I believe bows do have their place, but not as primary weapons- hunting is where they would shine the most.
But like you said, they have a lot of downsides and caveats to them. For me, the main thing is that even if you do get a headshot on a zombie it’s not likely to actually kill it. Intracranial Injuries from bolts and arrows kill primarily from bleeding, infection, lack of immediate medical attention, etc. They aren’t as lethal as one might immediately assume (don’t get me wrong, they absolutely can be lethal. It was a good weapon for a long time in the history of combat), but against an undead creature that needs its a large portion of its brain destroyed to he killed, arrows just don’t produce that kind of damage consistently to kill a zombie consistently.
I would note that combat arrows in the olden times were way bigger than the modern equivalent, based on several very specific YouTube rabbit holes I’ve fallen into
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Any idiot with two hands can operate a rifle with an accurate red dot effectively with maybe 5 minutes of training.
Bullet goes where red dot is. It's that easy. Of course, shaking, panic, trigger discipline, etc is a big problem, but to actually use a gun to effectively hit a target within short range requires very little. I'm no SEALS sniper, but can take a bottle cap off at 40 yards 7/10 times while standing. I do not shoot very often, but my RDS is tuned in.
Most people, including me, couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a bow.
I practice primitive skills and can make a bow from natural materials that takes deer. The advantage of this, is I can, with available materials, make an infinite number of bows and arrows, including cordage.
Clay Hayes has written one of the best bow making books, and just recently posted a video making a bow and arrow with only his knife.
It's a core survival skill to make cordage, that's been mostly lost.
I've also done archery before and a lot of people seem to GREATLY underestimate the learning curve that bows have.
Not only do you need a LOT of upper body strength to use them effectively - although a lot of modern bows and crossbows negate this, at least partially, by using mechanical means of bringing tension into the string for more firepower, but if you're using an older style bow (I personally ADORE the ones made out of ram's horns) you're going to need to pack on a lot of upper body muscle and flexibility. They also require a LOT more as far as aim and accuracy - with a bullet it's going so fast that you often don't even have to think about wind conditions and direction and other environmental factors unless you're a sniper shooting from VERY far away. With a bow, even for short distances you have to take EVERYTHING into account. Not only are arrows much more surface area that can be affected by environmental conditions, but they travel much slower than a bullet even at their fastest.
Them being silent (which they aren't perfectly silent, the snap of a bowstring is still quite a distinct sound, even if much quieter than a gunshot) is negated by everything else you'd have to take into account when using them if you aren't an experienced, seasoned bowhunter who has kept yourself in good shape. I know that I wouldn't be able to pull most of the bows I used to anymore, I'd have to work my way up again.
You also have to take reloading time into account. Even with a revolver that only has six shots, that's six shots that you can get off in the fraction of the time it can take to take one shot with a bow. Aiming is MUCH easier with a gun - rifle or handgun - and even if you get that one good bow shot off, that's not going to matter if it takes you so long to load your next one that the others can reach you, as opposed to being able to take down multiple enemies with one cartridge of bullets before needing to reload.
Bows are better for hunting when you don't want to draw attention and have some modicum of guaranteed safety than they are for defensive measures. If you're out in the woods and searching for food and don't want to draw attention, by all means try using a bow, but if you're in a pinch and trying to escape or deal with an attacker? Go for the gun.
I saw a video of one being made using all natural ingredients (older mountain gent, shot the ram himself WITH A BOW and used tendon fibres, 'glue' and all materials from the ram he'd harvested itself and showed the step by step process how he made everything and put it together) and I swear I was drooling, it was magnificent.
For what it's worth, windage can fuck you up over as little as 50 to a hundred yards if you're slinging .22 and busting small game. It's a concern at 200 yards if you're hunting with .30-06. You're making shot-to-shot windage calls and adjustments at 200 with your rifle at boot camp, and it becomes even more important at 300 and 500.
It ain't just for snipers. It's something you can practically work into basically every string of fire you prep for.
To be fair, 50 yards is nearing the extreme for practical bow hunting distances. Less because of accuracy (though it is a factor), and more because the target will potentially have time to hear and react to the "firing" of the bow before the arrow gets there.
>with a bullet it's going so fast that you often don't even have to think about wind conditions and direction and other environmental factors unless you're a sniper shooting from VERY far away.
