I recently purchased a copy of Sagittarius after looking for an affordable one for several years.  I just about wore out the local library copy when I was a kid.  To my suprise, when I received this 'new book', I found a nice note in the front of the cover from Ron LaClair to his good friend Bill Bagwell....now that's a cool treasure on a neat book...

What are the chances in that?

Nice find Nate! Maybe Ron will chime in and have a story to go along with it. You never know where treasure is to be found!

Congrats....Spanky

my favourite book ! great story Nate !

Nate,

If I clean your shop and mow your lawn will you let me read it?    

Note to forum:  Nate's shop is clean and his yard is really nice - just trying to get him to let me read it.

Ray,

you can read it after I read it...lol.

I promise to come out of my hole sometime soon and play....it's just that guys like Spanky are so demanding of my bowmaking time!!..LOL..

Your lucky ,I never read it.But I cant get the picture (from his website)out of my mind, of Ron in the canoe with the deer in front  in the mist on a winter stream.That alone sparks my imagination,can't imagine what the book would do to me.

Thats pretty cool!

Me Picky? You must have me confused with another Spanky there Bud. I'm the easiest guy in the world to please! By the way, you ARE tillering both my bows to precisely 58.26# @ 26.53698" RIGHT? Just checking  

Bill Bagwell was/is quite a character, I first met him in 1980 when I was in Coffyville Alabama. I was hunting turkeys with my longbow with the now deceased Ben Rogers Lee, another "character".  Bill was living in Texas at the time and we had talked many times on the phone. At that time Bill had a great interest in longbows. When Bill heard I was going to be in Alabama he drove up to meet me. That was the start of our friendship.

We went on several bear hunting trips in Ontario over the years. I remember when we were planning our first hunt in a phone conversation Bill ask me if I had a bear knife. I told him that I had a lot of knives but none of them were specifically a "Bear" knife. He said, "I'll make you one"

Bill started the "Longbow" magazine and was the editor for several years.

Although Bill loved longbows his greatest love was knives, specifically Bowie knives, and he was/is famous for his talent in making them. Below is a write up I copied from a knife forum about Bill    

 

QuoteStory Of Bill Bagwell.
Interesting Reading To Pass A Little Time. Enjoy!
Bill Bagwell was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on January 11, 1944. He grew up in rural northwest Louisiana and was introduced to the outdoors at an early age by his uncles, who were avid hunters and fishermen. Bagwell was also a talented athlete and lettered in football, baseball, and track during his high school career. His senior year at North Caddo High School saw him named to the High School All-American Football team as a tackle, and he attended Louisiana Tech University on a football scholarship. He also attended Northwestern State University and has an educational background in engineering, English, and history.

Bagwell has always been fascinated by knives. He made his first knife at the age of 10 from an old saw. While he was in high school he began to forge knives in the industrial arts shop, and by the time he was 15 he was forging hunting and Bowie knives as a hobby. He made and sold knives while he was in college and became a full-time professional bladesmith in 1969. Bagwell's skill and talent as a bladesmith is due in part to the fact that he grew up in an area that was rich in the lore of James Bowie and the early history of both Texas and Louisiana. The Bowie knife played a prominent role in the early history of the area, and the young Bill Bagwell wanted a good one for himself. Since none were available for purchase, he began to make his own. Bagwell has always sought excellence, and his early quest for a better Bowie knife has ultimately brought his knives to the point where they are today.

Bill Bagwell is one of the true pioneers in the making of Damascus blades in the United States. He completed his first successful Damascus blade on December 1, 1973, after about six months of trial and failure. In early 1976, with the late Don Hastings, B.R. Hughes and Bill Moran, Bagwell became one of the founding members of the American Bladesmith Society and wrote the original charter for that organization. He also served as the society's first secretary and was on its first board of directors.

Bagwell has lectured on blades and forging at the University of Wyoming at Dubois, the University of Florida at Tallahassee, and Texarkana College at its facility at Black's Forge in Washington, Arkansas. Bagwell has also made wootz steel and began work in that field in 1979.

In 1984, Bill Bagwell became the knife editor for Soldier Of Fortune magazine, and the monthly "Battle Blades" column was begun under his byline. He continued to write the column until 1988 when pressing family matters called him to Belize for 18 months. (This November, Paladin Press will release the long-awaited anthology of Bagwell's "Battle Blades" columns, entitled Bowies, Big Knives, and the Best of Battle Blades. Advance copies will be on display at the Soldier Of Fortune Convention in Las Vegas, October 12-15.) Upon his return from Belize, Bagwell resumed his knifemaking career.

