Your choice of bow

If you guys had any choice of bow what would you choose.I''m gonna purchase a bow soon(probably a compound)and need to know what some good ones are.Thanks!

to be honest, I have never used a bow on a moving / fleeing target, so for me, any answers and explanations on the subject would be interesting.

Oh, and if I was to get a bow, well I'd have to practise to death before i took it out and about and relied on it for survival!

First time I shot a bow, I got the target dead centre bulls eye, same with the second, third and fourth time, the fifth I missed, the point is they are not hard, get a compact one and all you have to do is line up the crosshairs and BAM you got yourself a bullseye.

Having hunted with my grandfather and who was an expert archer I would say to go with a crossbow. Using a regular bow becomes difficult for the casual shooter at long ranges and hitting moving targets is hard to say the least. My bow which was my grandfathers is a Bear Delta V which is out of production but looks wicked.

A crossbow would have far more energy, be easier to aim and be more compact and give you a hunting / defence weapon and the learning curve IMHO is alot less steep than a regular bow


[edit on 12/13/06 by FredT]

Hey I would try and look up something like a tech bow there draw back weight is practically none existent, Bows rock there silent killers.

Exactly,you can hunt without drawing alot of attention.

Just be aware that crossbows, while generally having higher impact force, have the disadvantage of a shorter effective range. Cross bow bolts do not have feathers and are not suited for distance shooting. They take time to reload and cock, and are better suited for defense than hunting in a survival situation. They do have the advantage of being simple for beginners.

If what you are after is a modern compound bow, here is a guide for selecting a compound bow that is right for you:
www.huntersfriend.com...

Here is some general Bow information and a discussion of several bow types:
www.mrfizzix.com...

If what you are looking for is a superior bow, that does not rely on modern materials and difficult to replace parts in a survival situation then you should consider the Mongolian Bow. The Mongolian Bow is still considered the best bow ever developed for war or hunting.
www.coldsiberia.org...

While the Mongolian Bow takes time to master and build, you can build an effective Survival bow with simple tools. Here is a great link to get you started with instructions from an "old school" master:
www.wwmag.net...

I am in China on business, have been here for about 2 years now. We were invited to a Medding several months ago. After the dancing and drinking and eating, the men left the main tents, the horses and bows came out, and i was treated to spectacular feats of horsemanship and archery.

It was an amazing event to witness, and can understand how these people could overrun entire nations. Targets were set up, and they were shot dead on at full gallop, standing tall on the horse ( there were no saddles) many different acrobatic moves while shooting.
I was given a Bow set by the Host, something i will treasure the rest of my life. It is a work of Art, wood and bone construction, polished and just beautifull.
Quite a beautifull culture as well.

That would have been awesome Toolman,I really wouldn't mind seeing a pic of that bow.thanks.
Thanks for the links Terapin,I am probably gonna get a compound ,cause its main use will be hunting.But being a lefty will make my search a little more difficult.

I have a few bows and the compound is my favorite (I don't own a crossbow) because of its ease of use. However, I also have a 45# take-down recurve bow that I've had for years. It was made by Pearson and is 58" when assembled but breaksdown to less than 30" so can be very easily carried on my pack while humping through the bush.

I started making my own bows about 5 years ago. After making a few that survived I started hunting with them. Mind you I am not much of a hunter I only get in the field about 2-3 times per year, so no I hav not taken any big game with them. Stumps, squrrels, rabits are about as big as I have gotten.

The biggest thing that I have gotten from my self bows are hours of enjoyment. I can take a walk in the woods and have so much fun "stump" shooting. You are not going to do that with a compound bow and $10each arrow.

I could type for hours on how much fun I have. But the best thing you can do is buy "the traditional bowyers Bible" series.

Oh yea including the book, tools, and wood my first bow cost less than $100. My first dozen arrows including fletching jig, fethers and glue less than $75. Your first compound with arrows, bells, and whistle will cost about $500. They will try to talk you into spending more money every minute that you are in there. They will usually tell you that you need this and this and that, all total about $300, before you ever get to nock your first arrow

I prefer the Longbow

www.army.mil...

Sorry, I couldn't resist

There are some good basic web pages on making your own bow around the net if you do a search. Heres an example.

www.wikihow.com...

A bow like this can give you hours of fun to practice with, even the crudest bow such as this can become handy in practiced hands. I made some last weekend with my little girls and they had the time of thier life!

CX.

I'd take a yew wood longbow anytime. It takes time to master but that would be the most fun part about it

If this were a 'survival' bow, I would choose a light-to-medium draw recurve bow. A compound bow will shatter homemade arrows. I would also choose one that I would feel confident that I could draw even if I had sustained a mild-to-moderate upper body injury.

If its a recreational hunting bow you want, go with the compound.

For survival hunting I'd go with a small bow. The shorter range forces you to use more stealth to get closer to the target and when you get good at that you'll regularly have large targets to aim at.

[edit on 16-12-2006 by sardion2000]

I unfortunately live in the UK so until i get a big enough garden to practice in, i'll stick to making ones in the woods. The moment you step outside your front door here with so much as a spoon you'd get nicked for it!

CX.

just a simple correction crossbow bolts do have feathers i have 2 people in my family that hunt with crossbows legally one of them is my father and i have shot his crossbow many times he has a top model 10 point crossbow one of the best on the market and neither him nor me has ever seen a bolt with out feathers for a crossbow in stores or magazines.
but if your talking about those little tiny corssbows that may be a different story.

Another quality site on how to make your own bows is this one...

The Bowyers Den

A great site with loads of step by step build-alongs to get you that ideal handmade bow for yourself, best of all it's cheap and takes just a little skill and effort on your part.

I figure that some of these skills making a more professional bow could be used in a survival situation to get you the best hunting tool you can. You soon learn how the wrong piece of wood or the wrong grain or cut can lead to your bow snapping and tips like that, not something you want when you are depending on it.

I think it could become addictive too!

CX.