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[Mark1966]

Lets just combine those last two posts side by side ...

Be afraid little ferret, be very afraid !

 

[pvsampson]

Noticed a couple of archers here.I have been shooting since I was 12,so 40 years now. Competed in the late '90s,field and 3d and even won 3d NSW State Titles at one point,compound, fingers and pins.Have made a few sticks from bamboo in my time...simple full working handles in a traditional longbow style and got around 45-50lb from them due to the local bamboo. Made quite a few stone broadheads,polished them on my lapidary gear,but for the time I spend the value of them nobody I showed wanted to buy.If I get a good enough piece of stone I can even get a matched set of three within a few grains of each other.
Below is a vid I took a few years ago.Haven't been shooting much lately as I have a childhood severe elbow injury that only lets me shoot light poundage now.

EDIT:The bamboo flat bows above are not the same style as the ones I used to make.

 

[pvsampson]

I have always found it interesting that civilisations from the Egyptians to the pygmys came to invent the bow and arrow in some form however our aboriginals never did,
I suspect it’s due to a multitude of factors but it is curious.

They had experience with them,as Indos and other sea faring societies had contact with the Northern "tribes" and traded. The Aboriginals had a very,very long and established Dreaming,which was integral to their life.Bows were not part of their Dreaming and would have upset their life balance if they used them regularly.Hunting was not only necessary,it was a very spiritual experience,as was the manufacture of the weapons used.

It must be noted that many other civilisations had throwing sticks,with examples dating back a few thousand years.Egyptians used boomerangs,and my theory is that the technology was originally from the Northern Aboriginals having contact with other civilisations and trading,therefore the throwing stick was spread around the world.

 

[glenos]

Bows were not part of their Dreaming and would have upset their life balance if they used them

Do you need a bow and arrow if you have a spear and Woomera? I suspect a spear from a Woomera has much greater momentum and therefore killing power. I've got no idea how they manage to be accurate, must be very skilled.

 

[pvsampson]

Do you need a bow and arrow if you have a spear and Woomera? I suspect a spear from a Woomera has much greater momentum and therefore killing power. I've got no idea how they manage to be accurate, must be very skilled.

That would depend on the target and the weapon being used.Heavy arrows shot from heavy poundage bows have plenty of penetration.Example being English archers using 90lb+ Yew longbows, (warbow), and ash arrows tipped with heavy 350 grain+ steel bodkin heads.They could literally pierce steel armour,and could drop horses from 300 yards.Modern bows have better energy efficiency due to the materials,especially compound bows.I have put a 125 grain target tipped carbon arrow through three sheets of corrugated roof sheeting at thirty yards out of a compound set at 63lb,arrow stopping about 1/4 the way through.I have also put a 125 grain broadhead tipped alloy straight through a wild dog at about twenty yards with a 50 pound Korean style "stick".

Heavy hardwood spears would definitely have penetration power out of a woomera,with the added length meaning anything they hit would not get far with that much shaft hanging out of them.The real long hunting spears were just that,for hunting.There were also shorter types with more vicious points/heads on them that were for battle,and of course bird and fishing types. New Guinea tribes use long arrows with the same style heads,pig,bird,and specific nasty mankillers.Pidgin for the arrows is Spia,sounding very much like spear because the first whites to have contact saw the similarities in length.

The bow and arrow has had a profound impact on humans,more so than the spear.It was the equalizer,meaning that the not so athletic warrior/hunter could become very proficient.They can even be used on horseback.Personally,I would much prefer to hunt a big,cranky bull buffalo with a bow,rather than a spear and woomera.

You see arrows everywhere.How many do you see on the roads every day? Even have them on your computer screen and keyboard.

 

[glenos]

hunt a big,cranky bull buffalo

Would not have been a problem for Aboriginal Australian pre-1824, we didn't have buffalo. Kangaroos were the biggest things around, still a big red would have been formidable.

 

[Mark1966]

...

The bow and arrow has had a profound impact on humans,more so than the spear.It was the equalizer, meaning that the not so athletic warrior/hunter could become very proficient.They can even be used on horseback.....

I read a very interest analysis of the Biblical story of David and Goliath in a TED talk by Malcolm Gladwell - https://www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_gladwell_the_unheard_story_of_david_and_goliath?


He talks about it, from memory, as being a battle between two weapon systems more than two people - with the outcome never in doubt.

 

[pvsampson]

Would not have been a problem for Aboriginal Australian pre-1824, we didn't have buffalo. Kangaroos were the biggest things around, still a big red would have been formidable.

Woops,accidental delete then.... Yes absolutely.I was using buff as an example. Bow can be shot accurately and repetitively from standing,sitting,mounted,whereas a spear is comparatively difficult to use.

 

[Mark1966]

Just give me a bloody great gun anyday -

 

[Ferret619]

Besides Roos there are other things a bow is useful for, I hear snappy lizards are very challenging.

 

[Ferret619]

Then other bastards lol at you for failing.

 

[borked]

There is still a lot of Cypress being cut around western Queensland, but it's lost popularity vis-à-vis treated pine framing which is generally much cheaper and equally termite resistant. (75x38 F7 Swn Cypress: $4.30lm vs 70x35 T2 MGP12 Pine Framing: $3.60lm.) Stick frame on a new build often requires several hundred / thousand metres of pine framing, so that difference in pricing adds up pretty quickly.

Source: I work for a timber wholesaler in Brisbane.

Are you able to source Huon Pine birdseye burl?

 

[Ferret619]

So the dog needed some teeth sorterd..$850 later he’s drugged up but getting better.. he and his brother decided it would be a top idea to run away... my wife stayed home to try n find him as I was already at work. She put up 120 posters and was walking around all day!

He had gotten into a chicken coop 200m up the road and was scared of the birds so was cowering in the corner...I don’t even...

 

[Ferret619]

We where this excited

 

[Ferret619]

All going well today I find out if I’m having a son or a daughter, so excited I can’t even explain.

 

[Mark1966]

All going well today I find out if I’m having a son or a daughter, so excited I can’t even explain.

Will you be this excited?

 

[Ferret619]

Yass queen!! count down is on now, can’t wait to find out

 

[Pbgoose]

So I get back to my accommodation tonight and they say 'sorry, we're going to have to move you because there's no water to your unit'.Good news is it was only my sink aerator blocked. Bad news is looks like it was probably frog guts clogging up the system and a few units around me had no water at all. One might well ask 'how does this happen, especially when the filtration system filters down to 5 micron?!'
And yes, I carry my own drinking water.

 

[SpeedyPC]

So I get back to my accommodation tonight and they say 'sorry, we're going to have to move you because there's no water to your unit'.Good news is it was only my sink aerator blocked. Bad news is looks like it was probably frog guts clogging up the system and a few units around me had no water at all. One might well ask 'how does this happen, especially when the filtration system filters down to 5 micron?!'
And yes, I carry my own drinking water.

Thanks very much @Pbgoose for the highlight you've just made me

 

[Pbgoose]

Thanks very much @Pbgoose for the highlight you've just made me

Ya, and that was me looking pretty sorry for myself all day. Turns out brushing my teeth yesterday morning whilst blissfully unaware of the lurking menace was enough. On the phone to my wife this morning going ' I don't know how I'm going to drive 6 1/2 hrs home'. Anyway, made it half way.