Preparedness for when

Margaret54

Just noticed your posts Mardatha and Kezlou thank you so much for the information as my dh and I were not aware of that x Margaret

GreyQueen

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

Try duck eggs. Double yolkers are so common, I'm surprised when I crack one which isn't a double yolker.

Now to a subject, about which I definitely yield to your greater knowledge.

Is a bow, with a 15lb draw weight and an 18-22" pull, any good?

Probably if you were a small child, say under 10, but you're a strapping bloke, so no good for you, I'd say.

To put it in perspective I, a weak-limbed female person*, can easily draw a 36lb flat bow and can even draw a 45 lb one, although a bit less easily.

Is it a recurve bow or a longbow (what I shoot with is an American flatbow, a refinement of the longbow and still classified as one)? The recurves can have a lower poundage and achieve similar results to a higher poundage longbow because the recurved shape of the limbs is more efficient at delivering the energy of the bow to the bowstring and thence to the arrow. But even kiddos at archery class are using 18 lb + recurves so I think a 15 pounder is for a small child.

I think you said you're 6 ft 3? You'd be looking at a large bow, probably in the 68-70 + inch length and probably pulling 40-50 lb easily. Bows are fitted to you personally, which is why you really need to go to a specialist place and spend about 2 hours playing around.

I'm 5 ft 10 and half inches tall, and long-limbed for a woman. With recurves I was shooting with a 68 inch bow with 25 lb pull and with longbows I shoot a 66 inch bow with a 36lb pull easily.

Your muscles get conditioned to the poundage over time and with practise. As Teach explained to me after letting me use a 45 lb flatbow, which was a bit too strong for me, I could use a bow that strong if I could commit to practise 2-3 times a week, but as I shoot once a week, with some weeks off, it'd be too strong for me.

I also shoot with 30 inch long arrows, although the nock and the point added together easily bring the length up to 32 inches. The draw length is determined by the length of both your arms plus the width of your chest. If you have a mirror, try standing sideways in front of it, with one hand stretches out almost straight, and mime holding a bow and pulling back an arrow by bringing your hand up near your ear. Your arms should be on a straight line so that the line of force is level and allows you to pull back the arrow so that you can use all the potential in your shoulders. Expert archers are so efficient at this that their shoulder-blades will touch each other in the middle of their back, when at full draw.

Can I ask why you want to know? Have you had the offer of such a bow or seen one for sale?

* am built like an outdoor sanitation facility but with ME am not as strong as I should be. :rotfl:

[Deleted User]

GreyQueen wrote: »

Probably if you were a small child, say under 10, but you're a strapping bloke, so no good for you, I'd say.

Thanks for that.

An alternative, in the same sort of price range, has a 25lb pull, so I think I'll go for that.

Is it a recurve bow or a longbow

It's a longbow.

Well, a long-ish bow anyway.

The 15 lb bow is 44" long, while (according to one reviewer) the 25 lb bow is around 4-5' tall.

The 25 lb one has a 27" pull.

You'd be looking at a large bow, probably in the 68-70 + inch length and probably pulling 40-50 lb easily.

I'm thinking on the lines of something a bit shorter as, if the SHTF, I'd be wanting it for putting food on the table, and a ~ 6' bow would probably be too unwieldy.

Can I ask why you want to know?

I've been thinking for some time, of adding extra strings to my bow (pun intended ) of survival skills, and learning to use a bow strikes me as a useful skill.

Have you had the offer of such a bow or seen one for sale?

I saw one for sale, in a local sports shop, so I went online and found it quite a bit cheaper, along with a couple of others (slightly larger and more powerful), in the same sort of price range.

am built like an outdoor sanitation facility

Sounds sexy.

mardatha

I'd rather have an Egglu with hens in it than a pink wedding dress any day.. for the same price.

GreyQueen

Recurve bows are made to come apart easily with the middle section (called the riser) and the limbs made separately, which means that they can pack down into smallish cases. The limbs snap on in seconds, then you have to string 'er. You can buy risers and limbs (sold in pairs, of course) separately, too, as the limbs are where the poundage is, so you can upgrade them. You can also buy secondhand archery equipment from people who've traded up, or got a commercial sponsor and are using their equipment, even shops can probably offer some secondhand/ ex-display options.

Longbows, whether trad design or flatbows like mine, are one continious length so less versatile for transportation/ stealth.

Hunting animals with bows has been illegal in the UK for centuries, even if you're going after rats or bunnies, but I guess there's no harm in knowing how to shoot a bow ahead of time, in case you need to use it in earnest later on. On the continent, were bow-hunting is OK, blunt rubber-ended arrows are used for going after birds and squirrels otherwise if you shoot a pointed arrow into a tree, you're prolly not going to see it again.

A fair few people in archery divide their loyalties between the several different kinds of bow (recurves, longbows, compounds) and there are even some competitions where you shoot with all three on the same day.

Compound bows are the most powerful but their cam-wheels are vulnerable to being damaged, and fixing them/ adjusting them is skilled labour requiring a workshop, not something you'll be doing out in the woods post-SHTF. Anyroad, who needs to be able to send an arrow a quarter-mile, anyway?

mardatha

COOLTRIKERCHICK you can eat any bird - but avoid feral pigeons because they can carry disease inc TB.

[Deleted User]

GreyQueen wrote: »

Recurve bows are made to come apart easily with the middle section (called the riser) and the limbs made separately, which means that they can pack down into smallish cases.

Longbows, whether trad design or flatbows like mine, are one continuous length so less versatile for transportation/ stealth.

When I referred to size, I was thinking of size in use, rather than size for carrying.

I have a car, so transporting it won't be a problem.

However, carrying a bow as tall as myself, uphill and down dale, (not to mention while stalking an animal) would, I imagine, be a right Royal PITA.

Hunting animals with bows has been illegal in the UK for centuries, even if you're going after rats or bunnies

If the S really does HTF, I can't imagine TPTB concerning themselves, with people bow hunting for food.

Compound bows are the most powerful but their cam-wheels are vulnerable to being damaged, and fixing them/ adjusting them is skilled labour requiring a workshop, not something you'll be doing out in the woods post-SHTF.

Also, I would imagine, the strings would be quite expensive, and rather complicated to install, whereas keeping a few spare strings in stock for a longbow, would, presumably, be cheaper, and they would be easier and quicker to fit.

ETA: I've just ordered this.

craigywv

Looks like summers nearly over, was in mums today and left with a sack of cooking apples and a basket of eating ones. Loveit! Have 3 really deep crumbles in freezer and 3 cakes also. Her raspberries are still going strong so more jam to be made soon. Her plum trees are heaving but i can only do so much baking etc in one day, shall leave plum jam for next week, anything else i can make with plums oh lynn where are youuuuuuuuuuu! You always have great recipes xxx

RAS

Pflaumkuche

Make a brioche type dough, roll out to fit a swiss roll tin or baking tray.

Destone a load of plums (they make special plum pitters in Germany) and spread out the opened plums skin down on the dough. Sprinkle with sugar, and spice if you like. Bake and be prepared to dribble when you eat.

craigywv

ras wrote: »

pflaumkuche

make a brioche type dough, roll out to fit a swiss roll tin or baking tray.

Destone a load of plums (they make special plum pitters in germany) and spread out the opened plums skin down on the dough. Sprinkle with sugar, and spice if you like. Bake and be prepared to dribble when you eat.

ooooooooooohhhh thank you ras i shall deffo have a go at this !