Imagine for a moment that you’re living in a post-grid age, one where self-reliance and resolve takes the place of grid dependency. No longer do you have the assurances of the local grocery chain or department store to keep your family fed and clothed. Instead, you must depend on your own skills to get you by.
You’ve also adapted well to the situation at hand. You’ve always been prepared for the worst, and making sure that you would be ready to face the challenges of 19th century living that had long been forgotten by the grid-dependent has been the life preserver that has kept you and your family afloat during these trying times.
One of the ways that you had prepared for your new way of life was to stock up on ammunition – and plenty of it. After all, you knew before you started preparing that retaining the ability to efficiently hunt wildlife would be an integral part of your new lifestyle.
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But now you’re second-guessing yourself. Sure, firearms had served you in the past whenever you were hunting recreationally, but you’re living in a different world now, a world where other people are growing more and more desperate by the day, where other people are roaming the countryside and looking for sustenance, supplies, ammunition…
A world where other people might be drawn to the noise that your trusty rifle emits each and every time that you bring down an animal.
You’re probably thinking by now that anyone drawn to gunfire would have to be crazy, but that would be the reality of a post-grid world. The fact of the matter is that you will want to do everything that you can to avoid drawing attention to yourself and your family.
That’s why you should consider familiarizing yourself with bowhunting – the practice of hunting game by means of archery.
A History Of Bowhunting Proficiency
Most people are familiar with modern-day bowhunting, which usually involves the use of a compound bow or crossbow. But did you know that people have been hunting with bows and arrows for thousands of years?
Throughout the last century, archeologists have found prehistoric bows, arrows and arrowheads of different makes and materials across 6 of the 7 world continents. Mankind’s utilization of the bow and arrow for hunting and battle has been documented in ancient texts like the Old Testament and Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, as well as cave drawings and art that predate written history.
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Second only to man’s discovery of fire, the bow and arrow together are time-tested weapons that have helped human beings close the gap between ourselves and our intended prey while remaining a safe distance away.
Fire may have kept us warm through the ages, but the bow and arrow kept us fed.
How Bowhunting Can Help You In An Off-Grid Scenario
Most experts agree that a grid failure would set our society back to the mid-19th century. In fact, that’s exactly what happened during the Carrington Event of 1859, when an enormous solar flare hit Earth head-on, producing currents that were strong enough to knock out the few electronic devices (primarily the telegraph systems) that were being used at the time.
Our flourishing civilization today is the result of more than 150 years of technological advancements that we have grown dependent upon – advancements that can literally be wiped out by an event like a solar flare in just a few seconds, so think about this: If society reverts to a 19th century landscape, then one needs to contemplate what means of production were available during the 1800s to provide sustenance for a family. Horses were used for transportation and plowing fields. Wood was used to build cabins and barns while heating homes during the winter months. And, of course, people hunted for a portion of their food.
When you imagine a 19th century hunter, you may be picturing a Davy Crockett-like character — a man stalking prey through the big woods with his faithful .40 caliber flintlock in hand. While hunting with rifles and pistols may have made perfect sense during this period of wide-open spaces and large homesteads, a down-grid situation in the 21st century provides different challenges.
This is exactly where bowhunting proficiency comes into play. Consider the following benefits of learning how to hunt with a bow and arrow:
1. Bows are quiet. This is by far one of the greatest benefits of learning archery to prepare for a down-grid scenario. No powder, no bang, just a quiet “thump” of the string when the weapon is fired. Bowhunting in an off-grid world will allow hunters to harvest food for their families without drawing unnecessary attention to themselves or their homestead.
2. Bows are simple. While many modern types of bows come equipped with moving parts like cams and levers, the basic physics behind every bow is the same. Bows are nothing more than string-and-stick weapons that utilize stored energy in the limbs by transferring it to a projectile when the string is released. While the advanced bows of today provide the hunter with better features like easier-to-hold draw weights, glow-in-the-dark pin sights and composite limbs, the principles that have made them effective weapons for millennia still remain.
3. Bows and arrows are efficient. The bow and arrow is certain to be the most efficient weapon that you can have. Arrows can be reused, strings can be replaced, and with a few back-up parts for a compound bow or crossbow, your system can last you for decades. Even should your original equipment expire, it doesn’t mean that your bowhunting skills were all for naught: Bows can still be produced with readily available supplies like sapwood and bamboo, while the strings can be fashioned from hemp, vegetable fibers and even rawhide.
Bowhunting has brought mankind from the dangerous days of bringing down big game with spears and crude instruments to filling dinner tables with food that can be attained safely and consistently. Learning how to hunt with a bow and arrow in preparation for an off-grid scenario will ensure that you and your family have a means to hunting game both large and small, without drawing unnecessary attention to yourselves.
And in an off-grid world, that can mean the difference between finding a target, or becoming one.
What are your bowhunting tips? Leave them in the section below: