# Is this the first Compound Bow? 1964 Verabow! Bet you've never seen one.



## bear-of-grayling (Mar 29, 2008)

What is a Compound bow? Did Allen really invent it? You be the judge. These pics are of a Bow made in 1964. That is 2 years BEFORE Wilbur Allen Applied for a Patent. Many were experimenting with different ideas. With Allens lack of advancement of his orginal design, ( over 15 years in business) it is my belief that he saw something and made one quickly, then was the first to apply for a Patent. Anyway this is a cool bow!


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## ats (Jul 20, 2007)

hey, its an early bowtech guardian!


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## 05_sprcrw (Aug 18, 2009)

Very interesting looks like a fun bow to shoot or try to shoot.


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## Cory J~ (Jun 29, 2010)

Well, I don't know about being the "first" compound bow, but this looks like the roots were taken from an much OLDER Native American bow, known as the Penobscot bow, and example of which is available at Rudderbows.com (Good handmade trad bows!)









The Penobscot Indian bow named after the ingenious Penobscot Indians of the eastern woodlands. This Marvelous bow was one of the most versatile bows ever made and may have very well been one of the first compound designs ever built.. . The bow is stable and and can be adjusted to a higher draw weight by tightening the back strings. The back bow and strings help reduce string follow adding speed. This bow also sports lower handshock as well as accuracy. One other feature is that being able to adjust the draw weight helps match the spine of your arrows to the bow.. Just simply twisting the back strings will increase and decrease the draw weight. 68"-72" tip to tip depending on draw length.Pyramid main bow which also adds to speed .

To adjust the draw weight simply put the bow on a bench with each tip set on a 1" thick block of wood. Now clamp the handle down to the bench bending the limbs slightly backward. This will relieve the string pressure. Take the old string off and twist it 2 -3 turns tighter. Unclamp bow and replace 1" block with a 2" block, Reclamp handle down and replace the string. The draw weight will increase . Use up to a 4" inch block . The tighter the back strings the higher the draw weight of the entire bow. Piece of cake!!


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## bear-of-grayling (Mar 29, 2008)

Yes, it sure does. Great Bow!


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## RealDakota (May 24, 2006)

The compound bow is defined in Allen's Patent. If it doesn't fall under the patent, it isn't a compound. Bows that exploit any of the many alternative methods of achieving reduced limb travel or reduced holding weight are not compound bows.


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