Archery for Preppers?

With my interest in archery having been rekindled of late, naturally I began to consider whether or not including archery in one's preps makes sense. Certainly, archery played a major role in humankind's rise over the animal kingdom, and bows were important military weapons for millennia, but do they have a place in the 21st century prepper's armory?

Searching the Internet for "survival bow," "survival archery," or "bows for preppers" results in a ton of hits. Several prepper oriented sites recommend adding a bow to your equipment. E.g., this article, complete with a pic of Our Hero wearing a hoodie and gas mask and getting ready to loose an arrow.

But, I'm going to go out on a limb and state that for most preppers in the USA, archery equipment should be far down on the list of gear to get, after food, water, shelter, and firearms. If you're in a jurisdiction that does not allow or heavily restricts civilian ownership of guns but does allow archery equipment, a bow or crossbow moves up the list.

A smart prepper will prepare for the most likely events. Trying to live off the land by hunting and fishing is far less likely than surviving a period of unemployment, short duration social disruptions, or natural disasters. Only the latter two situations really require that you be armed.

Even if the end of the world as we know it happens, wild game is likely to be depleted in a short time. Go compare the amount of wild game available in the 1940s after the Great Depression, when the only source of protein for many was wild game, with what's available now, after decades of conservation. Planning to survive TEOTWAWKI by heading for the hills and adopting a hunter/gatherer lifestyle is planning to fail.

IMNSHO, the single most versatile weapon for a prepper is a concealable handgun such as a Glock 19 or S&W M&P Shield. This allows you to be discretely armed in public and can double as a home defense gun. If your finances permit, add a suitable long gun as a dedicated home defense gun.

Further, even firearms which are now considered obsolete replaced bows and arrows as primary weapons, largely due to them being much easier to learn how to shoot well. As much as I love archery, I would take a flintlock musket over a bow for either hunting or defense.

That said, archery gear does have some advantages:

1. Regulations for purchase are typically minimal or non-existent. Even in many areas that heavily restrict firearms ownership, archery equipment is unregulated. If I lived in a a country where civilian gun ownership is banned, I'd definitely have a recurve bow with a good supply of arrows, and practice with them. I'd also learn how to make arrows from hardware store materials. See, e.g., The Dowel Arrow Handbook.

2. Bows and arrows are quiet compared to unsuppressed guns. That means you're less likely to be discovered if you need to shoot. Crossbows are surprisingly loud, however.

3. Traditional bows can be made at home for low cost, from either hardware store lumber or even PVC pipe. Similarly, arrows for traditional bows can be made from carefully selected dowels or bamboo tomato stakes. Lethal arrowheads can be fashioned from sheet steel or old saw blades (YouTube link). Note that this does NOT apply to arrows to be shot from modern compound bows.

35# PVC bow by Backyardboywer

Home Depot tomato stake arrows by "tenbrook" on Primitive Archer.

4. Bows can be used to take game ranging from squirrels and birds up to moose. With the right kind of arrows, you can even take fish.

5. Bows can be used for defense, although they are far from ideal for this. Even short, Asian-style bows are long and cumbersome indoors. If you're outside, they do give you a standoff option if you don't or cannot have a gun.

6. Within limits, arrows are reusable. When shot into game, it's not unusual for wooden arrows to break or aluminum arrows to get bent. Modern carbon shafts will usually be fine afterwards, although they may need refletching and the edges on the broadhead should be resharpened.

7. With a lot of practice, an archery shooting a traditional bow can fire several arrows quickly.

8. Crossbows are almost as easy to shoot as a rifle out to about 50 yards, and can be carried ready to fire.

And of course, archery has some disadvantages:

1. Compound bows that are relatively easy to shoot well are not easy to maintain, once they need repair or periodic maintenance. You need a bow press to work on a compound bow, and you'll need suitable strings and cables to keep it going.

2. Compound bows require modern arrows made from aluminum or carbon fiber.

3. The rate of fire for a modern compound bow is low. Between nocking the arrow and clipping the release to the bow's string or D-loop, rapid fire isn't very feasible. Older compounds that can be shot by drawing with your fingers can be shot faster, of course. Crossbows are even slower.

4. Traditional bows, whether purchased or made at home, require a lot of practice to use effectively. One of the main reasons that early firearms superseded bows on the battlefield is because it takes a lot less training to use a gun effectively.

5. Even expert archers have a shorter effective range than a moderately trained person armed with a rifle or shotgun and slugs. Most traditional archers limit themselves to 20 - 30 yards when hunting deer-sized game. You can stretch this a bit if shooting in defense. An arrow through a non-vital area like a shoulder or leg is likely to at least slow down an assailant even if he isn't put out of commission permanently.

So, having looked at the pros and cons of archery, if you're still looking to add a bow to your preps, what are some good choices?

IMO, the maintenance requirements of modern compounds outweigh their advantages for long term survival use, so strike them from your list, unless you're already an archer and learn to maintain them and stock the required tools and materials.

If you don't have the time to dedicate to learning how to shoot a traditional longbow or recurve, then a recurve crossbow makes sense. There are some inexpensive Chinese made crossbows on Amazon that get good reviews, although I don't have any first hand experience with them. E.g., the SA Sports Fever and the Arrow Precision Fury. Back in April, I bought a Barnett 78615 Recruit recurve crossbow for deer hunting and have been pleased with it. (Still haven't shot any deer with it, though.) On the high end, look at Excalibur crossbows.

My Barnett Recruit recurve crossbow.

Another option is to haunt Craiglist for deals on used crossbows. This is especially true after deer hunting season closes, since a lot of guys like to dump archery gear (not to mention deer rifles) in January. A good choice would be an old, wood-stocked Barnett Wildcat, as long as it's been reasonably well maintained. Dave Canterbury did a good video on that here, showing off one that he sangged at a gun show for a paltry $25.  If you go this route you may need to replace the string, and picking up a couple spares wouldn't be a bad idea, either.

If you're willing to put in the time for practice a used longbow or recurve is a good choice, since they are so simple. A takedown bow can be handy if storage space is limited, and helps when traveling or if it's going into your bugout kit.

My Samick Sage takedown recurve bow.

I recently posted on Blog O'Stuff about the Samick Sage takedown recurve. It is a good choice for a survival bow. The going rate on them is about $139, and for the money it's an excellent buy. Since it's a takedown and Samick sells limbs separately, you can buy limb sets in different weights. E.g., 35# for extended practice sessions and 50# for hunting. As a takedown it can be stored in a compact case complete with arrows, glove or tab, and bow stringer.

In summary, archery gear may have a place in your preps. But when deciding whether or not to include it make sure that you take into account all the legal, technical, and tactical reasons for adding it.