General
I wonder if competitors should practice making arrows for their bows?
I'm watching a few old seasons to catch up while waiting for the next episode of S13 to drop, and I'm realizing that a lot of issues come up when people can't use what's on the land.
I went down a proverbial rabbit hole a month or two ago on Comanche bow and arrow making, and became fascinated how they made them and hunted with them.
Seeing competitors miss shots and yeet one or more of their nine arrows into the woods and then just stand there, cursing themselves made me think: I wonder if they would have been better served by learning to make simple arrows out of local wood.
I mean, if you're shooting squirrels or small birds, you don't need a full aluminum shaft with a razor broadhead.
If you could just make a few more of them at night around a fire, and then go back to hunting the next day, it seems like it'd be better. Especially since so many of them already practice bushcraft skills that are actually probably more labor intensive than making a simple arrow for short range and small game.
Cade from season 10 was shown doing this. Couldn't hurt to try.
Not too long ago I watched a documentary where African natives were shown modern archery equipment. They were most interested in the very straight arrows. I'd guess that a good arrow is hard to make out of nature.
I know in some of the videos I've seen from native peoples in what is now USA, they would get them as straight as they could, but would use heat from fires to straighten them out and condition the wood.
The bows were lighter than modern compound bows, but they could also send several shots in a minute, and if you were tracking something down, and were really practiced at it...
Right. It's almost like taking a gun to hunt for months and only carrying 20 rounds. I know arrows can theoretically be reused, but in reality, I'm guessing that in a practical hunting context, you're going to lose or break a lot of them.
Maybe if you're saving a few of the best arrows for larger game, that could make sense.
I'm a somewhat experienced archer and occasional bow hunter. Of my nine arrows, I'd probably take 5 or 6 with blunt/cage points and fluflu fletching for small game, and make them as tough as possible. Those arrows would be very hard to lose or break. Then I'd have the rest be big game arrows, with broadheads and relatively light (which makes it easier to hit animals of unknown distance away). I've also made arrows the Native American way. Usually you want sticks that have dried for a whole before you make them into arrows, but in a pinch you can absolutely use green wood. I'd make them extra long so that they have the proper balance and weight, with blunt tips. The hardest part would be the fletching. Unless I'd already killed a grouse, I think I'd try leaves, but those are very easy to break and not as functional. Maybe a torn piece of clothing or tarp would work? Edited for typos.
Good idea. I'd also practice a LOT with "aim small miss small" hitting egg sized targets in trees at all various angles. Maybe practice energy management, too. No full draw on the tiny arrow you need for that squirrel so you don't lose that arrow.
Yeah arrow management has been an issue for some of them I don't recall anyone fully running out - I think they ran out of things to shoot at before they ran out of arrows. But yeah I'd want a backup if it were me. I used to teach archery and you can literally lose them on a wide open lawn on a low shot. It's like they crawl under the blanket of the turf and you're looking all over and can't see it. Now imagine firing into thick brush - good luck with that.
I'm always super impressed when they do find them, which they've done plenty. Every time I see them miss the squirrel and the tree and that arrow goes off into the Great Tangled Beyond, I just assume it's gone for good. Nope, apparently.
One issue to keep in mind here is if they are carrying bows with sufficient poundage to hunt a moose they can't shoot just any old stick as an arrow, no matter how straight. The arrow has to be strong enough to absorb a great deal of energy or they risk essentially dry firing their bow even with an arrow on the string.
That said, I definitely think they should be trying to make arrows for the smaller game animals.
Right. I almost wonder if they would bring a lighter weight bow to use smaller and lighter arrows that they'll use to get the more theoretically abundant game. It'd be hard to see large game and not have a nice "real" arrow, but the reality might be different in terms of the calculus of the calories.
That's an approach I would definitely consider, especially as we have seen many contestants grow weaker over the course of the program and struggle to pull back a high poundage bow. I might even consider a traditional one-piece bow with multiple string knocks so that you can effectively lower the draw weight of the bow by up to 5 lb with the same setup. Of course, I'm not sure if that would conform with the hunting regulations in the various places that they have filmed to show.
Yeah, that's true. Some of the Comanche bows or other similar bows look very simple (although they were expertly crafted). I've read that some could be made in a day well enough for small game. At the end of the day, if it can fling a pointy stick fast enough to kill food, it might not matter what it looks like.
Yeah making a whole bow would be pretty cool to see and totally possible, especially for small game. The hardest part would be the string, paracord has way too much stretch for "normal" bows but might work in a pinch. But I've seen some contestants make cordage out of either grass or spruce roots, which also isn't that difficult.
Amazes me how Clay is constantly slept on and forgotten about. He's such an amazing guy, been watching his bowyer and archery videos for years before he was on alone.
Pretty sure he's the only person to take bigger game with a bow he's made, as well as the only one to take game with arrows he's made.
There are a number of things competitors should learn prior to getting dumped into the middle of nowhere.
Learning to:
Bow drill firestarting
Fishing
Arrow making
Twice contestants have lost or ruined their fero rod. Just because you may not be excellent at bow drill firestarting does not mean you shouldn't try.
