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Use a strong wood like birch or ash, (ash would probably be best) bend it the wrong way, tie it off and soak it like that, when you bend it back the way you're going to shoot with it, very strong and very flexible. Arrows...use small willows, trim them as straight as possible. Flint knapping is definitely best for the arrowheads, and if you're in a survival situation, think small game. It's nice to get a deer, easier to kill a rabbit or a grouse.
In a survival situation, I would make a bundle bow, made up of a bundle of long thin green willow shoots. The string I am sure I would want something unlikely to break, maybe a length of stripped out wood, maybe about 2-3 growth rings thick., and use inner cedar bark twine to tie off the bent over ends so they will fit nicely to the nocks in the bow.
Arrows would simply be long and strait shoots, if with nothing else at hand stiff leaves tied on for the flights, and if in a hurry the tip can be sharpend, and tempered in the flames of the camp fire, the excess char simply being scraped off on a stone. When there is time and chret, obsidian, or flint handy arrow heads can be napped, but this is a survival right now thing right?
I commend the suggestion to the use of the atlattle. Far more shock value than with an arrow.
In the survive right now scenario, it's important for the individual to remember to make the hunting device that he/she can handle with some degree of competence as well. I like Rusty's advice on the bowstring, you have to use what's available to you, but there's been good advice on going fishing or trapping instead. There's no point (no pun intended) in making a bow and arrow set if it's going to take you days to learn to shoot straight, you need to eat now. If you have a pocket knife and a bit of string on you (and if you don't you should have stayed home, really), you can sharpen a small fork in a branch to make an adequate fish hook, even a bit of moss or grass wrapped around it will work as "bait". Tie the string around a small pebble for a sinker or your hook will float, toss it in the water and tie off the other end to a strong tree. It'll probably get you supper while you're practicing with your bow.
I have a bundle bow made up downstairs. Used green bamboo shootsn and a mess of imm. sinew. Pulls about 35 to 40lbs. When it takes a set, put the string on the other side and bend it back.
Honesty, I'd make a spear / atlatl.
This is all bull****! Do you people have any idea about the advice your giving out?Really? Just curious.
Bill, please try to remain civil, positive, and constructive. I personally don't know anything about the subject at hand so I haven't contributed to this thread, do you have any input?Quote:
Originally Posted by BillHay
In a survival situation, your best means of gettin meat is by trapping & fishing. Others have mentioned that before. That is common knowledege. my concern is raised by the thought that "hunting" especially with a primitive bow and crude arrows will (other than occupy the mind) be productive and provide somone with food. Lets get real here folks, hunting with a bow and arrow is not a practical survival skill.... yet...too many skills to learn no time to teach..
Bill,
I believe that the trapping issue vs hunting issue has been discussed and most all have agreed that trapping is the way to go.
But there is no harm in knowing how to build a crude bow and arrow. Having built many bows and many more arrows, the only way I would use a bow in a survival sit. is if it was long term not an emergency and I had no gun. Guns work a lot better, longer shots and less tracking.
That being said, don't dis anyone for wanting knowledge. This is a place where we throw ideas back and forth, and between the lines get some good info.
Here is my addition to the "Rule of Three": Three of anything, fires, whistle blasts, gunshots, etc., is the recognized distress signal.Quote:
Originally Posted by volwest
Yeah, Billy
I seem to recall that I mentioned a person in a survival situation should have some degree of competence with whatever hunting and/or trapping device they choose. Others mentioned using different options as well.If someone wants to go out and attempt to make a bow and arrow from scratch, so that they can improve their competencies, that might be a good thing. Personally, I hunt with a rifle and I'm pretty good at it, I'm a terrible shot with a bow and think the animal deserves my respect enough that I don't go gamboling about in the woodlands trying to kill them with a bow and I've trapped and fished. My opinion on using a spear would be for spearing fish in shallows too, hunting with a spear or atlatl is pretty close to impossible unless the person has previous training. There are people in Africa who can still hunt lions with a spear. I'm not one of them and I'm never going to pretend that I am. Trapping can be damn hard and unproductive work at times too, so let's all take our share of responsibility for the bull#### and maybe realize that the purpose of these forums is for everyone to learn a little more about life in the wilds
So, after my last long winded tirade, I hit the backup arrow to go look in other threads and I thought to myself "Hey! what should a person expect in a forum entitled 'primitive technologies'?":eek:
Sadly I thought this thread was asking how to build a bow and arrow in a field expedient manner.
If survival by wit's end, then other means of getting food should be sought out. Many directions and means should be attempted inorder to gather enough food to get by on.
Back the the original thread, after making the initial field expedient bow, those nights sitting by the fire time can well be used in taking time and skill in making a more refined bow, and getting the supply of arrows put together.
WELL I do agree with some trapping , fishnet and trot line would are great for maken meat . But the man asked about making a BOW . The quick bow is what you want it is made as echos said but I don't think you got it , you need 6 to 9 green willows as big as your thumb and short 2' ,3' to long 4',5',6',7' this depends on how strong you need the bow to be . Tie these together and they will make a good quick bow that you can use as soon as it is completed . I have made these bow as strong as 60" pull, of you would like see this bow in work see the movie Predator Arnold made it and the bow is in an article in Wilderness Way Mag.
