Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Morgan on June 28, 2021, 01:27:45 am
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So I’ve been watching Alone and am on season 7. All but one contender chose a bow as one of their items and I wondered how much thought went in to the bow of their choice. This got me thinking about what I would want, and I’m very curious about what others would take with them and why.
Durability would be paramount in my book. I believe anyone who puts in the time can get killing proficient with any bow. For myself I would want a very low stressed D bow 64-66” long made from the straightest hickory stave I could find and sealed as good as I could possibly seal it. My wood of choice comes strictly because the bow could take damage to the back that severed the back ring and still possibly still have a viable weapon, not sure if that is possible with any other wood without having to back it.
What would y’all take with you?
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A trusted straight standing osage selfbow... same kind of bow I've been hunting with for many years.
Arrows to me seem just as important and I'd want to have plenty so I wouldn't be hesitant to shoot. I think you're only allowed to take a few, 6 maybe? so as soon as I got settled, I'd start gathering arrow wood.
Maybe keep an eye out for a Yew tree too )W(
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Yep a good old piece of osage is what I'd take.Making more arrows is a good idea too.Making arrows does'nt take much physical energy.
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I would have to go with a nice overbuilt osage bow as well, my experience with hickory is limited. 66" ntn #45 @ 26" would want an easy smooth drawing bow for the lean times. And yes gather materials to make arrows is a great idea, I'm sure those are some long nights with nothing else to do
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Any HedgeHunter would do it. Hey, bring an extra string. You never go in high country without one.
HH~
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I’d take a nice flatbow. Cherokee style bend through the handle. Hickory or Osage. No frills no bs no fuss.
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Yep, no bling, no baby tips, nothing hanging off belly. Some good heavy shafts and two blade BH’s.
GTG
HH~
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I think in a survival situation I would choose ultimate durability. I would choose this low 40s lb 66inch hackberry bow I have that is a pretty average performer. Its a bit longer and a bit wider and not as dead in the hand as I prefer, but I am convinced if the world were to end, that bow would survive like the cockroaches.
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Can we see some pictures of these bows? If they're real, of course.
I think I would go with a super short, low draw length, average weight bow. Let's say 40" NTN and 43# @ 22". That way, you don't have to draw the thing all the way back to your cheek when you're staring dinner in the face and you haven't eaten in 5 days. And the woods are filled with 40" bows, no matter where you are in the world. Same with shorter arrows. My only question is whether or not 40" NTN and 43# @ 22" draw is even possible without sinew? Has anyone made a bow like this that you could post a picture of?
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The bow is the easy bit... string and arrows are more of a problem... and of course the hunting skills.
Del
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Can we see some pictures of these bows? If they're real, of course.
I think I would go with a super short, low draw length, average weight bow. Let's say 40" NTN and 43# @ 22". That way, you don't have to draw the thing all the way back to your cheek when you're staring dinner in the face and you haven't eaten in 5 days. And the woods are filled with 40" bows, no matter where you are in the world. Same with shorter arrows. My only question is whether or not 40" NTN and 43# @ 22" draw is even possible without sinew? Has anyone made a bow like this that you could post a picture of?
I don’t know that I’ve made one single bow that I’d intentionally stake my livelihood on, I think every one I’ve made I’ve found flaws in and those flaws eat at confidence. I’m not sure you could pull off 22” out of a non sinew backed 40” bow. Maybe with flipped tips, but that’s asking a lot.
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I too have watched most of the seasons of Alone and have given some thought to my ten items. You are only allowed to bring 10 items besides your clothes.
I would be very hesitant to go into this situation without a proven bow. Hence it would have to be a bow I had shot a lot for a long time.
If I was building a bow for this it would be hickory or Osage, 64” T-T and 40 lb at my 26” draw.
Your bow and 9 arrows count as 1 item. I would want 3 broad heads and 6 small game, flu flus. One big game animal is all you would need. However Grouse, rabbits etc are more likely fare.
While most of the contestants take a bow I see very little use from most of them. They spend more time building their shelter than finding food. I noticed that the better shelter they build the sooner they tap out.
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Isn't Alone shot own a moist, humid environment. I wouldn't want hickory because it absorbs moisture easily and quickly
I would want a no frills osage or black locust bow and hickory arrows...3 or 4 broad heads and the rest blunts.
Jawge
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It’s shot in different places. 2 seasons on Vancouver island. Very wet! 1 season in Patogonia, 2 in the Arctic. This season (8) is in northern BC.
The contestants don’t know where their going. They only know it may be cold.
While the temp is below freezing a good bit of the time hickory may not be the best choice. However a little set wouldn’t put you out of the game.
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Well... I’m Correy from Alone Season 7 (SH). I took a slightly overbuilt hackberry selfbow — 68” long, straight-limbed, rectangular cross-section, 53# at 27”. The bow performed great. I trusted its durability, and the weight was good for me even in a calorie-restricted state.
