Archery Compound Bows

The hand you draw with.....I have a right handed bow...I hold it with my left hand and my right wrist has a release attached to it, that clips onto the loop on the string, then draw back using my right arm.

One thing to keep in mind, is unless you plan on shooting alot at a target, then a crossbow is a better choice. You can't just pick up a bow and go hunting. You need to practise quite a bit with a bow to be consistently accurate at various ranges. Compound bows are more fun to shoot than a crossbow, and its more satisfying to hunt with a bow once you have mastered shooting it accurately at different ranges. I am pretty good with my bow, however if I haven't used it for a while, I will take my excalibur exomax crossbow if I go hunting. The crossbow is more forgiving and much more accurate when shooting different ranges. On the plus side of a bow, they are much more quiet and lighter than a crossbow and if you do misjudge range or miss from a lack of practise, with a bow you can quickly get a second shot off without a deer taking off.

For my money, a re-curve bow is a better choice in a bug out situ. Why, strings... if a string breaks on a compound bow, you need a rig to re-string it. On the re-curve, you just pull out your spare string and restring it in situ. I use to have a 55 lb. Bear re-curve, and I learned to restring that beast within 10 minutes. The same with my crossbow, of which I still have.:mrgreen:

ok guys thank you

in agreement with blueflash
if you want to start shooting i suggest you go to a good bow shop they will show u your dominant eye and usually let you try a couple of bows to see what you like

otherwise go with a crossbow

Ranger i must have disagree with you about recurve bow. Yeah it is easier to replace the string but also it takes 3 times more practice then compound bow. Also compound bows are a lot easier to cary around the bush or the tree stand. Having short axle to axle gives you huge advantage over recurve. Also if you have a good string that you keep waxed there are really slim chances that will break. In order to get worn out you must shoot really a lot. I cant see that happening in SHTF scenario (unless we go back to stone age). So IMO for the money you're better off buying a compound from the good bow shop. Get it set up for your draw length and weight, get arrows cut for you and get it sighted in. Once you're properly set up it doesnt take too much to get accurate. Bigger problem is calculating range of your target that actually hitting it. Recurve bow takes way too much practice and time.

I gave away my bow. 50% of the time you will either ruin the broadhead or break/not be able to find it once released. For the price of 6 arrows and 6 broadheads you could buy 1600 rds of CCI mini mags, 200 rds .223, or 120 .308.

or 500 12 gauge birdshot which could simply be made into a cut shell (poormans slug)

A bows killing power is undeniable. Great if you're a hunter or target shooter but imo a horrible choice for prepping. If you don't have a PAL it is an option until you can get one.

If you think arrows can be made from a branch you're sorely mistaken, they wont hold up to the power of a compound.
As a last resort for survival one could be made of wood and any sort of strong string to shoot handmade arrows I guess, but It would take a hell of a lot of skill. I've yet to hear of anyone taking large game with one.

With all due respect to all involved /// My armory also consists of a good 55lb recurve as well, in addition have 3 doz arrows & 2 doz broadheads /// Hell, I even have a couple of wrist rockets with a few thousand 5/8 bearings /// It's all about layers & redundancies IMHO

23rd

Walrus I would advice you to go ahead and add a Compound bow to your Preps. You can get a simple restringing tool allowing you to restring your Compound bow yourself. Join a local archery club and invest a season learning how to shoot with it. Then square it away along with a good supply of arrows, broadheads and other related supplies you might find useful. Take it out and practice once or more a year to stay sharp with it or even better become a Hunter using your Compound bow. After all that's most likely why you want a Compound bow in the first place. Lots of Deer and larger game is harvested each year through hunting and this is an excellent quiet alternative to the guns mentioned above. Better yet get an Excaliber crossbow. Best of all... Prep both :).

I won't spend the time to become good enough with a bow but a crossbow is another story.
They're accurate as they need to be under 50 yards to take down game and require much less practice to do it. For those already familiar with firearms it's an easy transition.

And yes,

get an Excaliber crossbow.