Native American Archery?

[JayFramer]

Hello. I am interested in obtaining a traditional and good quality bow and arrow of Native American style. I’d like to take up bow shooting as my Cherokee ancestors did.

Does anyone practice this or know where to find such things?

 

[Firesticks]

Contact Jim Rempp of Hamstring Archery. He is on Facebook. One heck of a nice guy and an absolute authority on such matters. One of the best wood bow builders of all time IMO.

 

[Inusuit]

You will find a lot of information if you Google "Traditional Archery." There are forums, magazines, books, etc. that will assist you with your quest.

 

[5-Shot]

There are a set of books called “The Traditional Boyer’s Bible”. More information on traditional bows and arrows than you can imagine, even how to build them.

Ed

 

[Old Arkansawyer]

The Cherokee's use to have a corn stalk shoot every Sept. in Tahlequah,
Ok using long bows. You could probably find several there, or folks to
steer you to the proper people.

 

[Alk8944]

Hello. I am interested in obtaining a traditional and good quality bow and arrow of Native American style. I’d like to take up bow shooting as my Cherokee ancestors did.

Does anyone practice this or know where to find such things?

Here are some links to sources to purchase, specifically a Cherokee type bow and arrows and/or kits:

Cherokee bows - Gill's Primitive Archery
Cherokee Bows and Arrows | Pine Hollow Longbows
Cherokee Bows and Arrows-Kustom King Traditional Archery


And,5-shot, the word is Bowyer, not Boyer. Look them up.

 

[5-Shot]

“And,5-shot, the word is Bowyer, not Boyer. Look them up.“

Right you are. And that isn’t the only error in there, but the books are still fabulous.

Ed

 

[handejector]

Native American Archery?

Hmmmmm.........
A topic for discussion.
Stick to it or move along.

BIG hint.

 

[wood714]

I have a friend that's into traditional archery.

He's had several bows made by Blacktail Bows. They are works of art. He's got 2 nice bucks so far this year using one of his many.

Blacktail Bows Legacy Series - hand carved, hand engraved, traditional archery bows - Blacktail Bow Company, LLC

 

[chief38]

I have a Bow that my Dad gave me when I was about 9 years old. It is shaped like a Native American Bow but sort of doubt it is actually made by Native Americans. I have not seen it in 20-25 years or so but I know it's probably in the attic or basement - I'll have to get around to finding it. Even when I do find it I'd be afraid to string it because it has been sitting straight for at least 55 years! I'd be afraid it would just crack or split.

I have no idea at all what brand it is or who made it. Knowing who my Dad was, I'm sure it was not a very expensive one - lol!

 

[JayFramer]

I have a friend that's into traditional archery.

He's had several bows made by Blacktail Bows. They are works of art. He's got 2 nice bucks so far this year using one of his many.

Blacktail Bows Legacy Series - hand carved, hand engraved, traditional archery bows - Blacktail Bow Company, LLC

I looked on that website but didn’t see any Native American bows.

 

[snubbyfan]

I did a quick search and found this:
Cherokee bows - Gill's Primitive Archery

Initially I searched for American Indian* made bows but only found tourist style wall hangers.
I can't vouch for the quality and it ain't cheap.

*In Blackfoot it's Nihtsitapi, means first people.

 

[andy52]

Look up the term "Self Bow" and you'll find a lot of useful information on the type of bow your talking about. In the area I'm from the Native Americans used Osage orange for there bows. I have shot a few "Self Bows" they can be accurate but underpowered by comparison to composite bows of the same period.

 

[double-dipper]

I would start with reading everything Saxton Pope, Arthur Young, Howard Hill and Fred Bear ever wrote. They are/were the founding fathers of what has become archery hunting today. Pope and Young are to archery what Daniel B. Wesson, Horace Smith, Oliver Winchester and Samuel Colt are/were to firearms. I would read about Ishi also. I archery hunted for many many years, but have gone back to my rifles for deer. I have eight P&Y class and two B&C whitetail deer that adorn my walls.

 

[Bronco89]

I've been making self-bows for 15 years now. If you have Amazon Prime, "The Traditional Bowyers Bible" is on the Prime reading list right now so you can check it out for (FREE). I highly recommend the book, as well as start shopping for a draw-knife. I use an 8" strait. We do it as a family event, but I still have never hunted with a longbow. I just can't leave my training wheels when it comes to bow hunting.

 

[Muss Muggins]

Maybe to avoid thread drift, the OP should change the thread title to “Primitive Archery,” which is what he seems to be discussing. I know a US Marshal who transferred to Alaska specifically to be able to hunt there easily, and one of his hobbies was handmaking long bows amd arrows. Killed a moose with one recently as I recall. Very cool hobby.

 

[jtcarm]

Build your own. I dabbled in it years ago. I still have a couple of staves I need to turn in to bows.

I doubt there are many bowyers who build & sell truly traditional long bows. Building self bows (not laminated, just one piece of wood with maybe a sinew backing) is labor-intensive and is not a very repeatable process.

It’s kinda like asking DaVinci to churn out exact duplicates of the Mona Lisa using a different canvas and paints every time.

Here’s a link to a helpful forum. You may have to poke around to find the primitive bow subforum.

Paleo Planet

 

[andy52]

Maybe to avoid thread drift, the OP should change the thread title to “Primitive Archery,” which is what he seems to be discussing. I know a US Marshal who transferred to Alaska specifically to be able to hunt there easily, and one of his hobbies was handmaking long bows amd arrows. Killed a moose with one recently as I recall. Very cool hobby.

Then we can all discuss the " archer's paradox".