Project: How to Make a Whitetail Bow-and-Arrow Mount

Tyler Stefanelli was a member of the 2009 Generation Wild Pro Staff.

This the my bow and arrow rack that I designed and constructed in my Engineering class at Easton Area High School. I got the idea from doing some research online, then used my own ideas in a few drawings. The first step in making this rack was to create the shield. I did this by taking four pieces of oak approximately 1.5 feet x 3 feet and 3/4 inches thick, then glued them together side by side. I also did the same thing, but with smaller pieces of walnut for later pieces of the project. After the pieces had dried together, I took the huge slab of oak and traced a shield design on it using one of my drawing printouts. Next I used a band saw to cut out the shield, then I used the same process to create the smaller walnut pieces of the project, which include the bottom piece that holds the arrows and the middle piece that holds the skull.

After having all of the pieces cut out, I routed, sanded, and stained them appropriately. The only thing left to do was to drill holes in the bottom piece for the arrows, then attach the two walnut pieces to the oak shield. I did this by pre-drilling holes in the shield, then screwing in the walnut pieces from the back of the shield. Lastly, I mounted two small, rounded pieces of oak to the top left and top right of the shield, which the antlers sit on (also attached by screw).

My finished project holds one bow and six arrows, and will eventually be mounted up on a wall.