If I could do it over, I wouldn’t take anything other than a straight-limbed Osage selfbow. 66” long, 50-55 pounds.
I went crazy sealing the hackberry bow in preparation for the Arctic. Probably 12 coats of modern sealer and a couple thick coats of hand-polished beeswax. I was the only contestant with a selfbow made of “other than osage” and the constant moisture was definitely an issue. The humidity was above 90% with some sort of precipitation almost every day.
One day after hunting, I unstrung my bow and it pretty much still looked strung, haha. I smoked it in the roof rafters of the shelter that night and luckily, it returned to its flat profile. Smoking the bow while sleeping became a nightly ritual after that.
I still shoot the bow fairly regularly 2.5 years after crafting it, and it still pulls 53#, but that was an eye-opener for sure. I vowed to carry osage in survival situations from that point forward ;D
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Well... I’m Correy from Alone Season 7. I took a slightly overbuilt hackberry selfbow — 68” long, straight-limbed, rectangular cross-section, 53# at 27”. The bow performed great. I trusted its durability, and the weight was good for me even in a calorie-restricted state.
If I could do it over, I wouldn’t take anything other than a straight-limbed Osage selfbow. 66” long, 50-55 pounds.
I went crazy sealing the hackberry bow in preparation for the Arctic. Probably 12 coats of modern sealer and a couple thick coats of hand-polished beeswax. I was the only contestant with a selfbow made of “other than osage” and the constant moisture was definitely an issue. The humidity was above 90% with some sort of precipitation almost every day.
One day, I unstrung my bow after a hunt and the unbraced profile made it look pretty much still strung, haha. I smoked it in the roof rafters of the shelter that night and luckily, it returned to its flat profile. Smoking the bow while sleeping became a nightly ritual after that.
I still shoot the bow fairly regularly 2.5 years after crafting it, and it still pulls 53#, but that was an eye-opener for sure. Osage for me from now on in survival situations ;D
Just watched your stretch the other day so it’s cool to see you chime in to offer your expertise based on experience. Do you know of any indigenous tribes in the area that used bows?
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Well... I’m Correy from Alone Season 7 (SH). I took a slightly overbuilt hackberry selfbow — 68” long, straight-limbed, rectangular cross-section, 53# at 27”. The bow performed great. I trusted its durability, and the weight was good for me even in a calorie-restricted state.
If I could do it over, I wouldn’t take anything other than a straight-limbed Osage selfbow. 66” long, 50-55 pounds.
I went crazy sealing the hackberry bow in preparation for the Arctic. Probably 12 coats of modern sealer and a couple thick coats of hand-polished beeswax. I was the only contestant with a selfbow made of “other than osage” and the constant moisture was definitely an issue. The humidity was above 90% with some sort of precipitation almost every day.
One day after hunting, I unstrung my bow and it pretty much still looked strung, haha. I smoked it in the roof rafters of the shelter that night and luckily, it returned to its flat profile. Smoking the bow while sleeping became a nightly ritual after that.
I still shoot the bow fairly regularly 2.5 years after crafting it, and it still pulls 53#, but that was an eye-opener for sure. I vowed to carry osage in survival situations from that point forward ;D
Thats awesome your on alone!! im watching season 7 now too! I love your bows..... yeah I am tired of screwing around with hickory in the summer my bows are always noodles without the woodstove going.... but im cursed with NO OSAGE!!! locust does pretty well though.
I would be a 62" osage selfbow, 55#-60# slightly recurved... the arrows would maybe be tonkin cane with a forshaft so if i break a point off it could be repaired easlily.
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Well... I’m Correy from Alone Season 7 (SH). I took a slightly overbuilt hackberry selfbow — 68” long, straight-limbed, rectangular cross-section, 53# at 27”. The bow performed great. I trusted its durability, and the weight was good for me even in a calorie-restricted state.
If I could do it over, I wouldn’t take anything other than a straight-limbed Osage selfbow. 66” long, 50-55 pounds.
I went crazy sealing the hackberry bow in preparation for the Arctic. Probably 12 coats of modern sealer and a couple thick coats of hand-polished beeswax. I was the only contestant with a selfbow made of “other than osage” and the constant moisture was definitely an issue. The humidity was above 90% with some sort of precipitation almost every day.
One day after hunting, I unstrung my bow and it pretty much still looked strung, haha. I smoked it in the roof rafters of the shelter that night and luckily, it returned to its flat profile. Smoking the bow while sleeping became a nightly ritual after that.
I still shoot the bow fairly regularly 2.5 years after crafting it, and it still pulls 53#, but that was an eye-opener for sure. I vowed to carry osage in survival situations from that point forward ;D
I was hoping you would weigh in on this. After you started the ritual of hanging the bow nightly, Did you have any more issues? Hope your knee is all better.
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I think Del is right. If your string breaks, your out. Especially in that wet environment. So string and arrows.
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On Alone I don’t believe an extra string is an option. However I tie my bottom nock with a bowyers knot with a good 6”/8” tail. If my string happened to break,get damaged etc I could possibly tie it back together.
