Imagine yourself stuck in the woods and all your hunting gear accidentally dropped off a very steep cliff. If you have the knowledge of the native people who lived off the land their entire lives, there'd surely be no problem thriving in that environment. Here's a little tip to add to your primitive survival knowledge and hunt bigger game the primitive way.
[Watch This] Go Bow Hunting With A Homemade Longbow
Otzi The Ice Man's Primitive Yew Wood Hunting Longbow
Bow hunting is popular in the US and has been since the dawn of our aborigines. In fact, one of the primary tools used in hunting by the natives was the bow and arrow. The knowledge of bow hunting has been handed down from generations to generations making this skill an intangible heirloom if you will. Watch Shawn Woods‘s process of creating a hand made longbow with primitive tools the way our ancestors used to make it.
Shawn started out this project by getting a seasoned yew wood to make the body of the bow. The wood was then cut through it's natural grain using some wood wedges and a big rock to pummel with.
The log was then shaped into form using a copper ax, just like the one Otzi used 5000 years ago.
After the bow has taken shape, Shawn then marked the handle of the bow. Its shape gets thinner on the nocks while remaining thick on the handle.
Once you have the markings on the handle, it's time to shave those excess wood to make the nocks more flexible using an obsidian glass. The obsidian is very sharp but can get dull very easily. Replacing the obsidian glass for every 5 minutes is key to make your work easier.
The bow is then somewhat sanded using a piece of rock that has a surface that resembles sand paper.
If the bow bends easily as expected, it's time to carve the tips of the bow that will serve as nocks for the string. For this bow, the nocks used were of a large carnivorous animal glued to the tip of the bow and further tightened using deer sinew.
The next step is to string the bow to find out if it's flexible enough or would need further shaving.
Once the bow passes the bend test, both sides should bend equally. If one side does not bend the same way as the other, it needs more shaving and scraping using the obsidian and rough stone.
This longbow was modeled after the original one found with the frozen body of Otzi the ice man. For years, the bow's features have multiplied but the same design still does the trick! It doesn't matter whether you use a compound bow or a basic one like this yew longbow, it is skill that matters most when hunting!
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