A bow for survival uses

[Spots]

I have an old Kodiak bow that Ive had for years. I've been giving it some thought as a survival tool, mainly for quiet hunting and self defense in a SHTF situation. I used to be a good shot with a bow, and plan to start practicing again, but had some questions. Who makes the best replacement bow strings, as I'm sure the old bow needs to be restrung. Also what would be the arrow material of choice? It needs to be something that can be used and reused, and is as tough as possible. I had planned to purchase a large supply of both broadheads, and field tips for different situations. Anyone else have a bow in their bug in/bug out kits? And would an old fashioned recurve be a better candidate than a compound? Thanks guys

[JPS]

I'll be interested in seeing responses to this - I recently picked up a Bear compound bow at a yard sale for $20, and am planning to keep it handy with my bug-out bag.

[10-Ring]

For your purposes I think I would go with a heavy carbon arrow. Might not be quite as fast as a smaller carbon but would be a durable arrow that would be resistant to getting bent/ shattered. If you aren't familiar with carbon arrows about the only way you can hurt them is to shatter them. The only one I ever shattered I shot into a concrete wall.

[Wingshooter]

I keep a field bow press (really just a strap that can be tightened) and a couple if extra strings handy. Octane, stone mountain and Winner's Choice are all good strings. There are several other good ones, too. Keep them waxed and they'll last a long time.

I would choose carbon arrows over aluminum

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[Wingshooter]

[quote name='10-Ring' timestamp='1352741551' post='844334']For your purposes I think I would go with a heavy carbon arrow. Might not be quite as fast as a smaller carbon but would be a durable arrow that would be resistant to getting bent/ shattered. If you aren't familiar with carbon arrows about the only way you can hurt them is to shatter them. The only one I ever shattered I shot into a concrete wall.[/quote]


Heavy arrow is good suggestion. It also soaks up more energy and therefore less wear and tear on your bow limbs


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[BigK]

I was pondering the same recently and was mainly looking at a take-down recurve bow, myself. I want something stowable and quiet too.

[UncleJak]

I was thinking that maybe those cheap wooden arrows might be good to have also. You could purchase a lot of them and not be upset if one was lost. As far as the shooting, I would have to let my son take care of that, as he is a much better shot than me.

[Mykltn]

I have a compact compound hunting bow that I keep by the bug out supplies. I am fairly accurate with it out to about 40 yards. I also keep a .177 cal air rifle that can be used to take small game (rabbits, birds, squirrels and such). It is much quieter than say a .22 and the pellets are very cheap. It is accurate to about 50 yards.

[JPS]

[quote name='UncleJak' timestamp='1352813499' post='844760']
I was thinking that maybe those cheap wooden arrows might be good to have also. [/quote]

Where can you find these? With my kids and I both practicing, we've lost too many of the expensive ones.

[Caster]

Wooden arrows and a compund bow sound like a recipe for disaster to me. WTSHTF do you really want half an arrow shaft through your forearm?

The one problem I have with The Walking Dead is Daryl making arrows from wood for his compound bow. Sure it can be done, but not easily and only a few choice species of wood will hold up. The cheap wooden arrows that are most commonly found are nothing but a fletched and nocked dowel rod.

Just be careful. This could be one of those cry now or REALLY cry later moments.

[JPS]

My kids are using a regular (non-compound) bow that I had when I was a kid - I'm looking for wooden arrows for them to use for practice. I'm using aluminum arrows that came with my $20 yard sale bow, but my boys keep losing them in the grass.

[UncleJak]

I got the ones my son uses at Academy for $2 each. They aren't the best, but quantity over quality is what I was thinking. That may not be the best way of thinking, but he has a lot of arrows.

[Guest cardcutter]

[quote name='JPS' timestamp='1352904373' post='845425']
Where can you find these? With my kids and I both practicing, we've lost too many of the expensive ones.
[/quote]

This is my only thing about bows for survival situations. If you don't use them fairly regular you loose your edge and miss a lot. Think of all those lost in the grass as a miss when you realy needed the shot.

Now having said that, I most definately agree with having a bow for just this situation. what I am trying to say is practice ,practice , Practice!

[babelt]

I really want one of the Bear take down re curve bows but I looked them up and they are like $800 bucks.

[Guest Triggerhappyzach]

I have a martin jaguar takedown recurve that i got for around $130 and its a great little bow. I was new to recurves when i got it, had shot compounds before. And i picked up the skill fairly quickly. Cant shoot any kind of great groupings but i can put all 12 of my arrows into my target at 30 yds. Its a fun skill to learn. The rest on it really sucks, i need to pick up a better one, but i keep the string waxed and i know its lasted me over 100 shots so far.

[Refleks]

I've been meaning to get a take-down bow to keep in my kit for a while now.

The Samick Sage get's pretty good reviews and was recommended on another forum for a survival pack bow. I'd like to eventually pick one up and a PVC tube suitable for storing it, a spare string, and a few arrows.

[Transplanted Hoosier]

[quote name='JPS' timestamp='1352905655' post='845437']
My kids are using a regular (non-compound) bow that I had when I was a kid - I'm looking for wooden arrows for them to use for practice. I'm using aluminum arrows that came with my $20 yard sale bow, but my boys keep losing them in the grass.
[/quote]

I wouldn't worry about losing the arrows in the grass...you'll find them later on with the lawn mower.

