Arrow Making

• 1). Sort through the branches of an arrowwood bush to find the straightest branches possible. Arrowwood is one of the few plants that naturally grows straight and will not snap when a bowstring is released. Cut these branches away from the bush using a knife. Trim away all smaller branches and leaves from the shaft. Trim the shaft down to 26 inches.
  
  
• 2). Find a rock with a rounded, concave portion. Run this part up and down the shaft to smooth it further and wear away any knobs.
  
  
• 3). Find a rock with a sharp, chisel-like end. Use this to wear away a notch at either end of the shaft. Using your hands, bend the shaft back and forth to straighten it further. Repeat this constantly as the green wood of the shaft dries. This will cause the shaft to dry straight.
  
  
• 4). Place your arrowhead on one of the notches and bind it to the shaft with plant fiber cord. The other notch is where the bowstring will rest. If you want to be historically accurate, your arrowhead should be made of bone or stone. Commonly used stones include chert, quartz and obsidian.
  
  
• 5). Peel a feather apart along its central shaft. This will leave you with two halves of a feather. Repeat this with another feather. Take three of the peeled portions and attach them to the base of the arrow with plant fiber cord. These will serve as fletching for your arrow.
  
  

Bow Making

• 1). Find a 5 to 6 feet long juniper branch that is as straight as possible. Make sure that the branch is alive. A live branch will spring back easily when you bend it. A dead one will either be rigid or brittle. Cut the branch away using a hand ax.
  
  
• 2). Find a stone that fits easily in the hand but has one sharp edge, like a knife. Scrape the sharp end along the juniper branch. In doing so, you will shave away at the branch and slowly fashion it into a bow. The exact design and shape of historic bow depended greatly on the tribe that made it, so do some research to find a design that you like.
  
  
• 3). Let the wood dry. Go over it once more with a sharp-edged rock to smooth away any lumps and abrasions that remain. Scrape away a groove at either end.
  
  
• 4). Tie a loop of bowstring around one of the grooves. Bend the bow carefully and bring the bowstring up to the other groove. Tie it in place. Keep the bow strung when in use for archery practice, but unstring it when you store it.