if you HAD to live off the land would you

[Chuck Jones]

If I had to kill all my meat in today's world; I would use my bow. In Illinois, we presently have unlimited does tags for about $15 each. We also have a 3 month archery season, so I could potentially kill enough deer to feed my family all year.

In an apocalyptic scenario; My bow would still be important as a hunting tool, because it is quiet, and I can make everything I need. It would save other things for defense.

[njloco]

I'd have a traditional bow, and a traditional crossbow !

[T-Bowhunter]

I would do what every was need to provide for my Family!    

[colav]

I think the harder part of the equation would be curing, storing, and protecting the meat.  I (like many people) live in a neighborhood; other hungry people would start showing up pretty quick if they were to find out your eating alright...they might be friendly...or maybe not.

It sure would be nice to have a cabin out in the woods somewhere, with a smokehouse and a bunch of BBQ sauce.

[jrchambers]

just kind of wondering if you think you would still practice and use your bow.

[Pine]

Bow yes , but would use snares and dead falls as well .

[NY Yankee]

If you head west or anywhere else you'll be a starvin pilgrim in a week!

[trad_bowhunter1965]

Yes I would keep my bow

[randy grider]

If I had to I would try, but if there was even a .22 It would go first. Survival is tough, and you would be busy all day trying to survive, so the gun would be first choice. Im positive I could even kill big game with more consistancy with the lowly .22. Head shots on deer with a .22 would have a higher success rate than bowhunting.

[countyquest]

It's romantic to think that you would use your trad bow, but in reality the deer would be gone within a year. Small game would be gone soon also. Everyone would become a hunter, and for the same reason. (I'm talking population centers, not out west or in the mountains.)
All of us on tradgang would have a better chance surviving than most just because we're tough-types and can-do people in general. It would be so ugly out there that we'd better have more skills than just shooting 4-inch groups with our beloved longbows!

[JMG]

My trad bow would definitely be my go to source for providing meat for my family. It has a reusable source of ammo for one thing. But this I truly believe, a person would get pretty good with his bow shooting and hunting skills when his or her life depended on it for survival. The land can provide an abundance of plant life as well to survive off, but having the knowledge to know what is food and what is poisonous is another thing. For my own opinion, for me, "knowledge" would be the key factor for surviving off the land, what to eat, what not to eat, where to get food and when to get food. My trad bow would be a crucial tool for providing me food. But as Arnie stated above, It's a romantic idea but the reality of actually surviving off the land using your trad would be truly harsh.

[Sam McMichael]

I think small animals would become a very important meat source as the deer would not last long. The most logical approach is to provide most food by gardening with meat being an occasional extra goody when available. So I think the bow and the gun both would become secondary to the hoe and shovel in the long run.

[atatarpm]

My bow would be my first choice

[30coupe]

If it came down to survival, a lot of formerly domestic critters would become game. I'd use my bow first and foremost, with firearms reserved for absolute last resort. I can't even find .22 ammo now, so whatever I do have I would and do conserve.

In an doomsday scenario, as long as I have a file and hopefully a hacksaw, I don't need to know how to knap flint. There is plenty of metal around if I run out of readymade broadheads. Arrows that work could be made from lots of available materials. Shots might have to be a lot closer, but the equipment with which my ancestors survived was awfully crude but still quite effective.

Let's all hope we don't have to find out.

[Stumpkiller]

If I had to live off the land I'd be using everything I had available.  Snares and traps would be FAR more important than bows or firearms.  But you can bet I'd get what I could with a bow or firearm.  Trouble with firearms is the technology to feed them is much greater, though I cast my own lead balls for muzzleloaders.  Producing blackpowder of suitable quality is more difficult than many would have you believe.  

A bow has the added advantage it doesn't advertize your presence.  

Right now I have seven sheep, 25 chickens and a turkey.  A goodly percentage of what we eat is because of what we did, not what we bought.

I'd be wishing for a big bag of seeds instead of hoping for arrow shafts to grow.  We raise heritage crops - viable seeds that can be replanted.

I do know what I would NOT use, a pistol. I could not hit an elephant in the butt that was sitting on me with a pistol. I can shoot more rabbits in small area with a bow than I can with a 22. Once the gun goes off, the bunnies become harder to find. With a bow, I get more to shoot at. Same goes for chickens.

[superkodiak]

trad bow... if I had to hunt in the city... no one would ever know. =)