i was able to acquire a fibre glass bow in the 1960's as a young lad for camping in canberra brinderbella mountains for rabbits and this was cheaper and a new idea available than the wooden bows made all by hand back then .my uncle used to make hand crafted wooden bows in the 1950's but they were too expencice for me to by one so we made them out of bamboo and cain growing in the mining feilds of bendigo victoria australia before we moved to canberra ..brought there by the chinese miners of 1850's ..so we made do some how and shang-eyes were our only next best bet with rubber from were ever we could get it and a fork of wood and leather pouch as well as that we tryed leather slings but that require very good accuracy indeed .snares out of piano strings worked well on rabbits and if we were very lucky some one would take us shooting with 22's or use ferrits so hunting while i was young added to the excitment of camping in the australian bush as well as fishing in the murrumbidgee river for cod .we tryed bush craft bibles and books alsorts of ideas to catch prey down to witchity grubs in wattle trees with wire .survival causes were very hard and could only suffice in the summer months with wild fruit but now as an old man i dont hunt no more and appreciate the wild animals all in their enviroment with out me interfering any more .
Welcome, Great first post?? You better not say your old because I was a young lad in the 1960"s also and I am not that old?? Walt
I wasn't a teenager, then....but I can remember cutting small pine trees; notching the ends; "stringing" my "bow" up with nylon rope (still remember having to shred several strands of the rope, so that the nocks would fit on the string).....and shooting arrows we bought at the army/navy store for <$1.00/ea. Who was my "inspirtation"? Bear? Nope. None other than a young Bobby Blake. The intrigue of my "bows" lasted until I was old enough to get my first air rifle (can you guess which one that was? And no....I didn't "shoot my eye out". Great post! Brings back a LOT of memories of my own. Walt....I'm guessing we're likely around the same age. I only wish I'd had someone around (I knew of no one......not ONE bowhunter) to keep me interested in shooting "bows".
I had a Ben Pearson two piece fibreglass bow that I shot every day.....when I wasn't shooting my BB gun, that is. This was in the late 50's and early 60's. I don't really feel like I'm that much older, but I know I am when I look in the mirror. Great memories.
