March 2010 SMVM FTX

   Above, LFB displays his atlatl and bow, both of which were produced during the March 2010 SMVM FTX at Island Lake State Recreation Area. As many as 40 people showed up to learn some fascinating survival skills. A small detachment also deployed to The Island Lake Gun Range.

    Militia members from several units converged on Island Lake to learn how to make a primitive survival bow and an atlatl. Jamie, the instructor, provided an interesting and motivating class on material selection and crafting of an emergency survival bow. We hope to learn more from him in the future. Crafting such a piece of equipment might not seem high on your list of tactical things to learn,  but if we ever need to actually rely on making something like this, we now have the ability. Besides, in spite of being quite a bit of work, this was a fun event.

    After a grueling Snow Dog, we were due for a fun, yet meaningful training day. Militia does not mean "boring."

    Some of the guys had stayed at The White Pine cabin overnight, and some of them got an early start on the day with a short, yet invigorating tactical walk led by D-Day.

    Bowguy, a Bushcraft instructor, got us all started on making a survival bow. He discussed tree selection, bow making, arrow selection, and other critical things like caloric expenditures in survival situations, return on caloric investments as far as making tools with which to survive, and the need to make something quickly, once you have determined that you need it.

    We also got some time practicing with an atlatl, which is a spear throwing device that adds a lot more velocity and thus penetration to thrown spears. This is accomplished via the principles of "physics", which is Latin for "Watch Lee make an imbecile out of himself trying to use this thing." I actually did manage to hit the backstop, and it did penetrate rather deeply. If I am ever in a situation whereby I need to spear a large, square purple board while it is standing still, I am reasonably confident that I can hit it from a vast distance of several feet. Still, when mastered, this is a way to increase the range and penetration of thrown spears. Making an atlatl is quick and easy, mastering it maybe not so easy.

Physics.

   So the good folks were all happily carving away at their bows, and Bowguy dealt with the soiree of questions in a thoroughly knowledgeable manner. People were carving bows and asking about arrows and fletching and what kind of wood to use. He handled everything with the patience of Job. There were questions about how trees grow and the structure of wood, down to the cellular level. If you need to know something, anything, about making your own bow, arrows, spears, etc. this is the guy. I promise.

   It also turned to a discussion about knives, how they are made, what kind of metal, how hard, and all manner of details about knives in a survival situation.

   When it was all said and done, there were about a dozen working bows that went home that weekend, and several atlatals.

   Some of us took a trip over to the range and I tried to re-qualify under the new "shoot only" rule for previously qualified persons. I am extremely uncomfortable shooting from a bench, and it took three tries to get my eight out of ten. I used my trusty Daewoo .223, foregoing my Remington 700 until I kind of sort of get that scope sighted in. The range at Island Lake was packed, so much so that it was necessary for people to get on a waiting list to use the 25 yard line. That was awesome! A totally packed gun range on a sunny Saturday afternoon will warm any militia person's heart.

   I would like to bring up a minor point about open carry at the range. They require all firearms to be open and empty when not actually shooting, so open carry is not allowed. CCW is okay, as long as it remains concealed. If you have your sidearm openly carried, you should either case it or lock it open and leave it on the bench. The range guys are pretty cool with us, and we would like it to stay that way.

    Island Lake has one of the nicest ranges you might see outside of Ft. Benning, GA. I encourage you all to go check it out. As usual, you will need a park permit to get in, and the range fee is seven dollars to shoot all day for adults, and free for minors. If you are into sporting clays, trap, skeet, and all that good shotgun stuff, then it is definitely worth checking out.

   When we got back to the cabin, a lot of the bows were done. It was a great day, outside, working with wood, surrounded by good people, and only one minor injury, a slight, yet bloody cut, to report. Okay, a bunch of militia people cutting and carving their own survival bows COULD have yielded a lot more cuts than that. I think we got lucky.

   This day also served as an impromptu meeting of several units from around the state, discussing plans for the future of the militia movement in Michigan in general, and sharing ideas, suggestions, and encouragement with each other.

Solo and Thumper (using a sharpened e-tool to carve his bow).

This turned out to be an excellent training day. The weather was warm, the sun was shining, and we learned a great deal about survival skills and how to apply them.

Photobucket, with pictures mostly by Crazy Eyes, of this event can be found here. 

Bowguy's Youtube video of this class is here. This is the first of four parts. 

We hope to see you out at future events. Remember, no alcohol, no illegal drugs, and no illegal weapons are ever allowed at ANY SMVM function.

-Weapon M 

SIDE NOTE: The Park Rangers also watched the Youtube videos of this event. We have been sharply advised to NOT chop down any more saplings, even if we are making a cool bow. Trees are an important part of Island Lake. Do not chop them down. Even the little ones.