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[Axe27]

Hi. Recently, I've decided to start using hunting instead of letting my cat population grow into a massive,FPS killing monster and butchering it.And it's been very successful, powering my trade industry with leather, providing food (Though, the main food source is still Dwarven wine biscuits), and giving me bone bolts aplenty for use by the military. However, this map has wolves, and they've managed to kill off 2 of my dwarves so far, as well as cause one dwarf to tantrum, and die.

So, right now, my Hunters are armored with leather, but fight unarmed because it seems kind of self defeating to use bone bolts to kill animals to get bone bolts. I can't smith any weapons, because A. It's a major pain in the ass too, and B. I haven't actually found any metal to smith!

So, how do I solve this dilemma?

[Hawkfrost]

Buy weapons from a caravan, or make some wooden bolts.

[TettyNullus]

Wait for goblin invasion, raid the weapons off them. Or if you got obsidian somewhere, make stone sword, otherwise the only weapon you can make without metal is crossbows, IIRC, at least I haven't seen any weapons other than the stone sword and crossbow that don't need metal and able to be made by dwarves ( other than getting some off the elves )

[StrayCat]

Hammers and maces do wonders to wolves. Does a heart good to see the things fly twenty yards, hit a tree, then explode. The meat comes tenderized!

[Marlowe]

If you're not giving your hunters weapons because you're afraid of wasting ammunition, then that's a self-inflicted issue.

[Martian]

If you're not giving your hunters weapons because you're afraid of wasting ammunition, then that's a self-inflicted issue.

You realize a dwarf sized creature would give you 30 bone bolts? A single hit to the chest can kill. I've had single bolts mangling the heart and both lungs.

In my experience (I made a starting fort survive mostly on hunting for the first year) you get more bolts from animals than you use to kill them.

EDIT: Grammar mistakes caused by sleepiness.

[Marlowe]

Ja, even a 5-bolt stack is usually enough to give a kill, and gives you more back. Sending Hunters out to wrestle animals to death for fear of wasting ammo is Elfworthy.

[Axe27]

I know, but with a combined marksdwarf training squad, what I'm worried about is running out of bolts.

[Yami]

If you don't want to waste ammo, then you must waste dwarves.  Militarize five dwarf hunting parties to wrestle the wolves to death and beat on them with empty crossbows.

[TettyNullus]

I know, but with a combined marksdwarf training squad, what I'm worried about is running out of bolts.

Don't worry about it, just bring buncha breeding animals, like horses and cows. A bone stack turns into five times as many bolts and you get meat and leather out of it as bonus for butchering!  (Disclaimer: I stopped making my dwarves hunters after half-dozen died from wolves and just sent military out to slaughter everything )

[Marlowe]

Um. Then don't have an archery range? Let them practice marksdwarfship on the animals?

Make sure they're set to harass animals and that dwarves are set to collect outside refuse.

[JoshuaFH]

Um. Then don't have an archery range? Let them practice marksdwarfship on the animals?

Make sure they're set to harass animals and that dwarves are set to collect outside refuse.

agreed. on top of that though, send whole groups to exterminate the wolves, i cannot tell you how much teamwork is worth.