BE A BACK-TO-BASICS BOWYER

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STRING THAT BOW

Reverse-wrapped sinew is the traditional fair-weather bowstring. And for wet-weather shooting, the fibers of plants such as velvetleaf, hemp, dogbane, and nettle work admirably. By reverse-wrapping a string to more than twice the length of the bow, then folding the cordage in half and reverse-wrapping it again, you'll produce a strong and durable bowstring with a loop at one end. The other tip end can simply be tied to the bottom limb. (For a photo-illustrated guide to reverse-wrapping, see my article "Making Natural Cordage" in MOTHER NO. 79, page 38.) And, of course, those of you who are in a hurry can just trot down to the local sporting goods dealer and purchase a ready-made bowstring of the appropriate length.

To determine the correct bracing height for your bow (and — in turn — the correct length for your string), place one fist on the inside of the grip and extend your thumb as if you were trying to flag a ride . . . the attached string should just touch the tip of your outstretched digit.

PARTING SHOTS

Before Europeans entered the picture with their advanced technology and metal tools, Native American bowyers painstakingly fashioned finely crafted bows with stone and bone implements. The process took a lot longer, but Stone Age humans weren't as frantic about the passage of an hour as today's ulcer-ridden people tend to be. And those earlier products were often every bit as beautiful and serviceable as fine machine-laminated bows.

Archery has had a long history not only in the Americas but in virtually every corner of the globe except Australia. The ancient Turkish horn-and-sinew composite bows — to cite one shining example — were quite probably the most effective primitive weapons the world has ever known. Bows are silent, pinpoint-accurate in practiced hands, designed to test the hunter to the extremes of his or her skill . . . and they offer the game animal a sporting chance. [EDITORS NOTE: As you know, there's a great responsibility placed upon the hunter who uses primitive weapons . . . to develop his or her accuracy to the maximum and to avoid taking any shots that might result in losing a wounded animal.]

In addition to saving the hundreds of dollars that it would cost to equip yourself with a top-quality modern compound bow and fiberglass or aluminum arrows, hunting with a piece of wood that's taken on a beautiful shape under your own hands can help you achieve harmony with nature and the past, a harmony which has all but disappeared from our overmechanized, depersonalized world.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Native American Archery by Reginald and Gladys Laubin is the ultimate authority on this subject and can be ordered from The University of Oklahoma Press, 1005 Asp St., Norman, OK 73019. Clothbound and in large format, the book goes for $18.95 plus 86¢ shipping and handling. It's a steep price, but for the serious archer, bowyer, or historian the book is worth every penny.

EDITORS NOTE: Tom Brown Jr., is the "real item". He's billed as "today's most respected outdoorsman" is the author of the "At Home in the Wilderness" series appearing in MOTHER NOS. 71-77, heads one of the country's largest wildernesssurvival schools, and has written four books: The Tracker, The Search, Tom Brown's Field Guide to Wilderness Survival, and Tom Brown's Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking . The last two titles are spanking new and will probably be of interest to those of you who enjoyed the philosophies presented in Brown's bow-building article.

Wilderness Survival is the first in a four-book series that Tom hopes will provide a complete library of information to help folks enjoy, preserve, and fare well in nature. Its information has been gathered not through armchair research, but through long years of personal experience. Nature Observation and Tracking highlights and expands its title subjects from their briefer coverage in Wilderness Survival and includes many field exercises to involve the reader thoroughly.

Each of these books is published by Berkley Books, goes for $6.95 in large format paperback, and contains just short of 300 pages of hardcore outdoor lore. You can order them from The Tracker, P.O. Box 173, Asbury, NJ 08802-0173, for their cover prices plus $1.50 shipping and handling for one book and $1.00 for each additional copy. (Write to the same address for information on Brown's tracking, nature, and wilderness-survival schools.)

If you'd like to read a magazine for the traditional bare-bow archer, investigate The Traditional Archery Digest , Box 61 Paradise Rt., Portal, AZ 85632. TAD goes for $15.00 for a one year subscription (six issues), or you can get a sample copy for $3.00.

Finally, for those of you who may wish to mail-order some or all of your bow- and arrow-making supplies, here's one source: Woods Unusual, P.O. Box 1722, Hawaiian Gardens, CA 90716. The firm's $1.00 catalog lists all manner of exotic bowyer supplies.

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