preparedness

Survival Bows: How Archery Can Help You Survive SHTF

Compared to many of you, I am still at the beginning of my journey as a prepper. I really only started looking into preparedness when my 2-year-old son was born. It’s surprising how much becoming a parent makes you think about the need to protect your family. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to make sure that if a disaster does happen, I’ll be able to keep my wife and son warm, fed, and safe.

In addition to learning more about survival, I’ve been practicing archery since 2010. The aim of this article is to introduce fellow survivalists to archery and explain why it’s a good skill to learn. I’ll also go into detail on the pros and cons of using bows as a way to defend yourself and your family, and I’ll explain the different types of bows and which ones would be best to get.

Want to save this post for later? Click Here to Pin It on Pinterest!

I want to reassure you that if the SHTF, you won’t need to be a master archer. Knowing the basics should be enough to get you started and keep you safe and well fed. Let’s get started…

Why Archery is A Good Skill To Learn

Some of you might be thinking, why should I learn to shoot a bow and arrow when I have access to other weapons such as guns? There are five reasons why I think learning archery is worth the effort.

1. Provides A Food Source

If the SHTF, food might be hard to come by, so you might have no choice but to go out and hunt for food. A bow is an incredible tool to help with hunting game, but it can also be used on other food sources. For example, bowfishing uses the bow to catch fish.

The benefit of a bow over a gun is that it allows for stealth hunting, allowing you to get closer to your intended target and thus increase your chance of hitting it. Due to the noise a gun can produce, a bow doesn’t give away your position.

Bowhunter in Wilderness

2. Portability

We don’t know what situation might require you to get out in the wild and survive. In certain situations, you won’t have the luxury of traveling with a lot of equipment. There are many bows that are known as “takedowns.” These allow you to take the bow part into much smaller pieces, making it much easier to travel with.

3. Low Cost

If you are like me, you are probably looking at a lot of items needed to protect yourself and your family. It’s therefore good to know that you can get a decent takedown bow for a couple of hundred bucks or less. You don’t need a really expensive bow. As long as it can shoot your arrows with accuracy and power, that will be good enough.

Another thing to think about is arrows. They tend to be very cost effective and, as you improve your archery skills, you should be able to retrieve your arrows and continue using them. And unlike ammo for guns, you can easily learn how to make your own arrows.

4. Less Paperwork and Less Strict Laws

There are a lot of laws and paperwork involved in owning a gun. With archery, you don’t actually have to worry about any of this. The main law is that you cannot walk around the streets with the bow fully strung and an arrow nocked, which is understandable.

5. Improved Fitness Levels

Archery Muscles

If you have to focus on surviving, it helps if you have some degree of fitness. You don’t see many survival films where the main character is overweight and out of shape. Archery isn’t going to give you the body of Thor, but it can definitely improve overall fitness.

It helps your upper body strength due to the amount of weight you pull back when you draw the bowstring, and it helps burn calories with the amount of walking needed to collect shot arrows.

Whether we need to defend ourselves from aliens, zombies, or a Grizzly bear, bows are an excellent weapon to use. Below are the pros and cons of using a bow as a method of self-defense.

Bows for Self-Defense – Pros and Cons

Bowhunter in a Gas Mask

Pros

Low Cost
A wide range of bows available
Portability
Ease of learning
Shoots with little sound
Legal to own
Can make your own ammo
Quicker to take multiple shots

Cons

Takes time to master
If unstrung, bow takes longer to set up
Risk of breaking higher than a gun

Types Of Bows And Which Is The Best For Survival

Before I talk about which bow I think is best for survival, I’ll explain a little about the different bows available. There are four types that are the most common and each one has its own pros and cons.

1. Longbow

The longbow is probably one of the more iconic bows. It’s the type you see in many medieval/fantasy films. These bows are made from one long piece of wood with a string attached from one end to the other. Longbows are known for the speed and power. However, this does come at a cost. It’s a lot harder to pull back the drawstring.

As these bows are also made out of a single long piece of wood, they are harder to transport/store.

2. Recurve

Recurve bows look very similar to a longbow, except the limbs (the bit the bowstring connects to) are curved and pointed away from the archer. This helps them to produce more energy and thus shoot with a decent amount of power and speed. Many recurve bows are also takedown bows, which means the limbs will either unscrew or simply pull off, which makes it much easier if you needed to travel with it.

They usually don’t have as much draw weight as longbows, but if you’re planning on using it for survival, you would want one that has a draw weight of 40 pounds or more. You’ll need to hold this weight when aiming at your target, which can be very tiring.