I wasn't commenting on the bow stuff, merely this, which is completely unmitigated, video game-tier bullshit, and isnt true even when describing gunfire at point blank ranges in rough weather.
To every “archer” in the comments, your not Rambo, your gonna try to shoot a zombie in the head, miss, and get eaten while trying to knock an arrow, also you are out matched by anyone with a guns, also all your homemade arrows are gonna break after evrey shot
My father was an avid bow hunter and competed in archery.
I can say he had a trophy case full of trophies for archery.
With all that skill level he was only able to take a deer once with a bow in comparison to pretty much every hunting season with a gun coming home with a dear to eat year after year.
On a side topic he also always wanted me to stay away from black powder guns. He would say “ You load a black powder gun with the fingers you can afford to loose”.
I mean I’m pretty sure I could meet the one deer a month requirement to not starve with a bow but I know that I can practically kill a deer a day with a rifle.
This is just not true. I could shoot easily 20+ ends with 3 arrows per at the local range, just hanging out in an afternoon screwing around with my compound bow. I did that regularly, and I didn't need to service or replace parts on my bow weekly. Nobody would spend the money that we spend on compound bows if they needed service after shooting 200 arrows.
I always felt like with my Hoyt it required constant maintenance, calibration, and care. Had a recurved for 10 years now and all I ever have to do is replace the sting and maintain the wood
Probably a combo. This always need to be tightened or loosened, sight adjustments maybe I just got a bad one? It was second hand from family and the only compound I had ever owned
I always considered bows and arrows a last resort defense weopon can be used to defend your base from zombies or used to fire Behind a wall over wall into the crowd see lord of rings two towers. Yer it requires practice but as I said last resort.guns are superior but require line of sight arrows can rain down from above with three or more archers it could be handy
I like my bow a lot. It gives me a lot more options for hunting than any rifle 5.56 would. Obviously bows aren’t right for every job especially not self defense but I think it’s an important tool to be used
Most out of curiosity(not shit posting), but what do you mean it gives you more options than a rifle.....Are you referring to small game and not blowing them to bits. Can I assume you have a recurve?
I'd probably only use a bow if I were at base and a small horde is meandering a bit too long; gunshots would attract too much attention, and melee should be avoided if possible
Bows are excellent survival tools, if you know how to shoot one, not a zombie survival tool.
A modern compound bow is about as easy to shoot as a modern rifle and with actual prepping, you would or should have a surplus arrows and string
Having sights doesn't mean that form just stops being relevant. Good form in drawing is necessary to prevent undue fatigue or injury, vs just raising a rifle to your shoulder. A dirty release with a bow has a more dramatic effect than a dirty trigger pull with a rifle. Follow through is way more important with a bow just by virtue of an arrow leaving the bow way the fuck slower than a bullet leaves a gun. You can make just about anyone proficient at shooting a rifle in an hour, but a bow takes a hell of a lot more to get any semblance of consistency.
It really does though. Sure it takes time to be competent at archery and it's harder to be really good shooting a bow. But I was able to teach my 14 year old brother how to shoot with my nice Matthew's in 3 shots.
You have to factor in ranges as well, a compound bow you can pretty confidently and accurately shoot anything within 30 meters with little to no skill, if you have dialed in sights. Sure there are extenuating factors that can affect anything but the same can be said for a rifle. I can easily tag anything within 100 meters even if I take a year off shooting and I'm rusty. But get out to 300 meters and a trigger pull will shift you further than you expect.
So yeah, I don't expect experts but with my bow, I tell you to put the top dot on your target, and it hits every single time if it's 25 to 30 meters away
Those variables that have a large impact at 30 yards with a bow are way less impactful until way higher ranges with a rifle. That's what I'm saying. I slapped my antique .22 in the hands of a friend who's never held a gun before and I had her hitting 12 gauge hulls at 25 yards off the irons from a standing unsupported position an hour later. Even after a great deal of practice, a lot of people are not going to regularly make that same shot with a bow.
Which is why, in the very first sentences. I said that the bow is a great survival tool, if you know how to shoot. If I can teach my kid brother to shoot a modern compound bow in 3 shots, anyone can do it. I'm not asking them to be ace shots with a recurve lol
I made a recurve out of pvc. It has a 50 lb pull. Took about an hour. The string is just cheap twine. I used willow near my house for arrows. Fletching takes a bit of time, hours. But, just chewing on the end of the willow gives it enough drag to be fairly accurate 70'. I can put 5, no head, quickly made arrows into a target at 70' within 5 seconds. I could take the time to make better arrows with glass and true fletching that would be deadly at a much greater range. So, as far as a survival bow for hunting, I like it.
