Part 1 Making a Primitive Bowstring from Elk Gut

Part 1 on how to make a primitive gut bowstring from a fresh bull elk. Starting from the end of the hunt to having a finished gut string for your bow.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• elk
• gut
• bow string
• archery
• primitive
• hunting
• bowstring
• survival
• traditional

[RonRay]

Will Borax work to 'cure' those guts as well? I know it works on snake skins and inside of fowl skins. Borax cures skins without letting the fur/scales let go.

This is interesting!

[ShinBone5000]

@RonRay - Haven't used Borax, I use salt to help keep the guts from breaking down while working them and to kill any bacteria that is on them. I try to use materials that the Native Americans would have had available if possible. Way back when I was in highschool, I used Borax on bird skins while doing a bit of taxidermy and it worked great.

[kyletango]

Someone said the best way to strip those guts is to take shoes and socks off and pull the gut through your toes to strip them.

[ShinBone5000]

@kyletango - I'm going to need someone to demonstrate exactly how that's done. And then probably two or three more times... Ahhh, I probably still might have trouble doing it myself. :) I guess that shouldn't be offensive, I remember as a kid running barefoot in the cow pasture...

[5tonyvvvv]

@ShinBone5000 I have cattle rawhide, how do I make a bowstring? Its still fresh..and I get lots of it from a Local farm..But how the hell do I stretch and twist it into a bowstring? How was this done the primitive way? It seems so hard, where can I learn in person?

[ShinBone5000]

@5tonyvvvv - I'd use some of the belly skin as it's thinner. Get a piece 1' x 2' or so and follow what I show for the squirrel skins to de-hair it. Then stretch it out on a flat board and tack it down. Allow it to dry until completely hard.  When you get that done I should have part 2 of the squirrel rawhide bowstring done and we'll take it from there. Good luck, S'Bone

[5tonyvvvv]

@ShinBone5000 Thanx your the man, I wish we could hang out and make bows and bow strings. keep in touch!

[5tonyvvvv]

@ShinBone5000 Most archery shops today have no clue what Im talking about, and zero knowledge on how to do it..Do I have to go to Korea or Mongolia to learn?

[ShinBone5000]

@5tonyvvvv - Stream, river, creek, lake, etc. whatever source of water they may have had.

[5tonyvvvv]

@ShinBone5000 In steam? how? They didn't have Hoses, maybe in a running river?