3. Compound

Compound bows are a little more futuristic in their design; they use a cam and pulley system. At the end of each limb is a cam, and the bowstring goes around these. When you draw the bowstring back, it goes through the cam system. It is this that causes something called Let off. Basically, if you have a 60-pound compound bow when fully drawn, the cams take over so its like you are only holding 15 pounds. This makes it much easier for you to walk around with it fully drawn, or spend a little longer aiming at your target.

The major downside to these bows is that you cannot take them down, making it hard to travel with them. And due to the pulleys, if any of these parts were to break, you might not have the parts available to easily fix them.

4. Crossbow

The last bow is the crossbow. This is more like a hybrid as it combines elements of a bow with a gun as you shoot the bolts with a trigger button. The main benefit of crossbows is that you can easily walk around with them once the bolt is attached, allowing you to aim longer and be prepared. They can also shoot with incredible speed and strength, although some will comment that they are not as accurate.

The main problem with crossbows is that they’re sophisticated, there are many different mechanical parts. These parts have a risk of breaking or malfunctioning, which you might not be able to get fixed. Depending on the crossbow, some can take a lot of effort to load.

Which type would I recommend?

If I was going to choose from one of the above, I think the best would be recurve bows. I recommend this type of bow over the rest for many reasons. The number one reason is the fact that you can take them down, which makes them easier to transport. It also means they take up less space.

The recurve bow is also very simple and not overly complicated, which means you simply attach the arrow, aim, and shoot. You don’t need to worry about all the different mechanical parts.

How To Start Learning Archery

There are some excellent resources online that will teach you how to get started in archery. There are also clubs in every state, so you should be able to find one local to you that might run a beginners course.

Below are some basics to getting started, but I highly recommend getting some formal training or spending as much free time practicing as possible.

5 Quick Steps to Shooting a Bow

The following steps are not going to get you hitting your target each and every time. They will, however, help you get the basics down.

Step One: Standing Correctly

You might not think you need to focus much on how you’re standing. It is, however, an important lesson to learn. If you are not stood correctly, you won’t be able to get a full draw of the bowstring, which means the strength and power won’t be in the shot. You could also find your balance being off and your arms not being positioned correctly, resulting in your arrow not hitting the target.

You want to stand sideways against the target with your legs split so they are shoulder-width apart. Your feet should be perpendicular to the target, your shoulders relaxed, and your chest up. Check out this video to help explain the stance in more detail.

Step Two: Nocking The Arrow Onto The Bow

On the arrow, you will notice a plastic part at the back. This is called the nock. When we say “nocking the arrow”, this is basically connecting the nock to the bowstring, which fastens it in place.

You will also notice the arrow has three plastic vanes just below the nock. Two are an identical color and one is a different color. You need to make sure you place this on the bowstring so the single color is pointing away from the bow. When you nock the arrow, you will hear a click. The tip of the arrow is then positioned onto the arrow rest.

Step Three: Holding the Bow

If you are right-handed, then you will be holding the bow with your left hand. Simply place your hand around the grip of the bow; it should fit comfortably. Many people grip the bow, but this is wrong as it can cause you to move the bow after you have shot the arrow.

As you pull the bowstring back on the next step, you will notice that it causes the bow to be held more securely on its own in your hand. The thumb should be pointing toward the target and your remaining fingers should be relaxed and positioned at roughly 45 degrees on the bow.

Step Three: Drawing The Bowstring

When you draw the bowstring, you want to ensure your first three fingers are placed around the bowstring just below the arrow with the string sitting in the first groove of your fingers. The thumb should be positioned pointing down towards the palm and your little finger tucked away.

Keeping your elbow straight, pull the bowstring back until your fingers get to the corner of your mouth. This is what we call an anchor point, and as long as the technique remains the same and your anchor point remains the same, you can soon learn to predict where the shot will go. It should hit the same target every time.

When you first get started, you will feel the pull on your shoulder and upper back. As you practice, these muscles will strengthen and it will become easier. It’s important to make sure you keep your elbow in line with the arrow, as this will help provide additional power to the shot.

Step Four: Aiming

With the bowstring drawn, you want to start aiming at your target. If you are using a sight, position the pin on your intended target. If you are not using a pin, then you might find you will need to raise your arrow slightly above the target. This is because you are looking through your eye line, and the arrow is a little lower than that.

Try not to spend too much time aiming as you are holding a lot of weight on both arms. If you wait too long, they will get tired and start to shake. Breath, aim, and shoot. Ideally, you want to do it in a couple of seconds.