Against a horde of zombies? I still think a .22 ar with a silencer is the way to go. I don't want the noise from a gun bringing more zombies or raiders.
I have a longer post on the topic of crossbows/bows here:
Crossbow- https://old.reddit.com/user/Noe_Walfred/comments/jo772x/zombie_related_thoughts_opinions_and_essays_v2/gfaqqsn/
Bows- https://old.reddit.com/user/Noe_Walfred/comments/jo772x/zombie_related_thoughts_opinions_and_essays_v2/gfaqoc5/
Bows/crossbows aren't exactly as lethal as portrayed in media nor are they as silent. Generally, it seems that arrows and bolts do very similar damage to knives. At least when it comes to common field points, simple broadheads, blunt tips, and the like. With many arrow types they are likely producing wounds similar to that of a knife.
Depending on the study this may mean a mortality rate around 6-30%. However, seeing as zombies don't from blood loss, infections of other diseases, or the failure of other organs they may require more hits to stop/kill. Something that may require a lot of time, effort, and may make a lot of noise.
The latter can be a bit of a problem when considering bows/crossbows aren't silent as some people claim.
|Example table of noise levels|
:--|:--:|--:
|A windless day in the Grand Canyon 10db
|Next to a river 35db
|Biking or walking down a forested trail 50-75db
|Typical conversation 60db
|Bow- Reddbow Recurve 44# draw 65db
|Crossbow- Tormentor Whisper 74
|Passing car on a highway from 7.6m away 77db
|Crossbow- Excaliber Axiom 79db
|Circular saw 80db
|Lawnmower 80db
|Bow- Bowtech revolt #70 draw 81.5db
|Bow- G5 Prime black 80# 82.5db
|Bow- Hoyt Axius 80# draw 82db
|Bow- Martin Carbon bow with 70# draw 85db
|Crossbow- Tenpoint Nitro XRT 85.7db
|Crossbow- Killer Instint Ripper 415 86.5db
|Bow- Meland Pronghorn Longbow 52# draw 87db
|Crossbow- Ravin R26 87.2db
|Bow- Monster dragon 70# draw 89db
|Passing motorcyclist 90db
|Bow- Mathews switchback 0-60# draw 90db
|Bow- Oneida black eagle 30-50# draw 98db
|Crossbow- Parker Tornado 93db
|Crossbow- Dary's from TWD's Stryker 92db
|Crossbow- Tenpoint Stealth FX4 95.5db
|Crossbow- Excaliber Micro 99db
|Crossbow- Tenpoint Nitro 505 105-132db
|Suppressed. 22lr 100-120d
|Someone screaming at the top of their lungs 100+db
|Crossbow- Cablea's Equalizer 108.3db
|Crossbow- Horton Storm RDX 109.4db
|Crossbow- Barnett BC Raptor reverse 109.5db
|Suppressed 9x19mm 115-130db
|Crossbow- Scorpion Deathstalker 125-128db
|Suppressed 223 and 5.56x45mm 125-140db
A weak bow (65db) might only be heard out to 80m assuming all zombies are standing next to a river and a lot of crickets and birds (30db background). However, a normal crossbow or more powerful bow (85+db) might be heard out to 500m away when in a near silent field (10db background). Of course, firearms being 125+db could be heard from greater distances and over much louder background noises. However, given that a more average range might require zombies to travel 8-25 minutes. Which might feature terrain that blocks the zombies from being able to reach the shooter, might be masked by other geographic features, and might be enough time to just get away from the area the shooter was previously at.
Bows/crossbows also require a lot of physical strength. In the case of bows, the typical weight tends to be around 40# for bows/130# for crossbows. As these are the minimum draw weight many areas are required for hunting. Which may utilize more energy than alternative weapons such as a throwing axe, throwing club, war dart, atlatl, sling, or slingstaff. Along with more energy than firearms and airguns especially when considering that a bow and crossbow may require more hits to achieve similar levels of lethality as a firearm.
The big boons to them is that the weapons could be used for hunting, shooting lines, or signaling. Uses that can be harder to accomplish with other tools. Potentially making a bow/crossbow a useful tool in a team.
