DIY improvised compound bows

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by chelloveck, May 21, 2014.


  1. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    Last edited: May 21, 2014
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  2. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    I wouldn't fire it.
     
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  3. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    No guts no glory.... ;)

    It's a testament to creativity and a degree of foolhardiness, lol.
     
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  4. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    Recoil would take out your own hand. It is too close. It is interesting, true, but out of scale.
     
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  5. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    Could , however be added to a stock, and make a crossbow out of it.
     
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  6. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus


    good observations.
     
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  7. ditch witch

    ditch witch I do stupid crap, so you don't have to

    We have a friend who made some horse bows from PVC. They shoot decently enough.
     
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  8. ditch witch

    ditch witch I do stupid crap, so you don't have to

    This is who he got the idea from. I was thinking of trying to make one just for grins but I have too many unfinished projects already lying around.

    Part 1

    Part 2
     
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  9. Kingfish

    Kingfish Self Reliant

    Interesting stuff but here is my take on expedient bows. Ill try not to write a book but I have gone off on rants on this topic before. There are hundreds of videos on how to build a survival bow and arrows out of everything from sticks to pvc and even leaf springs from cars and trailers. Hundreds of books, DVDs , and websites selling this stuff. So I went out and looked for video on people actually killing game with these expedient bows. Guess what? I could not find one video kill shot on a deer using a field expedient bow of any design.

    There are traditional archers and there are scam artists selling plans. Yes you can make a bundle bow from saplings and an arrow from a stick fletched with bird feathers if you can find them. Broken glass broadheads, flint knapping etc. But in the real world can you hit anything with it and does it produce enough power to kill cleanly? There are over a hundred designs for P.V.C. bows out there. Not one video of a kill shot on deer using one. Then you here this line, Im going to use it to kill small game. WRONG!!! Try hitting a squirrel with a field expedient bow and arrow. Try hitting a squirrel with a modern compound. After you lose all your arrows and realize you just wasted all that time building this crap the hunger sets in.

    So nope, I don't buy into it. If you want to see a real traditional archer who can make his own bow and arrows, stone broadheads and kill deer with them google Scott Moore and see how much work goes into building a self bow that actually kills deer. The time it takes to make arrows straight and accurate, the time it takes to make broad heads that kill? Better to buy a good .22 rifle and stock lots of ammo.

    I hunt today with a modern crossbow. 310 fps shooting carbon bolts with expanding broadheads. I have used recurves, compounds and have taken deer with them for 40 years. I know what works and what doesnt. The last thing I would be doing if I were stranded without my guns is to build an expedient bow.
     
  10. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    I sent you a PM on this. I've done it. I sell no plans, and I have no camera for video. But I've eaten my deer. YMMV.
     
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  11. ditch witch

    ditch witch I do stupid crap, so you don't have to

    My take on the PVC bows is that the majority of people who make them are not into hunting. They're into medieval reenactments or ComiCons. They want specific bows from specific movies or characters, and they can't afford to buy them ready made. Some of them, including the guy I know who made one who is both in a medieval troupe and an avid archer (but not hunter), are pretty competitive about their mad archery skills and if they couldn't get decent results from the PVC bow, they certainly wouldn't put the time and effort into making them. Whether or not they could take down a deer I'll never know because none of these guys will ever try to find out, let alone video it for YT, but that doesn't remove it from the realm of possibility.

    I don't have a dog in that particular fight so doesn't matter to me. We have a number traditional longbows and recurves, none of which I'm particularly adept with. I can hit a bale of hay at 40 feet but after that it gets a bit iffy. If I ever found myself starving and without firearms, I'd be better off throwing rocks at game than trying to shoot it with an arrow from any sort of bow.
     
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  12. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    21 groundhogs in 36 seconds with bows.:

    Not me. However, I do take squirrels, rabbits and deer with bows. Squirrels and rabbits with slingshot alone. Stealth matters much more than the bow.
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2014
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  13. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

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