Female Archer Aiming

Step Five: Shooting

When they let go of the bowstring, many people pluck it like a guitar string. This will cause the arrow to go off course and will result in it having less power. We call the shooting step the “release.” This is because we are “releasing” the bowstring from our fingers. Simply ease your fingers off the string and allow it to escape and propel the arrow at your target.

It is important that as soon as the arrow leaves the bow, you remain still. Many people are tempted to move the bow or their head to look and see where the arrow has landed. This will impact your arrow’s movement and could push it off target. Allow the arrow to leave your target, and when you hear the “twack” as it hits your target, then you can take a look and see if it reached your intended destination.

NOTE – Don’t Dry Fire Your Bow!

Dry firing is when you draw the bowstring back and release when there is no arrow nocked. This can result in the bow breaking as the energy is normally transferred to the arrow when you release the string. If there is no arrow, the energy will go into the limbs and could break them.

It’s very important that you do not do this, as it will void your manufacturer’s warranty.

Conclusion

So there you have it. I’ve explained why I think you should learn archery and how to get started. It’s something I am continuing to improve on so I can look after my wife and son after the SHTF.

This guide is fairly long and the steps on actually learning archery were as concise as possible, but hopefully, it still gave you a basic understanding. There are many resources online that go into even more detail.

If you do have any questions, please leave a comment and I’ll be more than happy to offer any advice.

Useful Sites:

Like this post? Don’t forget to Pin It on Pinterest!

This article first appeared on urbansurvivalsite.com See it here

preparedness

4 No Cook Meals For Surviving The Pandemic And Food Supply Shortages

When it comes to your food supply, you just can’t risk not having enough. These no cook meals will be a great addition to your food supply planning. Check out the recipes below!

No Cook Meals to Help You Through the Pandemic

As of the writing of this article, there are 20 meat processing plants that have been shut down due to COVID-19 infections. We have been worrying about these types of effects on our food supply for months now, and this is the first real sign of how infections can affect the food supply.

When you walk into a supermarket, you might not see all the choices you had in the past. An empty meat case is a humbling thing for your eyes to fall upon. It’s the shocking realization that the seemingly infinite supply of chickens, pigs, and cows that are butchered for us has begun to run dry!

To deal with this issue, we are going to present four no cook meals that will help you create dinners at home that will feed your family without worrying so much about what’s available, or unavailable, in the meat case.

1. Smashed White Bean, Avocado and Salted Pork Sandwiches

Smashed White Bean, Avocado and Salted Pork Sandwiches | No Cook Meals for Surviving the Pandemic and Food Supply Shortages

As preppers we get beans. There are a bunch of ways to use beans and this a great example of how you can pack a sandwich with great nutrition and protein.

Serving: Makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:

Can of White Beans
Olive Oil
1 Avocado
8 Slices of Whole Grain Bread
8 Slices of Salted Pork (Prosciutto, Ham, Virginia Ham)

Instructions:

Begin by draining your beans in a colander then smashing them up in a bowl add a few glugs of olive oil, salt, pepper. This little mix is delicious. If you add some minced rosemary, you can even turn this into a delicious dip.
Pit your avocado and cut it in half and then quarters lengthwise. Leave the skin on.
Lay the bread out on a clean work surface for assembling the sandwiches.
Spread your mashed bean mix onto one side of the bread.
Peel your avocados and slice 1 quarter for each sandwich. Spread slices over the bean spread.
Add a few slices of your pork to over the top of the avocado.
You can finish this sandwich with some lettuces, fresh sprouts, or just eat it as is.

2. Delicious Crab Salad

Canned crab is a protein option that will likely be around through much of this meat crisis. It does have to be kept in refrigeration, but it’s delicious and this chipotle mayo salad is great in the spring and summer.

Ingredients:

1 Can of Crab Meat
1 Bunch of Asparagus
Chipotle Mayo
1 Bunch of Green Onions
1 Bunch of Cilantro

Instructions:

Drain your crab in a colander and set it in the sink.
Slice your asparagus into 1-inch pieces. Throw them into a bowl.
Thinly slice your onions and your cilantro and throw that into the bowl, as well.
Gently toss in the crab meat.
Squirt on enough Chipotle mayo to coat everything and toss gently not to break up the crab meat.
Chill in the fridge and serve.

3. Simple Greek Salad

Simple Greek Salad | No Cook Meals for Surviving the Pandemic and Food Supply Shortages

The combination of simple summer ingredients makes for an incredible quick salad that you could add other proteins, too, if you wanted. These could be canned meats.

