I was working on my bow shooting skills today and thought about why not include it in my SHTF weapons loadout. Granted I can't really carry a lot of ammo (arrows) but it is fairly silent and under 100 yards I will hurt something (most times).
I think it would be good for silent food gathering as well as a deterent to snoopy people getting close to my hide.
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"I only use my gun whenever kindness fails"
Forbidden fruits create many jams
If it is a compound bow it would be cumbersome to transport along with firearms. They aren't exactly space efficient, but, if you have a place to camp it would be more practical. Also, if for whatever reason your arm, fingers, hand are injured, a bow is pretty much out of the picture as most have a 70 pound plus pull.
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If the Founding Fathers were alive today, they'd probably rather be dead.
I thought a crossbow would be interesting, but I think the weight, limited ammo, and slow reloading making it at best a secondary weapon (with the primary being a carbine or pistol), but more efficiently as a tertiary weapon (rifle, handgun, then the crossbow slung over your back), not taking weight into account.
Realistically, adding a supressor to a .22 rifle would be about as much as getting a nice crossbow or compound bow, giving you almost the audibility advantage of the xbow using subsonic rounds, but without any of the disadvantages.
i like the idea for huntingaround a camp area or even for defending it seeing as evenualy we are mostlikely going to run out of ammo and arrows can be reused.
Exactly SB !! If you are holding up somewhere a bow is def a good idea. Want to stay as quiet as possible if looking for game close by. If on the move, then just pack it away.
__________________ I keep tellin ya Doc, I'm in pretty good shape considerin the shape I'm in !!
I have a place scoped out about six miles up country in the hills from where I live. There is a windmill on a pump that can be pumped manually if needed. Some cattle corrals with good fertile soil for grownig food and plenty of wild game. Plant some squash and melons maybe some Maters and Corn. My plan would be to camp about a half mile off the water hole out of the way. Set out a funnel trap for Quail and maybe catch a desert Mulie and jerk the meat and kick back. I have a Lee handloader for my 30-30 and 600 12ga shells go a long way. Figure to use the bow to take the deer and maybe rabbits and Javelina.
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"I only use my gun whenever kindness fails"
Forbidden fruits create many jams
It is basically like a funnel fish trap only laid out on the ground made out of chicken wire and baited with grain. Since it is highly illegal there are no commercial models available only your own imagination. I think this setup would work well for almost any small gamebirds.
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"I only use my gun whenever kindness fails"
Forbidden fruits create many jams
I have a place scoped out about six miles up country in the hills from where I live. There is a windmill on a pump that can be pumped manually if needed. Some cattle corrals with good fertile soil for grownig food and plenty of wild game. Plant some squash and melons maybe some Maters and Corn. My plan would be to camp about a half mile off the water hole out of the way. Set out a funnel trap for Quail and maybe catch a desert Mulie and jerk the meat and kick back. I have a Lee handloader for my 30-30 and 600 12ga shells go a long way. Figure to use the bow to take the deer and maybe rabbits and Javelina.
As Steve said Blackrock !!! I wish mine was closer, but I prefer not be on these plains in the winter. Would much rather be in the timber.
And yes, a bow would be darn handy to have along. Extremely versatile short range weapon, and food provider
I remember seeing a "very" old Alaskan film where they had used dozzens of heavy short cords & trebbel hooks in areas where rabbit and quail would hide out and the kids would were alwayse pulling game out them.
In the long run,a good bow might be better than any firearm.
Eventually you will run out of ammo, powder or lead....
You can always REUSE or make arrows from scratch....
A takedown recurve doesn't take much space at all. You can put one in a good size old fashioned quiver. Just have a hex head screwdriver set with you.
For a compound, Cabella's used to sell a sort of holster to put your bow in to be strapped to a horse. A good shoulder strap could convert this thing to a holster to wear your bow on your back the way the Mongols did.
I took up archery again a few years ago and right off the bat, I was shooting my bow a lot better than some of my friends could shoot a handgun.
A good bow should be a basic part of any long term survival scenario...
you would definitely have the advantage of not giving your location away and that could be important for many reasons... I really want to buy a GOOD crossbow, to stick down at my bugout spot (with a boat load of bolts), but hell I've seen AR's cheaper than some of these things!!!!!
There is a Mountain Man series of books featuring a fella named Preatcher
for a fictional weastern pulp novel there is quite a bit of common sense stuff in it, like eating at dusk then bedding down in a completely different location, a bow was a commonly carried weapon because it was silent as gun shots carry far in the hill's calling attention to your location, some Pulp arnt worth the paper ther written on but quite a few do contain usefull ideas that bear proving out.