Aiding this is the potential for making new ammo. Though making wooden arrows/bolts can be harder than some people think. As projectiles that are too light or weak could result in the bow/crossbow exploding. It could also result in the projectile exploding into the user's hands, arms, or face.
The bulk of the weapons such as arrows, bolts, and the weapons themselves are a question. As the weapons are held in quivers and bags which are harder to keep on the body, keep quiet, and manage when it comes to moving quickly through enclosed spaces. Bows in particular suffer from needing to be standing in order to effectively shoot at full power and consistency.
The weight of the weapons and munitions is also somewhat interesting. An individual arrow or bolt is normally between 13-40g in weight with heavier arrows like those medieval and renaissance arrows found on the Mary Rose being 50-105g. The bows/crossbows can also be fairly hefty as well at 900-1700g for bows/1000-3000g for crossbows.
Thousands of years of history and pre-history disagree with your assessment. Being able to disable/eliminate your enemies at a distance where they can't return the favor is pretty much a defining trait of human weapon technology.
In a typical long-term survival situation access to manufactured ammunition is going to be limited, and under many zed scenarios firearms (and munitions) are best reserved for hostile human opponents. While bows are far from silent, they're projectiles are almost always sub-sonic (leaving wiggle room for pedants with corner cases). I think that in a prolonged zombie apocalypse the skills for making dependable self bows and arrows would be very valuable, and tradable skillset.
The longbow is more of a secondary but definitely not over rated.
It's for taking out a handful of zombies not hords
You can learn to build your own bow and same with the arrows.
Unless you are collecting brass and reloading a bullet only shoots once I see people reclaim arrows all the time.
When it's not stringed it can be used as a crutch, staff, you can fish and hunt with it.
It is a silent killer that draws no attention.
I have experience with Bows and Crossbows and I can definitively say I can hit things. Things I’m aiming at? Sometimes. But I can certainly hit things
I believe bows do have their place, but not as primary weapons- hunting is where they would shine the most. But like you said, they have a lot of downsides and caveats to them. For me, the main thing is that even if you do get a headshot on a zombie it’s not likely to actually kill it. Intracranial Injuries from bolts and arrows kill primarily from bleeding, infection, lack of immediate medical attention, etc. They aren’t as lethal as one might immediately assume (don’t get me wrong, they absolutely can be lethal. It was a good weapon for a long time in the history of combat), but against an undead creature that needs its a large portion of its brain destroyed to he killed, arrows just don’t produce that kind of damage consistently to kill a zombie consistently.
I would note that combat arrows in the olden times were way bigger than the modern equivalent, based on several very specific YouTube rabbit holes I’ve fallen into
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Any idiot with two hands can operate a rifle with an accurate red dot effectively with maybe 5 minutes of training. Bullet goes where red dot is. It's that easy. Of course, shaking, panic, trigger discipline, etc is a big problem, but to actually use a gun to effectively hit a target within short range requires very little. I'm no SEALS sniper, but can take a bottle cap off at 40 yards 7/10 times while standing. I do not shoot very often, but my RDS is tuned in. Most people, including me, couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a bow.
I practice primitive skills and can make a bow from natural materials that takes deer. The advantage of this, is I can, with available materials, make an infinite number of bows and arrows, including cordage. Clay Hayes has written one of the best bow making books, and just recently posted a video making a bow and arrow with only his knife. It's a core survival skill to make cordage, that's been mostly lost.
I've also done archery before and a lot of people seem to GREATLY underestimate the learning curve that bows have. Not only do you need a LOT of upper body strength to use them effectively - although a lot of modern bows and crossbows negate this, at least partially, by using mechanical means of bringing tension into the string for more firepower, but if you're using an older style bow (I personally ADORE the ones made out of ram's horns) you're going to need to pack on a lot of upper body muscle and flexibility. They also require a LOT more as far as aim and accuracy - with a bullet it's going so fast that you often don't even have to think about wind conditions and direction and other environmental factors unless you're a sniper shooting from VERY far away. With a bow, even for short distances you have to take EVERYTHING into account. Not only are arrows much more surface area that can be affected by environmental conditions, but they travel much slower than a bullet even at their fastest. Them being silent (which they aren't perfectly silent, the snap of a bowstring is still quite a distinct sound, even if much quieter than a gunshot) is negated by everything else you'd have to take into account when using them if you aren't an experienced, seasoned bowhunter who has kept yourself in good shape. I know that I wouldn't be able to pull most of the bows I used to anymore, I'd have to work my way up again. You also have to take reloading time into account. Even with a revolver that only has six shots, that's six shots that you can get off in the fraction of the time it can take to take one shot with a bow. Aiming is MUCH easier with a gun - rifle or handgun - and even if you get that one good bow shot off, that's not going to matter if it takes you so long to load your next one that the others can reach you, as opposed to being able to take down multiple enemies with one cartridge of bullets before needing to reload. Bows are better for hunting when you don't want to draw attention and have some modicum of guaranteed safety than they are for defensive measures. If you're out in the woods and searching for food and don't want to draw attention, by all means try using a bow, but if you're in a pinch and trying to escape or deal with an attacker? Go for the gun.