As a side note my strings are made from braided fishing line. Fishing line you can take.
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No second string allowed on Alone. I thought of the same idea about braided fishing line....but....only mono is allowed so braided is out.
As far as the bow, since my draw is only 26" I would go with a 62" slightly reflexed 50# Osage bow, bamboo arrows half with Ace hex blunts and half with broadheads.
As far as the string goes I'd probably make an overbuilt low stretch string so if problems arose I'd have plenty of strands to splice if needed.
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RYAN - we were in the Dene Lutselk’e region which, if I’m correct, would have been mostly made up of the Chipewyan people. We met the elders in person and the tribe blessed us and invited the contestants into the land with a special ceremony. It was a really cool experience.
I can’t find much evidence of the Chipewyan bows, but we know the Inuit used bows against their traditional enemies - the Chipewyan, Tłı̨chǫ (Dogrib), Dene, and Cree. So it can probably be assumed that the Chipewyan had bow’s similar to the Inuit. (Edit : just speculating, so further research is encouraged!)
There wasn’t much for bow wood up there, but I did find a beautiful Paper Birch and was planning to cut and rough it into a blank just in case my primary bow broke. I was injured before that all transpired.
MORGAN - No issues whatsoever after I started smoking the bow at night. It sprung right back to life, and was dry and springy at the start of each new day.
STEVE and WOODY ROBERTS - you’re correct that extra bow strings are not allowed, and braided fishing line is also forbidden. Monofilament only.
We had plenty of 550 cord (provided you chose that as an item). My contingency plan for a broken bow string was to use the inner guts of 550 Cord to make replacement Flemish twist strings. I’m sure they’d be noticeably stretchier than even B50, but it would work. I was thinking a properly woven Flemish string would be better than a regular/full strand of 550 Cord.. which could also be used as an even quicker replacement.
FOX - Thank you ;D
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A native bow was acquired once that had an extra sinew string used as a handle wrap!!!!!! Smart native. 45lb Osage bow, cane arrows, flint heads, turkey feathers. Good to 20 yards.
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Like I've always said 'survival' bow making isn't that hard but to make a good string from what you have around you is the real challenge. Dacron and dyneema are great but.......good luck if that's all you know how to use!
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Might have to revert to an Atlatl, and opt for smaller game. Not that hard to make a crude one, but you have to practice to hit any thing with it.
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This is going to be a great thread (-P
Thanks for sharing, organic_archer. Did not know the humidity was so high early on.
I put in for Alone, and am going to keep doing so until they take this "more mature" man. So, I have given this some thought.
I have found on my desert survival trips that no real calorie intake makes drawing 55 pounders-plus not as much fun as the lighter 40 - 47 pounders. Blunts accounting for lizards are way more common, 90%, than BH for rabbits, mice, at 10%, in my deserts. Unfortunately, quail and doves are out of season in summer, so I watch the fattest quail and weep.
But, for the North, deer and musk ox, I would want above 50 pounds in a self bow, little longer than my usual 56 inches. For small game, shorter, 40#ish would be great.
The bow must be with you and ready, and maybe bow quivers, for $250,000 after taxes, might be a good idea. Roland stated he did not hunt with bows, and he is standing off to side in a video showing others practicing on a beer? can, so his success on the musk ox is from both being a little bit "lucky" and yet ready. He says in an interview he broke the second arrow, but gives no details. His shot looks like a typical long shot by a right hander, hitting left. I have been trying for years to increase distance accuracy, and after years, getting better. 40 pounds on a musk ox, or a longer shot, nope, I will rather have the 48-60 pounder.
I think a person could make a quiver that has rawhide, on the interior, on a removable arrow point protector (like some plains tribes) that could serve as a back up string.
Arrow shafting.... I find that PatB's cane is very tough, and maybe a few real thick hardwood shafts.
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Interesting thread, guys. I really have to try osage one of these days. It's interesting reading Jim Hamm's article in the latest PA mag about native bows; seems like the majority of eastern bows were made of hickory. Surely they didn't just quit hunting in the rain, did they? I wonder how they got around hickory's tendency to turn into pasta when it's damp out.
By the way, Correy, I wanted to tell you: We just discovered "Alone" a month or so ago, and we've been watching season seven. There are a lot of really likable people on there, but we were all rooting for you. We really appreciated your approach and your attitude, and we hurt with you when your leg went south. Thanks for sharing your experience with the hackberry bow. It's interesting.
T
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The eastern woodland Sudbury bow was a 65 plus inch hickory bow that was between 40, and 45 lbs. draw weight. It looks to have 2 to 3 inches of string follow. I believe game was plentiful, and our natives were good hunters, and able to stock their game at close range. With animal grease, and a fire I feel that they could keep their bows in good enough shape to kill with on a day to day basis no matter the weather conditions. I also believe they would have had another bow in the works most of the time. Survival mode kicking in on a constant basis.