Today, I crafted a primitive Bola hunting weapon without using any tools. I first made 7 feet of braided cordage out of long grass. Then I found 3 stones. The bola is made simply by tying both ends of 1 long cut of cordage around 2 stones of equal size, and then tying another length of cordage around the third, larger stone. The finishing touch is the tying of a knot connecting the 2 lengths of cordage.

This bush craft weapon is best suited to a savanna/grassland environment where it can be used to immobilize grazing animals with long legs. In a woodland, forested environment, this weapon would often get tangled up in branches, greatly reducing it's utility.

The hardest part about making this bola, or boleadoras, is the time it takes to create the primitive cordage. Just 7 feet of rope took me over one hour to create. Once made however, this ranged weapon is quite effective at 10 yards. Without any practice I was able to hit the target 50% of the time, which is very impressive for a primitive weapons developed during the neolithic period.

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