Bowyer Podcast

Weylin Olive is a professional bowyer and owner of Swiftwood Bows. He’s been making self bows for over 15 years. He began his bow making journey in Oregon, building his first bow with John Strunk. What started as a hobby became an obsession and then turned into a livelihood. In addition to building and selling bows he also teaches regular bow building classes in his shop in Lexington NC. He strive...

Bowyer Podcast host, Matthew Morris, sits down with Dan Santana for Volume 03 in their “Bowyer in the Making” series. The fellas do a little bit of holiday catching up then dive into the tillering process. While framing the bow can be aggressive and gritty, the tillering process is slow, controlled, and requires finesse. Listen up for some solid advice that may save you a heartbreak in the future....

Happy New Year Bowyer Family! I am happy to open 2025 by hosting long-time bowyer, survivalist, and outdoorsman Clay Hayes. Clay grew up in the panhandle of Florida where he spent much of his days exploring the native flora and fauna. Clay has been building bows for over two decades, and has published what is likely the largest archive of bowyer tutorials on his youtube channel. Clay and his famil...

On this week’s episode I chat with Czech bowyer , and pal of mine Mr. Zdnek - the Varangian Bowyer. Zdnek is a talented young bowyer, artist, and new father. He brings unique perspectives derived from his geographic location and cultural background that we do not typically get to hear about in the bowyer community. Sit back, listen, and enjoy.  Find out more: Varangian Bowyer www.varangianbowyer.w...

On this week’s episode I sit down with seven other traditional bowhunters as we discuss a hunt recap aboard Homer Ocean Charters’ Valiant Maid fishing vessel. The fine folks from Compton Traditional Bowhunters put together this adventure hunt,which was composed of an eclectic group of hunters with different experience and skill levels, age classes, and perspectives. We chased the evasive Sitka bla...

In this episode I sit down with Trent Wengerd, of Wengerd Archery. As crazy as it sounds, Trent started making bows at the young age of 12 years old! While his first models may not have been anything to write home about (Trent’s words), who else can say they started this craft at such a young age? Nowadays, the bows that come from Wengerd are arguably some of the best in the business. In addition,...

This episode dives deep into the world of traditional bow making as our host interviews Per Frieden, a Swedish bowyer and outdoorsman. Per shares his journey into crafting self-bows, starting from humble beginnings to creating functional works of art. From managing forestry in Sweden to teaching bow making classes, Per’s passion for craftsmanship shines through. The conversation covers everything...

On this week’s episode I sit down with Dan Santana to continue our Bowyer in the Making series. During Volume II of the series we discuss bow design and layout, tools, bow woods, making board bows, drying bow wood, and prepping the back of the bow. Stay tuned for Volume III of the series which should publish in mid-December.  Reference Videos: Quick Drying Bow Wood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Mark Sasser is a life-long Californian and outdoorsman. He lives in Fresno CA with his wife Alicia and their youngest of 3 children. After being introduced to archery with a bear longbow as a 4th grader at YMCA camp he started traditional bowhunting in 1990. In the last 34 years Mark has hunted the west from southern Arizona to Alaska. As a co-owner at Bwana Bows Mark is constantly working to deli...

Matt Tyler has grown up in Georgia his whole life, bowhunted for over 20 years, and been strictly a traditional bowhunter for a decade now. He is most passionate about introducing new people to the sport. Over the past three years Tim Channell, Jake Reese, and Matt have leveraged their own podcast called Inside Twenty to intentionally do just that. We spend more time talking about the important as...

Ron is a Native American/ Italian traditional bowhunter and craftsman from Ontario Canada. He was given the spirit name Standing Wolf by a Native Elder prior to the creation of Standing Wolf Archery. He started by making accessories that he personally wanted (beaver silencers being the first) and decided to give selling them online a try with some ecommerce help from his brother and feedback from...

During this episode Dan Santana and I introduce our multi-part series “Bowyer in the Making,” where we walk through the various processes of making your own selfbow, from choosing a tree to acquire a stave, hand tools, bow design, tillering, and finally putting a string and employing your new bow.  Dan is a master bowyer and YouTuber who wants to teach the world to make bows. He’s obsessed with se...

Better late than never! Dave Darling and I sit around the campfire at the Eastern Traditional Archery Rendezvous (ETAR) and generally BS for a while. Our discussion is very organic, with a few interruptions from our feral kiddos. We discuss Dave’s origin story, Kalamazoo Bow Works, and the upcoming Kalamazoo Traditional Bowhunters Expo. Dave Darling is a  husband and father of 6. He served 12 year...