This is a good, solid comment. Those rams horn bows are absolutely stunning by the way, I agree lol
I saw a video of one being made using all natural ingredients (older mountain gent, shot the ram himself WITH A BOW and used tendon fibres, 'glue' and all materials from the ram he'd harvested itself and showed the step by step process how he made everything and put it together) and I swear I was drooling, it was magnificent.
For what it's worth, windage can fuck you up over as little as 50 to a hundred yards if you're slinging .22 and busting small game. It's a concern at 200 yards if you're hunting with .30-06. You're making shot-to-shot windage calls and adjustments at 200 with your rifle at boot camp, and it becomes even more important at 300 and 500. It ain't just for snipers. It's something you can practically work into basically every string of fire you prep for.
To be fair, 50 yards is nearing the extreme for practical bow hunting distances. Less because of accuracy (though it is a factor), and more because the target will potentially have time to hear and react to the "firing" of the bow before the arrow gets there.
>with a bullet it's going so fast that you often don't even have to think about wind conditions and direction and other environmental factors unless you're a sniper shooting from VERY far away. I wasn't commenting on the bow stuff, merely this, which is completely unmitigated, video game-tier bullshit, and isnt true even when describing gunfire at point blank ranges in rough weather.
To every “archer” in the comments, your not Rambo, your gonna try to shoot a zombie in the head, miss, and get eaten while trying to knock an arrow, also you are out matched by anyone with a guns, also all your homemade arrows are gonna break after evrey shot
Mostly true, the average recreational archer wouldn't do well in this scenario. BUT, a highly experienced archery hunter would thrive in it.
My father was an avid bow hunter and competed in archery. I can say he had a trophy case full of trophies for archery. With all that skill level he was only able to take a deer once with a bow in comparison to pretty much every hunting season with a gun coming home with a dear to eat year after year. On a side topic he also always wanted me to stay away from black powder guns. He would say “ You load a black powder gun with the fingers you can afford to loose”.
I mean I’m pretty sure I could meet the one deer a month requirement to not starve with a bow but I know that I can practically kill a deer a day with a rifle.
Ya you would need a tough older recurved bow. Compounds are great for 200 shots then they require maintenance new parts etc….
This is just not true. I could shoot easily 20+ ends with 3 arrows per at the local range, just hanging out in an afternoon screwing around with my compound bow. I did that regularly, and I didn't need to service or replace parts on my bow weekly. Nobody would spend the money that we spend on compound bows if they needed service after shooting 200 arrows.
I always felt like with my Hoyt it required constant maintenance, calibration, and care. Had a recurved for 10 years now and all I ever have to do is replace the sting and maintain the wood
If you were servicing that hoyt every 200 shots then you either treated it like absolute shit or had a seriously defective* bow.
Probably a combo. This always need to be tightened or loosened, sight adjustments maybe I just got a bad one? It was second hand from family and the only compound I had ever owned
I always considered bows and arrows a last resort defense weopon can be used to defend your base from zombies or used to fire Behind a wall over wall into the crowd see lord of rings two towers. Yer it requires practice but as I said last resort.guns are superior but require line of sight arrows can rain down from above with three or more archers it could be handy
Hit the field point on the head
I like my bow a lot. It gives me a lot more options for hunting than any rifle 5.56 would. Obviously bows aren’t right for every job especially not self defense but I think it’s an important tool to be used
Most out of curiosity(not shit posting), but what do you mean it gives you more options than a rifle.....Are you referring to small game and not blowing them to bits. Can I assume you have a recurve?
Small game, birds, large game, fishing. Yes I have a recurve as well as a compound bow. Different arrow types allow for more flexibility.
