Many of you know from my articles, we are forbidden in Venezuela, since 2012, by the thugs in power to carry guns. This is part of the plan to subjugate 25 million people and have total control: out of FEAR. In my case, those gun laws also forbid ANYTHING capable of projecting objects.

In the coming times, full independence also requires us to have the resources to DEFEND ourselves. How are we to defend ourselves?

Disclaimer: weapons can severely harm anyone. Handle with care and take precautions. The following "weapons" are inexpensive, easy to learn how to use them, surprisingly effective. 

Why silent self-defense?

Depending on your particular location, some of the items I suggest may, or may not be, feasible. I will do my best to provide you options of tools for self-defense. I also hope to offer my readers a few different tools for those who can not or do not want a firearm as a means of self-defense. 

Bows, hunting slingshots, crossbows: these hunting tools also make useful defense tools. Guns are not the only options. Guns can be loud, attracting unwanted attention. For those of you well-educated about firearms, this article is for those who need other options. 

Please understand: if you are new to self-defense weapons, practice thoroughly to achieve a decent proficiency level. The bow and the atlatl need the most amount of training. The crossbow and slingshot can be effectively used with very little or no training. However, if someone offers to train you with any of these, take that offer. 

No power and no fuel means silence has returned. In fact, the silence is sometimes scary. A few of our neighbors use to have those old little radios with national popular music…that's gone now, most of the time, at least.

Let's just say: you are in South America, and you go out with a shotgun to get (an extremely annoying) wild turkey. Or even better, a wild hog. That now ever-present silence will be penetrated.  Of course, sharing with close neighbors, or even trading with those who offer to work for food is how most of us operate. However, the noise and chaos generated by hunting wild turkey with a shotgun are likely to attract undesirables. 

Therefore, you are well-advised to acquire silent means to defend your homestead. Establishing a plan to improve your self-defense is hard. And it can be done. Still, "they" will not come in one by one. They will come in by the numbers.  A well-positioned 15 mm diameter steel ball at middle-chest with a powerful hunting slingshot from 30 meters away will make any group think twice. (Body armor is highly recommended.)

The more isolated and secluded you are, the more silent your choice of self-defense weapons needs to be.

Here are a few of my recommendations.

The Bow: A bow requires quite a bit of training to be an effective weapon. However, history has proven that it is effective and accurate in good hands. In our Amazonas, natives shoot an arrow, lying on the ground, using their feet to stretch the rope, shooting into the sky. The arrow follows a parabolic trajectory and hits its intended target. These people have used bows since they learned to walk. The ability to provide food in many native communities relies heavily on bow hunting skills. 

Modern bows made with high-tech materials and alloys are great for performance but tend to be expensive. You can get an excellent piece for under 100$ like this one.

Or, this option, half that price, for teen beginners.

Compound bows have a pulleys system and offer a much higher arrow speed, with much less effort. Widely used in hunting, when combined with hunting slingshots, are quite effective. This compound bow is designed for survival. (I plan to get one as soon as I can.)

The Atlatl: Ancient throwing weapon with a large fan base. This baton with a carved notch to house spears reaches great distances with precision. The atlatl are not cheap, but they are well worth it. And, you can even get one online. 

The Crossbow: One of my favorites: easy to fix, no pulleys, and good optics = an excellent investment. However, this has to be handled with the same care as a firearm. These are easily used to take down a decent sized game. With the proper training and a good assortment of arrows, it can be used to scare off trespassers. I recommend this simple model.