I will soon be aquiring some fresh cut hickory. I have only made board bows up to this point and am not real sure of the handling or processing of fresh hickory.

Do you need to seal ends?

Do you chase a ring on hickory like you would on osage?

Is heart wood better than sapwood?

Sorry for all the questions I really just dont know

Seal the ends now with some shellac.  

Now is the time to get that bark off.  Or in a month would be ideal while the sapwood is flowing up in your area.  tap the ends of the log or stave with a hammer or soemthing and that bark should peel right off.

No ring chasin needed, and if that bark comes off nicely, you will have a prestine back with no ring violations to make your bow.  You can use heart wood too or belly splits.

Hawk,
I know you should seal the ends, and after removing the bark seal the back. I sealed the ends of my hickory with Elmer's glue and the back with spray shellac. I would think you could use the shellac to seal the ends with as well. (Wouldn't have been so messy.)
I will try to use the first layer as the back when I finally attempt a bow from a stave. Each stave looked pretty good after removing the bark.
Stan