Description

This is a VERY special offering!

Join me in the shop for [6] days and learn to craft a powerful, smooth shooting Whitewood Selfbow with simple hand tools. This course is geared toward the basics of bow making and accessible to all skill levels. You don’t need prior archery or woodworking experience, but must be teachable and willing to follow instructions. You’ll leave the course with a one-piece longbow suitable for both small and large game; built from start to finish by you.

Whitewood trees (used to describe any hardwoods with thick sapwood and very light color) have been used to make bows for thousands of years. They grow abundantly in almost every environment and make fast, durable weapons when well-executed. They generally require less work than bows made of osage orange because there’s no need to “chase a ring”, and their tension strength makes them more forgiving of a new bowyer’s errors. Quality bow woods can often be found growing right in your backyard!

Osage orange is one of the most sought-after bow woods in the world, but it grows in limited areas of the central and southern United States. It’s often twisted, wiggly, and full of knots, cracks, and other obstacles. When you buy it, it’s expensive; and when you cut it yourself, you go through a lot of Osage before you find one as straight and trouble-free as the average white wood tree.

It’s my belief that in order to introduce as many people as possible to the art of bow-making (with their local and readily available hardwoods), we need to set aside the coveted Osage tree. This course shines some light on the high-performance bows that can be made from oaks, hickories, elms, maples, hackberry and more. 

This complete bow making course includes:

• Wooden stave pre-seasoned and ready to tiller (wood species TBD);
• Tools for the job;
• Free accommodation at LotN’s wilderness basecamp (either in shared canvas prospector tent with bunk beds or smaller tents on platforms (Tent and sleeping foam provided);
• All meals from Dinner night 1 to Breakfast Day 6;
• Bison leather for quiver making;
• Targets for shooting practice;
• Wood fired hot tub and sauna (whaaaat?!!! oh yeah!);
• A beautiful pond and large lake to paddle or swim at in the evenings or in the morning before breakfast;
• Fall leaf colors to die for!
• Kie’s (that’s me!) amazing hosting skills to make you feel right at home during your stay (modest I know- but it’s true! Come see for yourself!)

What is not Included:

• Spirits, beer, wine (BYOB- cans preferrable for us bare footers);
• Arrows: please come with your own blunt tip practice arrows (6-9 is recommended. More info on arrows once registered)
• Bedding: Please bring your own sleeping bags and air mattress (unless you snag a spot in the guest tent which has proper mattresses).
• Shuttle from airport to rendezvous location (carpooling can be arranged ahead of time with other participants or for a fee we can send our driver to pick you up).

The Curriculum:

• Tree selection;
• Bow stave processing;
• Wood seasoning;
• Longbow design and layout;
• Roughing out your bow blank;
• Heat treating wood;
• Tillering a bow;
• Bowstring making;
• Bow and arrow aftercare;
• The fundamentals of instinctive shooting;
• Quiver making;
• IF TIME: Basic arrow making

Most of your time will be spent in the shop with tools in hand, but there’s also a short walk through the property where you’ll learn the basics of tree identification, reading bark, processing bow staves, and seasoning wood.

Each bow will be crafted to your personal draw length and desired draw weight. You’ll be challenged to navigate the character (imperfections) in the wood and learn tricks of the trade under the watchful eye of a master bowyer. Take years of trial and error off the learning curve with focused individual instruction. Small group sizes leave plenty of time open for one-on-one guidance and questions/answers.

The end of the course will be spent learning the fundamentals of marksmanship with your new bow! If you’re already an experienced archer, you’ll be set free to shoot in your preferred style. If you’re a first-time archer or someone looking to explore a new method, we’ll skip the complicated nuances of the modern shot cycle and cover a simple, intuitive shooting technique.

This course isn’t meant to be a step-by-step walkthrough. It’s my goal to help you understand the process and teach you the skills needed to make your own bows for life. Nothing quite compares to the feeling of a hand-crafted bow sending arrows downrange with authority, and I look forward to sharing that with you.

1. Class runs from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM with an hour for lunch. You’ll have the evenings to go for a walk, paddle around the lake, go fishing, play a board game or go for a nice hot sauna or hot tub. We’re giving an additional 3 days to make the experience a little less arduous, but also leaves us time for quiver making, more shooting practice and more time for good conversation and time to soak in the experience. 

That all sounds incredible and relaxing, but be prepared to work! Expect to be on your feet all day and pushing and pulling with hand tools for hours. Your bow will take a lot of effort, but it wouldn’t be as satisfying without that blood, sweat, and maybe some tears?

This bow making course is not recommended for anyone under the age of 16 due to the labor intensive nature of the course.

You should plan to bring close toed shoes, and work clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty. More information on what to bring once registered. 

*For those wishing to extend your stay and partake in small game bow hunting after the course ends, you MUST have a Small Games license which includes the Hunter’s Education course or equivalent. See appropriate links below for license information.

Ontario Residents License Link

Non-Ontario Residents License Link

For any questions not answered here, please feel free to get in touch with me directly: kielyn@lureofthenorth.com or 705-280-6809