Southmoorbows.com
Thank you for purchasing one of our primitive bows! Here is our Primitive Bow Owners Guide.
12 month warranty included from this date. Warranty includes full refund or replacement in the event of bow breakage, and repairs to structural failures if possible.) Please read below for more information regarding what our bow warranty does, and does not cover!
Regardless of whether this is your very first primitive wooden bow, or whether it is just another addition to an already extensive collection, we ask that before you take your new primitive bow out to shoot, you read these instructions very carefully and in their entirety. Even if you are familiar with wooden bows, these instructions could still act as a useful reminder of the do’s and don’t of owning and using primitive wooden bows. These instructions could well make the difference between your bow providing many safe and enjoyable years of service to you ,or your new bow ending up as firewood, or worst still causing a serious injury to yourself or someone else! In order not to void the warranty that comes with this bow, please follow these operation, storage and care instructions at ALL times!
Now that you are the proud owner of a traditionally made primitive wooden bow, it is very important that you are introduced to the nuances and intricacies of using and maintaining such a refined instrument. Primitive wooden bows cannot be treated in the same way as a modern synthetic bow made from materials which are much more durable and less sensitive to climate, misuse and abuse. Whilst a modern laminate or synthetic bow can deal with some fairly rough handling, many wooden bows, especially those made from softer bow wood species such as Yew, will mark very easily, even with minimal contact from simple things such as quiver buckles, tree branches or even finger nails. The back of a wooden bow in particular must be protected from damage from bumps and scratches at all costs. A wooden bow with a damaged back is a disaster waiting to happen! Treat the back of your primitive wooden bow like it was a new born baby!
Similarly, whilst a modern synthetic bow can tolerate significant fluctuations in temperature and humidity, wooden bows simply cannot. Attention must be paid to making sure that your wooden bow maintains a temperature and moisture content which will ensure optimal performance whilst at the same time promoting longevity. Read on for more detail.
Below we have included advice detailing the correct and safe handling and storage of your new primitive wooden bow. Please read these instructions carefully. Failure to comply with these instructions will void the warranty issued with your bow!
Draw length – Every individual primitive wooden bow made by Southmoor Bows is built for a specific draw length. The draw length for your bow is listed below, and is also written on your bow alongside the draw weight as measured at the specified draw length (which is measured from the back of your bow in the centre of the riser, to the string at the nocking point). Your bow has been tillered and shot in to a maximum draw length in inches. Never draw your bow beyond this length as measured from the back of the bows riser to the string at the nocking points. If you over draw your bow you may permanently damage, or worst still break your bow. If you take good care of your new bow and never exceed your draw length then your bow should last a long time.
Please note that your warrantee only applies specifically to your own use, care and maintenance of your bow. It is very easy for someone else to overdraw or otherwise misuse your bow unknowingly, Therefore by allowing anyone else to draw your bow (in any way including on a tillering device) you will immediately void the warranty of your bow.
Holding at anchor – Unlike modern synthetic or laminate bows, primitive wooden bows cannot sustain being held at full draw for longer than 1 second. By holding your wooden bow at full draw for longer than 1 second you will be placing excessive and unnecessary stress on the bows limbs resulting in string follow “set” and possibly even compression fractures on the bows belly, both of which will result in significant and permanent loss of power and cast. Or worst still, holding at full draw for too long could result in tension fracturing on the bows back. This will usually result in a catastrophic limb failure and break.
Bracing and unbracing – Your bow has been designed and tillered to function optimally with a specific brace height. The brace height for your bow will have been specified. Never exceed this brace height. Exceeding your brace height will add unnecessary strain to your bow’s limbs. To measure the brace height of your primitive wooden bow, simply measure perpendicular from the string to the centre of the deepest point of the grip on the belly side.
Having a slack bow string which holds your bow’s brace well below the recommended brace height for your bow is also potentially problematic. A bow braced with a slack string can cause a bow to turn and spin out to the side under bracing tension which can result in significant side strain akin to putting your bow across your knee and bending it sideways. If this is allowed to happen then the results are usually catastrophic and result in a broken bow, usually snapped across the handle section around the arrow pass or shelf. Never fit a loose string to your bow! Every time you use your bow, first check that your bows brace height is set as instructed within your bows manual. Stringing your bow with either a slack, or excessivly taught string will void your bow’s warranty!
After you have finished shooting your bow, or even during longer pauses or periods between shooting, you should always unbrace/unstring your bow. By unbracing/unstringing your bow, you will minimise the amount of stress your bow is exposed to over time. This will prevent excessive set over time and prolong maximum cast for as long as possible.
Your bow has been supplied with a served 12 strand B55 flemish twist bow string which has been built specifically for your bow. Your bows brace height can be changed simply by twisting the bow string up tighter to reduce the length of the string thus increasing the brace height of your bow, or it can be unwound to make the string longer which will reduce the brace height of your bow.
