I've been shooting this one for about 9 months. It's been holding its profile nicely. Just a stick of Osage Orange and a string. I call it "Simply Orange". I hunted late muzzle loader season last winter with no finish on her. Put some tru oil on since then. Just thought I'd share some pictures with you all.

Bjrogg

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Unbraced

Nice tips I like that design. Do you make any for sale you have a real talent

Braced

That's a beauty! Great job on that one! I

Fulldraw

Nice!

Very Nice job.

Awesome bow. I love hunting with the selfbows although I don't do it all the time. I will do some this year with my Osage that Brad Smith built for me. Hope you get some hunting it with Simply Orange this year.

Very nice.

That is one beautiful bow. Nothing nicer than a piece of wood with a string on it. You really cant appreciate how well made it is until you see the side profile pics. Its no easy feat to make a recurve self bow that has zero string follow,especially from a piece of wood with so much character. Perfect tiller,very nice!

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

George I started out Flint knapping. Then made a arrow. Then a bow. Then more and better bows and arrows. Then my goal was to harvest a white tail deer from my farm with my equipment. I'd never bow hunted in my life and to this day I've never even shot a compound. I learned a lot from the guys on PA site. They gave me some good tips. I did harvest a 4 point buck from the ground at nine paces after I let him walk past me and took a quartering away shot. I learned a lot Hunting that season. One thing I learned that surprised me the most was how much I like hunting like this. Just something about it. Most people I know are pretty impressed but once and awhile someone will say. " Well anyone can shoot one from nine paces " sometimes getting close is the easy part. Getting to draw and getting that unseen shot off is the hard part. I've been five yards and just couldn't get what I feel is a comfortable shot off. I've still got a lot to learn about hunting like this, but it's a learning experience I plan on enjoying.

George I also remember when Brad Posted that bow on PA site saying he was giving it to a very special person. Never meet you, but I guess that makes you a very special person.

WildernessBuck so glad you can appreciate the profiles. That really is where the beauty of a selfbow is. I've been very impressed with the Orange wood. The first 30 or so bows I made were from HHB hop hornbeam. Our local ironwood. In fact the tree I cut to make the bow I shot my first buck with stood less than thirty feet from the spot on the ground i shot him from.

Thanks again for looking and all the kind words

Bjrogg

Cool bow, BJ. Hopefully you get to hunt this fall with it.

Thanks Pearl. Love to have you come join me for a day or two.

Bjrogg

There is only one thing keeping me from hunting bean country, and you know just what that is. I would love to hunt a few days with you, be nice to have a tractor haul my deer out instead of me for a change :)

Bless you and yours buddy.

That is awesome, love the recurves tips they make it look similar to an old Bear static recurve. What is the draw weight on that stick?

Thanks riverwolf , didn't mean to snub you there. Happy Hunting to all you guys and gals. Have fun and enjoy the outdoors

Bjrogg

Pfrancise. In all honesty it's been so long since I've had it on the tillering tree that I've forgotten. It's something real close to 50 lbs at 25" draw. Don't have a chronograph but it's pretty quick. Plenty fast enough for a good placed arrow.

Bjrogg

Beautiful work. Love the reddish hue some osage has once you start working it. Good luck hunting with it this year.

Nice bow Brian. Hope for success and some photo's.

Thanks Steve

Thanks Jon, hoping the next pictures of this bow are posted in the hunting section if you know what I mean. Happy Hunting to all

Bjrogg

Wonderful looking bow and great story.....reminds me of the bows Chet Stevenson made and used so effectively. Making a self bow is on my list of things to do before I vanish. Richard

Hope you get it done Richard. Nothing like shooting a selfbow you made yourself. I can still see that first arrow I made shoot and shot from my first selfbow bow spiraling it's way to the target.lol. They don't do that anymore.

Bjrogg

Neat bow!

That's a beauty, ive only made one Osage self bow and it's still nice but I need to get a twist out of it. I took the bow to the 1st IBO trad. world shoot and took 2nd place in the Primitive class with it. I've tried to harvest a deer with a self bow for the last couple years, have one close miss on a deer and a Turkey. Hit a nice Doe last year but she got away.

Thanks Mstyles Thanks Will Tell, hope you get one this year. For me building selfbows is like eating potato chips. Can't eat just one. I didn't plan it that way. Just turned out that way.

Bjrogg

BJ, you do beautiful work and the attention to detail is the sign of a true craftsman.

Thanks Wohlf I enjoy making and shooting this type of bow. It fits me nicely.

Pfrancise I just got done looking at a thread about a 1955 Bear static recurve and your right. I never saw one before but it is very similar profile bow. I like the looks of it.

Bjrogg

Very nice!

Thanks reb

Bjrogg

That is a beauty Brian, I have a couple of Osage bullets that I plan on working soon. You are right you just can't have one.!!!

Really like the flipped tips

Cool

Really respect a guy that makes his own.

Saawheat, well done :-) JF

That's a good looking stick.

Beautiful stick.

Nice one BJ, hope you have some good hunting with it. Pappy

Truly a sharp looking Osage selfbow, nice job!

Nice looking bow Brian, great article in this months PA Magazine.

Just flat out beautiful! Get some blood on it!

I am so jealous! I've just scrapped my 2nd attempt at an Osage selfbow and am realizing just how special it is to end up with a functional work of art like you have pictured. Beautiful!

BJ you can tiller one for sure. Nice bow. Arvin

Beautiful, BJ. Nice tiller. Jawge

Thanks everyone. I've been real busy farming lately. I haven't had much play time. Did sneak out a couple hours hunting, but haven't had a close encounter yet. I really appreciate the kind words. Jon glad you liked the article. I really enjoyed writing it and it was a joy to spend the day with my buddies being a youth Mentor. I'm very much looking forward to doing it again. Bjrogg

Catscratch don't give up. There is a lot to learn and it does take a eye for seeing the bend. It'll come. I don't know what type of bows you've tried making. I would suggest making a fairly long bow that isn't overly stressed for beginning attempts. It seems to me the most common problems I see with new bowyers are that they try a design they like the looks of that is actually a challenging design for both bow and bowyer. Another very common mistake is that they often have all their bend in one place usually right out of the handle. Need to make it all bend and share the stress.

Hang in there. I'm routing for you. Nothing like shooting your own bow.

Bjrogg

Thanks Bjrogg. I'll get it done eventually but with each unsuccessful venture into a stave I gain appreciation for what others have done. Someday I'll get one done, reflect back on the process, and say "that wasn't too bad". Right now it's a different story though. :) Thanks for the hint and tips!

VERY nice work! Love your style. Osage is certainly meant to be bow wood.

Just a little update. Had a successful hunt with "Simply Orange ". Saw this six point lay down and snuck up on it. It's my second selfbow buck and it was just as exciting as my first.

Bjrogg

Good looking stick, nice work, and buck.

Beautiful, bows like that are shooters for sure!

He was laying almost quartering away on his side that's facing down. Arrow entered between 2nd and 3rd rib from back of ribs. Internals where a mess. I should have taken more time and studied it out but it was a long day and I just quickly dressed him. I know one thing for sure, he was dead.lol. Massive enternal bleeding. Bjrogg

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