In September 1995, Bagwell attended the prestigious Paris Knife Show, where one of his Damascus Bowies won the award for the best fixed-bladed Damascus knife at the show. The following spring he was commissioned to go to Theirs, France, and conduct a forging and knifemaking demonstration by the Theirs Department of Commerce and Industry.

Today Bagwell focuses his knife energies on his "Hell's Belle" fighting Bowies. The Hell's Belle is acknowledged by many to be the finest fighting Bowie knife ever made, and those examples hand-forged and made by Bagwell himself are, without a doubt, in a class by themselves. Bagwell's research and studies into tactics and application of the fighting Bowie knife in a combat environment have not gone unnoticed, and he currently serves as an instructor to selected units of the U.S. Army's Special Forces at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.

Bagwell is also an accomplished rifle shot. His primary interest is in black powder firearms, and he has served as a consultant to GOEX since 1993. His love of the outdoors has remained strong over the years, and his interest in history has led him to study the arms and weapons of early America. While Bagwell's early studies were focused on muzzleloaders (which ultimately led him to good Hawken rifles), the last 10 years have seen him develop the knowledge and skills necessary to shoot the black powder cartridge rifles. The long-range marksmanship of the buffalo hunters of the plains was not just legend, and Bagwell can today take a Sharps rifle and hit a gallon jug at a quarter of a mile with cast lead bullets, black powder, and iron sights.

Bill Bagwell is a rarity in today's world. He is a man at the top of his game who is doing exactly what he wants to do, when he wants to do it. Happily married, he and his wife, Sidra, currently reside in Louisiana.
___  

Now that's some really cool background history on what is already a very cool book!

Here's the knife Bill made for me when we went on our first bear hunt together in the early 80's. It has a Damascus blade over 9", with Sambar stag handle. It was listed as the "Riverboat Bowie" in  his catalog and at that time, over 25 years ago it sold for $800.00. My name is lazer etched along the 1/4" spine of the blade.

 

Now that's a knife.....      

Great knife, and great stuff. Thanks Ron, you are a pioneer and a beacon in our traditional persuit.

Ron you are bringing back some memories now. I loved Longbow magazine. It had the first article I ever read about penetration by Dr. Ashby. I have all the copies of longbow magazine except for the one with Dr. Ashby's article. I lent it to a friend and that was that.

Neat stuff Ron. It seemed back then there were a lot less of us traditional shooters than today. I like the company though. I used to shoot my longbow in a league with all compound shooters. They were very interested and supportive though.

Gil, Years ago I shot on a winter league with all compound shooters too. We shot the bulls eye  targets with the 3" bull.  I remember one time a lady that was shooting next to me told me that I was shooting really good and ask me how I aimed my longbow. I told her that I just imagined a squirrel sitting in the middle of the target. She said, "REALLY?"     :eek:  ..Then she told everybody what I said but I don't think they believed me....but it was true..    :D

Thanks for the input Ron,  it's neat history.  I've wanted some old 'Longbow' issues for a while, along with the old 'Longbow Digest'.  Don't know where I could find some do ya?

I believe I've seen a video of you shooting with Bill,  maybe here on the archives?

That is one of the things I love about this place, it has history and respect for history.

Ron it was winter league for me too. Noone could believe how fast my longbow was. It was 70# @ 28". Back then compounds were in the 190 fps and I was giving them a good run for their money.

That little white X in the center of the bull helped me later on concentrate on a small spot when hunting.

I remember back then there were not many building longbows. I think you, Elburg and Hill were some of the only longbows I remember seeing. I am going to have to dig out those old longbow magazines.

Before Longbow magazine I met Frank San Marco but he had a 2 year waiting list back then. He pointed me to Ron Maulding in Montana. It was Ron's bow I shot in the league.

LONGBOWS, RARE BOOKS, and BOWIE KNIVES. The best of the best!

P.S. Sunset Hill ------ That beautiful take-down 78-pound longbow you made is flying with me to Australia next week along with a home-made Bowie with an elk-antler handle for a full month in the bush, living a bit off the land. Gee, I sure hope you tillered it as well as the one you are making for Spanky!