Dry firing – Never dry fire your primitive wooden bow!! Dry firing is the act of shooting your bow without an arrow on the string. In most cases, dry firing a wooden bow will result in serious and permanent damage to your bow, or even the catastrophic failure and subsequent destruction of the bow. This is due to the stored energy in the bow not getting absorbed and dissipated by the mass of an arrow upon release. Dry firing results in all the energy of the release being delivered to the bows limbs in the form of vibrations, instead of to the arrow where it should be intended. The result of the massive vibration to the bows limbs which dry firing causes is sufficient to destroy your bow! Since novices are often unaware of the consequences of dry firing bows, once again we reiterate that you should not allow anyone else shoot your bow. Dry firing your bow will void your warranty!
Stringing/bracing your bow – Never allow someone else to string/brace your bow. Always brace your bow yourself. We recommend bracing your bow using either the “step through” method, or the “push pull” method to string your bow. If you are unfamiliar with these two methods then there are plenty of video tutorials available online which provide safe, detailed discussions and demonstrations of both of these bracing methods.
A conventional, modern sliding grip type stringer should never be used on any of the bows which we build and sell. Using a sliding grip stringer on any of the bows that we have built, or any wooden bow for that matter, will run the risk of over stressing the bottom limb which may result in permanently damaging, or even the breakage of your bow.
If you have purchased a bow from us which is over 60lbs in draw weight, then your bow will most likely have been built with an additional stringing grooves cut into the top nock to facilitate the use of a twin looped stringer. If this is the case then your bow will have been supplied to you with a purpose built twin loop stringer specifically designed for use with your bow. If this is the case then only ever use the twin loop stringer which we have provided you with to string your bow. When using your twin loop stringer, always be sure that both limbs are bending equally throughout the entire bracing process. Youtube has several good instructional videos (video using a twin loop stringer- HOW TO SHOOT THE ENGLISH LONGBOW – INITIAL SET UP – YouTube) which safely demonstrate the use of a twin loop type stringer. If you are unfamiliar with the use of twin loop stingers then we suggest you watch a few demonstrations before performing the act for yourself for the first time. Incorrect stringing of your bow will void the warranty!
Never bend your bow backwards or permit it to flip out to the side or backwards during the stringing process. Bending your bow backwards or out to the side is guaranteed to result in bow breakage. We recommend that you correctly string/brace your bow about 15 min before you intend to start shooting. This will give your bows limbs time to become accustomed to the tension and compression forces brought about by its newly flexed position. Once your bow has had 15 minutes to settle into its brace, we then recommend that you gentle warm up the limbs on your bow by part drawing your bow in draw lengths which progressively build up to full draw. Do this with 10 to 30 repartitions of drawing your bow a short distance at first but slowly progressing. Start from barely pulling at all, all the way up to full draw. This gives your bows limbs time to warm up and become accustomed to being flexed to full draw. This warming up process significantly reduces the likelihood of the development of set or the creation of compression fractures on the belly of your bow. It is especially important that your bows limbs are manually warmed up before hitting full draw on cold days. And always give your bow plenty of time to acclimatize to any significant change in temperature before shooting. Particularly when moving from a warm environment to a cold environment.
Storing your primitive wooden bow – Always store your primitive wooden bow unstrung/unbraced. We also recommend that your bow is stored lying horizontally, belly down across two contact points situated across the middle of both limbs. This will facilitate equal distribution of gravitational force across the entire length of your bow. Alternatively, you may hang your bow vertically by the top loop of your bow string. Never leave you bow for extended periods of time propped up on a tip in a corner or against a wall. Over time this can alter the tiller of your bow. Where ever you store your wooden bow, be sure to choose a storage location which is dry, warm (18 – 22 Degrees Celsius is optimal ) and has low humidity (less than 80 percent but no less than 50 percent ambient humidity is ideal.) This is particularly important for your bow as it is sinew backed. Also, never store your bow in direct sunlight, and do not store your bow in close proximity to a significant heat source such as a fire place, stove, oven or other heating source. Heat is the absolute enemy of sinew backed bows. If your bow has somehow managed to get hot, let it cool down completely before stringing and shooting it. Stringing and shooting a sinew backed bow which has been allowed to get hot will permanently damage your bow, and may even result in the bow breaking.
When transporting your bow or temporarily storing you bow in a vehicle, be sure to maintain appropriate temperatures within the vehicle and exclude your bow from direct sunlight. In the warmer months, the suns heat can quickly build up in a vehicle to levels which can seriously and rapidly overheat and over dry your bow to levels where permanent damage or even breakage of your bow can easily be achieved. Never leave your bow inside a hot car! Heat exposure will void the warranty of your bow!
