A link to some primitive weapons Now what would your list of diy weapons be

[VnVet]

I also wreaked havock with an slingshot, an airgun and even a crude pipe gun. I'm lucky that nobody got hurt. Well, no human got hurt. I hunted so much small game and vermins along with my friends that a lot of times I came home and I wasn't even hungry.

I have a Gamo wrist rocket sling shot. It lacks sights, but aiming it is intuitive. I bought GM&BW replacement bands for it. They are 54cm/21.26" long so they need to be cut for the application depending on one's draw length.
When I worked, a bearing salesman used to bring me bags of .25"/6.35 loose ball bearings.

Have you tried blunt tip arrows with flu-flu fetching for small game with a bow? They are great for squirrels, rabbits etc.

It might seem to be silly for some, but to me, it is fun.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

My grandfather was a gun guy. He was a good shot and hunted everything there was to hunt in South Texas. He always had a gun or five on or around him. He carried a hand carved slingshot in a little holder on his truck dash. Nothing silly about quail for supper...

Alan

[Deimos]

I have a Gamo wrist rocket sling shot. It lacks sights, but aiming it is intuitive. I bought GM&BW replacement bands for it. They are 54cm/21.26" long so they need to be cut for the application depending on one's draw length.
When I worked, a bearing salesman used to bring me bags of .25"/6.35 loose ball bearings.

Have you tried blunt tip arrows with flu-flu fetching for small game with a bow? They are great for squirrels, rabbits etc.

It might seem to be silly for some, but to me, it is fun.

I don't have a bow yet, and when I try to hunt small game with my 200lbs crossbow, the result is always messy, even when I use field tips or blunt tips. But there is some advantages about having a heavy crossbow: I can hunt big game with it, and I can also use it for fishing.

[kyratshooter]

You should make yourself a bow Deimos. Even a cave man can do it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oksgEIgIQbo

Since you already have a powerful crossbow a less powerful one, or a regular bow and arrows, might be a useful addition.

A regular primitive bow eliminates all the mechanical complications and people stayed alive using them for 20,000 years.

Before that they stayed alive using a stick with a sharp rock tied to the end.

We make stuff way too complicated.

[VnVet]

Here's another: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrcZsm_ao-E
The first 14 seconds showed its groups and I want to kill as cleanly and as quickly as possible.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

What amazed me the most is that the guy had long fingernails and NO cuts on his hands....

Alan

[VnVet]

What amazed me the most is that the guy had long fingernails and NO cuts on his hands....

Alan

I doubt he had any means of cutting his nails.

The 3rd world is unbelievably different than what we take for granted.

[Deimos]

You should make yourself a bow Deimos. Even a cave man can do it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oksgEIgIQbo

Since you already have a powerful crossbow a less powerful one, or a regular bow and arrows, might be a useful addition.

A regular primitive bow eliminates all the mechanical complications and people stayed alive using them for 20,000 years.

Before that they stayed alive using a stick with a sharp rock tied to the end.

We make stuff way too complicated.

Ok, pal. You gave me enough reasons for buying or making a bow. I already know how to use one, so why not? Anything that can put meat in the pot it's a valid tool.

[VnVet]

If one is interested in primitive weapons, do a search for Montagnard weapons, then select images. Their crossbows are different that in the previous links. Unlike Deimos' 200# crossbow, theirs are easy to cock and also to unload. Some of their trigger mechanisms are both simplistic and easy to make.

Yes, they use steel because it is available there, the same as here.
In Nepal, they build the kukri or khukuri out of vehicle springs; then, differentially harden the steel.

[Deimos]

If one is interested in primitive weapons, do a search for Montagnard weapons, then select images. Their crossbows are different that in the previous links. Unlike Deimos' 200# crossbow, theirs are easy to cock and also to unload. Some of their trigger mechanisms are both simplistic and easy to make.

Yes, they use steel because it is available there, the same as here.
In Nepal, they build the kukri or khukuri out of vehicle springs; then, differentially harden the steel.

Vnvet, all this talk about bows and crossbows helped me with another problem. I grabbed a small 80lbs crossbow at a local store and my wife agreed to train with it, so she can overcome her fear step by step and one day manage to use guns and airguns. She already used it, and she can cock and load it all by herself. She's enjoying It and even wants to go hunt small game with me and my brother.
Regarding normal bows, I ordered a simple recurve bow online.
I love having a good credit card

[kyratshooter]

Deimos, I have one of those 80# crossbows and find it convenient due to being able to make my own bolts. You do not have to worry about the tremendous force splitting your bolt when the string releases.

Use a dowel, or a good straight suitable piece of arrow material, cut the back off square, fletch it with two pieces of trimmed duct tape, cut a slit in the front and pin a sheet metal arrowhead in place.

You can make a shaving die to form the proper size dowel from a piece of plate metal and force the wood through. Cut the arrowheads with tin snips or a chisel and form the rivet from wire or a small nail.