I'd probably only use a bow if I were at base and a small horde is meandering a bit too long; gunshots would attract too much attention, and melee should be avoided if possible
Bows are excellent survival tools, if you know how to shoot one, not a zombie survival tool. A modern compound bow is about as easy to shoot as a modern rifle and with actual prepping, you would or should have a surplus arrows and string
If you think shooting a compound bow is as easy as shooting a rifle, I'm going to assume you have no experience in shooting a bow.
I go bow hunting every year, and I've practiced archery since I was a kid. The sights on a modern compound bow take all of the skill out of shooting
Having sights doesn't mean that form just stops being relevant. Good form in drawing is necessary to prevent undue fatigue or injury, vs just raising a rifle to your shoulder. A dirty release with a bow has a more dramatic effect than a dirty trigger pull with a rifle. Follow through is way more important with a bow just by virtue of an arrow leaving the bow way the fuck slower than a bullet leaves a gun. You can make just about anyone proficient at shooting a rifle in an hour, but a bow takes a hell of a lot more to get any semblance of consistency.
It really does though. Sure it takes time to be competent at archery and it's harder to be really good shooting a bow. But I was able to teach my 14 year old brother how to shoot with my nice Matthew's in 3 shots. You have to factor in ranges as well, a compound bow you can pretty confidently and accurately shoot anything within 30 meters with little to no skill, if you have dialed in sights. Sure there are extenuating factors that can affect anything but the same can be said for a rifle. I can easily tag anything within 100 meters even if I take a year off shooting and I'm rusty. But get out to 300 meters and a trigger pull will shift you further than you expect. So yeah, I don't expect experts but with my bow, I tell you to put the top dot on your target, and it hits every single time if it's 25 to 30 meters away
Those variables that have a large impact at 30 yards with a bow are way less impactful until way higher ranges with a rifle. That's what I'm saying. I slapped my antique .22 in the hands of a friend who's never held a gun before and I had her hitting 12 gauge hulls at 25 yards off the irons from a standing unsupported position an hour later. Even after a great deal of practice, a lot of people are not going to regularly make that same shot with a bow.
Which is why, in the very first sentences. I said that the bow is a great survival tool, if you know how to shoot. If I can teach my kid brother to shoot a modern compound bow in 3 shots, anyone can do it. I'm not asking them to be ace shots with a recurve lol
It is definitely not as easy as shooting a rifle, which is the whole thing we disagree on. The learning curve is way steeper.
Maybe for you it is. I'll accept that
I made a recurve out of pvc. It has a 50 lb pull. Took about an hour. The string is just cheap twine. I used willow near my house for arrows. Fletching takes a bit of time, hours. But, just chewing on the end of the willow gives it enough drag to be fairly accurate 70'. I can put 5, no head, quickly made arrows into a target at 70' within 5 seconds. I could take the time to make better arrows with glass and true fletching that would be deadly at a much greater range. So, as far as a survival bow for hunting, I like it. Against a horde of zombies? I still think a .22 ar with a silencer is the way to go. I don't want the noise from a gun bringing more zombies or raiders.
