Dave Beeler makes traditional bows in the basement of his home in Haysville. The custom bowmaker has made bows for archers in several states.

Wichita ? For a guy who loves the outdoors, Dave Beeler doesn’t get there very often.

His weekdays are spent at Coleman and most of his evenings and weekends in his home workshop.

The demand for his custom-made bows is that high.

“Every time I did a little asking around about who made good bows his name came up,” said Jason Robinson, a customer from North Carolina.

Beeler uses the side business to earn extra income and sometimes to pay his respects to others.

It all began with an attempt to simplify his life. About 13 years ago, Beeler was just another happy Kansas bowhunter. He carried a compound bow with wheels, cams, cables and fancy sights.

“I was very proficient but just got tired of messing with the cables and the sights and all of that other stuff,” he said. “I just wasn’t excited about shooting it anymore.”

So he ordered a commercially made Robin Hood-style longbow.

“As soon as I drew it back and watched that first arrow sail through the air I knew I’d found what I was wanting,” he said.

He got the bug to become a bowmaker after helping a friend who made bows in 1999. Beeler went home and made himself a bow. He was soon making others.

“Some of my friends saw mine and asked if I’d build them one and I did,” he said. “Then I made a few others and sold them on eBay.”

From there it has been word-of-mouth advertising and a simple Web site www.beelertraditionalbows.com driving the demand.

He has about 15 orders awaiting to be built. The custom bows sell for $400 to $500 and take about 40 hours to build.

Beeler makes longbows and recurves. The latter are a step up the archery ladder, with the tips of the bow arching forward to provide added power and arrow speed.

The limbs of Beeler’s bows are made of four thin wood laminations encased in fiberglass for added strength.

Clients choose from any combination of about a dozen domestic and exotic woods. Beeler can do just about any color combination imaginable. That’s a big deal to clients.

“An off-the-rack bow would never hold much value to me because I know anybody can get one,” said Robinson, the North Carolinian. “But the bow Dave’s making me is mine and it’s the only one like it.”

With Robinson’s help, Beeler designed a bow befitting the customer’s occupation. Robinson is an Air Force staff sergeant awaiting his fourth tour of Iraq or Afghanistan. Beeler saw the project as a chance to show his appreciation to Robinson and others.

Named “American Thunder,” the bow has a red, white and blue handle. One of Robinson’s military dogtags is embedded on one side. A medallion with an eagle sits on the other.

Photos of the bow have circulated widely on Web sites and forums dealing with traditional bows. Robinson and Beeler said the response has been good.

“I made the bow for Jason but I also made it in honor of all of the people in the military,” Beeler said. “It’s just kind of tribute from me to them.”