This article is part of
Wilderness Way
VOLUME 13, ISSUE 1.
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Making a Quick-Bow
Note: The Quick-Bow is also sometimes referred to as the Bundle-Bow
by Christopher Nyerges
If hunting is an option, a bow may be your weapon of choice. After all, nearly every culture used bows at one time. Variations of the long bow have been used by all cultures for centuries. Why? Because, in spite of an array of other weapons at our disposal, the bow requires the least amount of collective effort to both make and learn to use, and arrows shot from one can be directed to the prey with accuracy. It has established itself as the standard weapon.
One day you may need a bow now. Yes, you have read The Bowyer’s Bible, and you know about wood selection, drying, splitting, shaving, tapering, tillering — all the things you need to do to take a piece of wood and turn it into the ultimate arrow-delivery device. This process may take hours, maybe days, possibly weeks to create a good bow. This presupposes the availability of suitable wood. Some-times, you do not have hours, days, weeks. You need a bow now. What then?
A quick-bow can be constructed from about 8 lengths of twigs, about as thick as your little finger and maybe five to six feet long. Such a quick-bow can be constructed in less than an hour, assuming all supplies are readily available. The twigs or branches used can be dry or green.
Generally, a quick-bow will have less poundage of pressure than a comparable size longbow. Still, the quick-bow can be made in a hurry and can be used for hunting small game. Of course, you still need to make arrows, and you will need a lot of twine.
Construction Details
First, I have no idea who “invented” this bow. I have seen
variations of it made by John McPherson, and similar bows
made by teachers at Winter Count. Most likely, it is
something that resourceful people of yore made in a hurry so
they had something to hunt with until they finished the
really good longbow they were working on.
Decide how long of a bow you wish to construct. This may be dictated by the locally available materials.
When I teach this to my students, we go to an area where there is a thick growth of willows and mulefat, and each student cuts approximately seven or eight long branches.
All the branches should be straight and
free of knots or side branches. They should be as perfectly
straight as you can find, with a diameter that can be as
thin as a pencil to no larger than your thumb.
Begin by laying the longest branch on the ground. Let’s
assume that you will use seven branches. There will be one
five-foot branch, and each of the other six branches will be
successively shorter. You want a series of branches that
become successively shorter, so that the grip area is the
thickest and strongest, and so there is the greatest
flexibility at the end. So, for example, you might cut your
seven branches in lengths of 5 feet, 4-1/2 feet, 4 feet,
3-1/2 feet, 3 feet, 2 feet, and one foot.
Remember: This is only an example. You might have less than seven or more, depending on the thickness of the available twigs. But you do want branches that get successively smaller. A pair of ratchet clippers comes in handy here.
Once you have all your branches pruned to length, look them over and trim off any side branches that might be protruding. Then make sure all the thick ends of each twig are not all either at the top or bottom of what will become the quick-bow. Alternate as many twigs as necessary so there will be a balance of top to bottom thickness.
Next, begin to tie up the branches. There are two ways in which I have seen this done.
One way is to simply bunch up all the twigs, and tie them as tight as possible, wrapping the twine many times around at each point and tying secure knots every few inches. Some folks say this works fine.
Another way takes more time. Begin by tying the two longest twigs or poles together; wrapping with twine and tying knots every few inches. Then tie the third twig onto the first two, and secure it the same way. Tie the fourth twig onto the first three, and secure as before, and continue until everything is very secure.
In either method, you want to be sure to tie at the end of each pole so that there are not pieces sticking out. You want to be left with a very tight and secure bow.
Finally, add a bowstring to the quick-bow. You can use regular nylon bow string, if you have it, twined natural fibers, shoelaces, parachute cord, baling cord, or any fiber you found along the trail. This is a quick-bow when you need one, not a relic that you will pass down to your grandchildren. So whatever cordage you have will have to do.
Arrows, of course, are another matter, but you can shoot commercial or homemade arrows with such a bow. I recommend that you try it both ways.