Ingredients:

2 Large Tomatoes
1 Cucumber
1 Red Onion
¼ Cup of Feta Cheese
A Few Sprigs of Fresh Mint
½ Cup of Kalamata Olives
Balsamic Dressing

Instructions:

I like to cut the tomatoes in large chunks and have them kind of be the main course in this salad. Peel and slice your cucumber in half. Remove the seeds and either dice or slice in half-moons.
Peel and slice your red onion in half. Julienne your, or thinly slice, your half onion.
Add all these ingredients to a bowl. Finely slice your mint.
Add your olives, crumbled feta, and mint to the bowl and add enough dressing to coat everything.
Stir it up and allow this to chill for at least an hour for the flavors to really blend.

4. Mediterranean Tuna Lettuce Wraps

Mediterranean Tuna Lettuce Wraps | No Cook Meals for Surviving the Pandemic and Food Supply Shortages

Using some similar ingredients and adding a protein like tuna, you can create some delicious lettuce wraps. The key to a good lettuce wrap is to have most of the items around the same size. So, consider that when you are preparing this dish.

Ingredients:

Iceberg or Butter Lettuce
Canned Artichokes
Canned roasted Red peppers
Fresh Cucumber
Feta Cheese
Minced Olives ¼ Cup
2 Cans of Tuna
Green Onions
Basil

Instructions:

Start by peeling all the full leaves from your lettuce. Set them on a plate either cover them with a wet paper towel or put them back into the fridge.
Dice the peppers, artichokes, and cucumbers into cubes. Go no larger than ½ an inch.
Thinly slice your green onions and basil and add them to a bowl with your diced vegetables. Add your loves to this bowl and mix them thoroughly.
Crumble your feta cheese over the mixture.
Drain your tuna thoroughly and then add that to the bowl, as well.
Gently toss this mixture. Try not to break up the tuna and the cheese too much but incorporate it thoroughly.
If you want, you can add some olive oil to the mix or a few glugs of balsamic vinegar. It’s also delicious just how it is.
Scoop a few tablespoons into a lettuce leaf, wrap it up and eat up!

These no cook meals should help lessen the stress you feel when thinking of what to feed your family. If you don’t have the specific ingredients, use your creativity, and use what you have. You might discover a new recipe while you’re at it!

What’s your favorite no cook meal recipe? Please share it with us in the comments section!

Up Next:

This Article Was First Found at survivallife.com Read The Original Article Here

preparedness

Billionaire Whistle Blower: Wuhan Coronavirus Death Toll Is Over 50,000

Exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui recently revealed leaks from Wuhan crematoriums. He claims based on the number of bodies their furnaces are burning, the death toll could be as high as 50,000.

A Chinese billionaire and whistleblower who lives in U.S. exile says Wuhan crematoriums have burned 50,000 coronavirus victims. | Credit: Chinatopix via AP

The official coronavirus death toll in China is a little over 800. But an exiled Chinese businessman says crematoriums are leaking the real figure.
A billionaire whistleblower alleges Wuhan has crematoriums working 24/7. He claims they’ve cremated some 50,000 coronavirus victims.
Guo Wengui is a Chinese billionaire living in exile in the United States.

The official coronavirus death toll is some 800 people in China. The current official death toll worldwide, outside of China, is 774. But a Chinese billionaire with a history of blowing the whistle on his former government says the real figure is much higher.

Exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui recently revealed leaks from Wuhan crematoriums. He claims based on the number of bodies their furnaces are burning, the death toll could be as high as 50,000. Wengui made the bombshell allegations in an interview with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.

Whistleblower: 1.5 Million Coronavirus Cases In China, 50,000 Coronavirus Deaths In Wuhan

He also claims to have inside information that there are 1.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases in China. Wengui is emphatic that these are not merely quarantined or “under observation” but confirmed cases of coronavirus infection:

China has struggled to contain the coronavirus. But it has also struggled to contain public outcry against censorship and tight control of information. Dr. Li Wenliang, who sounded the alarm about the disease, succumbed to an infection and died this week. The Chinese government arrested him for blowing the whistle.

Then officials tried to suppress news of his death. Afterwards, millions of Chinese citizens saw the hashtag #IWantFreedomOfSpeech on Mandarin language social media. But the Chinese government censored that too.

Are Wengui’s Crematorium Claims Credible?

Watch VICE’s 2017 profile on Guo Wengui. At the time, he published bombshell documents alleging corruption in the Chinese government. He got the attention of the media and reportedly the U.S. State Department.

(more…)