On this episode I sit down with my two pals Chris Guiadiz and repeat guest James Wood. Both of these guys are avid traditional bowhunters, but reside in completely different sides of the country. But alas, the welcoming world of traditional archery provided a good platform to these two guys to partake in fellowship and a little hunting as they tried their best to harvest a variety of invasive spec...

Steven Bieber is a talented bowyer, family man, and forager who lives in central Florida. He teaches first-grade at an unorthodox, nature-based school where he gets to inspire young minds while embracing his love for nature. Steven is known for his ability to make beautifully crafted longbows, recurves, and reflex/deflex bows all under his side hustle Provision Longbows. If you’re in the market fo...

During this episode Matthew provides a daily recap from his recent bear hunt in Manitoba, Canada. This was Matthew’s first time hunting north of the border, but certainly will not be the last.  In part of the episode, Matthew is joined by fellow hunters Mark and Bob who he met in bear camp where they briefly detail their hunts. If you’re a trad hunter and  looking for a great Canadian bear outfitt...

Correy is a lifelong outdoors enthusiast, Marine Corps veteran, and the owner of Organic Archery. He’s been making selfbows for over a decade, and became a full time professional bowyer in 2018. He specializes in historical reproductions and recreates selfwood bows from many regions and time periods. Four years ago, Correy and his wife opened a bowmaking school where they teach both basic and adva...

Today I sat down with master story-teller and traditional bowhunting legend Monty Browning. Monty grew up in the Carolinas and has worked as a tree topper for over 50 years. Because those occupational hazards aren’t enough, he has spent many a decade running around places like Alaska, Australia, Africa, and the Amazon chasing all sorts of dangerous game with the simple stick and string — and at ti...

Shane Mowery is the founder and owner of all things Bone Maniacs, a hit outdoor hunting show on Carbon TV, and podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. More importantly Shane is an avid hunter, family man, and trains hundreds of aspiring traditional archers yearly via S3DA Archery.  Find Shane at: Podcast: Bone Maniacs Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/6biUrWbZd6sW5bocqOyEed?si=dc027a65fb8244c...

Sam Curtis is the creator of Polite But Dangerous Tools, a custom knife and tool shop in South Central Alaska. Sam is a husband, father, and Army veteran. He creates purpose-driven tools meant for practical use combined with primitive styling. I personally own three knives that have been hand-crafted by Sam, and will no doubt be adding more to my collection. Find Sam at: Instagram: @polite.but.dan...

Beka Garris is a freelance writer who lives in southern Ohio with her husband and their two daughters. She enjoys hunting, bowfishing, and gardening in her spare time, and is passionate about passing on hunting traditions to the next generation. Find Beka at: Instagram:@bekagarris E-book: Field Guide to Feral Parenting

Tracey Cheuvront is a self-taught carver, toolmaker, and wood educator based in Kansas City.  He and his wife Kathrina Nellis make their living selling their work and teaching their unorthodox approach to woodcraft. Check out Tracey and Kathrina’s amazing woodworking tools, to include my absolute favorite draw knives at Bastion Head Wood Works.  Find Tracey  at: Instagram: @bastionhead Website: ww...

Mr. James  is a Georgia native, a family man, a Marine veteran, and a recreational bowyer like myself. James is part of Compton Traditional and the Traditional Bowhunters of Georgia, and I admire the circle of traditional bowyers and archers that he has living so nearby. James is also an avid hunter and fisherman, and about the most prolific feral hog hunter that I’ve ever met.  Find James at: You...

Hit songwriter Andrew Scott Wills has been enamored with American history since he was a boy. As a teenager he discovered Eckert's "The Frontiersman" and built his first CVA Kentucky long rifle. Around the same time he bought a junk guitar for $20 and started songwriting. Despite a successful career of songwriting on Nashville's Music Row, notching Billboard charting singles and hundreds of record...

Francesca is an avid outdoorswoman, who fancies herself as a hunter, angler, gardener, and all around outdoor junkie. She started her venture as an artisan at the age of 13, initially apprenticing for a master jeweler, later bladesmithing, and  finally with leather work. Nowadays Francesca is the Founder and head boss lady of Teton Leather Company, which specializes in custom sheaths, hand dyeing,...