I have identified a few good candidates for a bow, good 6"+ diameter trees with straight trunks, any tips on when to harvest, how to remove bark, seal, etc? a friend told me to just cut ou the section that will become staves, and leave it laying on the ground for a few months until the bark comes off..... that doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

All I know is that I think the best time to cut is in the summer, the sap is down so the bark just peels off(I think  :D  ).

August through September is the best time to cut, but you can cut anytime. You want to seal the ends with something as soon as you sit the chain saw down. Store them up off the ground out of the weather or direct sun light. Spray for bugs. Some woods like Hickory for example, debark right away and the bark peels off almost in one piece. Then seal the back to keep it from checking.

Definitely do not leave it on the ground!  I haven't worked with hornbeam, but with most whitewoods: cut it (get a good 6 foot section), split it into quarters (or more if you can get it - don't get greedy though!), seal the ends with shellac/cheap paint/wood glue, debark it, and let it season somewhere like a garage or attic.  You could debark it and then seal the ends with whitewoods (it is easier in the late summer if you can wait that long); with osage and other persnickety woods you need to seal it when the log hits the ground to avoid checking. For seasoning, you want it to be fairly dry with some air movement.  Some people seal the backs after removing the bark.  The whitewoods I have worked with (ash and elm) don't seem to need that; I don't know about HB though.

I highly recommend picking up a bowmaking book.  I like The Bent Stick by Paul Comstock and of course the Bowyer's Bibles.

Looks like Roy beat me to the punch...if in doubt, go with what he says!

TimBoA, I do have some books, TBB 1&2, and a Jim Haam book: "bows and arrows of the Native Americans". I just haven't found anything specifically on AHB, and it got me second guessing what i thought I knew when that guy said leave it on the ground. definitely can't cut it in august or september (the one i really want is in a great big grand daddy buck's bedroom, and the only reason i went in there in the first place is I spotted his shed from 100 yds away. im only going in there one more time and thats to get the tree with a handsaw.  I have purposefully stayed out of this place forever, not wanting to push him out.) So i think i may wait like a month and then go get it, bring it out, spray the ends with shellac, and try to debark it by peeling.  its going to be next to impossible to do it by scraping just because of the shape of the wood... very muscley.

I think early spring is the best time to cut any whitewood. Wait until the leaves are out and the bark will peel right off. I like cutting early spring because last years growth ring has had all winter to harden off where if you cut late summer you are dealing with a brand new growth ring. Thats just the way I look at it.

You wont have any usable wood left if you leave it on the ground for a few months, horrible idea there.

yeah, Pat B, that's what I will do, wait for leaves and take it then.

Listen to Pearlie too. Whitewood deteriorates quickly if not handled properly.

i would agree PB go for early spring before the new sap starts to go up stem as this will take more time to season the wood.

out of curiosity how long does everyone recommend drying their wood?

I don't worry about the sap. Having a good, mature back ring is th most important IMO.
The longer the better, Draffish but with a hot box you can have a shooting bow in 2 months or possibly less.

The summer growth only builds in thickness during the growing season. It's directly under the bark and cambium until spring when the quick rush of growth lays down the porous spring ring which will transfer nutrients to the limbs for early leaf and limb growth. The reason I cut whitewoods in late summer is, just before the sap goes down the summer growth that I'll use for bow's back is full thickness and the bark often pops free in one piece, with no spring growth covering the bow's back needing removed.

I'd def wait till the sap is up with american hornbeam...aka muscle wood...the bark is a pain in the you know what to take off if its cemented down because of all the humps n bumps n hills n valleys,and those natural tendencies how it grows makes it easy to ding and nick the back...don't ask me how I know...and yes I've made bows from it before

haha here is a blurb about it i found on a tree identifying site:
Unlike the Eastern Hophornbeam, the wood of the American Hornbeam decays rapidly when in contact with soil.

guess i better educate my friend