Its the end of the world as we know it!

[Stealth]

On the pocket, or pouch, I intend to run the string through both holes in the pouch as one length. It will not be cut into two lengths, thus allowing it to be flipped to shoot and arrow just like a bowstring. Sure it will be able to move around, but it should always find the center when drawn. It will not be tied permanently to the string. This way you can shoot arrows just as they are bought with nocks already installed and can just add broadheads. Still some obstacles to work out but I am satisfied they can be easily resolved. Good Luck. stelath

[Farmhand]

With my slingshot if I put the string through the slug pocket holes up near the
bands then when drawn the arrow is held away in front about 3/4 of an inch
away from the slug pocket by the tension on the string. The arrow is nicely
centered but when the string is released it becomes slack and the arrow
stays still until the slug pocket closes the gap and starts to push the arrow
the lost energy is significant. The arrow nock should be tight in the pocket to
begin with at loosing, I might go with using a leather punch to punch two
holes so that the string when pulled tight only allows about a 1/4 inch gap to
the slug pocket belly and the arrow nock will then be already in contact with
the leather that will push it.

Finding the best way that works for us in the main thing, it doesn't matter
what works for someone else, we must use it so it must work for us.

I intend to buy a split shot fishing sinker mold, I have lots of lead from
scrapped fishing cast nets I salvaged from the river low water mark. That
would give me a source of small lead shot. The thing I want to address is a
fold down arrow rest, not necessarily a "drop away" rest, just a rest that will
fold forward or maybe even flex so that the bands are not pulled up at the
fork. I think the energy to the arrow will be better if the bands push the arrow
longer.

Now that I've stopped the camera coming loose I can see the arrow leaving
the bow for a tiny period, it looks bendy.

Cheers

[dutchdivco]

Hope this isn't 'off the mark'

or 'off-topic', but,...We're talking about 'survival', out in the wilderness, and using arrows, so. I thought I'd share a 'tip' my DOG taught me, swear to GOD!

We all know, or THINK we know, how to deal with skunks; DON'T! That is, if your walking in the woods, and see a skunk, say 10-15' away, you 'freeze', and/or slowly back away in a non-threatening manner, right? If its starts to turn around and raise its tail, RUN!We all know this.

But; what do you do when your on hands and knees, down in the underbrush, looking for spent arrows, and you realise your looking a skunk eye to eye, from 3' away. As you see it, it sees you, and starts to turn around and raise its tail. If you try to run away, your going to get sprayed; no doubt.

So, you do what I watched my dog do; she rushed AT the skunk, and as it turned and started to lift its tail, she used her front paws to push its tail down; either they can't spray unless their tail is up, or it sprayed (mostly) itself, cause it worked. My dog 'pinned' the skunk (by its tail, to the ground) for a few seconds, while the skunk scrambled, and then let go of the tail. Once she let go, the skunk ran straight as an arrow, (and a lot faster than I would have thought!) right back into the forest, with NO thought of spraying!

My dog got a little bit of a spray; I could definetly smell skunk, and she snorted and rubbed her nose for a few minutes, but the smell on her was so mild that I let her spend the night IN the camper; it wasn't bad at all!

I watched her do this, and it was obvious to me it was intentional; she had apperently encountered a skunk before, and figured this was how to deal with them. Anyway, just thought I'd pass this on. Good luck with the slingshot/arrow shooter. Jim

[Farmhand]

I'm glad there are no skunks here. But a venomous brown snake is a dodgy deal
if your not on your feet. Generally a person makes funny grunting whooo haaaoughaa ing sounds
when they see a snake close, the experts say don't panic but if they catch you
by surprise and are reared up it's difficult to just stop and do nothing.
Skunks would be right nasty critters, do they also bite ?
Getting sprayed and bit would be the ultimate indignity.

After some sighting in of my bow I fired one of my home made vermin headed
arrows at a rabbit sized 2 liter milk bottle from about 30 yards and hit it both
times. The cutter also penetrated through some old carpet but only just, it
put some good shock into the target backings. The first shot shows it cut a
neat cross in the bottle on entry.

