Makeshift Bow

[CJ_14 105]

I belive that insted of an Ashwood Stick, we should be able to craft a Makeshift Bow from Wooden Branches and it could look like this

 

 

I say this, because I hunt with my brothers and when we were kids we made a lot of these and they worked (as good as any improvised wep of course) and this is way more common to craft. What do you think? :)

[gannon46 788]

hell if you hunted with it in RL and its proven to work hell we should have it maybe there could be a quality difference or a reason created for us to make the ashwood or the wooden that your suggesting. sounds like a good idea i think its a pain in the ass to make on as it is now and they don't seem to really be worth a damn right now either.

[CJ_14 105]

I was thinking about replacing the ashwood one with this, but I'm cool with having 2 kinds of improvised bows.

 

The reason why I don't like the ashwood one is because IRL, using only one thick branch to make a bow is not as effective as a lot of thin branches. It gives more flexibility and resistance

 

 

PS: This is a bow I found in the shed outside my house. It must be 10 years old, it doesn't work after all this time and is kinda small (I was a kid when I did this)

 

 

And this is the new Nerf Bow my sister got for her birthday...learning the basics since young age hehe

 

Edited January 5, 2015 by CJ_14

[leviski 2152]

Creating a bow out of the wrong wood wont work.

 

Elm, or Ash are typically the most common and easy to work with.

 

Making a "bow" out of a random stick you found is most likey not going to work 100% of the time.

[Whyherro123 2283]

Creating a bow out of the wrong wood wont work.

 

Elm, or Ash are typically the most common and easy to work with.

 

Making a "bow" out of a random stick you found is most likey not going to work 100% of the time.

Damn straight. The current "Improvised Bow" in-game is a travesty.

 

OP: What you made an described is called a "bundle bow". They are only really good for short-impromptu hunts for small game, like rabbits, and tend to fall apart and lose power and accuracy VERY fast.

 

(Parts 1 and 2)

 

Want more power and accuracy without a lot (about 6 hours or so) of effort? Make a "stickbow"

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFTPxK2X0NA

 

Want a reliable, powerful, accurate (all depending on user, of course.) bow Make an actual flatbow (with many days of work, plus the time needed to season the wood)

 

 

(Parts 1,2 and 3)

Edited January 5, 2015 by Whyherro123

[Whyherro123 2283]

 

 

The reason why I don't like the ashwood one is because IRL, using only one thick branch to make a bow is not as effective as a lot of thin branches. It gives more flexibility and resistance

 

 

(Emphasis mine)

 

Well, apparently you have no idea how a bow actually works. You got the "flexibility and resistance" bit right, technically, but only barely, and due to your earlier comment, you probably don't understand why.

 

Bows have been made from "one thick branch" for literally thousands of years because it works. The  actual physical strains (yes, multiple forces act on a bowstave) that a bowstave is under when drawn are immense, and if you don't know what you are doing, can cause the bowstave to literally explode when drawn.

 

Essentially, with the exception of modern compound bows, all bows really work in the same way. The different types (self, recurve, long, composite), only really change the amount of the forces exerted on the stave and how they interact with it. 

 

Bows have two sides, the "back", which faces away from the user, and the "face", which faces the user. The "back" is made from sapwood, and is designed to stretch when the string is drawn. The "face" is made from heartwood, and is designed to compress when the bow is drawn. In a composite bow, the back is usually made from sinew, but all that means is that it takes more force to stretch the back, making the shot more powerful.

 

These two forces (stretching and compressing), coupled with the bending of the limbs, essentially turn the whole bow into a giant spring, and stores potential energy in the limbs when they are bent. When the string is released, all the potential energy is suddenly changed into kinetic energy, and transferred into the arrow by the string. Thus, the arrow is shot forwards, and the string will rapidly vibrate back and force until it achieves equilibrium.

 

I cannot understate just how much force is applied to the face of the bow when the limbs are bent. Leave too little hardwood on the limb (aka make the limbs too thin) and the limb will explode when drawn due to the forces of compression. Leave too much heartwood on the face (aka  make the limb too thick), and you probably will not be able to draw the bow. 

 

TL,DR: Bowmaking is an ART, and easy to fuck up if you do it wrong. The actual dimensions of a bow are all different depending on the type of wood chosen, the "type" of bow you want, and your shooting style. Making a bow is far more difficult than just "take a relatively straight stick and attach a string".

[CJ_14 105]

(Emphasis mine)

 

Well, apparently you have no idea how a bow actually works. You got the "flexibility and resistance" bit right, technically, but only barely, and due to your earlier comment, you probably don't understand why.

 

Bows have been made from "one thick branch" for literally thousands of years because it works. The  actual physical strains (yes, multiple forces act on a bowstave) that a bowstave is under when drawn are immense, and if you don't know what you are doing, can cause the bowstave to literally explode when drawn.

 

Essentially, with the exception of modern compound bows, all bows really work in the same way. The different types (self, recurve, long, composite), only really change the amount of the forces exerted on the stave and how they interact with it. 

 

Bows have two sides, the "back", which faces away from the user, and the "face", which faces the user. The "back" is made from sapwood, and is designed to stretch when the string is drawn. The "face" is made from heartwood, and is designed to compress when the bow is drawn. In a composite bow, the back is usually made from sinew, but all that means is that it takes more force to stretch the back, making the shot more powerful.

 

These two forces (stretching and compressing), coupled with the bending of the limbs, essentially turn the whole bow into a giant spring, and stores potential energy in the limbs when they are bent. When the string is released, all the potential energy is suddenly changed into kinetic energy, and transferred into the arrow by the string. Thus, the arrow is shot forwards, and the string will rapidly vibrate back and force until it achieves equilibrium.

 

I cannot understate just how much force is applied to the face of the bow when the limbs are bent. Leave too little hardwood on the limb (aka make the limbs too thin) and the limb will explode when drawn due to the forces of compression. Leave too much heartwood on the face (aka  make the limb too thick), and you probably will not be able to draw the bow. 

 

TL,DR: Bowmaking is an ART, and easy to fuck up if you do it wrong. The actual dimensions of a bow are all different depending on the type of wood chosen, the "type" of bow you want, and your shooting style. Making a bow is far more difficult than just "take a relatively straight stick and attach a string".

 

I've made plenty of bows and they've worked. Obvioulsy a bow made of a solid thick branch gives more stability and power to the shot, but we're talking about improvised ones here my friend. Please, simple reading, shouldn't be too hard, right? And staying on that subject (improvised bows) it is more useful to put a bunch of RANDOM branches of the same height and girth, twist them around and tie them. This make the bow to be curved and resistent to the power implemented on each shot. These bow deteriorate incredibly fast, they're made for one hunt, not to be your companion your whole life.

 

 

PS: Ash or elm bows are obviously better, but a "bushbow" as we call it here is quicker and easier to craft, works fine to get the game and gets the job done, plus is way more common than the other 2. And since we're playing a survival horror game, I belive it suits better to have a more common and simple bow.