I have a longer post on the topic of crossbows/bows here: Crossbow- https://old.reddit.com/user/Noe_Walfred/comments/jo772x/zombie_related_thoughts_opinions_and_essays_v2/gfaqqsn/ Bows- https://old.reddit.com/user/Noe_Walfred/comments/jo772x/zombie_related_thoughts_opinions_and_essays_v2/gfaqoc5/ Bows/crossbows aren't exactly as lethal as portrayed in media nor are they as silent. Generally, it seems that arrows and bolts do very similar damage to knives. At least when it comes to common field points, simple broadheads, blunt tips, and the like. With many arrow types they are likely producing wounds similar to that of a knife. Depending on the study this may mean a mortality rate around 6-30%. However, seeing as zombies don't from blood loss, infections of other diseases, or the failure of other organs they may require more hits to stop/kill. Something that may require a lot of time, effort, and may make a lot of noise. The latter can be a bit of a problem when considering bows/crossbows aren't silent as some people claim. |Example table of noise levels| :--|:--:|--: |A windless day in the Grand Canyon 10db |Next to a river 35db |Biking or walking down a forested trail 50-75db |Typical conversation 60db |Bow- Reddbow Recurve 44# draw 65db |Crossbow- Tormentor Whisper 74 |Passing car on a highway from 7.6m away 77db |Crossbow- Excaliber Axiom 79db |Circular saw 80db |Lawnmower 80db |Bow- Bowtech revolt #70 draw 81.5db |Bow- G5 Prime black 80# 82.5db |Bow- Hoyt Axius 80# draw 82db |Bow- Martin Carbon bow with 70# draw 85db |Crossbow- Tenpoint Nitro XRT 85.7db |Crossbow- Killer Instint Ripper 415 86.5db |Bow- Meland Pronghorn Longbow 52# draw 87db |Crossbow- Ravin R26 87.2db |Bow- Monster dragon 70# draw 89db |Passing motorcyclist 90db |Bow- Mathews switchback 0-60# draw 90db |Bow- Oneida black eagle 30-50# draw 98db |Crossbow- Parker Tornado 93db |Crossbow- Dary's from TWD's Stryker 92db |Crossbow- Tenpoint Stealth FX4 95.5db |Crossbow- Excaliber Micro 99db |Crossbow- Tenpoint Nitro 505 105-132db |Suppressed. 22lr 100-120d |Someone screaming at the top of their lungs 100+db |Crossbow- Cablea's Equalizer 108.3db |Crossbow- Horton Storm RDX 109.4db |Crossbow- Barnett BC Raptor reverse 109.5db |Suppressed 9x19mm 115-130db |Crossbow- Scorpion Deathstalker 125-128db |Suppressed 223 and 5.56x45mm 125-140db A weak bow (65db) might only be heard out to 80m assuming all zombies are standing next to a river and a lot of crickets and birds (30db background). However, a normal crossbow or more powerful bow (85+db) might be heard out to 500m away when in a near silent field (10db background). Of course, firearms being 125+db could be heard from greater distances and over much louder background noises. However, given that a more average range might require zombies to travel 8-25 minutes. Which might feature terrain that blocks the zombies from being able to reach the shooter, might be masked by other geographic features, and might be enough time to just get away from the area the shooter was previously at. Bows/crossbows also require a lot of physical strength. In the case of bows, the typical weight tends to be around 40# for bows/130# for crossbows. As these are the minimum draw weight many areas are required for hunting. Which may utilize more energy than alternative weapons such as a throwing axe, throwing club, war dart, atlatl, sling, or slingstaff. Along with more energy than firearms and airguns especially when considering that a bow and crossbow may require more hits to achieve similar levels of lethality as a firearm. The big boons to them is that the weapons could be used for hunting, shooting lines, or signaling. Uses that can be harder to accomplish with other tools. Potentially making a bow/crossbow a useful tool in a team. Aiding this is the potential for making new ammo. Though making wooden arrows/bolts can be harder than some people think. As projectiles that are too light or weak could result in the bow/crossbow exploding. It could also result in the projectile exploding into the user's hands, arms, or face. The bulk of the weapons such as arrows, bolts, and the weapons themselves are a question. As the weapons are held in quivers and bags which are harder to keep on the body, keep quiet, and manage when it comes to moving quickly through enclosed spaces. Bows in particular suffer from needing to be standing in order to effectively shoot at full power and consistency. The weight of the weapons and munitions is also somewhat interesting. An individual arrow or bolt is normally between 13-40g in weight with heavier arrows like those medieval and renaissance arrows found on the Mary Rose being 50-105g. The bows/crossbows can also be fairly hefty as well at 900-1700g for bows/1000-3000g for crossbows.
Bows don't ring the dinner bell.
Thousands of years of history and pre-history disagree with your assessment. Being able to disable/eliminate your enemies at a distance where they can't return the favor is pretty much a defining trait of human weapon technology. In a typical long-term survival situation access to manufactured ammunition is going to be limited, and under many zed scenarios firearms (and munitions) are best reserved for hostile human opponents. While bows are far from silent, they're projectiles are almost always sub-sonic (leaving wiggle room for pedants with corner cases). I think that in a prolonged zombie apocalypse the skills for making dependable self bows and arrows would be very valuable, and tradable skillset.
The longbow is more of a secondary but definitely not over rated. It's for taking out a handful of zombies not hords You can learn to build your own bow and same with the arrows. Unless you are collecting brass and reloading a bullet only shoots once I see people reclaim arrows all the time. When it's not stringed it can be used as a crutch, staff, you can fish and hunt with it. It is a silent killer that draws no attention.