Padre Island Bow

Need to introduce myself, My name is Kronos I am a long standing member of the S.C.A in Denver. Been shooting Archery since I was 12, traditonal,compound,and crossbow love the sport and hope to be able to continue for years to come. I am currently trying to work on building a Padre Island Bow. But finding a working blue print has been difficult I spoke with David at New world Arbalest, but he has been unable to locate the pattern he had. So my question to the list is does anyone have a pattern or know where I might locate or purchase one.
Thanks, Kronos

Hello Kronos,

Welcome to the forum!


If I'm not mistaken, Padre island bows were only called that because they were named after a place they were found and David Watson can tell that story better since he was actually a part of the archeologist team and did the identification of these weapons , but the actual family of bows from which Padre Island bows come from is (correct me if I'm wrong here) - Spanish crossbows.

One of our members who is really into "historical" did a very nice Spanish hunting crossbow reproduction that is closely related to what you are looking for and has included a set of CAD drawings for those of us who wish to take on the task. It's right here in the Medieval Reproductions section. >>>Link

Ivo

Geezer here: I made up the name "Padre Island bow" because I needed a snappy title for such bows in my catalog. They're based on a pair of crossbows recovered in the 1970's from a 1554 Spanish shipwreck on Padre Island, one of those thin barrier-islands that run along the Texas coast from Galveston all the way to Mexico. Padre Island proper runs from the city of Corpus Christi to the border, and the Galleon wrecks were found near a place called the Mansfield Cut (if memory serves) They're part of the southern european tradition. There are many such bows in Spanish armories, as well as the castle at Valetta, on Malta and Italian amories as well. You could certainly call them Spanish without any fear of contradiction. The "Maximilian" bow (I coined that name as well) is based on a pair of 'Spanish' type bows that once belonged to Emperor Maximilian I, about 1490-1500. They're substantially larger and stronger than the little Padre Island model... indeed there's a lot of variation in size with Padre Island bows.
By the way, for those who wish to know, the steel prod on the most-intact of the Padre Island bows is approx. 1 inch wide, 3/8 in thick (at the center) and only about 20 inches long (yes, the ends are intact, that's really how big it is.) I have actual measurements around here somewhere, but that's about the size of it. So the prod is really-really short. Power stroke probably around 5 inches, brace maybe 4 inches. Geezer

Geezer what would you estimate the draw weight of the steel prod on the original Padre Island Crossbow to be?

The prod was found with the Padre Island bow (and a gafa cocking lever on top) Prod was very short, @21 inches, by 1 inch by 3/8 inch.  I would say at least 350 lb.  Maybe 400 at perhaps 5.5 to 6 inches of draw. The stock was only @ 1.5 inches square at the lock.  Taller at the head, but less than an inch wide (narrower at the bottom) butt was probably 1 X 1 inch, but all they had was stock from nose to a couple of inches behind the lock (where the lockplates stopped) lockplates and cheekplates at the front were presumably iron, @ 1/16 in. thick.  Roller lock 1.1 inch diameter and 15/16 inch wide, divided into thirds for lugs and bolt-passage.  The bolt-groove was V shaped, deeper at the fore-end and played out to flat about 1 inch before the lock.  We estimated the stock would have been 28-32 inches long, based on surviving bows of similar type in various museums.  Various details, like slightly crooked rivet-holes for the lockplates and nose-ring, as well as a slight irregularity in the bone roller nut suggested the piece was more or less a factory 'second'  The museum had parts of another, nearly idental bow that was rather better made.  rivet holes almost perfectly square thru the stock, etc. But those pieces were in rather poor condition.
Does that help?  Geezer.

Yes sir it does, thank you very much.

To clarify: string braces to about 4 inches.  Power stroke adds 5.5 to 6 inches to that. So distance from lock to belly of prod about 10 inches.  Add another 2.5 inches or so to front of stock. (the prod goes thru a square hole in the fore-end, that is reinforced with an iron wrap-around plate. See pics in my online catalog, or if you prefer, there are similar bows (if somewhat fancier) in the armory at Malta.  One day I'll look up all my measurements for the Padre Island bows and publish them online.  The bows made from this project were featured in an archaeological jounal in 1995  Geezer

PS: Historical Archaeology, June 1995 published an article on the Padre Island crossbows.  Do a web search for above... primary author: Barto Arnold of Texas Historical Comission.

Email sent to you on your website

Haven't got it yet.  DRW/Geezer.