[CM1021]

The OP has a recurve. So shooting wood arrows will be ok for him. The rule is 8-9 grains per pound is the minimum, but with recurves there's not as much of a power stroke so you have to shoot heavier arrows to get good penetration and shoot a VERY sharp cut on contact broadhead. There is tons of information on the interweb for recurves but I'm just giving my opinion and what has worked for me. When I shoot recurves I shoot heavy arrows with a heavy head up front. To get very accurate you have to "tune" your arrow to your bow. As far as taking game I have killed hogs(250 lb) with a 45 lb recurve BUT I was shooting a heavy arrow with a magnus stinger that is crazy sharp! I have always shot aluminum due to the heavy grains per inch that I can get out of them. But they also make some heavy carbon now that you might be interested in shooting OP. You will also get your quitness from a heavier arrow as it will absorb some of the sound vibration. if your just wanting something to play around with in the back yard any arrow will work but once you feel comfortable with it and want to improve your accuracy start looking at tuning your arrows. If you have any questions you can PM me and I'll be more than happy to help you out as much as I can. Shooting recurves will become another hobby that gets addicting!! And once you harvest your first animal with it you will be addicted! Especially when you hit an old tree rat!!

[daveW]

[quote name='Spots' timestamp='1352739816' post='844319']
Anyone else have a bow in their bug in/bug out kits? And would an old fashioned recurve be a better candidate than a compound? Thanks guys
[/quote]

I never really thought about it as part of a bug out kit but I have a PSE Coyote. It is a recurve and I chose this model because it is easy to break down/make smaller so I suppose it would be a good candidate for your purposes. For me, it's just for fun and practice is required if I want to achieve any amount of accuracy. I also agree with the use of carbon arrows but I have considered making a wood arrow from scratch-again, just for fun.

[Moped]

I think a bow in a long term survival situation makes perfect sense! Not so sure it does as part of a Bug-Out kit or Get Home Bag. If I am bugging out or getting home, I'm trying to move as fast as possible in the shortest amount of time. I don't plan on taking time to hunt. I carry a three day supply of food that I rotate out every 3 to 6 months along with water and a means to purify water as well. For defense, I plan to sneak and if forced to fight, I want it to be decisive enough to make the other guy or guys dead or at the very least realize, that there is easier prey out there, besides me. The modern firearm is the thing I will depend on for that. One cavat to that is I have been considering a sling bow set up for my Get Home Bag. That would allow me to hunt, but I am not totally sold on the idea yet.

For a long term survival situation, I think a recurve bow is awesome along with other primitive weapons and hunting tools!!! Every member of your group should learn to shoot, maintain, make and hunt with a bow and arrows, too. You should think of extending that to atlatls, darts, slings, sling shots, sling bows and traps. A trap hunts 24/7.

I love shooting compound bows, but how do you make one or maintain it if it breaks? It seems like an overly complicated piece of equipment to me. I think in a long term survival situation, simple is better.

Just my 2 cents. It won't buy you a cup of coffee anymore, nor any bubble gum. Just take it for what it's worth. Edited November 18, 2012 by Moped

[DaveTN]

I shot a bow for years. But in a SHTF scenario bows are toys that take up room that could be better used for guns and ammo.

However…. Everything is application driven. If you have an application where you can get close enough to a threat to deliver a fatal hit without him shooting you to death if you miss; it might be okay. [img]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/TourGlide/Web%20Stuff/biggrin.gif[/img]

[Paladin132]

Seems to me SHTF means being able to eat, and a bow would be a fine tool for that in many cases.

[RichardR]

[quote name='Paladin132' timestamp='1353250186' post='847587']
Seems to me SHTF means being able to eat, and a bow would be a fine tool for that in many cases.
[/quote]

You are much more limited with a bow, distance of target, angle of presentation, thickness of cover, etc, you'd be able to reliably harvest much more game with a shotgun or a rifle.

The advantage of the bow would be it's ability to do it more quietly, not more effectively.

[Moped]

The advantage of a bow over a firearm in a SHTF situation, is in hunting, not fighting. The bow gives you the ability to hunt relatively silently and not waste valuable defense ammunition for your firearms or let anyone know where you are. But you need to learn to make new arrows and bows at the same time, otherwise it's a limited resource too.

[Refleks]

That's what I was wondering too, where the bow's place is, and how it affects things legally. If you possess a bow in a place that doesn't allow firearms (I'm thinking backpacking, camping, and such here) is that just as illegal as a firearm, or is a bow considered a recreational tool?

Target practice is fun, and the emergency game getting capability is just a nice bonus that ideally we'd never have to use (because I'm sure that would bring about legal issues all on it's own, like hunting out of season and so forth. Does the law make exceptions for emergency, or would they be more like "glad you survived, now we're gonna charge you.")

And if a bow is no go, what about a slingshot? Where is the line drawn? Can I possess a gilnet? Snares? ANY means of feeding myself in an emergency? Or is the spirit of the law designed to absolutely cave-man me up in order to prevent a few idiots from poaching rather than accept that some people break the law anyway and at least allow the responsible citizen the benefit of the doubt?

If I'm allowed a firearm, that would absolutely be my first choice Edited November 18, 2012 by Refleks