A really small archery set that works?

[RAPPLEBY2000]

This may be a silly question but could I make a full size bow small enough to fit in a rucksack i.e. good enough to shoot small game like rabbit/pigeon/squirrel?
perhaps made with a stiffer wood?
Just thinking it would be nice to have like a much smaller "stalking" bow that you could use in different positions like sitting laying down etc.
(and no i don't want a Crossbow !!) but perhaps that sort of size bow.
(you may realise i know nothing about bows (just the using of them).

 

[harlequin]

Try a take-down bow.
The length of the bow is integral to its draw weight etc. so is going to limit your range, power etc.
A take down bow is a bow that can be disassembled to half its length.
Or simply a bow in two halves.
Google is your friend!

 

[wicca]

I'm sure you could, plus if it was small enough to go in your pack it should fit nicely into the boot of a police car when they nick you for killing animals/birds with an arrow (or bolt).
or are you talking about use abroad, or when "The end is nigh??"...

Just kiddin', but I think you'll find it is illegal to kill with the bow in this country mate.

 

[Peterlee_Paddler]

Takedown bows come in three parts ;-
Riser ('handgrip' middle section) and
Limbs.
Limbs approx. 22" long and a similar length riser will give you a shortish recurve bow but the shorter the bow the less forgiving it is. In other words it will be harder to shoot accurately than a longer bow for various reasons.
It is illegal to hunt with my recurve bow that puts out about 50 ft-lbs energy but it is okay to hunt with an on the limit air rifle at 12 ft-lbs

 

[wicca]

Rappleby, don't worry I'll bring you a cake with a file in it on visiting day...

 

[BigShot]

Rappleby - It's been mentioned but just to reinforce and elaborate a bit... all forms of bowhunting are illegal in the uk, regardless of season, permission, power of bow and anything else.
By all means buy or make a suitable bow, but remember that if you get caught using it to take any quarry (be it game, pest or otherwise) you'll be on the wrong side of the law.



Tony - I think the issue with archery may be to do with accuracy rather than power. It's probably easier to make smaller groupings with an air rifle than with a bow. Generalisation I know.
I think really it's more to do with unnecessary restrictions on legitimate pastime and food gathering - but that's a different rant altogether.

 

[C_Claycomb]

The simple answer is "No".

No its not legal to shoot animals with a bow in the UK.
No, not even if they are only small animals and its an even smaller bow.
and No you can't make a full strength bow that small by making it of stiffer wood.

In places where it IS legal to shoot animals with a bow, you wouldn't be legally allowed to use a bow small enough to fit in a rucksack (without taking apart) unless you had a really huge rucksack. It just wouldn't generate the power needed.

That is what sling shots are good for.

In places where you can hunt with a bow, like the US, a two or three piece take-down bow is the way to go. They come in many lengths, styles, and draw weights, but are basically full size working bows. Nearly all will use fibre glass laminated limbs

In natural materials you don't want stiffer wood. You want more elastic wood. Actually, you don't want wood at all. The idea of the composite horn/sinew bow, with a wood core, was to make a very short bow with a normal draw length that would shoot like a longer bow. They are a little beyond the casual hobbyist to construct.

Anyway, from the sound of it you already poach, if so, lets not hear any more about this.

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

I am NOT a poacher, just have a little army field craft training and i enjoy watching wildlife so i know i could get close to small prey if i needed to!

I don't intend to use one untill i need to use one! or perhaps:
It's all gone a bit Pete Tong,
If the world turns to a "brownish" colour,
when the XXXX really hit's the fan!
"Teotwawki" an all that.

I'm fully aware of the hunting laws in our country, and don't intend to pick off birds of prey, or song thrushes, next time i go for a walk! saying that swans are quite a big target!

Just wondering if it's possible, and if it was what wood would i make it out of?

As for take-down bow's I know a guy that's making one and he's doing a damn good job of it.
I'm more interested in a very small bow rather than a big one that collapses.

ontop of all that I run a small business and teach Bushcraft and I'm not going to risk all that by poaching with a banned weapon!
Give us a break it was only a question

 

[nige7whit]

This may be a silly question but could I make a full size bow small enough to fit in a rucksack i.e. good enough to shoot small game like rabbit/pigeon/squirrel?

Before you get too deep into discussion about how to..... It will come up that hunting with a bow/ crossbow is illegal in the UK, for all species.

