How the injuns made bows and arrers

[the watcher]

It worked well for them, took down a lot of bison and wasichus with them. If you have ever bow hunted before the compound era you will remember the tribulations of wooden arrows. I started with a bow when I was about 15, I had an old Ben Pearson recurve someone gave me, about 55lb, and in those days it was all instinctive shooting, just practice, practice, practice until you could hit a deer at 20 yards with it. If you stopped practicing you lost your edge, and you needed all the skill you had to bring one home. I really learned to stalk and read sign then, and I kind of lost my passion for rifle hunting. You had to either have arrows especially for target and/or hunting, and try to keep them from warping, and had to sharpen the broad heads manually, keep the feathers dry, on and on. When we were married about 2 years she bought me a Bear compound bow, and boy what a difference. You could actually hold that at draw and aim the damn thing, and you could get real good with it if you could judge yardage, which you could practice anywhere. I blew out my right elbow drawing that old stick bow and really appreciated the new system. No of course, crossbows are legal and they shoot like a rifle, so I guess that's good. I still miss being in the woods in October with a bow and nothing to do but enjoy the day.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

You know almost nothing, watcher, and some of that is wrong.

Only a few Induns were as good as the Comanche or Sioux in shooting bison down arrows.

Most everybody else would try to run them off a cliff.

 

[Twisted Gypsy Child]

You know almost nothing, watcher, and some of that is wrong.

Only a few Induns were as good as the Comanche or Sioux in shooting bison down arrows.

Most everybody else would try to run them off a cliff.

what did the Indian say when the dog jumped off the cliff

dog gone

westwall

 

[the watcher]

You know almost nothing, watcher, and some of that is wrong.

Well that's certainly a broad statement.

 

[Invisibleflash]

It worked well for them, took down a lot of bison and wasichus with them. If you have ever bow hunted before the compound era you will remember the tribulations of wooden arrows. I started with a bow when I was about 15, I had an old Ben Pearson recurve someone gave me, about 55lb, and in those days it was all instinctive shooting, just practice, practice, practice until you could hit a deer at 20 yards with it. If you stopped practicing you lost your edge, and you needed all the skill you had to bring one home. I really learned to stalk and read sign then, and I kind of lost my passion for rifle hunting. You had to either have arrows especially for target and/or hunting, and try to keep them from warping, and had to sharpen the broad heads manually, keep the feathers dry, on and on. When we were married about 2 years she bought me a Bear compound bow, and boy what a difference. You could actually hold that at draw and aim the damn thing, and you could get real good with it if you could judge yardage, which you could practice anywhere. I blew out my right elbow drawing that old stick bow and really appreciated the new system. No of course, crossbows are legal and they shoot like a rifle, so I guess that's good. I still miss being in the woods in October with a bow and nothing to do but enjoy the day.

Back around 2008 I joined a survival forum. It was run by a micromanaging control freak. I think he was in TX, but not sure. I used the word injuns one time and he lifetime banned me.

**** that controlling pos!

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

what did the Indian say when the dog jumped off the cliff

dog gone

westwall

time to eat

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

Well that's certainly a broad statement.

... but a true one. If you are interested in Injun stuff, the OU research center for indigenous matters under Dr. Farina King is a good place to start.

 

[JustAnotherNut]

Most everybody else would try to run them off a cliff.

Kinda hard to do that in Kansas.....

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

Kinda hard to do that in Kansas.....

Their ravines, etc., deep enough for that until you get way out West. Not even us Injuns liked living out there.

 

[JustAnotherNut]

Their ravines, etc., deep enough for that until you get way out West. Not even us Injuns liked living out there.

Yet several tribes called it home.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

Yet several tribes called it home.

... because the bigger badder tribes took their preferred hunting lands.

 

[Foxfyre]

Kinda hard to do that in Kansas.....

And the history of the Kansa Indians is that they did use bow and arrows.

Those we most often associated with bows and arrows used in 'warfare' are the Comanche, Sioux, Blackfoot and Cheyenne. I remember in the movie "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (1949) the fort scout, Tyree, identified the arrows used in an ambush as that of the southern Cheyenne dog soldier.

But according to Native American historians, essentially every Indian tribe was using bow and arrows by the times the first European settlers arrived here.

I use the term "Indian" as the people of that race here in New Mexico still often refer to themselves by that term. We have a street here in Albuquerque "Indian School" and also the "Indian Pueblo Cultural Center" is here.

Our New Mexico Indians tend not to be all that politically correct.

Indian Schools Throughout NM

Indian Boarding Schools in New Mexico

www.aisindianschool.com

 

[JustAnotherNut]

nd the history of the Kansa Indians is that they did use bow and arrows.

Yes, no argument there. My point was that Kansas doesn't have any cliffs to run the bison off of. But 'SlowPoke' seems to think the ravines are deep enough, IDK maybe so I've never been

 

[Foxfyre]

Yes, no argument there. My point was that Kansas doesn't have any cliffs to run the bison off of. But 'SlowPoke' seems to think the ravines are deep enough, IDK maybe so I've never been

I lived in and traveled pretty much the entirety of Western Kansas for several years. Places in which a buffalo could be driven off of to its death are pretty darn rare there if any exist at all. (Most of the ravines do not have such steep sides that a buffalo (or deer or horses) could not easily negotiate that terrain.)

