Chapter 2

I turned the lights on and stood there thinking for a bit. I wanted a fairly short bow, with about a 45 pound draw weight, with a shelf to shoot off of. I pulled out a couple candidates, but something told me to keep looking. Toward the back of the shop, I found just the thing. A plains-style Osage bow decorated in original style with some traditional geometric patterns. Perfect for the plains of Kansas!

It wasn’t exactly original style, since I’d built it as a near center-shot with shelf (my preferred style). The info I’d inked on the limb said it was 47 lb. draw weight at 28 inches and 58 inches long. Should be just about right for Loren.

OK, now for arrows. I found a half-dozen 29.5 inch carbon arrows and some 125 grain two-bladed broadheads that only needed a little weight to come in at 455 grains each- close enough. I had to guess on the right spine, but the bow should handle them all right.

I picked up my glove and bracer and a stringer and took it all outside. I had to replace the bag target with a foam one to handle the broadheads, but that was simple enough.

I made a couple shots from ten yards, just to make sure that I wouldn’t be shooting a mile off. They were pretty well spot-on, just high, which you’d expect. I backed off to twenty yards, then twenty-five, which was about all I could get easily (and was about as far as I’d feel comfortable shooting at an animal, anyhow), and the bow did it’s job nicely. I was consistently hitting a four-inch circle. Just for fun, I put a plastic pop bottle on a stick right in front of the target, and popped it a few times. It made a nice noise, and jumped when I hit it. I’m easily amused at times. The bow was a bit noisier than I wanted, so I threaded a couple of yarn silencers into the string.

I unstrung the bow, and put it in a bow sock. The arrows went in a piece of PVC pipe with a block of foam at the bottom. I put an extra string and silencers in an envelope and slipped it in with the arrows. The bow went in another piece of pipe. Both pieces got duct taped together, and that assembly went into a long box. I’ve had experience shipping bows around, and never had one get broken in this packaging. I had to look up Loren’s address on my phone, but once I had that, it was simple to make up and print out shipping labels for FedEx. I’d drop it off at an office on my way in to work in the morning.

I banged out an email to Loren, with the tracking number, and some tips about shooting a bow that was considerably heavier than she was used to, and fired it off to the ether.

A few minutes later, she emailed me back thanking me and telling me that she’d attached the brochure for the hunting ranch, and that we needed to get together on the phone after I’d had time to read it.

I replied that that sounded great.

I printed out the brochure and set it aside to read later. This was going to be FUN!