if you HAD to live off the land would you

[Jon Stewart]

yes, no question about it.

[far rider]

I would say that starvation would be a great motivator to improve your TRADITIONAL ARCHERY skill set. I wouldn't be the first person to feed his family with a BOW and ARROW.    

As to would you use it if your life depended on it, given your present skill set...of course not. As mediocre as I am with it, I feel that would be foolish. Whether your INTO traditional archery or not, survival is survival. IMHO

TIM

[twitchstick]

Our ancestors did it for thousands of years or we would not be here.

[ChuckC]

If it came to that, you would need to survive the first 30 days or so by staying hidden.  The majority or our population would be dead by then.  Very few folks would be able to revert in time to survive once known stocks of food and water are gone.

I am presuming that all utilities are also gone, meaning no or limited electricity or natural gas production.  If that happened in the winter, it may not take 30 days.

I would keep a bow handy, for sure.  Eventually, bullets etc will go away (although for some, that may take a while). Arrows can be made every day.

 Oh oh, I gotta watch what I say or the Pres will see that as a great idea to control guns.....

Life would change, and maybe not for the worse.

CHuckC

[Swamp Yankee]

Shotgun hands down.

[McDave]

I'm afraid it would get pretty crowded out there.  When bow hunting was being revived during the '50's, a lot of people didn't think it was possible to bag a big game animal with a bow, not because the bow was not an effective weapon, but because there were relatively few game animals around to bag.

In the early part of the 20th century, with a small fraction of the population we have now, many game animals almost went extinct.  I think the elk population in California went down to 5 individual elk at one point.  Game populations improved over about 50 years of game management, but I don't think there will be much game management under your scenario.

Prior to the arrival of white men, Native Americans starved during lean years, even with their skills and no competition from guns.

[YORNOC]

Originally posted by Guru:
Guys lets remember this is TG....so lets keep this thread about weather of not you could do it with a trad bow.

Lets not let this turn into a gun/trapping thread or we will have to lock it up...

Thanx, Curt } >----->

Sorry!    

[jrchambers]

wholy moly its was more of a what if YOU had to live off the land not everybody kind of thing,  no doomsday stuff, you guys are truly wild

[Jon Stewart]

Every trad guy and gal needs to learn how to make a bow, knap arrow heads, make arrows and make strings.  Then I believe you would think maybe I can with a little more confidence.

[bofish-IL]

It would be rough to do.

If you were in that situation I would assume it would be from a disaster with no fuel for transportation or electricity.

[Hoyt]

I try to get my red meat with my recurves. I weighed 194 lbs at the beginning of season..162 now.

[buckeye_hunter]

For survival, the bow would be used minimally I suspect. This might not be the case if I knew how to flint knap and make my own bows/gut strings.

[olddogrib]

You'd better be able to. I'd expect the political/economic conditions that could create such a scenario would make the ammo shortage of the past couple years pale in comparison.  Arrows don't have to be reloaded.  What conventional ammo you have on hand would best be conserved for two-legged predators!

[Sixby]

If I had to use a bow only then I would hunt differently. I would trail sit for hours . When its life and death I believe patience with a bow would be a must.

God bless, Steve

[Knawbone]

I lived off the land for a year and a half. No picnic believe me. Many plants and trees supply the lump of your sustenance if you have the knowledge. Meat is important also, and can be procured in various ways. The silence of the bow doesn't draw unwanted attention!! You find out you can do things you wouldn't think possible.Shelter, heat, food and water take all your time. Sometimes hard to keep a proper perspective on things, and can get very lonely if your not with others. Physical safety is paramount!

[Altiman94]

Honestly, I'd starve...or become a vegetarian!

I can think of a few other things I'd rather have than a bow but I'll leave those comments off this forum.  I think it could be done, I just don't have the skills with a trad bow to pull it off.

[LoneWolf73]

In my fantasy world yes with a bow only. Reality.... any way possible, lots of choices for success in survival. A bow would be in my tool chest as an option.

[jrchambers]

went for a bunny walk today, no hares but could have shot a huge cow moose.  that would feed my family for 6 - 10 months.

[Roadkill]

The populations of much of game we hunt today would be quickly poached out-look at the deeer populations at teh end of the depression.  Whether by bow, snare or firearm starving people will take what they can for food.  Ethics may be the third casualty of the problem as people would take several deer at a time if they could.  As traditional archers we would know how to clean and jerk teh meat, a city guy with a gun would use as much as he could before it spoiled.  a bow is always part of my survival plan.

[Tom Leemans]

Yes, but then I'd use every weapon or skill at my disposal to feed my family.