How to Choose the Best Survival Bow – A complete buyers guide

Bows have been the go-to tool for survival throughout human history. A good bow can help you survive as long as you know how to choose the best one for your needs.

The best survival bows combine the strength of ancient bows with modern materials and survival in mind. This has led to the creation of several survival-specific bows on the market today. The best survival bows are the Toparchery Takedown Recurve Bow, SAS Tactical Survival Bow, Samick Sage Takedown Bow, and the Bear Grizzly Recurve Bow.

Choosing the Best Survival Bow

Though the concept is the same, most survival bows today rely on fiberglass, which has most of the capabilities of wood but is lighter and stronger. All-natural offerings exist, but the quality is often dubious, and great care must be taken to ensure their longevity.

For this article, we are working with the idea that a traditional-style bow in modern materials will make the best survival bow.

How to Determine the Best Survival Bow Draw Length

The first consideration is draw length since the draw weight of a bow will depend greatly on how far you pull it back. Most people have a draw length between 24 and 28 inches. A proper archery shop can measure your draw length but if that is not an option, hold your arms out to your sides like a “T” without stretching and measure from fingertip to fingertip; dividing this by 2.5 should get you pretty close.

Determining Your Ideal Survival Bow Draw Weight

Once you know your draw length, determine what draw weight suits your ability and needs. Traditional survival bows are not like compound bows.

A compound bow has cams or pulleys that make drawing smoother and take a lot of the pressure of holding at full draw. Holding a 60lb draw compound bow at full draw is nothing; holding a 60lb recurve at full draw is a beastly feat! Keep in mind your physical limitations.

Since this bow needs to be usable for hunting, the best guide to picking a powerful survival bow to suit your needs is to check with the local regulations on hunting weight. For anything smaller than a deer, most states are somewhere between 35 and 40-pound draw. Bear, Elk, and other larger game will commonly be 50.

This probably seems pretty weak, especially if you have read of the legendary English war bows pulling upwards of 100 pounds, but those bows were never meant for hunting. The average Native American bow pulled somewhere between 30 and 40 pounds, and they killed bison with those things!

Remember that traditional bows will be sold with measurements like 45 lbs @ 28″. That indicates the sweet spot for performance.

If you draw less than 28″, the bow will not shoot at 45lbs. If you draw farther than 28″, you may be putting additional stress on the bow that will shorten the lifespan or possibly cause a failure that will be immediate and quite dramatic.

As a personal recommendation, the best survival bows will have a draw weight of around 45 lbs. This will be strong enough to hunt with and should be easy enough to make shooting for practice a pleasurable experience with no torn rotator cuffs.

Choosing the Material and Accessories for Your Survival Bow

Material considerations for a bow are probably mostly aesthetic and down to personal preference. Almost all modern bows will have limbs made of fiberglass with wood laminations.

The handle area may be made of aluminum, plastic, wood, or a combination of these materials. Consider your environment. Lighter-colored materials and woods may not be the best choice for a hunting implement; deer have amazing eyesight.

Like compound bows, many recurves have attachment points for sights and quivers. There is nothing wrong with either of these options if they suit your needs. The bow you get will most likely have these options whether you choose to use them.

Bow quivers are handy but do add weight to something held at full arm extension. I prefer a belt-mounted quiver but recommend staying away from back-mounted quivers.

They look good in the movies but are impractical in real life. It takes a lot of movement and makes a lot of noise to get your arrow ready.

Sights can be very handy, but learning to shoot instinctively should be a goal. Take every advantage you can get in a survival situation but avoid crutches.

Use sights when you can but develop the skill to shoot without them should you need to. Most people will be surprisingly accurate without sights, almost like it’s ingrained in our genetics.

Product
Bear Grizzly Recurve Bow
Most Compact
SAS Tactical Survival Bow
Best Choice
Samick Sage Takedown Bow
Toparchery Takedown Recurve Bow
Preview
Bear Archery AFT2086155 Grizzly Recurve 55#, Brown Maple, RH 55
SAS Tactical Survival Bow (50# at 28" Draw, Right)
Samick Sage Archery Takedown Recurve Bow 62 inch- Right & Left Handed - 25-60lb.
Toparchery Archery 56" Takedown Hunting 30lbs Recurve Bow Metal Riser Right Hand Black Longbow
Weight
3.2 lbs
2.2 lbs
3.5 lbs
3.5 lbs
Draw Weight
30 to 60 lbs
45, 50 or 55 lbs
20 - 60 lbs
30 - 50 lbs
Draw Length
28″
28"
29"
28"
Left or Right Handed
Both Available
Both Available
Both Available
Both Available
Prime
-
-
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime
Product
Bear Grizzly Recurve Bow
Preview
Bear Archery AFT2086155 Grizzly Recurve 55#, Brown Maple, RH 55
Weight
3.2 lbs
Draw Weight
30 to 60 lbs
Draw Length
28″
Left or Right Handed
Both Available
Prime
-
Most Compact
Product
SAS Tactical Survival Bow
Preview
SAS Tactical Survival Bow (50# at 28" Draw, Right)
Weight
2.2 lbs
Draw Weight
45, 50 or 55 lbs
Draw Length
28"
Left or Right Handed
Both Available
Prime
-
Best Choice
Product
Samick Sage Takedown Bow
Preview
Samick Sage Archery Takedown Recurve Bow 62 inch- Right & Left Handed - 25-60lb.
Weight
3.5 lbs
Draw Weight
20 - 60 lbs
Draw Length
29"
Left or Right Handed
Both Available
Prime
Amazon Prime
Product
Toparchery Takedown Recurve Bow
Preview
Toparchery Archery 56" Takedown Hunting 30lbs Recurve Bow Metal Riser Right Hand Black Longbow
Weight
3.5 lbs
Draw Weight
30 - 50 lbs
Draw Length
28"
Left or Right Handed
Both Available
Prime
Amazon Prime

