When going on a survival expedition you will want to bring a good survival bow. No matter how long it is, you’ll need a bow that is light, portable, and durable. Some might prefer a compact bow that they can put in their backpack, while others will want something stronger and sturdier.
Picking the best survival bow is not an easy task, simply because the selection can be extremely wide. However, we searched through the available products and found what we believe to be the absolute best bows for your survival trip. Now it all depends on your preferences.
Reviews of the Best Survival Bows
1. Samick Sage Takedown Recurve Bow
Best Overall
High quality of construction
Limbs can be upgraded
Excellent design
String might be too long
The Samick Sage Takedown Recurve Bow has been one of the top picks of survival bow hunters for a while now. And for a good reason too. It’s simply a reliable and powerful survival bow that is easy to use, but provides something for experienced archers.
This takedown bow is extremely easy to set up, and you won’t have any problems finding replacement parts for it. It is quite sturdy as well and will survive almost anything you throw at it. The bow comes with a B-50 string and a good quality arrow rest, so you can take it on your trip right away,
If you want to keep the warranty of this product, you will need to string it using a stringer tool, so keep that in mind. This bow is constructed with high-quality components. The limbs are made from a combination of black fiberglass and hard maple, which means that it is a powerful bow and you can expect it to last you a long time.
You might be thinking that with such a high quality, the price would be through the roof. But you’d be mistaken, because this recurve bow is quite affordable. It is available in several draw weights ranging from 35lbs to 55lbs, which makes it an excellent choice for a wide variety of shooters.
Inexperienced archers, females, and young adults will probably opt for the 35lbs version, while those looking to hunt deer might pick the 40lbs version. As with most bows, it all depends on your body type and strength, but having these extra options is always nice.
Overall, this is an excellent bow that somehow manages to please everybody, which makes it a resounding success in our eyes.
2. Spectre II Compact Take-Down Survival Bow & Arrow
Runner-Up
Highly compact
Great for beginners
Very affordable
Not great for hunting
Not the most heavy-duty option
The Spectre II Compact Take-Down Survival Bow is best suited for people looking for a cheaper option. However, its quality is still amazingly high, which makes it our runner-up and the best budget option at the same time. It manages to be one of the most affordable survival bows for sale and still a high-quality option, and you won’t hear us complaining about it.
You can find this bow in four different draw weights – 25lbs, 35lbs, 45lbs, and 55lbs. This makes it a really nice option for beginner archers, since they will most likely need the lighter versions. This brings us to the biggest downside of this bow – it is not really good for hunting.
It can be used to hunt, and will do an okay job, but there are far better options if your sole goal during your survival trips is to hunt. This is why some experienced archers might not prefer this product. However, we believe it is their loss because there is plenty to like about the Spectre II.
The maximum draw length of the Spectre II is 30 inches, and it is the same over four versions. When you assemble it will measure between 46 and 60 inches, depending on which draw weight you decided to get. When folded, it is only 23 inches long, which means it should fit in most larger survival backpacks.
This makes it a good compact bow that should please everyone except for hunters. However, it is mostly aimed at beginners, especially since it is really easy to use. The overall quality is great, with a metal riser and fiberglass limbs. This makes it a flexible, yet durable take down bow. People looking for something compact and light should pay attention to this product.
3. Southwest Archery Spyder Takedown Recurve Bow
Best For Beginners
Comfortable grip
Highly versatile
Very durable
Might be a bit heavy for some
The supplied string could be better
The Southwest Archery Spyder Takedown Recurve Bow is a bow designed for experienced archers and complete beginners. It has a comfortable grip and is designed to be more durable. While its primary use is for archery and target practice, it makes for a far better survival bow than many other products.
It comes in several versions with the draw weight ranging from 20lbs to 60lbs, meaning most archers will manage to find a suitable version. It can also be used by both left- and right-handed archers. The draw weight increases in increments of 5lbs, so there is plenty of room to choose from.
This bow is a wood laminated bow made to be as precise as possible. It has reinforced limb tips and the limbs are made of fiberglass. It can be used for survival, as well as hunting, bow fishing, and target practice. It is a highly versatile product and those looking for a survival bow and arrow should give it a chance.
The Spyder was made to withstand any possible glitches and mishaps that novice shooters might experience. The learning curve is not high with this bow, which makes it a really nice choice for people that are just starting to learn archery shooting with a recurve bow.
This bow is also compatible with both Fast Flight and Flemish strings, which adds another point to its versatility. If you want it, the manufacturer will also supply you with a stringer tool, which should make stringing this bow a bit easier.
While there are many more expensive options on the market, if you are a beginner when it comes to archery this is definitely one of the better products on the market. The only downside is that it is a bit heavier, so it requires more strength.
4. Southland Archery Supply SAS Scorpii
Best Survival Compound Bow
Affordable
Great for beginners
Draw length and weight can be adjusted
The quality of the limbs is not the best
Not that portable
The only compound bow on our list is the SAS Scorpii, an excellent mid-range survival bow. As far as folding compound bows go, it is not too expensive, and it is easy enough to use. This makes it a great choice for people used to recurve bows that might want to switch it up a bit.
A good thing about this tactical survival bow is the fact that you can buy just the bow or go for the entire package that includes plenty of accessories. You would most likely buy these accessories anyway, so the bundle might be the preferred pick for many. The bow is 29 inches long, which doesn’t make it the most powerful or the fastest model, but it still packs a punch.
