Although there are numerous articles on the Web that tell you how to construct improvised weapons such as a PVC bow, in my opinion, most of these proposed weapons are not worth the time or effort to construct.
DIY Weapons
However, there are several DIY weapons that can be easily constructed at home that are far superior to these so called improvise weapons that will not only enable you to defend yourself, they will also enable you to hunt game that will provide you with a much needed source of protein.
Self Defense Weapons
So, to begin with, let’s examine those DIY weapons that are purely defensive and then move on to those that are suitable for both self defense and hunting.
Club
For instance, the simple club is quite likely Man’s oldest weapon and, when this weapon is wielded with sufficient force, it is easily capable of causing an injury than ranges from a mild bruise to broken bones to death. Also, most any length of wood or metal pipe will serve as a quite deadly club and, the common baseball bat is also an excellent choice for this purpose.
In addition, by adding either a metal or stone point or blade, the club is instantly transformed into a mace or tomahawk which makes it even more deadly. Plus, simply by adding an extra long handle to a framing hammer head, you can create a war hammer.
Quarter Staff
Then, there is the quarter staff which is simply a longer form of the club but, it provides much greater reach as well having two ends with which to parry attacks from an assailant and to land blows and, it is capable of immediately disarming any opponent armed with any weapon that does not launch a projectile from distance such as a bow or a firearm.
Spear
Then, we have the simple spear which is a quarterstaff with a sharp metal or stone point but which differs from a javelin in that a spear is a much heavier weapon and thus, it is not well suited for throwing. However, like the quarterstaff, is extremely well suited to self defense because it can be wielded in the same manner as a quarterstaff but, you can also cut or stab an assailant with the sharp end.
Hunting Weapons
Next, we have DIY weapons that are suitable for both self defense and hunting.
Sling
For instance, the simple sling consists of nothing more than a leather pouch with two lengths of leather or manmade cord attached to either side. However, this DIY weapon is capable of launching a projectile such as a rock or lead bullet with great accuracy over very long distances and thus, it has been used as both a weapon of war and a hunting tool since ancient times.
Javelin
Then, there is the javelin which is a spear with a much smaller diameter shaft so that it is capable of being thrown over much greater distances. In addition, an atlatl (aka spear thrower) is another easily constructed DIY weapon that launches a projectile known as a dart which is simply a heavy-duty arrow with a slightly thicker shaft and both the atlatl and the darts can easily be constructed from saplings found in nearby woods.
Bow
Then, there such DIY weapons as the Self Bow (aka Long Bow) and the Composite Bow along with the accompanying arrows which can also be easily constructed using a seasoned wood stave and shafts made by splitting a lightweight wood such as Cedar, White Pine, or even Poplar and points shaped from sheet metal or thin bar stock.
Blowgun
Last, although it is not a weapon that is commonly thought of as a defensive weapon, a blowgun is another easily constructed DIY weapon that can be made from a length of PVC or copper pipe and the darts can be easily constructed using bamboo skewers and cotton balls purchased at your local grocery store (if you don’t get a quality blowgun you run the risk of denting the piping and impeding the airflow).
However, in order to be truly effective as either a self defense weapon or a hunting tool, the ends of the darts must be coated in some sort of poison and, although there are several natural substances that are suitable for this purpose, I will refrain from providing detailed information on this particular topic and leave you to do your own research.
So, as you can see, there are several easily constructed DIY weapons that are far superior to the many improvised weapons you may find listed on the Web that will serve you for both self defense and hunting. Then, there are numerous simple martial arts weapons designed specifically for self defense such as Arnis or Eskrima sticks, Nunchaku, Tonfa (police baton), and Kama (sickle) that can easily be constructed at home that will serve to both disarm and disable an assailant.
