How to Make Indian Hunting Bows

Native Americans were hunting masters, and extremely skilled at making weapons and tools. These men and women had to learn to survive on the land, and in doing so, developed the art of making projectile points for arrows, spears and bows for long-range hunting. With numerous tribes spread out across North America, bow making differed slightly between them. Bows were made from available materials, and some were more elaborate than others. Certain bows were backed with sinew and clay, while others were fired for hardening. No matter the method, constructing a bow from all-natural materials is a time-tested process.

Things You'll Need

  • Sapling
  • Knife
  • Sinew
  • Horn and hoof glue
  • White clay
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Instructions

    • 1

      Cut a sapling with a diameter of 2 or 3 inches in winter to prevent the wood from cracking. Good choices of wood are juniper, ash, osage orange, ironwood and white elm.

    • 2

      Cut the sapling to a length about 4 or 5 inches above the hip.

    • 3

      Hold the wood in the center and scrape away from the hand with a knife until both ends taper away from the grip. The ends of the wood should be as thick as the middle finger.

    • 4

      Apply dried and pounded sinew all over the wood surface and secure with horn and hoof glue. Add a layer of white clay after applying the sinew. You can just smear on the clay, then apply another layer of sinew and secure it with horn and hoof glue. This is called backing, and reinforces the strength of the bow.

    • 5

      Cut a notch in the end of the wood. Make the notch about 1/8 inch into the wood, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch down from the end. Do the same on the opposite side.

    • 6

      Measure the distance from end to end on the bow, and cut sinew into three thin 1/8-inch diameter strips to fit the measurement, then braid them together and tie off both ends. Wrap one end of the braided string onto the top notch of the bow, and pull the string taut to the bow's opposite end. Wrap the braided string around the bottom end.