How to make a powerful survival bow out of cheap PVC pipe

PVC bow flexed

There are a couple of ways to make a PVC bow. In a pinch, you can simply take a 4-6 foot piece of PVC pipe, notch the ends, and string with paracord at a high enough tension to bend the bow limbs. The second method is a bit more involved but results in a more…

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How to tap a pine tree to collect pine tree sap

Tapping sap from a pine tree

Pine tree sap can be tapped and used to make paint and resin products. It makes a great water-proof sealant for buckets and tarps and can be used as an adhesive. Pine tree sap can also be used as stove fuel and it can be boiled and mixed with ash or sand and compressed to…

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How to build an elevated, raised Bog Ken shelter in the wilderness

Overview of a elevated wilderness shelter

For many reasons it is sometimes necessary or advisable to have one’s shelter raised off the ground. Especially is this true in the more tropical countries where noxious serpents and insects abound. To build a raised survival shelter in the wilderness, we must first erect an elevated platform. This is made by setting four forked…

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How to make arrows in the wild

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Wood for arrow shafts Making arrows while in the wild is not difficult (although getting the wood shafts straight and keeping them straight is an age-old problem).  To begin, collect shoots to use for the shafts (slightly dried wood is better than green wood).  Dogwood makes the best shafts, but any other straight hardwood shoots…

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How to build a Trebuchet (Catapult) – Part 2

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A Trebuchet (pronounced treb-oo-shay)  is a medieval siege engine that transfers gravitational energy into kinetic energy – similar to a playground see-saw.  In ancient times, it was used to launch (throw) projectiles including boulders, dead horses, and diseased bodies into or over castle walls to soften the defenses in preparation for invasion. On one end…

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