Other Considerations

Many of the best survival bows on the market have some takedown features. Most of the time, this will be limbs that can be removed, breaking the bows down into thirds. Some have a sleeve that allows them to pull apart at the handle.

A recent innovation that caters to the survival bow market features folding limbs that keep everything in a small, convenient package. These often make sense for a bug-out bag but not as an everyday bow.

There are a ton of offerings from big companies like Bear and Martin down to guys making custom bows in their garage. You can get kits to make your own or buy the greatest space-age technology. Even the best survival bows are just a simple mechanism, but with skill can be used to great effect.

Find what suits your needs and abilities, and get out and shoot! Few things capture the imagination more than sending an arrow downrange and hearing the satisfying ‘chunk’ as it sticks in the target.

It harkens back to when skill and hardiness kept us alive, and the woodlands were wide and full of game. Few things in life are more rewarding!

Best Survival Bow Reviews

Bear Grizzly Recurve Bow

Bear Archery AFT2086155 Grizzly Recurve 55#, Brown Maple, RH 55
  • Limbs overlaid with clear maple and backed and faced with high-strength black fiberglass
  • Crowned, cut-on center arrow shelf
  • Comes with leather side plate and bear hair arrow rest
  • Darcon string
  • Tips handcrafted and layered with black and white fiberglass

The Grizzly is compact, lightweight, and fast. As a survival bow, this is a solid long-term solution for the bug-out location or homestead.

Unfortunately, it’s just too big for a bug-out bag. If you want to use it in that capacity, you must carry it or strap it to your pack. You can read our complete Bear Grizzly Recurve Bow Review here.

SAS Tactical Survival Bow

SAS Tactical Survival Bow (50# at 28" Draw, Right)
  • Compact Longbow (arrows not included - sold separately)
  • Maximum draw length - 31 inches
  • Bow Length - 60 inches (strung), 21 (inches folded/stored)
  • Arrows speed - Up to 200 ft/s for 50 pound version and up to 210 ft/s for 55 pound version
  • Strung bow weight - 1kg (2.2 pounds)

We were a little hard on the SAS Tactical Survival bow when we did our review, but it’s not a bad one, especially considering that it’s designed for survival from the ground up. It may very well be the best survival bow out there right now. Look at our SAS Tactical Survival Bow Review and see if it meets your expectations.

Samick Sage Takedown Bow

Samick Sage Archery Takedown Recurve Bow 62 inch- Right & Left Handed - 25-60lb.
  • SIZE – the Samick Sage Recurve bow is 62” long, 28” draw length, and choose your draw weight...
  • INCLUDES: Riser - 2 Fiberglass laminated limbs - 14 Strands dacron bowstring – Stick on arrow rest...
  • HAND ORIENTATION - Right Handed - Hold the bow with your LEFT hand and pull the string with your...
  • FEATURES - Pre-installed threaded Brass Bushings for various attachments and upgrades, such as,...
  • ERGONOMICALLY DESIGNED - risers are designed with lightweight Maple wood, and a comfortable...

For the money, the Samick Sage performs with a smooth draw, decent arrow speed, and accuracy that will surprise even experienced archers. Check out our full Samick Sage Review for more information.

Toparchery Takedown Recurve Bow

Toparchery Archery 56" Takedown Hunting 30lbs Recurve Bow Metal Riser Right Hand Black Longbow
  • Total bow length: 56", bow riser length: 17", bow limb length: 53", Max draw length: 30". Aluminum /...
  • High Strength Casting Aluminum Riser. The Bow is very Nicely Polished and offer Excellent...
  • Limb: It is strong fiber glass with a maple core. Limbs can be purchased separately to increase or...
  • Design for Right-Handed shooter. Recommend this bow for someone interested in learning archery,...
  • Risk free purchase: Extraordinary quality at an affordable price and backed with an industry leading...

The Toparchery Takedown Recurve Bow is the cheapest bow that we’ve reviewed. Being cheap doesn’t mean it’s garbage by any means. As a part-time shooter, it has its place. You can read our thoughts in our Toparchery Takedown Recurve Bow Review.

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