About Me
Welcome to my website! My name is Tommy Leach. I live in Stillwater, Oklahoma and I am married to my wife Gina. We have six children, three boys and three girls, aging from 28 to 3 years. I am employed by an Oklahoma based utility and I’m in charge of air emission and performance testing for our electrical generating plants.
I have hunted since I was about 8 years old, starting out in the Dove fields. As I got older, I got into quail hunting. In college, I was really big into waterfowl. I hunted ducks and geese every weekend. The summer of 1983, before my senior year in college I bought my first bow, a Jeffery compound. I practiced all summer and was able to harvest a young doe the first day in the field. I was hooked. I continued to hunt with my compound until about 1987. I’d had success harvesting a few bucks but nothing a trophy hunter would take. I had been shooting and hunting with a friend from work who shot an old browning recurve. He was always harassing me of needing “training wheels”. Soon I purchased an old Bear recurve and later a Browning recurve. Again, with some success it was time for my next step. Around 1990 I purchased a longbow built by a guy in southwest Oklahoma. In 1993, I transferred to the Stillwater area. Soon I owned two more longbows, a Martin Bushmaster and a Sky Rogue. With some success, I again was looking for the next step.
Around 1985 I met JD Jones while shooting tournaments. We had stayed in contact since we were both from the same area. He had become an outstanding bowyer and through conversations with him I decided Primitive Archery was something I needed to try. I started reading books and learning all I could. I started looking for good bow wood, and found the books were really right. I looked all afternoon before I found a tree worthy of making a bow. Since that time I have met several others who share my interest. I completed my first bow in 1993. Since that time I’ve been building bows as a hobby and selling a few over the years.
I have taken the primitive step one step further and hunt with stone points. I started flint knapping in about 1995. I have made hundreds of stone points and knife blades. I still hunt with stone although not exclusively. I am still a fan of the old Bear razorheads. I make my shafts for river cane or dogwood shoots. This setup continues to prove effective on Whitetails.
This past year the group that started OJAM and a few others of us founded an organization called the Oklahoma Selfbow Society. Our mission is to “Preserve the Heritage” of primitive archery. We do this by sponsoring OJAM, teaching and doing demonstrations on building selfbows, crafting primitive arrows and flint knapping.
Although, I too continue to learn myself, try new things and have constructed several bows, I want to preserve this fading art. If I can help with a question or you are interested in a custom selfbow. Send me an email at tommy@stillwaterselfbows.com.
Tommy