Here in the states we have electric fence poles that are about 9mm diameter and a meter long that are made from fiberglass. You can get three bolts for your full power bow from one.

For a low power regular bow you can make arrows in the same way. Cane or bamboo of the proper size makes excellent arrows and was one of the favorite materials of the Native Americans in the southern US. I have a hickory flat bow I made that will send a cane arrow for more than 100m.

My state has minimum power levels for legal hunting. Launching an arrow for 100m is one of the standards, as well as arrow shape and a few other things.

In a long term situation one should be able to replenish their ammo supply without interruption.

[Deimos]

Deimos, I have one of those 80# crossbows and find it convenient due to being able to make my own bolts. You do not have to worry about the tremendous force splitting your bolt when the string releases.

Use a dowel, or a good straight suitable piece of arrow material, cut the back off square, fletch it with two pieces of trimmed duct tape, cut a slit in the front and pin a sheet metal arrowhead in place.

You can make a shaving die to form the proper size dowel from a piece of plate metal and force the wood through. Cut the arrowheads with tin snips or a chisel and form the rivet from wire or a small nail.

Here in the states we have electric fence poles that are about 9mm diameter and a meter long that are made from fiberglass. You can get three bolts for your full power bow from one.

For a low power regular bow you can make arrows in the same way. Cane or bamboo of the proper size makes excellent arrows and was one of the favorite materials of the Native Americans in the southern US. I have a hickory flat bow I made that will send a cane arrow for more than 100m.

My state has minimum power levels for legal hunting. Launching an arrow for 100m is one of the standards, as well as arrow shape and a few other things.

In a long term situation one should be able to replenish their ammo supply without interruption.

This may sound as a brag, but I swear it's not.
I'm able to craft bolts for my heavy crossbow at my garage, since I have plenty of high quality wood here. It's not the same as carbon bolts but they last a couple of shots. And the plus side is that I can just sharpen them and don't use any arrowhead if I'm in a pinch.
About other kinds of ammo, I'm able to make airgun pellets from scrath and reload regular ammo. That's the best I can do rigth now. But I liked your advice and I will try to make some bolts from fiberglass, we also use this stuff here for a lot of things.
We don't have any regulations about hunting, we just CAN'T hunt, we can only do some "pest control" on a limited number of species. But we can kill hogs, pests and some birds. That's something, at least. Some countrys don't allow anything at all.

[VnVet]

Vnvet, all this talk about bows and crossbows helped me with another problem. I grabbed a small 80lbs crossbow at a local store and my wife agreed to train with it, so she can overcome her fear step by step and one day manage to use guns and airguns. She already used it, and she can cock and load it all by herself. She's enjoying It and even wants to go hunt small game with me and my brother.
Regarding normal bows, I ordered a simple recurve bow online.
I love having a good credit card

An 80# is a good choice. We have a crossbow and keep a bale of straw to unload it.

Add a pin sight to the recurve. Spend some time zeroing it and you'll love it.

Teach her to kill cleanly and quickly. Seeing a wounded animal die in pain is not fun.

My wife enjoys shooting rifles, pistols and the recurve.

Air rifles (springer or piston) are excellent for training and developing muscle memory. I taught my wife how to make a range card for shooting a Diana M48 with a mil-dot scope. It can be complicated, but the results are well worth the effort.

[Deimos]

An 80# is a good choice. We have a crossbow and keep a bale of straw to unload it.

Add a pin sight to the recurve. Spend some time zeroing it and you'll love it.

Teach her to kill cleanly and quickly. Seeing a wounded animal die in pain is not fun.

My wife enjoys shooting rifles, pistols and the recurve.

Air rifles (springer or piston) are excellent for training and developing muscle memory. I taught my wife how to make a range card for shooting a Diana M48 with a mil-dot scope. It can be complicated, but the results are well worth the effort.

Wise words, my friend. A clean death also improves the taste of the food.
I already have aiming systems at both crossbows, they came built-in from the factory. I will show it to you guys in a new thread.

[VnVet]

Wise words, my friend. A clean death also improves the taste of the food.
I already have aiming systems at both crossbows, they came built-in from the factory. I will show it to you guys in a new thread.

Yes, a quick death prevents the bitterness caused by adrenalin in the meat. Roy Weatherby of Weatherby magnums once said the speed and power of the .240 WB magnum prevented the bitterness of antelope.

IMO, good sights on weapons is important. At 200 meters an accurate rifle with mid quality optics and ammo will hit clay birds (~4.12") in diameter and its pieces.

I belong to AA or accuracy anonymous.

[Michael aka Mac]

Well, not quite the direction I was hoping this would go, but it definitely was a start not sure how you make pellets though without a forge and molds.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

Pellets aren’t molded. They’re swaged.

Alan

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

And even if they were molded a forge would hardly be necessary.

Alan

[VnVet]

Pellets aren’t molded. They’re swaged.

Alan

Some folks swage wadcutters.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

And semi-wadcutters and most if not all jacketed bullets...

Alan