Several reasons...
#1. PVC breaks suddenly and surprisingly easily. It can just snap without warning. Especially if the PVC is older and/or has not been flattened (you can strengthen a PVC bow by heating it and flattening it - but then you run the risk of melting it in places).
#2. The chances of PVC breaking goes up dramatically if it has been stored outside, melted or has something sharp digging into part of the bow (often near the handle).
#3. Where the heck are you supposed to find PVC in the wilderness? If this is supposed to be a "survivor bow" then it should not be made out of PVC. "Survivor bows", by their very definition, should be made out of materials you can find in the wilderness - which means wood.
#4. PVC bows should really be called "amateur bows that break easily made by cheap bastards who don't know how to do woodworking" - or something similar to that. They are the epitome of cheap homemade bows.
#5. PVC bows are not designed to last forever. They will often break within the first year or two of using it. (In contrast wooden bows can last for centuries if kept in a safe place and given some TLC every so often.)
If you want to make a REAL survivor bow - made using only materials you find in the wilderness here is what you do.
Craig's Guide to Survivor Bow Making
STEP ONE
Find / make suitable tools for carving wood. Sharp pieces of flint would be best, but you can work with less if need be. You will need a stone axe, a knife (preferably flint), and a variety of sharp stone shards for carving.
STEP TWO
Chop down a tree that has wood suitable for making a bow and trim off all the branches so just the tree trunk remains. Do NOT use a tree branch unless there is nothing else available. Suitable trees include ash, cherry, osage, oak, tamarack, etc. You want wood that is strong but flexible.
STEP THREE
Split the trunk of the tree down the middle. Then split it again and again until you have a series of nice straight staves.
STEP FOUR
Examine the staves and pick out one you feel that is suitable for making a bow. It should be free of knots, nice and straight and free of rot.
STEP FIVE
Build yourself a tiller stick with notches in it. In theory you can just use a tree branch for this part. Measure the branch so that there are notches at 20 inches, 22, 24, 26 and 28 inches. In theory you can also just use a tree as a tiller stick like the photo above. Just remember to cut notches into the tree at various 2 inch marks.
STEP SIX
Place your bow in the tiller and start carving your bow down so that both the top and bottom limbs are thinner and can bend more easily.
STEP SEVEN
Make yourself a bow string that does not stretch. In a pinch this can be done using the "heart strings" of wild flowers and braiding them together to make a super strong cord. Back sinew from deer also works great, but plant fibre cord works just as well. (Ideally a flemish twist would be best for knotting the ends, but any knot you can manage will do just fine if you don't know how to do a flemish twist.)
STEP EIGHT
Using a sharp flint knife cut notches in the ends of your bow where your bowstring will go.
STEP NINE
String your bow, place it on the tiller and see far back you can pull it back.
STEP TEN
Continue trimming down the upper and lower bow limbs, being mindful to keep them even by checking regularly on the tiller.
STEP ELEVEN
Once your bow is tillered to the point that it can reach 28 inches then you should take it off the tiller and check how it feels in your hand. Is it too heavy and you cannot pull it properly? If so you need to keep trimming it down until you can more easily pull it.
Note - If you are planning to hunt with this bow you will want to keep it above 40 lbs (50 lbs for bears, moose and elk) just so your arrows kill instead of injuring.
STEP TWELVE
Arrow Making - I recommend cutting down a poplar tree or something similar and then splitting the tree truck down into half inch thick shafts. Sort the shafts by size and weight, smooth down the rough edges using your flint knife so they are round shafts, cut them all to the same length and then eliminate any that are too heavy or light. If your shafts taper, use the heavier end for the tip when adding Arrowheads.
STEP THIRTEEN
Arrowhead Making - Make flint chips that are roughly one inch wide and collect all the ones that are similar in weight. Grind down notches in the arrowheads near blunt end using a rock. Use leftover twine from making your bowstring and treesap to bind the arrowheads to the shaft.
STEP FOURTEEN
Fletching - Ideally turkey feathers work best, eagle feathers also are nice - but in a pinch you can simply bind / treesap yourself some leaves closes to the end of shaft (about an inch from the end). Deer sinew works better than treesap, but use what you have available. Notch your shafts in the end to make nocks.
STEP FIFTEEN
Since what you have made is essentially a longbow you will also need a bow glove for your bowhand, to protect your hand from the fletching passing over your hand on its way towards the target. Leather words best for this. Cloth works okay.
STEP SIXTEEN
Use leather or cloth to make yourself some archery finger gloves. If you don't you will be hurting your fingers on the bowstring and they will go numb (and mess up your releases). You might have a high tolerance for pain, but numb fingers won't make you shoot any better.
STEP SEVENTEEN
Make a bracer for your arm using leather or birch bark. You can also use wood, but leather or birch bark is faster to work with because it is thin and flexible.
STEP EIGHTEEN
Weave small strips of birch bark together to make yourself a birch bark hip quiver (faster drawing speed than a back quiver).
So there you go, Craig's Guide to Survivor Bow Making. Bows that you can actually use for hunting in a survivor setting - and won't require you to trek to Canadian Tire to buy PVC.
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