Illinia, I wanna see you drive a deer off a cliff. Snare traps for rabbits and squirrels is best, diging pits is to time consuming. And making a spear is way more easier than a bow and arrows, but not impossible. All of it depends on the situation. I's snare and spear as I worked my way towards help if I was that desperate. Snapping turtles is good and I'd not worry about their snapping just pick up by the shell back, or turn onto their back before killing. Now I've ate turtle but not frog... hmmm hate the thought eting frog.
Ok, here's how to do it.
Choose a piece of wood for the bow. Find a piece of dry, dead hardwood--oak, hickory, yew, black locust, or teak for example--about 1 meter (1 yard) in length. The wood should be free of knots, twists or limbs. Green wood can be used if absolutely necessary, but it should be avoided because it does not provide the same power as dry wood. If using green wood, try for pine. It is the easiest to cut, and clean. Steel wool is usuable to clean it off.
Determine the natural curve of the stick. Every piece of wood will have a natural curve, no matter how slight. As you construct the bow, be mindful of the curve.
Shape the bow. Ideally, you will want the bow to be strong (and hence thicker) in the center. A thick center will also serve as a good handle. Using a knife or similar tool, shave wood off the inside of the curve (the side that faces behind you when shooting) on the thicker half of the stick until it has the same width and pull as the thinner half. If the stick is roughly the same diameter all along its length, you may need to shave both ends to some degree. You want the bow to end up with a thick, strong center portion flanked by two thinner, more flexible end segments of roughly the same thickness and length. Cut notches to hold the bow string. Use your knife to cut notches about 1-2 inches from each end of the bow. The notches should be in the shape of a half moon on the outside of the bow's curve. Select a bow string. The string can be made of rawhide, thin nylon rope, hemp cord, strands of cotton or silk from caterpillars, perhaps even vines or sinew. If you are stranded in the wilderness, it may be difficult to find a suitable string, and you may need to try a variety of materials before you find one that has the necessary strength. The string should not be stretchy, as the power comes from the wood, not the string.
String the bow. Attach the string to the notch at one end of the bow. It is best to wrap it around the notch a few times before knotting it off. Then bend the bow and attach the string to the other notch. The string should be taut, and you should be able to feel the tension in the string and bow as you pull the string back even slightly. To make the bowstring reusable in the even that it should break, use a slipknot on each end.
Select sticks for arrows. Arrows should be formed from the straightest sticks you can find. The wood should be dry and dead, however green wood does work if you can give it some extra time to dry out naturally, as the sap may ignite if placed over a fire to dry; each arrow should be about half as long as the bow, or as long at the bow can draw back. It does not do to have arrows that can't be pulled back to the bow's potential.Shape the arrows. You will need to whittle the wood smooth around the circumference of the arrow. You can straighten an arrow by gently heating the shaft over hot coals--do not scorch or burn the wood--and then holding the arrow straight while the wood cools. Carve a small notch at the back end of each arrow to accommodate the bow string. Construct the arrowheads. The simplest arrowhead is simply a carved point on the front of the arrow shaft. You can whittle such a point with a knife and then fire harden it by gently heating it in coals (again, be careful not to burn or scorch the wood). You can also construct an arrowhead from metal, stone, glass, or bone and attach it to the arrow's tip by notching the wood, inserting the arrowhead into the notch, and then lashing the arrowhead to the wood with some sort of string or cord.
Find some feathers to make the fletchings and glue them (if possible) onto the back ends of the arrows. If fletching is not feasible, skip this step. While fletching improves the arrow's flight, it is not necessary for a field-expedient weapon.
Hope this helps.
Beo,
In a true survival situation making a bow (and the arrows & broadheads) would expend a lot of energy for not a lot of results, unless you are an experienced archer/bow hunter and happen to have ready made arrows. Making and setting multiple snares, traps, or dead-falls (5-10 of them) is much more productive and gives you a many more chances at actually having some food to eat, and while your snares, traps, or dead-falls are at work, you can spend you time being more productive making a fire to cook your meal, once you get it, finding and boiling water to drink, or building a shelter.
I have used a sling shot to shoot rabbits and squirrels with some willow arrows and obsidian broadheads I made prior to going out into the woods and took them with me. I did this to see if it would actually work. . .it did. It worked really well, in fact, but I had my shelter (a wiki-up) already built, my fire going, with plenty of fire wood gathered, and water boiled and stored in my canteen before going out and trying to track down the rabbit and squirrels, and I had 5 snares set-up on some rabbit trails I spotted on my way into my shelter area.
Making a "survival bow" & arrows is good practice and learning to use it is a definite plus, but IMHO, I would do this before I went into the woods and I would take it with me and use it. It is a lot of fun!
How did you use arrows with a slingshot? Was it a wrist rocket?
No, it was not a wrist rocket. It was a slingshot I made from a piece of hickory. I used the bottom of the "V" as the arrow rest. The arrows had crow feather fletching so the arrows slid thru easily. :)
For those that do not know how to knapp arrowheads, you can take an old radial saw blade, and cut out 3 or 4 "trade points" basically just triangles with a stem.
Once cut out, take a file to the edges and make them just sharp enough, not super sharp as you can do that with a river rock once attached to an arrow or spear end.
3 or 4 of these can be wrapped with imm. sinew and takes up very little room. I do however know how to knapp arrowheads, spearheads, knives, and still carry 3 tucked away in the bottom of the possibles bag.
Arrows and the like do shoot very nicely out of slingshots, if they are not too heavy.