Why don subsistence hunters use bows and arrows?
A. Subsistence requires equipment that works, is safe, and is sustainable with ecological and economic conditions over the long term. Most subsistence hunters stopped using bows and arrows over a century ago in Alaska. Other methods of harvesting fish and wildlife such as fish weirs, caribou corrals, and moose snares, were outlawed many years ago. Rural Alaska has been using guns for hunting longer than America has been using automobiles for transportation, since the 1860s in most areas. Subsistence equipment is usually small scale, appropriate technology. It is efficient and modern. Equipment commonly includes fish nets, fish wheels, aluminum skiffs with small out-boards, snowmachines, binoculars, and citizen-band radios. These may be used alongside dog teams, skin boats, smoke houses, and fish basket traps, depending upon the areas and conditions.