Even though your bow has been sealed to a high standard, if your bow is left exposed to wet or humid conditions for more than a few hours then there is a high probability that your bow will suffer from moisture ingress. It is critical to the performance and longevity of your bow that it should maintain a moisture content threshold of between 6 and 10 percent moisture content. When your bow arrives the moisture content will be within this optimal threshold. We suggest that you make a note of your new bows weight in grams so that in the future, you will be able to detect a significant increase or decrease in moisture content. If your bow has lost more than 20 grams in overall weight then there is a risk that your bow is now too dry and might break when fired. If your bow has gained more than 20 grams in weight then there is a risk that your bow has now gained too much moisture and could suffer from reduced draw weight and cast, and in worst cases your bow may take set if it is draw to full draw whilst carrying an excessive moisture burden.
Please note that bows which have been sinew backed can sometimes experience draw weight and performance variation depending on both the temperature and humidity conditions experienced on any particular day. Cold weather with low humidity can see sinew backed bows increase by 2-3 pounds in draw weight. Conversely, sinew backed bows can suffer with similar draw weight and performance reduction when conditions are warm and humid.
Your bow will have had its draw weight measured after tillering, shooting in and finishing, at a time when ambient temperature/humidity was around the 18 Degrees Celcius/80% humidity mark. This means that depending on temperature and humidity you may experience a draw weight range of <>7%.
Measure the mass of your bow in grams when you first take ownership of it and for the purpose of consistency, make a note of whether your baseline weight includes things like the bow string etc. Then compare your baseline bow weight to the future weight of your bow if you ever suspect that your bows moisture content has been significantly increased or decreased from the norm.
Bow string – Before using your bow you should always inspect your bows string before attempting to string/brace or shoot your bow. Pay particular attention to the loops of the string, as these sections are areas which are most prone to wear. In the interest of preserving your bow string for as long as possible, we suggest that you use a good quality bow string wax from time to time or whenever your string begins to look fluffy. As already discussed, your bow comes with a string which has been made specifically for your bow and is designed to achieve a length which is optimal for achieving the correct brace height for your particular bow. Never be tempted to use another string on your primitive wooden bow before making sure that it is the same length as the string which your bow was supplied with. If at some point you lose, or need to replace your bows string, then we suggest you use a bow string which is made from a material which permits a small amount of stretch. Some modern bow string materials afford no stretch at all and whilst being suitable for many modern bows, they may cause wooden bows excessive and unnecessary stress. Always check the compatibility of a new string making sure that it is made to a length and from materials which are suitable for use with a wooden bow! Stringing your bow with a string which was not built by Southmoor Bows specifically for your bow will void your bow’s warranty!
Arrows – In the interests of accuracy, safety and bow longevity, only ever use arrows which have been matched to your bows draw length and weigh. Never shoot damaged arrows or arrows which are too light in mass for your bow. Shooting arrows which are too light in mass for your bow is akin to dry firing! (see above for warnings about dry firing) A good rule of thumb when considering arrow selection for your bow is as follows: Times the draw weight of your bow in pounds x 8 (this number equals the absolute minimum necessary weight in grains of your arrows!) To optimise arrow weight for your primitive wooden bow simply times the draw weight of your bow in pounds by 9. This results in a suggested arrow mass in grains. For a bow which draws 50lbs at 28” we suggest that you use an arrow which is around 450 grains in total weight +/- 50gn.
Maintenance – Your bow has been sealed with 8 coats of Rustins Danish oil. Whilst this finish significantly halts the ingress of moisture into your bow, like all bow finishes, Danish oil, is not capable of making your bow 100 percent fully waterproof. If you manage to scratch through the outer layers of your bows sealed surface, then please treat your bow to another coat of finish. And at least once per year, or after usage in extreme wet weather, take the time to thoroughly dry your bow back down to its optimal mass of before applying a fresh coat of finish. Simply follow the instructions of the finish/sealer manufacturer and with every fresh application of finish your bow will gain a patina that enriches the colours and grain of the wood, creating a richer, deeper and smoother surface finish. In order to produce a more satin finish akin to the finish of your boiw when you first received it, simple mix a little bicarbonate of soda with a small amount of vegetable oil and buff the bow with the paste impregnated into a soft cloth. Wipe of the buffing compound and polish with a clean, dry, soft cloth to restore the satin finish.
We hope you love your new primitive wooden bow as much as we loved building it for you! At Southmoor Bows we always love to get feedback from our customers so that we can continue to improve and expand our range of products and services. So if you get a spare five minutes, please do take the time to tell us what you think of our product, or leave us a review on our Etsy shop site. It would also be really great to see any pictures which you have of your bow being put to good use. So if you find the time, please do upload some photos of your primitive archery adventures! Thank you for your custom and we hope to be of service to you again soon!
All the best, and may your arrows fly true!
Mark – Southmoor Bows
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