[Horsebow] Which Horsebow phase two....

Twangster

Member
I asked on here a few times, I deliberated a lot, I read even more, I asked a few more questions, and today it arrived all the way from Hungary, a brand new 42lb draw weight Mongolian. A nice finish, it lies downstairs, strung and ready to go, but the darkness has descended, my target for the day has vanished into the ether and I am bereft of my home made thumb ring, as it broke yesterday. A word of warning for the home builders, do not use bone for thumb rings, use coconut shells or horn if you can find them...... for the bone version, I used a scapula from a pig, it gives a good offset angle for the string, but, is porous in the extreme.... undaunted i will make a few more from various materials until I have cracked it. A version made out of Aluminium is in the piprline, but I need a perfect size and shape first..... hey ho, roll on tomorrow bright and early.....

Twanging away without a care in the world...!!:tearsofjo:tearsofjo
 

Twangster

Member
Swipe me, this is fun... I have a very sore thumb now, but, the sheer speed of these arrows leaving the bow is staggering. I have tried the tape on digit ploy, but, sheer overuse has ruined that for a bit, plus my thumb circulation got a bit weird... still, all is good and the old fun bit of archery is back with a vengeance.... Tomorrow the world....!!!

The thumb release (I forget the name) is a godsend for the aged and infirm who choose not to use other standardized methods, it's also quite fun making the rings yourself if you want to... next thing is new arrows, but, I fear a change in length is in order, but, for now back to the shooting range again.....I had forgotten all about side wind drift and so on, this is great stuff again.......sooner or later I must be able to hit something in front of me surely....:liar:
 

Dorset Lass

New member
Ironman
Glad you are having fun! I think that the tape on the thumb is a good idea during the 'hardening off' phase as some swelling is inevitable and a thumb ring could become uncomfortably tight at first. Also if you are finding that the pad of your thumb is sore you will find that this reduces as the speed of your release improves - I presume you have studied all the methodology and are using the 'flicking a coin' method.

Good luck!
 

Twangster

Member
Indeed I am using the flicking of the elusive coinage these days, small change is very scarce in the pocket now, but, I am still trying to hit something substantial in the finance world, maybe the bow will help in a holdup scenario, or maybe not.... i have over indulged now and my thumb is very sore indeed, plus, the middle knuckle if aching a tad, so have given up for a few days for work commitments... anyone got a redundant coconut up for grabs ???? I need a new thumb ring. The advertised types are all round holed bands that dig in to the flesh a lot apparently, I favor the spoon shaped type, where the pad of the digit is protected a great deal, sort of Mussel shaped with a hole in it at one end, maybe leather might be an answer to this pre-history question that has lasted all this time...? :idea::stirthepo
 

Dorset Lass

New member
Ironman
I made a leather version which I loved until I shot with it in the rain and it stretched. I need to make a replacement using stiffer leather.

I do like the idea of making one out of a spoon, but I lack the skills to attempt this.
 

Twangster

Member
Well, it becomes a tad thin in the thickness of a spoon, it must by the way iot is pressured, dig in somewhat around the hole, unless you can bend it perfectly, therein lies the problem, that of being able to bend it. At 40 odd pound of strain on one tiny part of the thing, will it bend...?? I do not know, but in the fullness of time I will let you know no doubt.....I have to raid the silver drawer now, you may never hear of me again if caught..... weirdly, my mum has a cow horn from Switzerland hanging on the wall, it was present from a Boy Scout camp I went on when I was younger... it is actually perfect for the manufacture of a thumb ring, but, I cannot nick it back.... the trials and tribulations of every day life as an archer..mmmm.!! :scratchch:mischievo
 

Dorset Lass

New member
Ironman
Twangster I can point you in the right direction to purchase a cow horn so you don't have to distress your mum by nicking your old one back. Give me a PM if you are interested.

Meanwhile please report back on the silver spoon project ........
 

Twangster

Member
I may well be on to you about the cow horn at the weekend. I was gazing languidly at the silver spoon section of a well known on line auction, and the prices are far too high... I will investigate other materials that make up spoons.... Bakelite, wood, EPNS, good old stainless, alloy's.. who knows, will keep you informed though....
 

Carlos the Jackal

New member
Tell you what i`ve been using these past few months, is a Martin leather shooting glove! I`ve cut one of the finger stalls off the glove where it connects to the main body, and once fitted over the thumb, tied some cord around the stall just behind the thumb joint so it doesn`t slip off. The beauty is, you can tie it to just the right tightness you desire, and doesn`t need constant adjustments like i`ve found with my bronze and horn rings. It is VERY comfortable to use on my 45lb Turkish bow and feels just right. So much so i won`t be using anything else from now on. Try it!
The only problem is, you`ll be getting funny looks when you go to an archery shop and try a glove on your thumb!

