Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Survival Bow and Arrow (DIY Free Fun!)

I learned how to make a quick survival bow and arrow the last two days which has been way too much fun! My freshman year in catholic highschool (St. Mary's Dominican in New Orleans) we actually had archery classes and I excelled far better in that then anything else that came the rest of the four years. You only need a few supplies to make a free bow and arrow to play with, which include: string, sticks, duct tape or feathers, and a knife.
My arrow was made from an apple tree branch which is not fully dried out yet - the lighter the better when choosing a stick for your arrow cause mine is still too heavy. Carve a little point on the front on the stick with a knife, tie some feathers on the back (i used a little pine sap under the chicken feathers to help them stick better), and make a notch at the back end for leverage when you pull the arrow back on the bow string. If ya don't have feathers, try making a faux feather part out of duct tape.My bow is made of three simple sycamore branches, tied in five places evenly spaced. Then a bow string is tied at the top and bottom, very tightly, giving the bow a little bend (this makes it snap back real good for a better shoot). Your bow branches need to be able to bend some without braking - kinda like the way bridges are built to bend in the wind... so test the branches out first before tieing them all together.
My bow rocked, but my arrow needs time to dry out and get lighter - as you can see in the pic above it's weight would make it flop downward. But HELLS YEAH, I tried some other arrows (made of bamboo and strong dried weeds) on my bow and this thing was awesomely correct!
Shoot and retrieve for good free fun, until eventually you will make a DIY bullseye...which is what I want to do next! If your neighbors are close by you might need a specific target to keep from accidentally impaling people, pets, windows etc... I suppose this is my face of success above - an MTV elfish roar. Primal, dirty, and fashionable. XOXO

5 comments:

Susie Collins said...

I hope you won't show us pictures of your KILLS. I nearly died with the post about the chickens. :-( I don't know if I can handle you going totally wild, girl!

Miss Voodoo said...

Hey Susie!
unfortunately, i was born to wild... like a true nature's child,i could fly so high...
Just kidding. I am not into killing anything, but for many years now I have really enjoyed thinking through the process of how we get our food, including how we get out meat. I very rarely eat much meat but I think i'd like to raise it or kill it myself if i am going to eat it. I noticed when i eat farm fresh eggs the day they are hatched i digest them far better then store bought eggs.

Susie Collins said...

Farm fresh eggs are like a different food from what you buy at the market. So much better! Uh-oh, when I wrote that I just remembered I didn't collect the egg Lucy laid under the front porch this afternoon! Better go do that or the mongooses will have a nice little breakfast in the morning instead of me. ;-)

Davie said...

Nothing like a survivalist mountain woman. Nice bow. I'm going to try my hand at making one.

Miss Voodoo said...

Thanks Davie -
Just to let ya'll know I have had this bow for a year now, the jute string will rot if it gets wet or really old... not so much the part that is tied together, but def. the pulling part.

This is still my favorite bow.