Archery+Jungle Survival

I get tons of e-mails from mainly huntsmen, asking me what’s the most effective way to survive in the jungle – all too often, they will ask,

“What do you bring along for a 30 day hike?”

The way I see it, the single most important factor in jungle survival is to be able to proceed as fast as humanly possible to your planned way point – to do this efficiently. Traveling light is not optional. It is a skill set that needs to be mastered.

To accomplish this – you need to be able to hunt and eat well on the go – there is literally tons of game in the jungle IF you know how to bring it down cleanly and efficiently – so it baffles no end when folks tell me that they need to bring rations, granola bars etc – that to me is just plain stupid, suicidal bordering on infanticide.

If you’re planning to trek deep in the jungle with a 30kg backpack. Then you’re going to get bogged down and the jungle will just eat you up and spit out the rest of you. That sort of hunting strategy is well and fine if you’re looking for game in some Disneyland nature reserve or national park in the US or Europe. But in a tropical jungle every ounce of dead weight will just grind you right down to a pulp- this brings into sharp focus the need to develop a highly efficient method of hunting effectively to move fast and quietly through the thicket.

The only way to accomplish this is by mastering the bow – it is silent and in the right hands it can bring down ANY prey up to a distance of 70 meters with remarkable ease- carrying firearms to me is one of dumbest things to do if you want to move fast and quietly in a jungle. First it weighs a ton (plus your shots) and every time a shot rents out. You’re just telling everyone – knock, know whose there?

In the video (please watch it in our proprietry holovision and try to avoid Youtube) – the method that is used is coupled with hunting dogs (in this case since I am target shooting my dogs know that it’s just a practise run. However for the demo sake – when the arrow is loosed – the hu ting dog should always be facing your front. In the video after the shot. A hand signal is given (arm outstretched which means remain in current position) – in an actual hunt once the arrow finds the prey – command the dogs to close in for the kill. You will need to do this, otherwise you will have to spent half a day just trekking the blood trail to find it’s carcass) – please pay close attention to the set up. Your arrows should NEVER be rigged to your bow. As this will interfere with your movement and add weight. Strap it to your backpack and train to nock the arrow in complete darkness. The entire sequence of loading to firing should be one smooth action. Do notice very little time is spent on acquiring the target – as I am a strong believer in shooting instinctively rather than relying on your sights.

A water back pack, bow, machete and a couple of arrows  is really all you need to bring along with you into the jungle to survive forever. Anyone who tells you different just doesn’t have any business romping around the field – the entire kit weighs less than 5 kg. That means you move fast and silently that to me is what I’ve learnt from the tribesmen.

Happy hunting.

Darkness 2013

P.S: Frankly speaking I have absolutely no idea why anyone in their right frame of mind would even want to lug food with them when they go into the jungle – they have to be either stupid or just plain ignorant when it comes to the whole business of hunting – really I don’t understand what the fuss is all about.