Even in the USA, where bow hunting is legal, it is not just shoot it, pick it up. In general, bowhunters go after larger game (deer, etc), which don't take too kindly to being shot with an arrow, and leg it, sometimes quite a considerable distance, requiring tracking by blood trace on vegetation (can also tell you where you shot it, by the kind of blood/tallow trace left behind).

Apart from the legal aspect, you'd have to be a pretty good shot to kill a rabbit/pigeon/squirrel. Mind you, given the size of the quarry, if you hit it, you'd probably pin it to the spot, so less walking required (maybe tree climbing, in the case of the squirrel).

 

[nige7whit]

It is illegal to hunt with my recurve bow that puts out about 50 ft-lbs energy but it is okay to hunt with an on the limit air rifle at 12 ft-lbs

Yes, but you wouldn't shoot a deer with an air rifle, would you? You have the accuracy but not the power. A bow certainly has the power, but not necessarily the accuracy, or the knockdown power (hence, less humane).

 

[BigShot]

I reckon if I was thinking about the post-zombie survival thing, I'd probably prefer a full sized bow and just take the string off and tie it to my pack.

If you're looking to make a bow purely for intrest then the things Chris said might point you in the right direction. Parituclarly "you don't want stiffer wood, you want more elastic wood".
Probably a good backing on the bow would up the power a bit too.

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

I KNOW, i couldn't use it to hunt with! really i do!!!

It's just an innocent question!

I was thinking"theoretically" more of a stealthy approach.

I.e. It's commonly known that if you lay down close to a rabbit warren after a while the rabbits pop out and get confident around you. this is when I'd take the shot.

or you could just set out food fit for pigeons etc and lie under a camo net and wait.

IT IS ONLY A THEORY!

I have never hunted anything other than to take a photo, I would find it hard to Kill anything! I don't intend to but if the country broke down at some point I'd like to have a few options on how to feed my family.
I'm not a paranoid survivalist i was just considering a lightweight option of a bow!

Damn, if you guy's notice how long I've been on the site you might consider i am aware of laws! :twak:

 

[nige7whit]

I reckon if I was thinking about the post-zombie survival thing, I'd probably prefer a full sized bow and just take the string off and tie it to my pack.

For Zombies, a crossbow made from Land Rover leaf springs, and a small winch might be interesting.....

 

[bushwacker bob]

pack size and capable of small game? CATAPULT

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

For Zombies, a crossbow made from Land Rover leaf springs, and a small winch might be interesting.....

.... ok, i think I've got the idea(it's a language thing ).

So, in the year 2345ad when everything is weird and zombies roam the land! that's right ZOMBIES, not rabbits!

could I make a small bow... to kill "small zombies" those really small ones that are only 1 ft tall?

sigh: i can't believe i just wrote that):togo:

 

[Toddy]

They really got to you didn't they ?

Look up Mongolian or horse bows, they're pretty small, recurve and strong.
Why the no to the crossbows though ? A pistol grip one that comes apart will pack into a shoe box.

atb,
M

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

nah it's just annoying when you ask a simple question, and people make assumptions like "I'm a poacher", or "I don't know the law".

I guess it's the Nanny state that causes reaction like that!

 

[Snufkin]

Rich, check out the west coast american native bows. Some of those are 36" long.
Sinew backing allows you to overdraw shorter length bows with less risk of unwanted set or explosion. If you make the bow limbs wider you can reduce length as you still have alot of wood to do the work but you have heavier limbs so they move slower:bluThinki . Other problems you will encounter with short bows are stack, when the draw weight seems to "spike" as the string angle on the tips reaches 90 degrees and you have less leverage. Also finger pinch, when the angle of the string where you are gripping the arrow increases and pinches your fingers onto the arrow shaft making a clean release difficult. Generally shorter bows are more difficult to shoot accurately.
Also the west coast native bows were most efficient when used in ambush at close range. Stalking into bow range is incredibly difficult with primitive tackle. You could increase your range with a modern compound device but then I'd never be able to speak to you again
Having said all that short bows are great fun .
If you are looking for something portable and simple look at some plains indian bows some were little more than long rectangular slats with string knocks cut into them.
If you get the chance to take down an ash sapling around 3" diameter with a four or five foot clean secton in it seal the ends with varnish and set it aside until the next meet up. I'll help you make one!

 

[nige7whit]

I don't think the laws against hunting wild mammals specifically prohibit flamethrowers, but they may just fall into the category of offensive weapons (unless you could prove you had lawful authority, or reasonably excuse, of course).

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

:You_Rock_