Carl.
 

Twangster

Member
How coincidental your idea is, yesterday I thought about investing in a 'first-aid' finger stool, the ones put over a plaster or a dressing. These also have a tie up system where one knots it around the wrist. When I inquired at the local pharmacy, they only had plastic things of very dubious quality so I left it, but I am sure they make leather ones.. probably too thin though to be of use, unless caught out when the hoards of huns attack, in a street scene on a Saturday afternoon......

Mussel shells are too small and very liable to shatter under pressure, I tried the experiment.... what a loon I am !!!!
 

Carlos the Jackal

New member
Yeah that is coincidental for sure! Leather rings were just as prominent as horn and metal thumb rings. Apparently, the archers of the Indian army preferred shooting with leather rings. Being made of leather though none survive today, so we don`t know whether they were fashioned like the horn/metal ones that survive today or not or, whether they differed from country to country.
 

Twangster

Member
An interesting adjunct this leather usage, I will pursue that idea as well in the fullness of time of course... just for an update, I have two halves of a coconut devoid of 'innards', they seem to have the violence of stomach unsettlement for me... three spoons of some steel or other, some leather off cuts of long standing ownership, a thigh bone big enough to make into a cudgel, and an order for a cow horn in the offing... is this being a tad overindulgent do you think ????
I shall begin at the weekend on one or more of them.....thumb is still sore though...
 

Twangster

Member
I was off work today so, I made myself an arrow from old bits I have had for years... no reason not to waste this stuff other than I had time and the keenness. I spined the old 5/16 shaft at just over 46lb, fletched it with 3" plastic fletchings of different available colours, taper nock and a 150 gm pile. I tried it out with tape around the sore thumb, but using the new Mongolian Horsebow.
The arrow shaft seemed so stiff in action every time I tried it, although I left it long (about 31") plus bits, it was reasonably accurate for a beginner though. I read somewhere that with a horsebow, the spine should be the category below that of the normal recurve weight i.e 35-40 spine for a bow draw weight of 40-45 lb... has anyone got anything to add in the affirmative that this is correct please...
I struggle a bit with getting used to the rightsided shooting of the arrow to the bow, but will persevere with it until I can take over the world...!!
 

Dorset Lass

New member
Ironman
Hi Twangster - when I first joined the 'order of the horsebow' I was told that one should have arrows stiffer than the rating one would expect for the bow. I was shooting a 35lb bow and persevered with arrows which were rated 40/45lb for a period of 9 months before realising that they were indeed too stiff and the tendency for the arrows to go to the left (with a mediterranean draw) was not due to the horsebow or my poor form.

I have now got myself arrows which are rated at the same poundage as the bow and they fly beautifully. I only wish it hadn't taken me 9 months to make this change.

Re shooting off the right side of the bow try canting the bow slightly towards the arrow (which seems counter intuitive because you think that the arrow could fall off). Your thumb on the drawing hand provides a slight twist in the opposite direction so that the arrow is held firm and you can gallop about on your horse until you get a good clear shot at the enemy.

In drawing, the weight of the bow is held on the index finger rather than the thumb, because the index finger is locking the thumb in place. It is important to tense up the remaining fingers of the drawing hand (even though they are not 'doing anything') because this makes the index finger stronger. Release is 'active' rather than passive.

It is very important not to grip the bow too tightly with the bow hand as these bows are very sensitive to torque etc.

Good luck with it!
 

Carlos the Jackal

New member
Hi Twangster,
I use 40/45 lb spined 11/32 arrows out of my 45lb Turkish bow and they fly true, though when i first tried them with about 2" overhang they flew a little erratic. They now fly great with hardly any overhang. So it seems my bow is quite finicky!

If your feathers stand too tall that can also effect your arrow clearence since using a thumb release causes less paradox. (More akin to a compound release aid). You may also want to test how tight your arrow nock fits onto the string too. Not too tight!

If you are having trouble with the arrow dropping off your bow hand, all you need to do is:- Rotate your drawing hand wrist so your index finger touches the arrow, putting a little pressure on it throughout the draw and release. This is the Turkish technique. So you don`t need to cant the bow at all to keep the arrow on the bow hand. In fact you can rotate the bow 90 degrees and the arrow won`t fall off! There`s plenty of video clips on YOU TUBE showing this technique.
 

Twangster

Member
Thank you both for the answers, it's a very interesting insight into archery in general, or at least the horsebow aspect. I have all this knowledge now to hand, so I must away and find out now for myself.... I will be back shortly one supposes..:hyper::bouncy::hyper:
 
Top