The draw length can be adjusted between 19 inches to 29 inches, and the draw weight ranges from 30lbs to 55lbs. This means that beginners can safely use this bow and get the most out of it. Inexperienced archers will most likely opt for 30lbs of draw weight and will be able to easily control the bow.
The max speed of this bow is 260 fps, which makes it decently fast. You can use it for hunting, although not on long distances. It most likely won’t have enough power if your target is far away.
The limbs on this survival compound bow are made of compressed ABS. This material is not of the highest quality, and is not as durable as carbon fiber or fibreglass. It can also crack under a lot of pressure, so be careful about that. This would be the biggest flaw we could find on an otherwise excellent bow.
While most will prefer recurve bows for their survival trips, we included the SAS Scorpii as an affordable compound option.
5. Escalade Sports Bear Archery Bullseye X Bow
Best For Young Archers
Great for young archers
Lightweight but durable
Can be easily disassembled
Available only for right-handed people
No accessories included
If your kids are by any chance interested in going on a survival trip with you and want a good bow, the Escalade Sports Bear Bullseye X is an excellent choice for them. Naturally, they should be at least 12 years old and have some experience in archery. If they did some shooting at the range, it is safe to grab this product and go on a survival trip.
There are three different lengths available, which is great for your kid, since you will be able to find the right break down bow no matter how big they are. The draw weight varies between 25lbs to 29lbs, which further solidifies the claim that this is an excellent bow for young archers.
However, we need to mention that it is only available as a right-handed model, so be careful when shopping. It is really a shame that there is no option available for left-handed shooters since it would make a lot of kids happy.
The material used for this bow is lightweight multi-laminate, meaning it is quite a sturdy product. The limbs can be detached from the riser, and you will be able to store this bow easily. It will most likely fit in your backpack, which is great when you’re going on survival trips. Still, we don’t advise you to do that since you would need to assemble it on-site.
This could be tricky if it is raining, so it is best to leave the bow assembled. The fact that this is a recurve bow makes it a bit harder to control than a compound bow, which is the only other downside when you’re getting this for kids. This is why we advise your kid to have at least some experience in shooting a bow before getting this one.
How To Choose The Best Survival Bow
Naturally, many will want to know what exactly goes into choosing a great survival bow. We will get into that in this part of the article. First, we will talk about what exactly makes for a great survival bow, such as the Samick Sage Takedown, the best materials, and their benefits.
What is a Survival Bow Exactly?
A survival bow usually has a folding or a takedown design, with an extremely durable riser and bow limbs. These bows should be able to survive even the most brutal environmental conditions. They should also be able to defend you and should be capable of hunting since you will need food on these trips.
These bows should be highly functional, silent, lightweight, with lots of utility. They need to be powerful enough to provide you with a weapon for self-defense, but also not make any noise when you are hunting. They are also mostly compact so that you can carry them around. Most of the time you will find a collapsible bow with other survival gear.
These bows are mostly made of high-quality materials, and have limbs that can easily collapse into the riser, which allows you to lock them in place by using twist knobs or other mechanisms. You should also be able to set the string by using little effort.
Materials Used For Survival Bows
These bows can be used from basically any hardwood material. One such example is the Southwest Archery Spyder Takedown Recurve Bow which is wood laminated. Most of the time you will find bows made out of maple, ash, birch, yew, some pines, and many other materials. Cheaper models are most often made of brittle oak, and you should avoid those.
Why You Should Use a Survival Bow
There are many benefits to using a survival bow. They have a simple design, are extremely portable and lightweight. Most of the time these bows are also quite easy to fix if you accidentally cause some damage to them. One of their biggest advantages however is that they make almost no noise.
They are configured in a way that will assure maximum silence when using them, while being almost as deadly as any handgun. That is of course if you know how to use them. A collapsible bow kit normally also has other components that can serve many purposes on your survival trip.
You can use the bowstring to make traps or as cordage for when you are building shelters. Also, you can use it for your bow drill when you are lighting up a fire, or for fishing. These strings can come in varying lengths, which gives them some truly amazing utility.
The arrows can be used as spears for catching fish. You need to learn to be resourceful on these survival trips, and with a bow and arrow, your imagination is the only thing limiting you. Of course, using the arrows for self-defense is always an option.
Generally, using bows on survival trips is always a better option than using guns. This is mostly because they make no noise, so you won’t scare any animals away when using them. Once you learn how to properly use a survival bow, it becomes second nature, and you won’t forget these skills for the rest of your life.
Survival bows don’t have complicated mechanical parts, which makes them an excellent weapon in critical times. You won’t need to worry about them jamming or suddenly failing. They also won’t cause damage to the surrounding area, unlike some guns. Although they may seem obsolete, survival bows are actually excellent modern survival weapons.
FAQs
Conclusion
There it is, our choice for the best survival bow. Our overall winner is the Samick Sage Takedown Recurve Bow, a product that is extremely versatile and offers functions that will satisfy beginners and experienced archers alike. It is a high-quality model available at a great price.
The runner-up is the Spectre II Compact Take-Down Survival Bow, which is extremely affordable. However, the quality is higher than you’d expect for the price. It is another bow that aims to make many different types of archers happy. However, our other picks deserve your attention as well.