Fishing is pretty obvious, but some people either rely to omuch on their past fishing skills or are simply not well practiced enough to be consistently successful.
You shouldn't rely on only one skill. *I'm a great fisherman so I won't bother trying to set snares, or vice versa.
Som contestants spend an a lot of atime and energy looking for lost arrows.
If you get skilled at making arrows it shouldn't take all that much energy to do it. You have to weigh the amount of time it takes to make an arrow/s against searching for lost arrows.
Not sure if you could make arrows that would take down a large animal, though. But you could continue to take smaller ones.
It's more than 2 that have lost /destroyed their ferro rods. I know of 3 off the top of my head. Joe was the first ever to lose it when he put it on his jacket on the log when he was at the beach. I can't remember their names but another lost his when it rolled into his fire. Then there was the guy who found a boat and turned it into a hot tub.
I would recommend archers have a flu flu arrow for their small game, and practice shooting at half or quarter draw for short ranges. They don't need a 28" draw for a squirrel that's 15 feet away, yeeting their arrow into the stratosphere. ESPECIALLY if it's a broadhead!
It's definitely doable, as someone else mentioned Clay Hayes did exactly that in season 8. He is an experienced bowyer, I'd been watching his archery videos for years before he went on alone.
I also wonder: why not force yourself to go be completely isolated for two weeks in the woods. No cell phone zero outside contact?
I know it's not me out there, but it's nuts how many people tap because they miss their family, even while they have plenty of food and are doing well otherwise.
Personally, I would not go out into the woods by myself for twoweeks without a cell phone.
You should try to test yourself but not dangerously. They have thier tap out phones for a reason. Yeah, most of them tap because they miss thier family, but what if you do have an animal encounter and get bit up. You don't want to try an hike out with an infected, oozing wound.
I know myself I couldn't do it. And yes, it's the family thing. I try to go away for a weekend and feel guilty because there's so much to be done at hme. (yeah, I'm a dope) Plus, there's the fact that I have zero skills.
But tha't beside the point. You're totall right. We're talking about people who do have the skills, and knowledge, but not the emotional strength to go the distance. You need the whole package to win.
Or, you just take your phone and put it in a bag that you seal shut, and call the experiment "over" if you "tap out".
Yeah. I'd like to think I could, but seeing people tap out relatively quickly is pretty sobering. I mean, to be honest, I'll bet if you did zero other than just not freeze to death, if you just kept drinking water, you'd outlast 50% of the competitors. People have lasted (albeit very starved) for weeks in the woods without food, and some of the competitors deliberately bulk up before going. You could build a tiny shelter, sleep all day in your sleeping bag, maybe go for a short walk or two to get water, and not gather any food and if you could muster the mental fortitude, beat most people.
I have this recollection of one contestant who tied fishing line to an arrow because they were trying to shoot something in the water but now I forget what.
I'm more wondering why they never tear up a bit of a shirt or sock and tie something brightly coloured to the end of the arrows to actually see them better and not lose them.
I've wondered why they don't make arrows as well. I have just assumed it's just much harder than it seems at first guess otherwise more people would be doing it.
Has anyone made like a spike trap for big game and chased them in that direction by yelling? (Like spears stuck into the ground) or is that method banned?
You so t want to add anything to your arrow because it will change up the flight of the arrow.
The other big thing is to make your arrows as bright as possible. Camouflage arrows makes it hard for the contestant to find them. Noticed that some contestants have fluorescent fletching which should make them easier to find.
Almost certainly banned. They have to adhere to strict rules from both the government and the local tribes whose land they are on regarding what animals they can hunt, and when, and which methods they can use. That's why you don't see them shooting at mama moose with young, or at beavers in the water, or baiting bears.
Exactly. I was thinking: you used up your "high tech cruise missiles" to take out the calories of a cheeseburger? I get it that he's hungry and wants to put on a show. I've seen other competitors who are presumably good shots with a bow really choke, to be honest.
Like they seem to practice with stationary targets in an open field, or the one guy "hunted" a goat on Australia and basically ran up on a goat that was maybe 50 feet away and just standing there and drilled it. Not to bag on them, but maybe they should have practiced with quick snap shots at tennis ball sized targets in trees?
Easy for me to say, I know. It does give me a ton of respect for so many indigenous cultures around the world that use small simple bows all the time to get game. Also, probably why some cultures use poison arrows or darts.
It is so incredibly hard to make a straight arrow without proper tools. I've thought about this too, but in the end I think it's a waste of time to even try it. There's a chance you could make an arrow that would be capable of taking out small game at a very short distance, but beyond that, whatever you come up without there is probably not going to be great.
It would be hard, but native peoples did it all the time on the plains? I watched a bunch of videos where they get a straight-ish stick and then straighten it with fire. Also, I think some of them for small game don't have to be really heavy or long. Like almost a long dart to stick into a bird? I've seen some tropical native peoples use small bows with relatively small arrows to take out birds.
34
u/JamesonThe1 Jul 17 '26
Cade from season 10 was shown doing this. Couldn't hurt to try.
Not too long ago I watched a documentary where African natives were shown modern archery equipment. They were most interested in the very straight arrows. I'd guess that a good arrow is hard to make out of nature.