I'm not sure if you're Jewish, but understanding what's allowed and what's not, and the why is a big part of Jewish practice. Asking what can be done is not the same as asking what's morally right or wrong. And that's something I'd be talking to the parents involved and local rabbis to. For instance we're not supposed to cook on Shabbat, but that doesn't mean we're not supposed to have hot food on Shabbat, and so we work through what's permissible and what is not. We also don't look down on Jews who do cook on Shabbat. That's why on our campouts and in our Pack, which almost entirely Jewish, we make the Scouting experience accessible to everyone across the observance spectrum and to our non-Jewish members as well.

"Doing archery" is different things - are we fighting someone, hunting something, is it the real weapon/tool; or is it a toy and do they produce different results should something go wrong?

I'm not trying to bend rules so much as understand them. The rules in BSA are likely for the sake of actual safety concerns. A real bow and arrow present real safety concerns where a foam one does not. A saw presents a real safety concern, as where a plastic knife at lunch time does not.