 there will be a 2 day
class held outdoors where we will have 15 students all eager to build their
first Bow.
I know that 3D archery is growing in The United Kingdom and events are being
held all over the country . There are websites for clubs and its worth typing
Archery into a search engine to see if there is a club near you. Maybe you would
like to give it a try
Thanks for allowing me to share my Hobby with you . Maybe others here on
Lancashire Re United will share their hobbies also.
Your a very skilled man John. Fasinating reading about your hobby and great shots to go with it(forgive the pun!) It really conjures up the great outdoors you enjoy so much.
I have lots of happy memories of Canada.Once canoed across and back Grand Lake N.B. and was almost arrested by mounties for no life jacket. (Its almost 4 miles wide)Took a ferry trip to Digby in thick fog so could not see a thing and upset my girlfriend at the time by having too many whiskies!!.probably why I could not see anything!!
A lovely country , glad you have found happiness and enjoyment in your adopted homeland.
What a great skill John and it's good that you can use the bows that you make in the events that you enter and that you are passing on your skills to others.
I took three of our grandsons into the woods near where we live and when we got back they had me trying to make bows and arrows with the twigs they collected but they were not very impressed with my efforts!!!!!
Was quite pleased when one of my bows raised $400 in an auction.I get a wee bit alarmed when they bid high . I suppose they value the bows a lot higher than I do.Anyway the money all goes out to a good cause.
Thank you both for your comments. John.
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