4 reasons you’re better prepared when you know archery

by Dave James

Editor’s note: Please welcome Dave from the archery site Targetcrazy.com. Dave has generously contributed an article on why skill with archery and bows should be a part of your preps!

James has kindly let me guest post on his site because I’d like to get you to think about archery. I love the sport and have since is was young, but even though the bow has been surpassed in many respects by the firearm, I think there are still a few compelling reasons to consider learning the skill and keeping a bow around your home.

Strength and Focus of Mind

Practicing archery requires a measure of physical strength. After all, even though the bow does a lot of the work, the bow gets its force from the draw of the archer. Draw weights in modern hunting bows can range up to 60 lbs. and a recurve bow requires you to HOLD that amount of force and aim. With no strength that is an impossible task.

You can certainly get a lighter draw weight bow, modern recurves such as the Samick Sage (click link for more details) come in a wide range of draw weights from 25lbs upto 60lbs and that weight can be changed by simply swapping out the limbs of the bow, but remember a lighter draw gives a less powerful shot.

In order to really develop skill as an archer requires training and strength in your back, arms and core. Couple strength with focus under the strain of aiming and you’ll see why an archer also needs a solid ability to tune out everything going on around him or her and really focus on a shot.

Neither of those skills, strength and focus of mind are a bad thing to have in your arsenal!

Survival Techniques

With a knife and some suitable string, in under 30 minutes you can make yourself a rudimentary bow and arrow and be hunting for all types of game including fish, alligators, sharks, eels, (you name it really) in freshwater streams and saltwater shallows.

Click pic for details on this bow

A bow has uses in making fire, a pointed stick driven by the loosened string of a bow can be drilled into another piece of wood surrounded by kindling to make fire. This is called a bow-drill and is one of the easiest primal methods of making fire.

Those arrows you’ve made? They have other uses tool, sharp sticks are pretty versatile for spearing things, cooking food over the fire, making shelters, trapping and as weapons in themselves should it come to that.

Compact Pocket Rocket

If you are particularly keen to keep your survival cache small you might consider something called the Pocket Shot which is a nifty little design that can be used to shoot an arrow like a slingshot. This uses the same skill set as archery, judging distance and knowing how an arrow flies but gives you (coupled with some takedown arrows) one of the smallest versions of a bow and arrow I’ve ever seen.

Even smaller than something like the survival bow, and if you didn’t know what they were then take a look at this review of the SAS Tactical Survival Bow. But in brief a survival bow is a modern folding bow that has all the power of a modern recurve but folds into a small rectangular box. This can easily be carried and also used to store arrows. The survival bow is a great choice for a bug out bag or survival cache.

A Family Affair

So if you’re thinking about preparing yourself for the SHTF and making sure you know all the skills you may need to survive out in the wild, take a moment to think about also teaching your children if you have any. Children can learn to shoot a bow from a very young age, much younger than they’d be allowed to hold a firearm. That’s a skill they can take through into adulthood which will also help them to be prepared.

You may also find that if you’re a family man your husband or wife won’t be quite as shocked to find a bow and arrow lying around the house than they would be should you leave your 9mm out on the table for the kids to play with!

To Close

Well that’s it for this round. I’m done but can you think of anything else? I know there are more reasons. Am I completely off track? Let me know, either way when the SHTF the and the world isn’t quite as you know it, you can’t tell me what you’ll be facing because you just don’t know, you may well be thinking I wasn’t that crazy after all. The more you know and the more skills you have the better prepared you’ll be.

Editor’s note: If you are interested in learning more about bows and about archery in general, check out Dave over at Targetcrazy.com! Lots of great resources over there.