Good Ol' Bow n Arrow?

[praguepipesmoker]

In the light of the draconian gun laws across Europe and even if weapons were available I'm ensuring I stay handy with a reflex bow and plentiful stock of arrows. Great for self protection in a situation where law and order broke down and easy to maintain. Also arrows are reusable.

[Plymtom]

I'm sure that self preservation is high on everyone's list, but not so high as the first thought, fear and paranoia are as much an enemy as other people are likely to be in any situation (asides from a path to the dark side I heard somewhere) throwing stones/darts/archery/catapults/shooting... you name it they are all useful skills to have and immense fun, but to only be doing it in case everything goes to sh1te makes us part of the problem I believe, far better to engage in archery (or anything like) it as a sport or group activity, not seriously but for fun and human contact would help form bonds and links with others, which ultimately become part of the solution if things ever do go that far south.

Being outnumbered, outgunned, or simply up against a better skilled opponent are probably the biggest holes in any self defence strategy, how hard you will have to fight depends on their desire to have what you have got, and in an urban situation like mine Archery is little more use than being good at Cluedo, but a whole lot more fun, I won't be throwing out my archery gear even if we do only get to play, I mean use it twice a year

Everyone thinks of Robin Hood a little when exceptional archery skills are mentioned as a survival tool, yet who thinks of the gang of merry men or support from the community he got?

[Ghost Prepper]

i agree, i also use a Bow, a compound bow, and crossbow, both are very useful in self defence situations.

What About a Gas BB Gun that fires 8/10 mm Ball Bearings?

[nickdutch]

I cant really imagine the logistics of using a bow for self defense. Its more of a stalking weapon though aint it?

[munchh]

has anyone looked at the PVC pipe bows on you-tube or the Mollgabet bows made of a flat piece of wood, i fancy a go of that, i'm good with a bit of wood.

[Kiril]

I don't think an 8mm air rifle or something, well a UK legal one, is going to be a good self-defense tool.

A bow and arrow, a crossbow or a blow pipe... yeah, they've been used to wage wars and to bring food to the table for... well, a really really long time, I'm no Historian so I don't know exactly, but the Roman Empire had them, as did the Mongol Empire.

[badgersden]

personally for my choice would have to be a crossbow for defense,attack and hunting only when it becomes legal of course ,take a look how the crossbow performs against body Armour,a lot of people on here and other preppering sites have mentioned they will be wearing body armour when the shtf


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nLRymWv-CA

[CrazyDane]

theres always the good old stone age leather sling and round stones. they are nasty to get hit by and yes they have been used to kill small to medium deer, rabbits and so on.

but my love is my compound bow, its not heavy, arrows are light as well.

[Juvecu]

I've done some archery and it's a skill you need to use often to be any good at it. It's also a single shot, slow to reload and quite difficult to hit a moving target. Crossbows require less skill, but again are slower to reload. It's difficult to find a good solution that's still legal. Slingshots have something going for them I'd say?

[unsure]

i have a crossbow and good stock of bolts , but i also have a catapult or 3 kicking around and seemingly never end supply of ball bearings . both totally legal to own but were you choose to use them is a different matter .