The slow motion is better with this clip because I used a second camera. Slo mo shows the shock wave in the backings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e02f_690v24

Fruit test is delayed due to sick pet, needs attention.

Cheers

P.S. If you look closely you can see the first vermin arrow hits the bottle near the lid then I moved the bottle
and the second vermin arrow shot hits the bottle in a different spot but relative to the background target the
arrow entered the carpet maybe about 1 inch below the first shot.

Very consistent and predictable flight of the arrow.They fizz through the air and sound cool too.

..

[Stealth]

I went to Tractor supply and bought two of the 4' fiberglass push rods. These are solid fiberglass, made to push into the ground a run electric fence on. They have 1 foot pusher attached and 5 electric fence attachment. I ground these off and intend to make these into fishing arrows. I will add barbed ends and a grove on the other end in which to attach to a bowstring. I will also glue some plastic fletching on these to make them fly straight, although when fishing with a bow or slingshot, one should not shoot at targets very far away. The farther the shot, the more the severe angle at which the arrow enters the water, and the more lead is required. Shooting in water is far different than shooting on land. Anyone with the availability of some water sources, river, lakes ocean or even small streams could benefit from bow fishing. Oh, and these rods were about $2 each. A great investment I would say. Many times it is far easier to catch/shoot fish than game animals. Anyway, I like fish, so that makes it about ideal. Good Luck. stealth

[Farmhand]

One video I watched the guy said he didn't use vanes or fletching on his fishing arrows he made.
He maintained that if the bow was tuned fairly good the arrow would fly fairly straight because
the fishing head (harpoon) is so heavy and the distance is short.

It is funny in nature the animals and fish are all there but stay just out of reach.
A benefit of no firearms is that there are more animals around.
Guns scatter them and drive them off.

We have scrub turkeys came and made a nest in our side yard, it is a huge mound, the tom
turkey stole all the mulch from all the gardens to make it, he moved a lot of
stuff a long way, an impressive display of engineering, skill and determination.
And the eggs are hatching, one hatched yesterday. Not bad when the game
breeds and hatches it's young in the house yard.

Cheers

P.S. If after a civilization collapse we are smart we might be able to co-exist
with the animals around us and just take what we need, because we can help
them to be more successful. Create a surplus to exploit so to speak. Rather than
just reap and forget/don't consider the future.

Here is the video of the Wild Scrub Turkey chick just hatched out in the side garden of the house.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3KPM9hHUgA

..

[Farmhand]

Here's a video review thing I made to show how to fit a remote switch to an
UltraFire 501b Tactical torch/flashlight. Also show how to use a CR123R battery
in place of the larger size battery it should have, (dummy battery )

Clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKFwd9SGZ6k

They make all the difference when mounting the light. IR flashlights/illuminators
up to 15 watts are available in the UltraFire 501b platform. They allow us to use
an IR capable camera or glasses much better. Also UV ones are available.

Cheers

[dutchdivco]

Farmhand

Yes, technicly (sp) skunks bite; they have teeth, etc. But, its not generaly in their repetoire of defensive moves; they rely on their distinctive coloration and threat of/ability to spray. When my dog 'pinned' it it wasn't trying to bite her at all, just get away, as its primary defence was nullified.
For snakes, always carry a 'forked' stick; a straight branch, and just past where it branches, you break off both branches. You can use it to pin the snakes head to the ground; similar to the skunk move, you eliminate their threat. You can practice on non-poisonous snakes, pinning the head to the ground, until you get adept at it.
Careful with the wild turkeys; they can be quite fierce, believe it or not.

I believe what you are describing is what many H/G societies developed; they lived in 'harmony' with nature, and got all they needed FROM it, without 'controlling' it the way modern society attempts to.
I think of the H/G 'lifestyle' as being like living in the Garden of Eden, and our collective decision to settle as being like being 'cast out'. We were living by our wits, and using our brains to work WITH nature, instead of trying to impose our will on it.

