I am ****ing sick and tired of breaking bows. And I do it a lot. Let me explain this further. If any of you practice archery, then this will start to make rapid sense. I have a long draw length. I mean a LONG draw length. Most people 6' (1.98m) to 6' 6" (2.0m) use a longbow/recurve with a draw of 30 inches (76.2cm.) That is what is considered "a long draw" by most everyone. Except me. And here is where my problem begins. I have an issue due to my connective tissue disorder. My arms are rather longer than my height. And so when I draw a bow, just drawing it to a comfortable anchor puts my draw at 34" (86.36cm.) If I draw fully (yeah, this is where it gets wild) I can draw 36-37" (91.44-93.98cm) easily. I generally shoot an arrow that is 36" long. Most commercially made arrows are roughly 31" (78.7cm) long before being cut down to size by the respective archer. Anyone seeing the problem yet? Another issue is my wasted left arm/shoulder. I can handle my shotgun easily, but the bow imposed a lot of pressure on the left arm socket. That socket is most likely irreparably damaged already. That kinda puts a damper on things. Not much shooting with it. Especially at weights that are humane to hunt with. I should say this-I have a REAL bow coming. I swapped a custom made powder horn for a custom made bow-one from a real, very popular bowyer. I am not abandoning the idea of "traditional" archery-but I am choosing to evolve in response to pressures (namely, nothing works at my draw length.) So, let's have some fun, say? Here we have tiger striped red oak, flame birch, flame aspen and a bit of poplar, and some chunks of Corian. Nothing too terribly wild, just a lot of hunting for some good patterns. An attempt to show the flame/quilting in the aspen. It's so white it's hard to photograph. It'll be dyed in the end so it'll be more evident. A shot of the flame birch doweling, not all of the dowel shows this. And a shot of the striping in the red oak. It should show up well on the finished product. I'm off to draw up some plans to start cutting tomorrow, but I will leave you with this, since it's an issue in some areas of the world. http://outdooralabama.com/images/file/2011-12 WFF/Crossbow (R-NR) Code-Regs 7-11(2).pdf This outlines that it is fully legal for me to not only own but hunt with crossbows provided that they meet certain requirements. I should note that I DO meet the requirements for a "disabled hunter permit" under the law, but choose to hunt in this fashion instead. All weapons that I own are legal, the cops know I have them (some recommended them), I have them serviced in town when necessary, and I do observe not only all state and federal laws when using any of them, I have enough sense to not act like an idiot with them. I don't try trick shooting with buckshot. That kind of stuff. Do NOT try this at home unless you know more than a little about archery as well as physics. Woodworking wouldn't hurt either. This is not a toy. This is not a grown-up toy. It is a weapon and should be treated (and respected) as such. Mods, if you have an issue, please PM me, I will be glad to move/alter as necessary, but supermonkey deserves to know what came of the PVC bow idea he gave me. Also, we show off shotguns and air rifles all the time.
You may have a connective tissue disorder, but I have the memory of swiss cheese. I have no recollection this. And for what it's worth - I'm not a mod, but I have no problem with you building a crossbow (even if I think the added warning is a bit melodramatic ).
My uncle has the same issue with bows/arrows, he had to have arrows custom made. IIRC they're essentially 2 arrows glued together, but they're considerably longer that 'standard' arrows.
ftfy I love all projectile weapons, and pointy-stabby things- hand cranked ballista sounds like wicked fun....
This is awesome Kayin - looking forward to seeing the progress, and LOVE the assortment of wood and the prospect of seeing all that beautiful figuring after you dye/finish it. Can I ask... is there any reason for your specific selection of woods re. their physical properties/behaviour as opposed to their aesthetic appeal? Here's my current piece which sadly is being sold because I just ain't using it. It's cheap-ass beech but it's nicely stained and has a beautiful grip cap, something usually found on high-end walnut stocks. (Click for full-size Canon 5D goodness).
Looks like a TX 200 to me V nice rifles, don't recall mine having such a fancy stock with all the engraving, but it was a while back
Working on a prototype bow at the moment (or the glue is curing while I put in water pipe.) Technically not a castle defense type ballista, but should be just fine for the purposes of home defense or hunting (its intended usage.)
I've no doubt that you'll be able to defend youself against the usual backyard intruders ( Bears, Mountain Lions, sharks) but what about the zombies ?
A ballista for self defence? That's some Age of Empires style **** you've got going on. More power to you. Just don't try to use it against fast cavalry
http://www.eders.com/products/racem-bowmag-38357-magnum-arrowhead-casing-6pk.html Got that problem licked.
Wow love it combining Archery and bullets at the same time. I have never seen any arrows like that I may have to get some just for fun! Subbed
Just to let you guys know, flechettes and Dragon's Breath shells are legal here. I plan to have some of both on hand. I just want to try flechettes, but the Dragon's Breath are for shock and awe as we have issues with thieves out here.
