Now before I begin this article I would like to clear one thing up. No, I am not asking you to give up your guns in favor of becoming the new Robin Hood, instead I am simply asking you to consider adding a recurve bow to your arsenal for a plethora of reasons.
Archers have been a primary weapon of both tribes and civilization for millennia, and the reason is obvious. It is an incredibly powerful weapon that is simple, meaning there are fewer things to break, but also is basically silent, and with a little knowledge has a nearly unlimited supply of ammo. Sounds pretty good don’t you think?
A Recurve Bow is Great for Hunting
In any survival situation, the ability to get food is vital for not just the long term, but the short term. Hunting is a great way to achieve this goal, providing you with not only protein, but also things such as clothing and soap for the more resourceful.
For me, the silence provided by a recurve bow actually makes it more useful than a gun in many hunting situations. After you take a shot you don’t alert every single animal and person within earshot, giving you a far greater opportunity for success.
The one slight downside is that you need to get within 40 metres, unless you are a very confident archer, of the game. For this, being able to stalk prey is an absolute must, as even if you can hit a bullseye, if you scare every animal within 200 metres away you’re damn near stuffed. I see this as simply another skill that with a decent amount of practice can become second nature, making your hunts incredibly effective.
While for small game basically any poundage will work, if you plan on trying to hunt deer, you need a draw weight of at least 35 pounds, along with a broadhead arrow. This ensures that you have the necessary penetrating power to score a kill.
Hunting with a recurve bow is an art form completely unlike using a gun, but it is an incredibly rewarding process where you rely more on pure skill rather than a good scope.
Unlimited Ammo
Some proponents of archery back away from using homemade arrows, but I believe in a survival situation, any arrow is better than no arrow. An important note here, I would not attempt to use homemade arrows for a compound bow. There are too many technical components in it that, I wager, would become mightily annoyed with a DIY arrow being shot from it. Recurve bows, however, do not have this problem.
The limiting factor when making your own arrows is just how skillful you are. It is pretty simple to make an arrow, but making an arrow that actually travels through the air properly is far more difficult.
Despite the time it would take to become proficient in creating arrows, if you are serious about adding a recurve bow to your arsenal, this skill is beyond valuable. Eventually bullets are going to run out, but with enough wood, you could continue to make arrows forever, continuing to hunt when everybody else can’t.
When choosing the wood for making the arrow, you want something that is strong and has a straight grain to increase accuracy. You don’t want to invest a fair amount of time into an arrow only for it to shatter after one shot. I recommend Douglas Fir, as not only is it incredibly common, but also ticks the above boxes. However, if it is required, most woods can work just fine.
Recurve Bows are Available Pretty Much Anywhere
If you live outside of the USA, it becomes an incredibly difficult process to get your hands on a simple air rifle, let alone an AR-15, yet the importance of being able to inflict lethal damage when hunting or in self defense remains. This is where the recurve bow comes into play.
I literally ordered my first ever bow on the internet, and it arrived within a week. No background check. No ID, just a bow in the mail.
I have absolutely no qualms with this, and I advise any survivalist who is obstructed by the law in acquiring a firearm to simply look into a recurve bow. To my knowledge there aren’t any countries that even ban compound bows, let alone recurve bows, but you should look this up first with somebody who has legal knowledge of your country, location, and situation.
So You Want a Recurve Bow Now?
If this article has inspired you to think about archery in a new light, I recommend starting with a beginner recurve bow with a draw weight of roughly 30-40 pounds. If possible, try and buy the bow in person, as a knowledgeable salesman will be able to find a bow that fits your height and strength. I wouldn’t spend over $200 when buying your first bow, as it is possible you may end up hating archery, and you don’t want to spend $1000 on something you never use.
Unless you have money coming out your ears, buying the cheapest arrows you can find is also a good idea. They are bound to be damaged and lost, so consider your first arrows a test run for the short term. If you become serious about archery, I would invest in some aluminum arrows due to their toughness and accuracy, along with a few good broadheads for hunting.
Once you have the bow, learn to use it. Just an hour a week will make you competent enough, transforming it into a useful survival tool. Believe me, however, this training becomes less of a chore and more of a near meditative experience as you constantly challenge yourself to become more accurate.
Just remember though, regardless of how good a recurve bow sounds on paper, for a survivalist it is just another tool, and the person holding the tool is more important than the tool itself.
Article Kindly Provided by James Clarke: Toxophilite