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

Yes, no argument there. My point was that Kansas doesn't have any cliffs to run the bison off of. But 'SlowPoke' seems to think the ravines are deep enough, IDK maybe so I've never been

Prove your assertion. You can't.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

Just another nut is wrong again.

Yes, Indigenous peoples across the Great Plains — including what is now Kansas — did use buffalo jumps, or cliff-based hunting techniques, to stampede bison over ledges for mass harvests. While Kansas doesn’t have as many documented buffalo jump sites as places like Montana or Alberta, the practice was widespread among Plains tribes such as the Pawnee, Kansa (Kaw), Osage, and Wichita, who inhabited the region.

What Is a Buffalo Jump?

• A buffalo jump involved herding bison into a narrow drive lane and stampeding them over a cliff.
• The fall would kill or cripple the animals, and hunters would finish the job below.
• These hunts were communal events, requiring dozens of participants and careful planning.

Known Sites and Regional Evidence

• Most famous jumps a
• • are in Montana (Ulm Pishkun, Madison Buffalo Jump) and Alberta (Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump).
  • Southern Plains tribes used similar methods, though cliffs in Kansas are generally smaller and less dramatic.
  • 
    
  • Archaeological evidence from nearby states like Oklahoma and South Dakota suggests similar techniques were used in areas with suitable terrain.
  • 
    
  • Cultural and Practical Significance
    
  • These hunts provided food, hides, bones, and sinew for tools, clothing, and shelter.
  • 
    
  • The practice was deeply tied to spiritual rituals, with decoys often dressed in bison hides to lure herds.
  • 
    
  • Some tribes believed that if a bison escaped, it could warn others — making future hunts harder.
    
• • are in Montana (Ulm Pishkun, Madison Buffalo Jump) and Alberta (Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump).
  • Southern Plains tribes used similar methods, though cliffs in Kansas are generally smaller and less dramatic.
  • Archaeological evidence from nearby states like Oklahoma and South Dakota suggests similar techniques were used in areas with suitable terrain.
  • Cultural and Practical Significance
    
  • These hunts provided food, hides, bones, and sinew for tools, clothing, and shelter.
  • The practice was deeply tied to spiritual rituals, with decoys often dressed in bison hides to lure herds.
  • Some tribes believed that if a bison escaped, it could warn others — making future hunts harder.
    
• The Buffalo Jumps of North America
• When Survival Meant Running Buffalo Off Cliffs—A Brutal Wild West Tale - Survival World
• Shuffling Buffalo off a Cliff
• What Really Happened During an Ancient Buffalo Jump Hunt

 

[JustAnotherNut]

Prove your assertion. You can't.

from post #13.....

IDK maybe so I've never been

not much to prove

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

from post #13.....

IDK maybe so I've never been

not much to prove

No, you cannot.

 

[JustAnotherNut]

No, you cannot.

WTF is there to prove?? That I've never been to Kansas????? Wow, yep you got me there, I can't prove it.

 

[JustAnotherNut]

Just another nut is wrong again.

Yes, Indigenous peoples across the Great Plains — including what is now Kansas — did use buffalo jumps, or cliff-based hunting techniques, to stampede bison over ledges for mass harvests. While Kansas doesn’t have as many documented buffalo jump sites as places like Montana or Alberta, the practice was widespread among Plains tribes such as the Pawnee, Kansa (Kaw), Osage, and Wichita, who inhabited the region.

What Is a Buffalo Jump?

• A buffalo jump involved herding bison into a narrow drive lane and stampeding them over a cliff.
• The fall would kill or cripple the animals, and hunters would finish the job below.
• These hunts were communal events, requiring dozens of participants and careful planning.

Known Sites and Regional Evidence

• Most famous jumps a
• • are in Montana (Ulm Pishkun, Madison Buffalo Jump) and Alberta (Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump).
  • Southern Plains tribes used similar methods, though cliffs in Kansas are generally smaller and less dramatic.
  • 
    
  • Archaeological evidence from nearby states like Oklahoma and South Dakota suggests similar techniques were used in areas with suitable terrain.
  • 
    
  • Cultural and Practical Significance
  • These hunts provided food, hides, bones, and sinew for tools, clothing, and shelter.
  • 
    
  • The practice was deeply tied to spiritual rituals, with decoys often dressed in bison hides to lure herds.
  • 
    
  • Some tribes believed that if a bison escaped, it could warn others — making future hunts harder.
• • are in Montana (Ulm Pishkun, Madison Buffalo Jump) and Alberta (Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump).
  • Southern Plains tribes used similar methods, though cliffs in Kansas are generally smaller and less dramatic.
  • Archaeological evidence from nearby states like Oklahoma and South Dakota suggests similar techniques were used in areas with suitable terrain.
  • Cultural and Practical Significance
  • These hunts provided food, hides, bones, and sinew for tools, clothing, and shelter.
  • The practice was deeply tied to spiritual rituals, with decoys often dressed in bison hides to lure herds.
  • Some tribes believed that if a bison escaped, it could warn others — making future hunts harder.
• The Buffalo Jumps of North America
• When Survival Meant Running Buffalo Off Cliffs—A Brutal Wild West Tale - Survival World
• Shuffling Buffalo off a Cliff
• What Really Happened During an Ancient Buffalo Jump Hunt

BTW there Slowpoke, from any pictures I've ever seen of Kansas.......you can see the curvature of the earth on a clear day.

Who knew they had ravines with enough elevation to kill a buffalo. Not me.


I'm in WA state with mountains up to over 14,000ft, so any place in the midwest is FLAT