Unfortunately, I fear that if/when civilisation collapses, MOST survivors will start trying to re-build or re-create 'civilisation', even if on a more 'basic' level, not realising that (my opinion, of coarse) A) 'Civilisation', as defined as staying in one place, rather than being H/G's, is a failed policy; it doesn't work, long term. B) H/G lifestyle is where we humans are at our 'level of competence' (Peter Principle, as applied to species), and that when we go the civilisation route, we are 'promoting ourselves to our level of INcompetence'.

By the way, Hows your medical supplies? You can buy casting plaster, at hobby stores, cheap. It and a tube sock, and you can cast a broken arm or leg. I have some in my bag, and sutures, too.The (college) textbook for the "Basic EMT" is a pretty good reference book, for dealing with medical emergencies.
Even 50-100 years ago, the 'average' person carried around with them, a fair amount of knowledge of how to deal with medical emergencies, now most people don't know anything beyond putting on a band-aid, or taking an aspirin.
And of coarse, the collectivel knowledge of how to survive in the 'wilderness' is almost totally gone, now, as well. If you don't use it, you lose it.

Oh, and by-the-way, I saw some 'heads' for fishing arrows/spears; they had multiple flexible prongs; I guess a fish could 'flop' off of one spear point, and these multiple prongs will hold thembetter. Saw them on Sportsmans guide website. Cheap. Or, you could look at them, and make your own. Jim

[Stealth]

I could make them but will probably just purchase them. The rods are 3/8 diameter, so maybe I would have to make an adapter for them. I finished one of my slingshot/bow prototype and found that it was not structurally strong enough for the fiberglass limbs/prods. I had to reinforce it and hopefully tomorrow I can retest it. Also I may have to put a stabilizer on it to reduce the vibration from the limbs. After I have finalized it and am satisfied with its performance, I will post pictures. The other prototype is still in the modification process. It was not as strong as I wanted so I had to make new limbs/prods for it. I am ready to install them on it and retest, after I have finished with the other one. It is a radical design and I am excited to see how it will perform. If society crumbles, I think the only ones who will be able to adapt and survive are the ones able to form small communities of maybe 4 or five families together, all working to provide for all the community. This has worked well where small tribes have exisited for centuries, most living primitively. Although I think with the right people and skills, a small community could live rather well, with running water, electricity, lights and even modern farming and transportation. Good luck. stealth

[Farmhand]

Hi Stealth, Don't rush it, often when we build weird stuff the light bulb
illuminates when we are taking time and mind drifting.

Thin leafed car springs could work for bow limbs, older cars had leaf springs in
the rear, some are tapered in thickness a bit as well, if the width was trimmed to
get the poundage down they might work well. Trim with grinder or plasma cutter
and there should be no problems with the spring leaf loosing it's hardness/stiffness.
For a home made high powered non compound crossbow I think spring steel
limbs/bow would be my choice, with a mechanical string/cable drawing device.

The ability to practice a lot is important with any home made or bought
system. Getting to know the equipment is important in a lot of things.

Anyway, may your toils be fruitful.

Any fancy stuff that requires batteries and stuff will also require time and a
way to charge them, things wear out, but initially some good gear would be handy to have.

Cheers

[Farmhand]

Here's a video of a arrow gun I think air powered and near the end he shows
how effective the vermin heads are, his are purchased and likely cost couple
of dollars each. They look like cast alloy and so would probably break on a
rock rather than bend.

Video on you tube
Arrow Gun Rabbit Hunt with FX Verminator and G5 Small Game Head (SGH) - YouTube

His site.
Arrow-Gun Rabbit Smackin' | Ted's Holdover - Shooting and Hunting Education

His air gun
FX Airguns » The Verminator MkII EXTREME

We can see that only the side of the rotating prop needs only to grab near the
hit zone and when the side of the prop digs in it pulls the arrow around to
penetrate into the target, the heads made a glancing blow into a instant death.

Effectively it makes the arrow take a turn into the target it grazes.

