Crossbow. Is it really necessary?

[Darktide]

I bought a pistol crossbow from blades and bows, http://www.bladesandbows.co.uk/armex-to ... 2143-p.asp. I have a 100ft rear garden and thought it would be fine to practice with in the garden, I setup a target in front of the shed, comprising 8 x 1" foam sheets and the first shot went all the way through and embedded itself in the shed. Needless to say, I no longer practice with it in the garden! Its accurate to about 30 yards and very fast to reload and at £30 you can't go wrong in my opinion.

[ukprep]

I have a 175lb crossbow and a pistol crossbow. I believe they are a very important part of your kit should anything happen. I also have a sling shot and a pistol bb gun for target practise.

I am however thinking of upgrading to a 200lb, or a 225lb compound crossbow if anyone has any experience I would like to hear

[jayjay78]

if you get stopped by Plod, with a standard bow you could just say your learning archery as a sport but if found with a crossbow you may have some difficult questions to answer.

you should be fine as long as the crossbow is unstrung, in a case an have a good reason for transporting from A to B. I HAVE A 85LB pistol bow an a few test shots in the garden consider it to be a vital accessorie in my prep inventory. im planning on having another for storage in my bug out bag..

[mitch66]

hi, may i ask how far you, may have to carry your bug out bag and crossbow to your safe alternative location. i only ask because at my current level of fitness 10miles with my cold weather 20kg pack is ok with good boots. but if i was going to carry a crossbow say tenpoint stealth xlt it would add 5kg and i think that would make that 10miles very hard work for me. i also have limited experience in the field, but have seen lots of arrows and bolts lost on flat mowed grass. they where only found with the aid of a good metal detector, so for that reason id say 30 or 40 bolts must be a starting point if its worth taking the x bow any lenght of time. please dont take this as a criticism in your choice to take a crossbow with you, i would just like to know, do you think is it worth the 5/7kg over 10 miles or more if your on the move, would it be better to have 5/7 kg of food instead. i understand that in some countrys they could be used for protection and gaining food. thanks carl

[Dogmeat]

I bought an 80lb pistol crossbow just for mucking about and i love it. Post shtf, would probably only use it for a one shot self defende weapon. Used to do alot of archery when i was younger and probably going to start up again in the new year and get my self a takedown recurve. Been reading alot on the american bow hunting websites and it seems more than effective to take larger game with as little as a 40lb draw. Bows can be much faster to shoot but practice is required. I love my crossbow but i believe a bow would be a much more efficient tool to grab on the way out.

Air rifle ammo is cheap and easy to carry large amounts, but you will still run out eventually, whereas arrows can be fairly simple to make yourself. But then i may be biased against air riles as i cant legally own one or another 5 years and had to sell my custom b2

[girlscout]

I used to think a bow would just be an encumbrance as it is so slow to reload until I saw this vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o9RGnujlkI

yes, I know it is probably a very low draw strength bow but what impressed me about it was the firing speed. It made me realise that with sufficient practise a bow could be faster to use than my 20 second reload and fire time

If I could only have one weapon the bow would be my weapon of choice I think, cost, portability and ability (eventually) to make ammunition all factors for me.

[Moony]

Yup thats an archer who practises a whole lot. Being able to grab an arrow, place it accurately on the string, draw and shoot (accurately) like that is very impressive. Try doing that with a 200lb draw x-bow ! This sort of technique is very useful for shooting from horseback too, you can't be fumbling around when you're trying to control a horse at the same time.

[12mp82]

Practice is the key, an English Longbow archer was expected to shoot ten "aimed" shots per minute during battle. that was with a bow that was six foot long and the draw force on the longbow was a hefty 160–180 lbf.

They only fired for a few minutes as they only had about 70 arrows.

[12mp82]

double post

[mitch66]

yes, I know it is probably a very low draw strength bow but what impressed me about it was the firing speed. It made me realise that with sufficient practise a bow could be faster to use than my 20 second reload and fire time

If I could only have one weapon the bow would be my weapon of choice I think, cost, portability and ability (eventually) to make ammunition all factors for me.

hi girlscout, i think your right the bow would be faster, but if you wanted to put food on the table. i believe a crossbow would be better choice for small game and easier to contain within a hide. i'm sure all the larger game would be long gone. but saying that a 175ftlb crossbow may be an overkill for a rabbit.