Build a Primitive Survival Bow - Live tree to long bow in two days

In this video Clay Hayes demonstrates how to build a primitive survival bow from a live eastern redcedar tree to finished long bow in less than two days.

Eastern Red cedar and western juniper are very closely related and commonly found throughout the US and parts of Canada and Mexico. It makes a great primitive wood bow when backed with rawhide or other material. But what makes the junipers great for survival bows is the low initial moisture content and how quickly the wood drys after cutting.

Someone with a little knowledge and a hatchet or large knife could make a bow like this in a survival situation and be hunting big game within two days. Practicing bushcraft, archery, self reliance, and survival skills is a great way to foster a closer connection with nature and hone the skills that may come in handy some day when the zombie apocalypse comes...

This was filmed at the Oklahoma Selfbow Jamboree.

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[keith]

Been shooting and building bows for over 60 years. You are the best resource for both skills and knowledge ever during the last half century, as well as just plain entertainment for those of us who know the magic.

[paeleonoliveproducts]

Thank you Clay, always great and informative to watch your videos

[taylorcabell]

If I ever go to a shoot and your on the list I'm gettin back in the truck.... 🏹🏹🏹 Love all your videos

[BrokeBoysBushcraft]

I just filmed myself building a survival bow. I just have to edit before uploading it. I wish i would have watched your video before making mine. Learned alot of good stuff. Thanks man!

[talmancharters]

Very cool. I teach integrative science programming with Outside the Box Labs and have been using these videos to inform myself during my own osage bow building, which great from a program we did with the kids on basic flintknapping. I even ordered sinew from Three Rivers Archery, which, by the way, shipped quickly and was a great product. Thaks, all!

[electrominded]

As a newly started "primitive style" bowyer with several different designs under my belt I am interested to see how the Sinew + Rawhide "backing" really is done, and what alternatives can be used to sinew and hide.

[HeartlandMakesAndOutdoors]

Oklahoma Self Bow Jamboree would be fun to go to, I will look and see if I can find the next one since it is in my home state, thanks for sharing and have a blessed week my friend.
Dale

[lajoyalobos]

In AZ we have a LOT of Mesquite, apparently the Native Americans here used it and yucca for bows and bowstrings. It's very strong but wonder how they did it though, as mesquite is often a very gnarly and knotty wood. Can't seem to find a nice long section to use as a stave as it likes to twist and turn in all kinds of crazy directions.

[TheSTURMGEWEHR]

Amazing. I’m definitely going to have to give this a try.

[jeffreyarnold]

in a survival setting, any advantage you can provide yourself is a chance to live. this is by far better than sitting, and sulking over your predicament. survival of the fittest means much more than strength of arms. knowledge of how to provide sustenance, and protection from predation is of great importance. cut two good staves, use the green one until the other has seasoned a bit more. (old school hunter/gatherer trick)

[AFCAWorldBodybuildingArchive]

Oh gosh, please more content like this! It's amazing. :)

[Beowulfbeowulf]

You can also do eskimo cable backing if you deal with tension weak woods... Nice video!

[Will-]

Did you ever make bows out of yuopon and arrows out of yuopon?

[waynepatton]

Very cool. I remember doing this as a kid. Finding a bendy tree and just making a bow. Clay I ordered your book as I am looking to start on a black locust now. I have an almost unlimited supply of black locust on my property. Lots of hickory but I leave them as it’s mast for deer to hunt. Anyway great video as usual.

[wolfpaw]

Finally see one of these builds with nothing more then a small axe and a kukrie knife or bowie knife as the only tools shtf scenario! good video 👍

[jamesaritchie]

When I was young, I had three or four aborted attempts at making bows in a workshop, then I finish five bows before making one I felt confident hunting with. I think I made two bows after that in a workshop. Then I discovered Native American bow making, thanks to a great-aunt who married a Native American. I never again made a bow in a workshop, or with any tools more modern than a tomahawk, a belt knife, and a pocketknife.

I actually made two, including arrows, using only flint tools. Anyone who says that isn't work is a better man than I am.

Anyway, where I live we have an abundance of hickory, quite a bit of transplanted Osage orange, black locust, cedar, maple, walnut, and a couple of other woods that make usable bows. I find Osage is better for a backed bow, and hickory is better for an unbacked bow. You can use pine sap glue and some rawhide lashing to put the backing on a bow. This works well.

But I would also say that in a survival situation it's better to find a species of wood that makes a good bow without the need for backing. Hickory is the best unbacked wood, without a doubt

I learned to make four levels of bows, and four levels of arrows from him. These boiled down to emergency, or what he called "hasty" level bows, which could easily be made in two hours, to emergency level but far higher quality than hasty bows. This took most of the day to make. Then on the trail level bows, and then, finally, snug at home level bows. But all four had to be able to kill a man or a deer at twenty-five yards, which had to do with accuracy more than power.

I also learned that fletching on hasty arrows, and on emergency level arrows could be made from all sorts of things. Feathers, of course, or squirrel tail, or pine bough, or thick dead grass bound around the base of the arrow, or several kinds of weeds, all the way to something torn from his clothing, to his own hair. Anything to catch the air and keep the arrow flying straight.

And whatever the materials used, it had to be accurate at twenty-five yards, minimum.

Hasty arrow were often just a quickly made version of camp arrows. He showed me how to make arrows from triangles of wood split from cedar, and they worked remarkably well. Start with a triangle, split off each...corner?. scrape rounder with a knife, and there was often no need for straightening.

Native Americans often "cheated" just like we do by carrying spare bowstrings and arrowheads. But when learning you still have to make EVERYTHING in the field. A survival bow is no good without arrows, arrowheads, fletching, and strings.

[jasonscreativeadventures]

Do you ever make your own cordage from natural materials in the woods??

[bryanmari]

Excelentes videos amigo. Desde Costa Rica

[cronkthecrunk]

Could you use birch bark, or fish skins to back a bow? New to bows so don't really understand what you're ultimately hoping to accomplish by backing a bow... except prevent it from breaking. I know sinew is good and so is raw hide... but I wonder if like turkey feathers glued on (as I've seen others decorate their bows with) might work?

[HobbitHomes]

Your fault...Construction in the northern Rockies slows down this time of year so I always look for some kind of wood working project for the winter. I've always wanted a nice looking wood recurve but decent ones are so expensive...

About 3 nights ago your board-bow video popped up in my "recommended" list. click...dang it boy! Very nicely made videos packed with high quality info without the usual "see how cool I am" junk..

Problem is that the lumber yard in a town of 2500 doesn't have one stick of hard wood. I am a timber-framer who does other kinds of work...checked my scrap pile and came out with 3, 6 foot pieces of red oak 1 1/8 x 1/4...O have half a galloon of slow cure epoxy left over from a wood shower stall project. A friend of mine uses carbon fiber to reinforce his RC Airplanes....OK..it'll have to be a laminate... I have a huge pile of lightly spalted elm with really gorgeous grain for a handle/riser and more than enough scrap lumber and plywood to build forms and fixtures. I have all the tools I need...

All ready named the bow…"Junk-Yard Dog"