The Bow is Dead! Long Live the Bow!

I felt good on Sunday. In general, but specifically: Archery. I improved over the course of two weeks, had a good showing, and thought, "What else can I do that'd be fun?"

NuSensei, one of the YouTube guys I watch, mentioned in his "Top 10 Intermediate Mistakes" that training at only one range can limit progress after a certain point.

So I thought it'd be fun to shoot a 5th set from further back to celebrate my good run. I figured I could rest the arrows on the fence for easy pickup.

Nothing like aiming high for yourself after you do well at something, right? You'll either surpass expectations or humble yourself rightly!

The bow snapped. Right as I hit my focus point.

Shocked me. I even cried out"Whoa!"

One half hit at my feet and the other flipped up and over the fence.

Two bows dead in two weeks. I started archery, because Carrie had bought all the materials years ago! It was basically free!

Both bows were made out of PVC and not wood. It's a cheap construction material that serves well.

So well that there are people who post videos on how to make bows from PVC. Once upon a time, John sent me a video of a guy making and testing one. I filed it away in my brain until I started shooting.

The Backyard Bower is one of the most popular. I watched his video to make a "$7, no heat, PVC bow" and asked "Could I do this?"

I understood everything he said. It wasn't rocket science to make a basic bow. It was more about familiarity and experience, and the only way to get those was to try.

So I watched more videos and thought, "I'll build one of these for fun as a backup bow." 

Shane and I grabbed most of what I needed at Lowe's after his orthodontist appointment. 

Then my bow broke. It was time.

Step 1 - Test the PVC. 

Check! I used a 4 lb hammer. It's what I had.

Step 2 - Gather all the materials.

Step 2B - Go back to the garage, because you forgot measuring tape.

Step 3 - Do everything in the video. I'm really not going to write it out here!

It was only a few dollars to buy a rod saw blade to file into the PVC and fiberglass rods.

It worked as advertised.

The main difference was it took me a longer than the Backyard Bower!

I kept the video on hand to reference as necessary. Notes are good! I pay attention to what *I* use to learn things, because my students may have similar thought processes.

And I take pictures, because I blog.

I guess it's good to look back if I screw up horribly, too.

The PVC pipe was the most annoying part.

The rod saw blade was flexible. I could've paid for something to attach it to, but I went full economical.

Carrie came out to see what I was doing and wanted to get involved.

We went to the barn and used one of her riding crops to insert the core at the right depth.

She knew how to tie the knot on the bow string, too.

It ain't pretty, but it functioned for the first few test shots. Carrie wanted to go try it out.

I wore the kilt that morning for a few reasons. One of them was it was Day 14 and I felt like channeling my inner Brave. 

The draw was heavier than my last bow. There was plenty of penetrating power!

I went to bed feeling pretty cool. I made a bow!

The next day, I took it out for my daily practice.

It may need some tweaking. The string kept impacting my wrist. It wasn't every time, but by end of the 1st set (22 shots) I could feel a future bruise swelling up.

I went back inside and found the arm guard. It's so nice to already have everything on hand!

I was in an experimental mood and tried hanging the quiver off my carabiner. It worked!

If I can be more efficient with my efforts I can do more in less time. Time's always in short supply. 

The bow performed well enough. I may need to do more work on the nocks for the string. It came out once.

I only loosed three sets (66 shots). The extra strength required on the draw was a good workout. My arms were a wobbling by the 3rd set. I decided to call it rather than push a 4th and risk injury. My wrist was already slightly sore and I'm not in a hurry.

I'd rather show some prudence to improve faster rather than be rash and set myself back.

I've wanted some sort of 'game' or activity to exercise and archery's been it. I bought more than enough materials to build more bows, so I may try something fancier one day.