# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Making Stuff >  paracord bow string possible?

## Bladen

is it possible to make a bow string with paracord?

ok im sure its possible but it might not work so well.

has anybody ever tried this?
if so, how did it work?

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## mcgyver

Only on my fire drill bow. 

I would think, comparing to the strings on my bows that it may be too thick (I.E. slow).
You may have better luck twisting the inner strands to make a bow string.

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## canid

it has a fair bit of stretch, but it works fine on lower weight bows in a pinch, such as when making an improvised bow.

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## Old GI

> it has a fair bit of stretch, but it works fine on lower weight bows in a pinch, such as when making an improvised bow.


Beat me to it.  Nylon stretches quite a bit.

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## crashdive123

Yep, what everybody else said.

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## SARKY

It won't work because the nylon does stretch (yes I tried it) especially if you leave it under tension for a long time.

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## preachtheWORD

As a kid I made many, many "stick bows."  Paracord, and many other types of string, would not be a good choice if you are making a bow at home.  BUT if you are in a survival situation, just about any kind of cord will work for a bowstring.  You might have to pre-stretch it, but it will get the job done.

Keep in mind, though, that a bow might not be that handy in most survival situations.  Making a bow and arrows that are actually good enough to kill something will take up a lot of precious time and energy that might be better used building a shelter, setting up snares, or trying to find your way out of there.  But, in a long-term survival situation it would be worth the time.

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## AaronGTV

> is it possible to make a bow string with paracord?
> 
> ok im sure its possible but it might not work so well.
> 
> has anybody ever tried this?
> if so, how did it work?


Yes it works... I have done this with a 30 lb  Vortex Lite Compound Bow it will work in a pinch. wouldnt call it a standard. and I dont thing I would try it on my 90lb lol.

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## Jbird77

While it's not ideal if I was in a situation where paracord was all that I had you can bet that I'm going to do what I have to for it to be used as a bowstring.  I made a similar string out of binder's twine for my grandkids's youth pearson recurve bow string one time and it lasted a good while before wearing through.

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## Antonyraison

I am sure is totally possible, just depends on the Poundage you want

But yeah if you really want a nice one take out like 7 strands from like maybe 3 to 4 lengths and twist them all together.

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## Chī

Agreed I twist five to eight (inner strands) depending on how strong your pull is.

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