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Picture this… a lone survivor, scavenging a bio-hazardous wasteland carrying a bow and arrow.
He carries some basic supplies and lives by his survival skills.
There are no firearms in his world.
Society collapsed years ago.
There’s no infrastructure in place to manufacture any new equipment.
For him food is scarce, and if he wants to eat, he must hunt.
You might say that’s the introduction to a sci-fi novel or some sort of movie synopsis. Far-fetched as it may seem, you need to ask yourself exactly what you are preparing for.
Any eventuality can come to pass under the right circumstances. One day you could be that hunter, and if you know something about archery, you’ll be one step ahead of the rest.
So here are 8 reasons that you should learn archery if you plan on surviving after SHTF:
Homemade Survival Gear
So I mentioned already that society has collapsed. The stores are all empty, and all the supplies and equipment are gone. You could live somewhere remote.
Either way, let’s imagine for a second that you have no access to firearms. But you do need to hunt and defend yourself with a ranged weapon.
With a knife and some dried hardwood like oak, lemon tree, hickory, teak, and many more, you have the basis of a powerful ranged weapon.
If you have something to use as bowstring like rawhide, rope, paracord, hemp cord, or even fishing line, you can have a rudimentary bow made in under 30 minutes.
Give yourself more time, and you can fashion something more accurate and more powerful.
There’s a host of good ‘tube’ on the subject, give it a look, knowing the basics of what to look for and what to do is knowledge you should have.
Surf and Turf
With the bow you’ve made you can hunt.
Exactly what you can hunt and at what range will depend a little on how good your crafting skills were, how powerful your bow is, and how good of an archer you are.
Anything goes; small game, rodents, rabbits, a larger game like deer, elk, flying game, birds, and even fish.
Yes, you can bowfish.
Find yourself some shallow, clear fresh or saltwater, and you can wade in or perch above and spear yourself some fish with an arrow.
Attach a line to the arrow and it’s a bow fishing arrow you can use again and again until you’ve perfected the skill.
Bowfishing is quicker than traditional fishing. It doesn’t use up any ammunition or bait and you can catch more than just fish.
In fact, anything in the water without a hard shell is game, from alligators to eels.
Let’s take another view and say you have one of the many modern bow types available to you, like a good compound bow, because you were one the sensible ones before the collapse.
With that bow and some modern broadhead arrows you could hunt something as big as an elephant at range, and you know what… you could do it quietly.
Guns Go Bang!
Yep, they do, didn’t anyone tell you?
That’s why ear protectors get worn on shooting ranges, dude!
Unless you’ve brought your silencer, you’re going to make noise when you shoot a gun.
You’re going to alert everything that can hear you to the fact that you are there and you’re armed.
via Flickr
With a bow, you’re quiet. Only the sound of the slight twang of the string and the whoosh and thunk of the arrow.
You don’t scare away your prey. You don’t attract attention. And you can hunt at a distance without alerting the world to your presence.
Sharp Sticks
You can make arrows for your homemade bow, or even for your modern bow. They’re nothing more than sharp sticks.
You can harden the sticks in fire, and you can add fletches using feathers if you have the time.
Fletches aren’t necessary if you’re only shooting close range (say at a fish).
I can think of many uses for a sharp stick other than as an arrow.
via Flickr
A spit for roasting, making traps. Lighting fires by using it as a bow-drill, spearing things.
A stick is a rudimentary weapon itself; you can use them to assemble a shelter. They’re pretty useful tools when you have nothing else around.
A stick is one of the first things every boy picks up when walking through the woods.
Get yourself a stick and you’re immediately king of the hill! Sharpen it and you’re almost godlike to the primate ?
Shoot Me Again
Err, not really, I mean I’m speaking as an arrow here.
You can shoot me again, and again and again.
Yeah, one day I’ll break, maybe my fletches will come off or my point will dull and need sharpening.
The fact of the matter is that I can be reused many times before I need replacing. Not so with your bullets or shells or whatever your weapon takes.
Versatility
I can use a bow to make a bow-drill, use an arrow as the drill bit and some kindling to make fire.
I can fix line to my arrow and make a grapple for the point and shoot it further and more accurately that I could throw it.
In a Jam
I’ve never heard of a bow jamming.
If I’m being honest I don’t need to maintain it much either, nor the arrows.
I can get my bow wet, I can take it anywhere.
And if there’s anything wrong with it I can see straight away what it is, I don’t have to be in the heat of the battle before I find out.
The Family
There’s a reason why you can buy a bow or a crossbow pretty much everywhere from lots of different outlets without any sort of license.
It isn’t a weapon of mass destruction (unless you’re part of a legion of archers in some sort of army of course).
It’s a weapon that’s been around since 9000 BC that is very versatile.
A bow isn’t a dangerous thing to have lying around your house; your children won’t stumble upon it, wonder what it is and try pulling the trigger.
Your wife won’t be shocked if you leave it lying on the kitchen table.
In fact, you’ll be encouraged to take your children to the archery range to get them to learn.
A bow is a lethal yet somewhat friendly weapon.
Agree?
Well, I hope I’ve made you think, at least a little, and if I’ve done my best, you may even want to take a bow for a spin.
Take a look at targetcrazy.com we’ve lots of information and reviews on all the different types of bows and who they are good for.
I’ve been a fan of bows and arrows since I was a small child. Always asking my mum to get me a bow until one day she did.
That desire never left me and today I still love to shoot.
David James Target Crazy
