Comments on: Pros and Cons of Using a Bow in Zombie Defense

By: rhunter42dragon

rhunter42dragon — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 21:57:33 +0000

I don’t really have anything to add with regard to the basic types of bows other than the fact that you need to keep your hunting arrows separate from your zombie killing arrows to avoid poisoning yourself. As for the other weapons…
Crossbows are superior to other types of bows in terms of power, range, and accuracy. Unfortunately, the increased reload time is a major liability. They’re great for hunting, but only use them for zombie killing if you’re holed up in some kind of fortified safe house where they can’t get you.
Slings are small and easy to carry. They’re powerful enough to kill a zombie and their maximum range is up to the length of 3 football fields (seriously)! Also, the ammo can found anywhere! There’s really only one thing keeping this from being the perfect weapon. Unfortunately, it’s kind of a deal breaker. Basically, they can’t hit the broad side of a barn! If you think it’s tough mastering a bow, try using a sling! Still, if you can master it (good luck with that) it is an awesome weapon!
The slingshot is fast and incredibly accurate, but it lacks the power and range of its ancient cousin. The lack of power is especially worrisome, it just doesn’t have enough punch to bring down a zombie. Its only real use would be for hunting small prey, like birds and rabbits.
The atlatl has impressive range, and is relatively easy to make. Unfortunately, that’s where the advantages end. The ammo takes up a lot of space, it’s not very accurate, and its killing power is questionable. My opinion is skip it.
One weapon that hasn’t been mentioned is the world’s first semiautomatic weapon, the Chinese repeating crossbow. Its range and power may not be quite as impressive as the standard crossbow, but I more than makes up for that with speed! Load 10 bolts at a time, and fire them one after another. Its only drawback is that, like all bows, its ammo takes up a lot of room.

By: 3-15 INF

3-15 INF — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 19:37:34 +0000

That about right- I have one that is deadly out to about a 100 Meters and is as quiet as my suppressed 22lr. Great penetration and you have a reasonable chance of getting your bolt back. Just make sure to have the bright orange fletchings so you can find it if you miss. You can reasonably fire 3 or four bolts a minute. It would be pretty good for firing from a hidden hide or LP/OP without giving up your position. I think this it’s a weapon that is greatly underrated. If you have a firearm as a backup, I think you could do alot of damage with one.

By: big bear29

big bear29 — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 20:09:26 +0000

I have yet to come across any modern crossbow that is anywhere near as loud as a gun . Crossbows do make noise when fired but it is about as loud as some guns that have been fitted with a suppresor .

By: Angryvikingman

Angryvikingman — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 03:34:04 +0000

Crossbows aren’t quiet. Not as loud as a gun, but still really loud.

By: big bear29

big bear29 — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 01:02:40 +0000

I actually have used bows before and this topic and its comments left me wondering where people were getting their info about bows from .
1. Unless you are using a compound bow with an absurdly high draw weight you should not have any trouble drawing and firing a bow effectively . Also it does not take years to become deadly with a bow , in fact it takes about as much time as if you were learning to fire a gun for the first time , except at ranges of over fifty to seventy five yards , in which case it is easier to learn to use a gun appropriate for that range . The average person can learn to hit a target the size of a dart board at a range of about fifty yards with only an hours worth of practice . With constant practice the average person can learn to hit a head sized target at about seventy five yards with a higher degree of accuracy than a person with a handgun .
2. Bows tend to have longer ranges than most people realize . A bows range extends well beyond a dozen meters , which is what this topic said that bows effective ranges are . In the hands of an archer that shoots regularly and has enough skill and compatence an archer could hit targets up to a hundred and fifty yards away with nearly the same level of accuracy and consistencie . I would never recommend volley fire against zombies because that is really no different than using suppressing fire on them , you waste time and ammo and the odds that you would deal a killing blow with volley fire are slim . Your best bet whether using a bow or a gun is to use direct fire and carefully place your shots .
3. This topic said that bows are not effective at close ranges like you would face while clearing a building . My response is this ” brilliant deduction sherlock ” . Using a bow which is a medium to long range weapon in a close range enviroment is like taking a berrett sniper rifle and using it to try to shoot someone that you are knife fighting . In all likely hood you will wind up dead or undead very quickly .
4. Sighting with a bow is fairly instinctive and you are supposed to sight down the length of the arrow itself . Its a little harder than using the iron sights on a regular rifle but you can quickly get used to it . Once you get used to that you can draw and fire fairly quickly and you learn to judge how much the arrow will drop over certain distances .
5 Crossbows do take longer to reload but they are nearly equal in terms of range and volley fire ability . Also modern crossbows can be fitted with a scope for long range shooting unlike a regular bow . And some of the bows out there have reloading mechanisms so that a person can reload faster .
I personally would use a bow as often as possible to conserve ammo and because the bow and crossbow are very quiet weapons that should not be over looked . The bow and arrow has been around for thousands of years for a reason , it is a very deadly weapon and can be easily learned to wield . It is far more than a meer hunting tool , I personally wonder how long most of you will last once you run out of ammo .

