emergency arrow making

[Skean Dhude]

Good thinking. Must be worth a try.

[Mortblanc]

You do what you have to do.

http://www.iceman.it/en/node/282

Otsie only had two (2) , as in one, two, finished arrows but several viburnum shafts that were not even smoothed yet. But they were already nicked, for emergency use, even though they were raw, green wood.

[bigpaul]

if someone is going down the archery route for SHTF, it would be a good idea not only to have a stock of ready made arrows but also to have some bare shafts which could be made up when needed, also have some arrow heads or material to make them from and some ready made bow strings put back, feathers can be got from any bird you have shot for the pot. although it is possible to make arrows from green wood, they wont fly as true as seasoned ones, and they do take time to make its not something that can be knocked up in 5 minutes.if you just want something for emergencies have a look on youtube at "slingbows".

[Steve]

I reckon your time would be better spent building a few traps rather than trying to make an "emergency" arrow. You'll probably miss your target and lose it anyway.

[Talon]

I'm struggling to understand the question of an emergency arrow?.If you're life's in immediate jeopardy then there's no way i could fabricate an arrow in time.If you mean that you've ran out of arrows and need to resupply fast (for hunting or to aid in defence) then i would use whatever i could find,whether that is a green sapling quickly fabricated,or a piece of dowel taken from an abandoned DIY store.Or even fibre glass tent poles.


Fletchings can be quickly made with duct tape.Arrow heads can be made from tin cans or knapped from bottle glass (with lots of practice) or either fire hardened or just quickly sharpened.I would try to have enough bare seasoned shafts handy.If i don't then i'll use whatever i can improvise.The arrow is the most complicated part of the equation though.A simple bow is always going to be the easy thing to make.The arrow is always the most complex component.

I would use whatever i could find,but i wouldn't expect it to fly true,or trust it to get me any game or protect me against an adversary (except for extremely close range,say 10 to 15 yards).
Steve is right when he says trapping is the best way to go for game,less energy to expend and a much higher chance of success.

If you aren't using a broadhead then you could get away without fletchings as a well tuned bare shaft will fly perfectly well without them for close range.The problem is of course that you can't tune an emergency arrow.Also if you're arrow is for food you really need a broadhead on the end of it.

Use whatever you can find,but keeping a good supply of matched shafts on standbye would be my advice.

[bigpaul]

everybody's an expert.

[Tartar Horde]

(11 October 2013, 15:01)Mortblanc Wrote: So, if one is caught away from the stash there is no need to bother making a bow and arrows because the best selection of aged woods is not present?

In other words, death is preferable to using crappy gear?

No!! I never said that at all, You can make bows and arrows in an emergency, but it is better to be prepared than have to use sub standard equipment, and I used earlier cultures methods who knew what they were talking about rather than assume.

[Tartar Horde]

(11 October 2013, 18:09)Mortblanc Wrote: You do what you have to do.

http://www.iceman.it/en/node/282

Otsie only had two (2) , as in one, two, finished arrows but several viburnum shafts that were not even smoothed yet. But they were already nicked, for emergency use, even though they were raw, green wood.

That is exactly what I have said, our ancestors had arrows made up in all stages of completion because they were prepared did I not. It is your assumption that being "nicked" means the arrow/s is to be used in an emergency, this is quite wrong as the arrows are being prepared in stages, as per the evidence from his quiver, and the final stage is cutting the nocks, sanding down the shaft and then fitting fletchings. The points are fitted to foreshafts and so made separately and can be fitted when needed in the field to the shaft. The article does not mention the shafts as being from "green wood" and the fact that they have had some processing, ie the bark scraped off tells me the shafts are already seasoned. Shafts are seasoned with the bark on, as removing it when green gives a greater chance of the shaft warping/twisting when drying. Keeping the bark on dries the shafts more uniformly. Otzi's shafts are ready for the final sanding and fletching, as is the normal procedure for making arrows.
Talon I agree, if your life is in "immediate" jeopardy then you do not have time to make an arrow, even if you had a ready made shaft that was straight and true it would still take time to fit/cut nock and point and then fletch the arrow. You have to take time to fletch the arrow correctly or it won't fly accurately, what is the point or reason for shooting an arrow that is inaccurate, so it can't be rushed.
As Talon says you could use a bare shaft for ranges ten yards and under, but you have the problem of tuning/spine affecting accuracy again as Talon pointed out. Try it for yourself by shooting a fletched arrow and one that is not at the same range. You will find the same problem when shooting a raw green shaft and a seasoned one made from the same wood, they have different "spine" and so fly differently.
Arrows really are the key to archery and is the reason why all bow using cultures spent a lot of time and effort making the very best arrows they could, and to paraphrase Ishi the last Yana indian "any old stick can make a bow, but it takes a damn good stick to make an arrow" wise words.

[Mortblanc]

Ishi was of the Yahi tribe, and If you wish to follow his lead you will be shooting your bow from the horizontal and using a thumb ring for the draw too. Last of his tribe, last of his culture, all due to the introduction of firearms, and not even modern ones at that!

All primitive shafts start as warped and misshapen missiles. Straightening the shafts is part of the craft. I have straightened dozens of arrows over the flame of a paraffin lamp or over the hot coals of a campfire.

Even prepared modern wooden arrowshafts will warp and need straightening on occasion. I have a neat little burnishing tool that does that too.

Yes, it takes some time, and carefully prepared materials are preferable to scratched together tools, but we, like Otsie, will use what we have available. If I am out of arrows, and pass a likely boxwood, or here in my region a nice cane break, there will be some arrow making taking place within a short time.

Green wood arrows are better than no arrows.

That is the only point I had.

[Timelord]

I believe the original query asked how to make emergency arrows. This would infer that he is not asking about a ready made "prepared" stash or the like. So it is no use pointing out the obvious that prepared stuff is better than non prepared stuff. By the way this last ideology completely misses out the possibility that an individual may be isolated far from any preps and then wishes to make an emergency archery set to hunt some local goats. Without feeling the need to unload vast quantities of superior and side tracked knowledge I am sure we can answer the original question satisfactorily. Safe travels, TL.

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Also, why is the fixation on "wood" arrows in the traditional sense. Lateral thinking is an important aspect of prepping. There are other items out there in the modern environment that could be used for expedient arrows/shafts, that don't need straightening or coppicing. Items that could be found in a building structure or an engineering unit or a mechanics garage or a supermarket or a vehicle or a piece of street furniture or a section of electrical conductor or a piece of steel fencing or part of a caravan chassis running gear or from a CB radio shop, gardening centre, white goods ... The list and possibilities are only limited by your own imagination and inspiration to experiment. Expedient & lateral are the key words. ;-)