I noticed on my head when it hit the side of the bottle it turned the arrow
into the target, which is very handy. I can change the pitch on
the blades of my heads and they cost only cents to make. Mild steel can be
re-bent into shape several times.

I wonder if it is possible to source certain parts for them ?

Anyone got one they can take apart and photograph for us to reverse engineer.

I like pictures and drawings.

Cheers

[thx1138]

End of the world...again

Studying Tesla's work led me into geophysics, solar wind, and the earth's magnetic field that protects us from it. It occurred to me recently that when an earth magnetic pole reversal occurs, at some time during that reversal the poles will be parallel to the solar wind rather than perpendicular to it. The auroras seen at the poles would be at or near the equator and the planet's magnetic field would be sucking in charged particles rather than deflecting them when the poles are perpendicular to the solar wind.

This happens periodically and takes from hundreds to thousand of years to complete the reversal and at those rates the earth's magnetic poles would be pointing into the solar wind for at least decades at some point in the transition. We're toast.

Here's the lulu: we think mankinds' oldest societies are roughly twenty thousand years old which sort of fits with the last polar reversal being 41 thousand years ago. So what if, before that last polar reversal, there was a human society that lasted a million years between reversals? Considering the current rate of technological change in our relatively young society, it wouldn't be unlikely that a society that lasted a million years would develop relativistic speed space travel and as one reaches those speeds, time slows down.

So the "aliens" that are visiting earth in UFOs are really our ancestors. They left and traveled at relativistic speeds and aged very little while the earth aged, say 100K years, and while they were away a polar reversal occurred wiping out life as they knew it. Dang! Don't you just hate it when that happens?

So every so often they drop back in to see how we're coming along.

[dutchdivco]

Hey,

Regarding groups of people, there is a fair amount of research that you CAN have a group, up to about 200-250 individuals, that CAN function co-operatively, as a group. Any larger than that, and they start developing 'clics', and begin to focus on personal interests over group, etc.

On the air guns, I'm intrigued by the idea of a larger caliber airgun, capable of taking bigger game, like deer or (self-defence) humans. There is some mention of 'air powered sniper rifles', made for or used by the U.S. military, during WW2. From the context, these were not 'survival' rifles for small game, but were for 'taking out' enemy troops. There is no mention of any details.
Lewis and Clark, during their expeditions, wrote about having a couple of air rifles; every time they met a new tribe, they would demonstrate the air rifles, at the earliest opportunity. They apperently shot 45-50 caliber lead balls, and were obviously lethal at sufficient distance that the demonstration discouraged the natives from any hostile behavior. Took awhile to pump it up to the needed pressure, but would operate in the 2000-3000 psi range, with multiple shots.
Obviously, while there are no details of how these air rifles were constructed, it was with the technology of the time, so probably leather rather than rubber o-rings, etc.
The only air-rifles I'm seeing available are in the .22-25 caliber range. Anyway, keep us aprised, Jim

[aljhoa]

In addition, Smith has documented at least 65 serious health risks from GM products of all kinds. Among them:
•Offspring of rats fed GM soy showed a five-fold increase in mortality, lower birth weights, and the inability to reproduce
•Male mice fed GM soy had damaged young sperm cells
•The embryo offspring of GM soy-fed mice had altered DNA functioning
•Several US farmers reported sterility or fertility problems among pigs and cows fed on GM corn varieties
•Investigators in India have documented fertility problems, abortions, premature births, and other serious health issues, including deaths, among buffaloes fed GM cottonseed products

19 Studies Link GMO Foods to Organ Disruption



Al

[dutchdivco]

Just a thought,

And I amin no way 'defending' GMO, merely speculating as to the cause of the health problems. Is it the genetic modification itself, OR is it this; the 'grain', is genetically modified so its 'immune' to the effects of the 'round-up', which is a strong poison that kills plants. So, SOME of the poison remains in the plants, and is eaten by the livestock, and its the poison residues which cause the problems.
I wonder if anyone is studying this? Jim