By: Scav Dingo

Scav Dingo — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 22:08:09 +0000

..i agree with the multitude comments for the bow to be primarily a hunting tool, as McLuvin mentioned hunting quietly has great advantages as apposed to the loud zombi attracting firearms..
..if your forced to “craft” something in the wild, i’d go with Instruisto and stay bash and slash at that point, or take the atlatl or spear path; building a handmade bow is highly potential fail, practicality is acquiring a machined compound bow engineered properly..

..one formidable idea is Sean’s using the bow to light zombi on fire from a distance; being quiet and having arching capabilities positions the archer relatively in a low-visible location and retains stealth, essentially fire burning anything will eventually destroy whatever object its burning.. ..humans/zombi will burn, depending on variables with use on groups, this has the potential for multiple kills per single flame arrow.. (obviously there are inherent danger of this tactic, but this is in the interest of the archer being in a secure position inaccessible to zombi and/or retaining stealth being in an unknown position of the zombi, and of course available time for the zombi to eventually burn down)

By: 3-15 INF

3-15 INF — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:34:41 +0000

yeah i think of a bow as more of a hunting weapon i would use to bag deer or rabbits for food rather than a combat weapon. Save the live rounds for self defense. Where bow making and production could be bennificial though, is is in the construction of traps. You can make alot of crossbow type traps that skewer zeds made out of brush found in the woods. May not be the most effective compared to the high-tech weapons everyone listed, but it’s free and quiet. How many you can set up is only limited by your time and imagination.

By: Zombiekiller

Zombiekiller — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:30:21 +0000

i would like to tell you there is a book i read once that was not about zombies but when i read this i got a idea for the bow thing. you see they had no archers they nedded archers so what they did was teach them angles to hit diffrnt ranges so if u have a fence or wall all u have to do is get alot of archers and teach them the angles and you can use wood for this one becuse they have less force per shot

By: KillerB

KillerB — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:49:25 +0000

OK if it is the only thing around that can hurl a projectile then fine I guess that it would work. BUT……………Those pesky buly arrows. What do you do with them. You have to consider anything fired in any kind of combat to be gone. For small groups of Zombies then a bow would be great. Shoot them and then go and get your arrow. Just make sure not to get any blood on you. But for multiple targets or holding of Zed in a mall then hell no. I am guessing that someone good with a bow might be able to get of 4-8 shots a minute MABEY. I hunt with a bow and could possibly get off 4 shots in a minute MABY. But I do not train for COMBAT with the thing so it is hard to say. And yes dude a bow is as silent as ANY supressed gun. Even a sling shot makes a lot of noise.

By: fred

fred — Sat, 30 May 2009 20:24:22 +0000

i own a compound bow and it only took me a few day to be good. i could hit a pop can at
forty yards by the end of the week. an upside is that arrows are reusable. the downside
is that carrying a dozen arrows takes up more space than carrying a thousand .22
rounds. also bows ARE NOT silent. compared to a .22 or larger gun yes but it still
makes about the same amount of noise as a pellet or paintball gun which can give you
away.